Burnaby--When I found out that the Whitecaps were holding another press conference at EA Sports headquarters I was about as excited as I was Christmas eve 1996, waiting to open the latest instalment of NHL the next morning. Wait what was I talking about again???
Oh yeah! EA Sports, BC Soccer, and The Vancouver Whitecaps, came together at the EA Sports Campus to make a big announcement about the future of Youth Soccer, and Player Development in BC. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
EA Sports are a big player internationally, I'm not going to insult your intelligence and get any more in depth about the fact they are the creme de la creme when it comes to sports video games. The addition of EA to the BC youth soccer family will mean that they can use their financial muscle and influence in the business community and that should help in attracting other companies to invest in the development of our local youth programs throughout the province. EA will make its compound available to local youth programs involved in the Premier League.
The 8 franchises within the league will have 10 teams, 5 for each sex (u13 to u18). So if there are 18 to 20 players per team we are looking at top level coaching for about 1600 players annually. With EA Sports joining the fold now we finally see some financial backing for these kids that has been so desperately missed for... for... well really it's hard to miss something you've never had so let me rephrase that. Finally these kids are going to be getting some financial help and no longer will the youth clubs be dependant on registration fees for funding. No longer will our amateur youth athletes have to sit around and pray for municipal, provincial, and federal governments to foot the bill.
For some bizarre reason BC has had their top level players playing their competitive season over the winter months rather then over the summer, while the rest of the country has been playing their season when there is not snow on the ground. It is obviously advantageous to play all year round, but not having your provincial competitive season in line with the rest of the country creates issues with the national team organizing camps and scouting trips. The EA Sports BC Soccer Premier League will run a pilot mini season this fall from September to November just to work out the kinks and get all the logistical issues taken care of in advance of getting the real show on the road.
It is a breath of fresh air to see corporate Canada finally stepping up and taking the reigns when it comes to funding soccer here in the great white north.
The Whitecaps Players were all on hand for today's announcement and the club happened to break a little more news in a very interesting fashion.
Long Tan and Blake Wagner have been officially added to the clubs roster. Blake is a defender/midfielder who was on the roster last year and had flashes of brilliance from time to time. When he is on his game he is at best a second string defender/midfielder in this league, especially on this squad. When his confidence is shot and his consistency wanes, he is an average USSF D2 defender/midfielder.
Long Tan has been the focus of my scrutiny for a while. He is very athletic but goes to ground easily. Generally I like to put strikers in two categories; creators and finishers. I have a hard time with Tan because he doesn't really seem very adept at either. He has quick feet, and decent speed. Armed with more moves then a game of chess, he doesn't seem to be able to put them together to actually get by anyone. These opportunities to create a play are all for not when he gets the ball taken off him or he falls on his ass. He is not exactly a clinical finisher but he finds good positions on the field, so the opportunity is there for him but only time will tell.
As the players on hand started to play each other as each other it became apparent that several of the players who have not yet been signed appeared in the game, rookie defender Bilal Duckett, Kiwi International Michael Boxall, Phillipe Davies look-a-like Jeb Brovsky, and Brazillian TFC castaway Camilo all show up in the game.
The players were all on hand to have their heads scanned for 3D Motion capture for some next level video gaming.
I snuck in a quick game against an un-named member of the Sportsnet crew and lost in a shoot out after Jay DeMerit hit the crossbar. He was actually standing there watching. He sympathized, he wouldn't even been shooting if he'd chosen the line up. So I guess there is your Insider tidbit for the day. Captain Jay Demerit will not be taking any penalty shots this year. Well that's if he has any say in it I guess.
How long do you see Long Tan or Blake Wagner plying their trade for the 'Caps? What other companies would you like to see get on board and start backing our youth development?