The
weekend of April 13 and 14 brought together soccer leaders from across the
province, representing a wide range of Districts and Clubs. Much of the Soccer
’13 Conference focused on the Soccer for Life (U13 and up) pathway, though there
was a bit of something for everyone in the presentations that were delivered on
Saturday, including an important update on the Coach education programs we are
delivering in record numbers.
The OSA Board met on Thursday and Friday,
and continues to demonstrate leadership and commitment to LTPD implementation
through approving changes to rules U12 and below to support a more child
friendly approach to learning and development and approved the continued
progress in relation to the Ontario Player Development League
(OPDL).
There was a great deal of discussion around the current U12 age
group. We were able to provide the membership with some clarification on the
changing League structure going forward as we transition to the new pathway and
continue with the phased-in implementation of our ongoing player development
initiatives.
The Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) will begin at
the U13 level (only) in 2014. The presentation on Saturday, detailing plans for
the OPDL, began to clarify some key next steps in that process, including
projected costs and the commitment required on the part of individual Clubs to
potentially be part of an integrated high performance training and competition
program.
There were, as expected, many questions from those on hand. We
will be looking to communicate further in response to your questions about the
OPDL initiative in the weeks ahead. Applications will be accepted beginning
June 7. The deadline for submitting applications is July 31. During the
application period, in the interests of fairness and transparency, we will only
respond to questions through a single point of contact on the OSA web site, so
everyone can see responses to questions posted in the public domain.
For
those Clubs not able to attend this past weekend, we have included here links to
two important documents-
An Introductory Guide for the
OPDL and also the
Request for Proposals for League
Entry.
As we have long said the OPDL will not be
for everyone. The talented pathway leagues represent a tiny percentage of those
who play soccer—and provide soccer programs—across Ontario. Every single Club is
crucial in what they deliver for our young athletes. As we stressed at the AGM
a year ago, Clubs will have an opportunity now to re-define themselves in some
cases and assess where they best fit in the new player pathway. In fact, we
received that very feedback informally from some Club representatives during the
Conference; that is, that they now need to go away and determine what kind of
Club they truly want to be.
After the information provided this past
weekend, Clubs should have an opportunity to take that step back and determine
what role they will choose to play in developing youngsters in soccer in the
years ahead.
We have a vision for what soccer in this province should
“look like” in the year 2020. And we are determined to do everything we can to
make the game better for
all youngsters in the game in the years ahead,
not just a select few. Our Clubs have done many good things over the years and
we are aiming to build on those past successes while recognizing where we can do
even better. With a commitment by all of us to put the players first in all our
decisions, we will ensure that every youngster has an opportunity to learn the
skills they need to want to stay in the game, and for those dedicated and
talented enough, to go on and play at the highest levels.
I want to
thank the host Niagara Soccer Association, President Jim Smith, his staff and
the many volunteers on hand for hosting such a fantastic weekend. The OSA staff
worked very hard as well to make this a tremendous experience for everyone at
the Conference.
We will need the support of everyone—Clubs, coaches,
parents, and referees—as we gear up for the 2013 outdoor season, and as we take
the next steps in creating a better, more unified pathway in the years ahead.
Let me add one more thing: as much as people are sometimes hearing about the
challenges ahead and how some are not supportive of LTPD, there is also a clear
and growing surge of enthusiasm and support for this initiative. More and more,
people see the value in what we are doing and coming on board. We know there is
a great deal of work ahead but together we can make things better than ever for
the youngsters who look for us to make the game fun.
