In the past 36 hours, I’ve been told by a youth soccer coach in the Toronto suburbs, and by a high-ranking official with a Major League Soccer team, that the Canadian A-licence for soccer coaching puts too much emphasis on fitness and nutrition, and not enough on tactics and man-management.
I’ve also been told – multiple times, including by a former member of the Canadian men’s national soccer team – that Canadian coaching licences are “worthless” outside of Canada.
These are some of the very early (still off-the-record because it’s all preliminary) results from Canadian Soccer News’s new probe into coaching development in Canada.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
It’s especially interesting, when you ask informed folks about this issue, how often and how quickly they start talking politics. “This province runs that;” “These two or three provinces run everything;” “The old boys’ network makes all the decisions about who gets national-team jobs.”
Those are just fished off the clipboard, more or less at random. There certainly isn’t any shortage of qualified people out there who believe coaching certification in this country is:
- Weak
- Obsolete
- Political
- Next-to-useless if you’ve got real ambition
One coach told me he’s only putting up with the process because he’d like to work in the national program. Another ambitious candidate – with a scheming glint in his eye – says he’s thinking of bypassing the Canadian program entirely, then daring the national teams to exclude him.
(And that’ll be a fine story when it happens, believe you me!)
A huge part of the problem, of course, is that Canada is a vast nation with only four professional soccer clubs. That severely limits the number of home-grown, experienced, Canadian pro coaches. The overwhelming majority of people who take their coaching certification here aren’t even looking to join top-flight teams. Instead, they want to work for youth clubs, or maybe try their hand at the college game in the CIS.
As mentioned a few days ago, I’m at the start of an extensive series of stories and interviews on what’s wrong – and right – with the ways Canada creates soccer coaches. How does it stack up to other countries? Why are there next-to-zero Canadians coaching in the top ranks of the global game?
There are lots of stories out there – many tinged with frustration and anger. I want to hear as many as I can.
So …
If you’ve been through – or are still going through – the Canadian coaching-certification program, Canadian Soccer News wants to hear your story.
What worked? What didn’t? What helped you? What’s driving you nuts?
I’m only interested in stories you can sign your name to. Anonymous whining isn’t going to get published – although the odd anonymous tip certainly can come in handy.
Your story won’t automatically become part of this series, but if it does I will certainly consult and confirm with you before your name ever gets mentioned in print.
The goal – as always – is to shine a bright and constant light on the situation, see where the shadows are, and maybe even blow up some barriers and bad habits that don’t need to be there. We’re also looking for some real, unsung heroes of the Canadian game, doing excellent work despite all the odd, unique restrictions the Canadian system has always been hemmed in by.
If no one ever listened to you before, CSN is listening to you now.
benknight103 at yahoo.ca
Onward!
Also in this series: