"I think one of our tendencies in this country is that when we gather as a soccer fraternity, or sorority, we end up talking about the negative politics. And we get dragged down because of it. I think that, as much as anything, separates our development from other countries. They just pour a lot into the technical side and we’re wrapped up in the administration and politics of our game here."
That was former national team player and former national team coach Andrea Neil. It's as apt an assessment of the current climate in Canadian soccer as I've heard. Before we get into that, first, full disclosure: I reached out to her after a conference she is speaking at became a sponsor of this site. I wasn't required to. I did so because I felt as though a series we ran last year, some fantastic work by Ben Knight, was somewhat overshadowed at the time. Really, if you haven't read it and you have ever wanted to understand some of the root issues we face in this country, it's a must read.
But after hearing that new technical director Tony Fonseca, who made waves at the recent CSA board meeting for his thorough proposals to transform Canadian soccer, has identified coaching as one of its key tenents, I thought it was time to bring this conversation back into the spotlight
To help with that, Neil laid out some of the problems we face in the way we develop players.
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"My experiences - going outside of Canada and then coming back in – there is a huge collaboration that goes on in other countries. Coaches get together on how to solve and provide solutions on certain set pieces, or possession non-possession phases of the game. We don't really have that," Neil said. "There is a big push for long term development. But really coaches can only pass on what they know to their athletes. There are a lot of great coaches here. But we do have an issue with pushing in the same direction. There seems to be more of a silo scenario here as opposed to other places in the world. But there is a consciousness among the powers-that-be now to move away from that and get to some of the root issues."
As a former Canadian national team player she has joined a group of a select few who have carried on their careers past their playing days. Not all players are going to make good coaches but there is valuable knowledge being lost, as it would seem Canadian players are less apt to take up the charge.
"If your spark for the game has been impacted, there is not going to be the enthusiasm to come back into the sport in other capacities. If players do, for whatever reason, feel like they’re been beaten up or that they’ve put their time in, they might not have that same drive. That’s such a shame. There is such a wealth of experience and knowledge there."
And, like the Knight series rightfully pointed out, there are two things that largely need fixing - the amount of volunteers we rely on and the need for proper mentoring programs to keep a coach's development progressing. Neil noted both of these factors.
"Mentorship is hugely important - modeling, watching – those programs create a depth of experience for people. If you throw people into the deep end of the pool you can crush potential. Mentorship is so important to build in fundamentals. It comes down to a teaching methodology. Coaching is so multi-faceted it’s not just the simplicity of breaking down a technique, but how you go about supporting, knowing yourself as a leader and really assisting the full capacity of the player."
"It’s not a quick fix," Neil said about Canada's house league nation state. "20 years ago we needed that base of people to support the game. Now we’re at a stage where we have to professionalize it but that’s going to take time. I think people understand now though that we do have to make that move. And it’s not at the slight of the volunteers. Just that we have to do this to push our game forward."
We'd like to hear your stories of good coaching and bad. Where do you think we fail when it comes to developing young players into professionals? Do clubs like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal help that? Is there a responsibility for national team players to give back to the system that supported them? And do we spend too much time discussing the politics instead of focusing on the game?