What can Canada do to get back to the World Cup? Everyone has their own ideas, but not everyone has the hands-on knowledge to propose real and meaningful solutions. Paul Varian, a former executive with the country's largest youth club, has that hands-on knowledge, and has shared some of his thoughts in this guest column. You can get in touch with Paul on Twitter, @paulvarian.
With the World Cup reaching its pointy end, we're all talking about what Canada needs to do to join the party. Here's my list of 10, based upon what I've seen work in successful sport both here and abroad.
1) Invest in grassroots-level coaching
Yeah, yeah, you've heard this one before. But the reality is that precious few soccer clubs genuinely invest in coach development. Some may have a small budget to send coaches on coaching courses. But virtually none that I have seen have a long term plan for coach development, with the proper resources committed to it.
Strangely, coach quality isn't seen as a means of competitive edge by clubs, certainly in terms of what they invest in. High performance youth soccer leagues like the OPDL in Ontario and the BCSPL in B.C. have helped by mandating coaching standards for club participants. But it's a drop in the ocean of what's needed.
To see how it can be done, look no further than Hockey Canada. Even with participation rates lower than soccer, Canada is ranked No.1 in both men's and women's hockey. Gold medals swing around the necks of both national teams to prove it. Hockey has no trouble converting grassroots participation rates into elite, world class athletes.
When I ask top Hockey Canada people why, I'm told it's because grassroots-level coaching in hockey in Canada is second to none.
Think about it. Throw a dart at a random rink in Canada. There you'll find a coach who has definitely played the game extensively, with a coaching certification that is required for them to coach. Do the same with a random soccer field. You'll most likely find a well-meaning and committed coach who probably hasn't played the game and has no qualifications at all. It's a fundamental gap in the game that is surprising the CSA and its affiliates haven't taken a more stringent approach on.
In fairness, developing technical leadership is front and centre of the Association's new strategic plan. But this needs to be backed up with implementation and resources. The CSA and its affiliates (including the hundreds of community youth soccer clubs around the country) simply must set higher coaching standards across the game at grassroots and deploy capital to support it.
2) Be bold in driving highperformance programming at the youth level
High performance soccer in Canada is constantly dragged back by the recreational culture in which it is forced to operate. Parent pressure to keep all youth soccer cheap, convenient and "easy" means the elite side of the game at the youth level is stifled and startlingly under-developed.
You simply don't see this in other sports. Parents of top tennis prospects can pay five-digit sums annually, like those of gymnasts, swimmers, skiers. Hockey's even worse. And in some sports, you've got to go up pegs and move to another province if you want to be part of it.
In these sports, they hunker down and get on with it. There's an acceptance that it's expensive, travel-laden, inconvenient and high-risk. Sure, we'd love it to be different. But this is the reality of high performance sport in Canada.
In soccer, we are outraged if the program isn't a few hundred bucks, with training located in our postal code, on a day that works for cottage time. The Canadian soccer culture just doesn't fit the high performance mentality and requirements.
Sure, I'm being flippant here, and a bit unfair to the highly committed rep soccer parents who do put a lot in. And yes, it's starting to change in places. For example, parents connected to the OPDL are admirably embracing the new challenges that high performance has thrust upon them. But OPDL is only one piece of the puzzle.
To truly succeed, we need a mindset change from everyone supporting the game at youth level. We must accept we can't play at the World Cup with House League programming.
3) Invest in junior national team squads
Who's been the most exciting team in this World Cup? Chile. How did that happen? Look back to the last World Cup in South Africa. Chile sent a young squad, practically their outgoing U20 squad. They had no expectation of winning the tournament with that team. But they knew the experience would create a squad for future World Cups that potentially could.
Penalty kicks go differently last Saturday against Brazil and we're talking about them possibly winning the World Cup this year. Imagine what they'll be like in Russia!
Canadian soccer needs to have the same bravery of long-term ambition. This may mean sacrificing the present, or immediate future, for longer term success. We are blessed with a highly competitive women's national team and are hosting the Women's World Cup next year. Put them in the spotlight right now.
Assign the men to long term R&D. Field U20 squads in senior games. Go to the Gold Cup with a bunch of kids. See what they can do without the pressure of World Cup qualification. Look to the women for success today. Quietly build the men for tomorrow. Maybe we'll have a competitive men's team quicker that way, rather than focusing on older players who just aren't good enough.
4) Develop a uniquely Canadian soccer system and style of play
In Canadian soccer, we're constantly told that we should be like the Dutch, or the English, or the Spanish, or the Argentinians. Or all of them. These are great soccer nations, and we should learn what we can from them. But we can't simply replicate them in Canada. Nor should we necessarily want to.
Some people point to the kids in the slums of Rio, who get to play all day for free. Heck, they even make their own ball. This is why Canada is behind and Brazil is ahead, I'm told. But can we seriously consider that as a solution for Canada? Clearly we can't push our kids into the streets, forsake their education and have them make their own ball in the name of being like Brazil. (By the way, given the choice, I'm sure the shanty town kids would rather not make their own ball).
No, we must accept the reality that Canada is different than other countries. And in some cases, extremely different. We must build our own system, based on our country's idiosyncrasies.
This extends into our style of play. We can't just copy others. Do so and we'll always be behind. By the time we've copied what's good, those who invented it will have moved on. We'll be copying again. Always reactive. Also playing catch-up.
Copying isn't as easy as you think. Ask Aron Winter has easy it was to bring 4-3-3 Dutch total football to Canadian soccer.
No. We must build our own canoe. Like Irish football did in the 1980s. In the mid-80s, the Irish national team couldn't fill their own stadium. They'd never qualified for any major tournament. In came Jack Charlton as team coach. A no-nonsense Yorkshireman from England's World Cup winning team of 1966. He introduced a harassing, kick-and-chase style of play to the team. An Irish style of play, complete with silly catch phrase "we'll put 'em under pressure".
For the soccer purists, it was dreadful to watch. But it got Ireland to the Euros in 1988 and three of the next four World Cups from 1990 to 2002, where they progressed to the knock-out stages each time. It worked because it was their style of play and other nations weren't ready for it. Eventually opponents wised up, of course, as nations have to Spain's tiki-taka. But Canada must do something similar. We must build our own canoe. Because other nation's canoes simply may not float for us.
5) Be patient
It's great that everyone is passionate for success now. But there is just no shortcut to all of this. Bringing our national teams to the level needed means stripping all the way back to our youth.
Credit the CSA and their provincial affiliates. They have recognized this and instituted important change through Long Term Player Development that makes sense. LTPD is without question the right philosophy and framework for athletic development and is widely adopted by most sports globally. The trouble is, many nations got on with it years ago. We're just starting implementing now. It is working its way into competition design and coaching curricula throughout the country and we'll see the benefits of this. But it is going to take time.
How long? Longer than you want to hear. Forget about the next World Cup. And arguably the one after that; just getting to Qatar would be an achievement. Realistically, we're targeting 2026. And yes, that's what other nations have done when strategically planning sport.
Look at Australia. They decided to redevelop their Olympic program after a terrible showing at the 1976 Montreal Games. The fruit of this wasn't realized until Sydney 2000, 24 years later. Look at German soccer. It took them 10 years to reinvent their men's national team to become what it is now. And they weren't exactly starting from ground zero.
Yes, people will hate what I'm saying here and probably refute it. But until we stop gambling on the short term at the expense of long-term priorities, we won't develop as a soccer nation. We must have the political will to make this bold decision.
6) Be realistic
I hear lots of great ideas on Canadian soccer. But so many seem to require the investment of huge sums of money over long periods of time. Where does the money come from? "Find a sponsor" is the usual shrugging answer.
The reality is that big money sponsors are not plentiful and are driven solely by sport markets, not their "love for the game". They can also be here today and gone tomorrow. We must start being realistic about what is achievable with the resources the game has to hand. Can we expect the CSA and its affiliates to develop every aspect of the game to the hilt at the same time and remain solvent? No, the CSA has to box smart and prioritize its investment focus.
Again, we need not look far from home for examples of this. Own The Podium was a program that was criticized for targeting certain sports over others in search of medal success at Vancouver 2010. It was a brave move. But it was necessary, with limited resources to properly support sports that could genuinely succeed in Vancouver. It was unrealistic to treat each sport the same way. Fourteen gold medals later and no one is challenging the decisions made by Own The Podium.
We need to humble down and get realistic in Canadian soccer too. We can't do everything all at once. We must be clear on what's a priority and be brave and honest in accepting what's not. Over-programming simply means a whole load of half-baked pies.
Is it realistic to launch a Canadian professional national soccer league when there is no evidence of attendance levels to support it? Can everything in the game be free or heavily subsidized? We must be understanding of the realities of Canadian soccer, particularly its resource base, and not force our governing bodies into commitments that aren't effective or sustainable.
7) Stop trying to please everyone all the time
It's a Canadian strength, and also a weakness. We want everyone to be happy. We love to ensure no one is left out. Unfortunately, this virtue means we spend too much time talking and debating, and not enough time making firm decisions and implementing.
Australia is the complete opposite. Their sports system is heavily geared to elite success. But this success defines the nation. They want to be winners more than participants. Their system ruthlessly targets certain sports and certain athletes, backed by big government dollars. It's openly inequitable and unfair. But Australians know that trying to please everyone doesn't get results on the world stage. They also know getting results on the world stage tends to please everyone.
I'm not saying we throw out good principles of equity in Canadian soccer. But sometimes it's about doing what's right, not what's popular. That's definitely the case for high performance sport, which is exclusive by its very nature. Trying to please everyone on the matter in Canadian soccer is futile. Consult with people? Yes. Take on good ideas that make sense? Absolutely. Learn from others? Right on!
But letting everyone who has a say also get their way simply doesn't work. We'll we'll remain paddling in circles if we try.
Sometimes we must commit to a plan, even if we aren't all in agreement. It's an essential attitude in high performance sport. Top coaches don't take a straw poll from their players to decide on how they are going play a game. To be winners, we have to be bold and entrusting of our leaders and their direction. Even if we don't agree with it, or even fully get it. If we want to win, maybe at times we have to be a bit more Australian and a little less Canadian.
8) Come out to soccer grounds and start watching Canadian soccer
A Canadian professional soccer league is on many people's wish list. As bullets come, this doesn't get more silvery for some people as a fix to our World Cup absence. Don't get me wrong. We definitely need an expanded Canadian professional game. But a pro league does little for Canadian soccer until we have a steady stream of talented Canadian players populating it, and consistently large numbers of Canadian spectators watching it. The second is particularly important.
Pro sport is wholly reliant on spectatorships and viewerships. It cannot work without the revenues that these stakeholders bring. Trying it without a spectator base means its eventual demise is a mathematical certainty. But if people fill the bleachers, its viable and can work even in small, amateur sports.
Look at Dutch field hockey. Field hockey is not a big spectator sport. Yet Holland has a fully fledged professional national league, full of the world's top field hockey players. Why? The Dutch are field hockey mad and come out to watch games in their droves. They fuel a pro league that sits out of place compared to field hockey in most other nations. Their national teams reap the rewards.
So if you want a Canadian professional soccer league, it's really down to you. Get out to professional soccer games in Canada. Not just MLS. Go to NASL and PDL games. Support Ontario's new League One. Anything where Canadian talent in being nurtured into a professional career through a Canadian franchise. Because without your ticket-paying support, there is no professional game here.
9) Start working as a team
There's politics in every sport. But the constant bickering in Canadian soccer is exhausting. Fingers are always pointing. Too many people play a winner-takes-all game. Too many pontificate about putting the player first and doing it for the kids. Not enough actually do it, especially if it's not in their direct interests.
Too many clubs and private academies squabble with each other over players. League bodies operate independently and disrespect their governing bodies in a manner that wouldn't be tolerated in other soccer countries. In turn, governing bodies can be politically charged and get accused of poor accountability, service standards and tangible support for the grassroots game.
It's a tiresome mess that I know of many good people who have looked at and walked away from.
To get anywhere, we have to stop the routine blame, public ridicule, flagrant disrespect and open aggression we show to one another in the game. It's just like on the field of play. If people are afraid to do anything new for fear of the barrage of abuse they will get for it, we will never learn nor grow.
Others have done it. Look at Skate Canada. Provincial governing bodies are replaced with operating "sections" of the national body. Hey, I'm sure people don't agree on everything over in the Canadian skating world. But they all know they are part of Skate Canada, skating towards the same goals of success in Canadian skaters. And look at the results. Not bad.
Let's agree on this. If we aren't happy about where Canadian soccer is, it's ALL of our faults. And its ALL our responsibility. Bury the hatchet. Sign the peace deal. Let's start focusing on our own positive contributions instead of picking apart everyone else's.
10) Modernize the governance of the game
Yeah, it's boring and its always preached about. But it's where we essentially win and lose in Canadian soccer. The structure of Canadian soccer is outdated, inefficient and unattractive to the investment and leadership that is needed. Credit the CSA, who has reformed its own boardroom to dramatic effect, and plans to cascade governance alignment into its membership. But so much remains to be done.
Impressed with our tennis players recently? Take a look at the well-oiled machine that is Tennis Canada. Visit the Rexall Centre. Go to the Rogers Cup, see how it is run. Look at the PSAs promoting their version of LTPD, featuring Milos Raonic. Look at the quality of their executive leadership. There's a cohesive, cooperative sense of ambition that drives their success.
Canadian soccer must work to govern the game better. The work that has started at the national level must be driven into all corners of the game, so strong leadership and investment is attracted to the game at all levels. Without it, we are swimming in syrup.
Paul Varian is Principal of Capitis Consulting, a sports management consultancy based in Ontario, and a Chartered Director. He was previously Chief Administrative Officer of Oakville Soccer Club in Canada, the largest soccer club in North America, President & CEO of Sport BC in the period building up to and during the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and was Chief Executive of the Irish (Field) Hockey Association from 2004 to 2007.