There is no doubt that I can come off as a bit of a zealot when it comes to LTPD.
It comes naturally here in the Canadian soccer world to those of us that have been involved in the fight for reform over the past decade or so. The old boys network is strong and removing it from power has been difficult (with the heavy lifting, it must be stressed, done mostly by others. I'm just the peanut gallery).
That old boys network is still out there lurking. In many cases it is desperate to regain a foothold in the youth systems of this country. The reason, more often than not, is because they financially profited off of that system.
It was a system that was primarily about numbers. Children were seen as cheques to be cashed, not as athletes to be developed. Thus, the focus was always on the easy and obvious -- games.
Rent a pitch, hire a ref, make sure the balls are blown up and let the kids run around for 90 minutes (or 60 if you wanted to squeeze more games -- and cash more cheques -- in).
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The tough stuff -- developing skills -- was left to chance under this model. That was harder and cost more money (good coaching costs money. Volunteer coaching brings the orange slices for half-time).
That system, insofar as it was a system, has directly lead to today. Canada sits in 110th in the FIFA rankings and lacks a significant pro infrastructure (which is directly traceable to the profit based youth system set-up as it failed to encourage the development of a development pathway in which a competitive, professional senior team is the logical top of any club's development pyramid).
Regardless of what is replacing the old "system" we can say with absolute certainty that the old ways have failed us. Spectacularly.
We must change. That is clear.
Does this mean that we should move blindly forward under the new ways? Of course not.
LTPD is a generic term that represents a philosophy that seeks to put an emphasis on skill development and on age appropriate (and development aware) stepping stones. It seeks to move away from the throw it at the wall and hope approach of the past.
It seeks to put the needs of the child first.
But, that doesn't mean the actual plans that are put in place shouldn't constantly be tested and tweaked. In fact, a true proponent of LTPD should demand that they are because LTPD is also about the need to be thoughtful about development.
Opponents of the new direction try to frame proponents as having an agenda. They're right. That agenda is to produce talented players that go on to obtain scholarships, pro contracts and national team caps.
As for what the agenda is of those trying to protect a system that so clearly failed...
This post was made during the site's 48-hour blogging marathon. We are attempting to raise funds to keep the site running through to the end of 2015 (and hopefully beyond).
We are 25 percent of the way to our goal of $2,400.
There are four ways to donate.
1) You can send an EMT to CSNDonation@gmail.com. (Make password BloodyBigDeal)
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3) You can make a cash donation to me in person (I will be at BMO Field on Wednesday -- email me for my phone number to arrange a meet up)
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Thanks to all that have contributed so far and thanks to those who are considering a contribution.