Soccer Coach
Well-Known Member
"Canada is a soccer country" was one of the headlines during the last World Cup Qualifiers. The problem is that we are really bad at it. No, let me clarify it. We are really horrendous and incompetent when it comes to playing this beautiful game.
If you do not believe it, at least in the men's side, then look at the evidence. The current FIFA ranking puts Canada at 120th. Essentially, Canada, one of the most socially and economically advanced country in the world, has been left behind to the likes of Irak, Ethiopia, and North Korea.
How do we explain such dismal performance?
Over the last decade we have moved backward and not forward. It could be even worse. All the wars in the Middle East and Africa have sunk some of their teams (i.e. Yemen went from 90th to 130th), but if peace and prosperity would have been kept, they would be surely ahead of Canada.
How is responsible for this debacle?
If you care about this game, you have to held accountable the National and Provincial organizations. They are responsible for this as it is their duty to manage and improve the game. They obviously have been a completely failure (at least in the Men's side).
If you are part of the soccer system (coach, manager, board member, administrator, referee), you have to see yourself in the mirror, deeply reflect, and see how you have contributed to this mess. Accept that you have likely done things in an sub-optimal manner. That you have a lot to learn and evaluate.
Do not hide behind excuses like we do not have a national professional leagues. If you are a referee, evaluate if you have allowed excessive force and perhaps been too permissive. If you are a coach think if you could use other approaches and other styles of play. If you are a manage, consider if you could have done more to make the game accessible and more popular to more people. If you are player, accept the hard reality that the way you play is one of the most limited ways in this world. You will have to be willing to explore other ways of playing, thinking, and training with the ball.
It surely hurts the ego. But it is what it is. No way to hide it. One of the big problem with soccer in this country starts with the little kids. We kill and take away the creativity and spirit of the game with all the over coaching and this team mentality at young ages. Let the kids play. Almost everywhere in the world kids learn alone playing by themselves with other kids in the streets. There are no professional coaches or parents carefully supervising them.
A really simple solution to our current Canadian living situation. Kids can no longer play freely in the park by themselves. Thus, recreate the park and street situation once again. Local clubs instead of running organized practice sessions could easily divide a large field and let kids play 4 v 4 in small fields with small nets. This could be available every day for two hours.
Teams are changed every day, ages are mixed up, and they could have mini tournaments.
Once or twice a week have the free played mixed with agility and ball technique.
It is going back the basics of street soccer. A very simple solution to a problem that has let grow to huge proportions.
The other problem that I see with Canadian soccer is the lack of open mindenes to new ideas and discussions. It seems that people want to think that there should be only ONE way to play the game, ONE path of development, ONE way to coach, ONE way to teach and certify the coaches, ONE way to organize tournaments, ONE team per city or district.
This approach kills development. Freedom of choice, expression and competition is what brings growth and success. Imaging if the Spanish Government would have told during the Franco era to Barcelona, you can not teach and play the game that way. You should play and teach the game in our way (the Real Madrid way), or the same with the Argentinean government and Boca. You should support and endorse only the "unified pathway" set by the local and national federation.
This is wrong, guys. It is very wrong. The Canadian Soccer Federation and BC Soccer can create a pathway of player development, but this should not be the only, nor those organizations should try to discourage organization and people from creating or following others. Competition and clash of ideas and styles and coaching and teaching methods is what brings success.
Some time it feels like we are in the equivalent of North Korea for soccer.
We are feed false propaganda ("Wellness to the World Cup"), as if we are close to make it and the program will take us there.
We are led to believe that we are better that what we are at the game and it is hidden how bad it is. The fact that our rankings are so low are kept hidden from soccer population.
We are discouraged from playing, coaching, or thinking differently about the game.
Please open your eyes becase the way we do things is not the way is done in the rest of the world and this why we are so bad at it.
If you do not believe it, at least in the men's side, then look at the evidence. The current FIFA ranking puts Canada at 120th. Essentially, Canada, one of the most socially and economically advanced country in the world, has been left behind to the likes of Irak, Ethiopia, and North Korea.
How do we explain such dismal performance?
Over the last decade we have moved backward and not forward. It could be even worse. All the wars in the Middle East and Africa have sunk some of their teams (i.e. Yemen went from 90th to 130th), but if peace and prosperity would have been kept, they would be surely ahead of Canada.
How is responsible for this debacle?
If you care about this game, you have to held accountable the National and Provincial organizations. They are responsible for this as it is their duty to manage and improve the game. They obviously have been a completely failure (at least in the Men's side).
If you are part of the soccer system (coach, manager, board member, administrator, referee), you have to see yourself in the mirror, deeply reflect, and see how you have contributed to this mess. Accept that you have likely done things in an sub-optimal manner. That you have a lot to learn and evaluate.
Do not hide behind excuses like we do not have a national professional leagues. If you are a referee, evaluate if you have allowed excessive force and perhaps been too permissive. If you are a coach think if you could use other approaches and other styles of play. If you are a manage, consider if you could have done more to make the game accessible and more popular to more people. If you are player, accept the hard reality that the way you play is one of the most limited ways in this world. You will have to be willing to explore other ways of playing, thinking, and training with the ball.
It surely hurts the ego. But it is what it is. No way to hide it. One of the big problem with soccer in this country starts with the little kids. We kill and take away the creativity and spirit of the game with all the over coaching and this team mentality at young ages. Let the kids play. Almost everywhere in the world kids learn alone playing by themselves with other kids in the streets. There are no professional coaches or parents carefully supervising them.
A really simple solution to our current Canadian living situation. Kids can no longer play freely in the park by themselves. Thus, recreate the park and street situation once again. Local clubs instead of running organized practice sessions could easily divide a large field and let kids play 4 v 4 in small fields with small nets. This could be available every day for two hours.
Teams are changed every day, ages are mixed up, and they could have mini tournaments.
Once or twice a week have the free played mixed with agility and ball technique.
It is going back the basics of street soccer. A very simple solution to a problem that has let grow to huge proportions.
The other problem that I see with Canadian soccer is the lack of open mindenes to new ideas and discussions. It seems that people want to think that there should be only ONE way to play the game, ONE path of development, ONE way to coach, ONE way to teach and certify the coaches, ONE way to organize tournaments, ONE team per city or district.
This approach kills development. Freedom of choice, expression and competition is what brings growth and success. Imaging if the Spanish Government would have told during the Franco era to Barcelona, you can not teach and play the game that way. You should play and teach the game in our way (the Real Madrid way), or the same with the Argentinean government and Boca. You should support and endorse only the "unified pathway" set by the local and national federation.
This is wrong, guys. It is very wrong. The Canadian Soccer Federation and BC Soccer can create a pathway of player development, but this should not be the only, nor those organizations should try to discourage organization and people from creating or following others. Competition and clash of ideas and styles and coaching and teaching methods is what brings success.
Some time it feels like we are in the equivalent of North Korea for soccer.
We are feed false propaganda ("Wellness to the World Cup"), as if we are close to make it and the program will take us there.
We are led to believe that we are better that what we are at the game and it is hidden how bad it is. The fact that our rankings are so low are kept hidden from soccer population.
We are discouraged from playing, coaching, or thinking differently about the game.
Please open your eyes becase the way we do things is not the way is done in the rest of the world and this why we are so bad at it.