SoccerU.S. soccer progresses, while Canada lags behind

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Claudio Reyna is the Youth Technical Director for the the United States Soccer Federation.

Last week I attended the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) convention in Baltimore. It is the first time I have been able to attend the convention, and it was quite the experience.

There were on-field sessions with some of the top coaches from across the United States, classroom sessions with coaches, technical advisors and sports scientists, as well as an array of vendors in the exhibition hall, all selling soccer related wares. If you had any interest in soccer at any level, there was something there to whet your appetite.

One of the people I was most keen to hear speak was Claudio Reyna, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) Youth Technical Director.

Reyna is a former U.S. national team captain, who represented his country at four World Cups. His playing career was exceptional, and the USSF capitalized on his experience in the game by appointing him to the crucial role of Youth Technical Director.

It is a new position, created for the purpose of putting in place a curriculum for coaches of young players to follow. Reyna's first task was to craft a teaching curriculum that will be used to help educate coaches across the country and provide direction on what their specific focus and goals should be when working with young players.

Reyna was hired in April of 2010, and in just a little over eight months, he is ready to present that curriculum.

Huh?

Surely this sort of thing should take years and years to complete, with tedious meeting after tedious meeting? Surely the USSF should create a nice, glossy document that analyses everything that is wrong with American soccer - a virtual encyclopaedia of problems - without even a hint of a solution? Right?

Wrong.

Rather than waste time, the USSF got right to the heart of the problem. They hired a former player - a former product of their system - and tasked him with building a framework for improving the development of both players and coaches across the United States.

Reyna to the rescue

According to Reyna, the curriculum of that framework will be made available in the spring on the USSF website, so that coaches across the United States can have a blueprint to follow. Not everyone will do things the same way, but at least they will be taking a unified approach to player and coach development.

In Canada, meanwhile, we are still waiting.

In June 2008, the CSA launched the 'Wellness to World Cup' document. It was a warts-and-all look at the state of Canadian soccer, and it raised a number of very important points. If you haven't read the document, you can find it here.

It is a very thorough analysis, and covers the game from every angle imaginable. It lays out the problems and challenges we face in Canada, but does nothing to offer a solution to those problems, nor put in place a plan for implementation.

Like many others who have an interest in the game in Canada, I have been eagerly awaiting the next step from the CSA. How do we address the failings of our current development system? How do we change the mindset in youth soccer, where the perception is that players need to win to advance in the hierarchy of Canadian soccer? Is there any kind of plan?

Unfortunately, these are not questions that anyone can answer.

The CSA does not have a technical director, and hasn't for some time. They are, however, in the process of hiring one.

A number of my American colleagues commented to me this week that it wasn't that long ago that Canada was ahead of the United States in the international game, let alone able to compete. Major League Soccer has played a big part in their development as a nation, but more importantly in my opinion, they have advanced because they are not afraid to make bold decisions.

Reyna has credibility

Just look at the hiring of Claudio Reyna.

He only retired from playing in 2008, and is not an expert - in the traditional sense of the word -  in player development. He certainly doesn't have decades of experience in training young players from a technical, tactical, physical or psychosocial perspective.

What he does have is credibility.

He is a product of their youth system, and reached the highest level of the game. He knows more about what it takes to succeed at the highest level than most because he has his personal experiences to back it up. That sort of credibility has allowed him to open doors, to make connections around the world and to connect with academics and sports scientists to develop a plan for youth soccer in the United States.

Is he going to get everything right? Probably not. Are people going to disagree with some of his ideas? Probably so. But at least the USSF is being proactive, and looking to make positive changes to evolve the game in their country.

We need to start doing the same thing in Canada. Or else we will continue to fall farther and farther behind in our quest to reach the men's World Cup.

Follow Jason de Vos on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/jasondevos

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