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INSIDESOCCER e Magazin Publisher Emeritus

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Mark Miller - mark@insidesoccer.ca

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Senior Staff Writers

Dennis Fitter, Bob Koep, Kris Fernandes

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Contributing Writers John Anderson, Armen Bedakian, Richard Bucciarelli, Kris Fernandes, Dennis Fitter, Bob Koep, Les Jones, Dave Kenny, Mike Kenny, Peter Mallet, Tokunbo Ojo, Steven Sandor, Mike Toth

Contributing Photographers Stan Behal, The Canadian Soccer Association, Andreas Morse/FC Edmonton, FIFA, Kathleen George, Les Jones

Dick Howard: A Man For All Soccer Seasons

By Mike Toth ............................................................................................................................................6

Money: The Root Of All Evil

By Bob Koep ......................................................................................................................................... 10

Can Canadians Help FIFA Clean Up The Mess It Got Itself Into?

By Bob Koep ......................................................................................................................................... 11

Homecoming: The Return of Matt Lam

By Steven Sandor ................................................................................................................................ 12

How A Canadian Boy Learned To Run With Soccer’s Wolves

By Peter Mallet ..................................................................................................................................... 14

2012 Ontario Cup Schedule

.................................................................................................................................................................. 17

SPECIAL FEATURE 2012 Tournament and Camp Guide ...................... 18 Canadian Tournament Guide ................................ 19 United States Tournament Guide ........................ 41 International Tournament Guide .......................... 50 Academies and Camps Guide............................... 55 KIA Reveals SOCCER Influenced Special Edition KIA Optima

.................................................................................................................................................................. 59

Futsal Heat In The Winter

By Kris Fernandes ............................................................................................................................... 60

Building Character Athletes

By John Anderson, The Country Day School ............................................................................... 64

EPL’s Economic Globalization And The Burden Of English Soccer

By Tokunbo Ojo .................................................................................................................................. 66

The Road To The Rogers Centre: TFC’s CONCACAF Champions League Adventure By Armen Bedakian .............................................................................. 68 Preparing For The MLS: The Montreal Impact

By Armen Bedakian ........................................................................................................................... 70

INSIDESOCCER Magazine is published six times per year by INSIDEOUT Publishing and Marketing Services.

ISM provides authoritative editorial coverage of Canada’s premier soccer community.

Information contained in ISM has been compiled from sources believed to be correct. ISM cannot be responsible for the accuracy of articles or other editorial matter. Articles in this magazine are intended to provide information rather than give legal or other professional advice. Articles being submitted for review should be e-mailed to branden@insidesoccer.ca Undeliverable copies, advertising space orders, copy, artwork, proofs, etc., should be sent to:

Behind The Whistle

By Mike Kenny ..................................................................................................................................... 71

Speed Endurance Training

By Richard Bucciarelli ....................................................................................................................... 72

How To Win The Provincial Championship In Ontario

By Dave Kenny ................................................................................................................................... 74

The 2012 Soccer Hall Of Fame Inductees

.............................................................. 76

Soccer Programme Sold For $35,400!

By Les Jones ......................................................................................................................................... 77

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InsideSOCCER Marketplace .............................................................................................. 78 Did I Really Say That?

By Dennis Fitter .................................................................................................................................. 81

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FEATURE

DICK HOWARD

A MAN FOR ALL SOCCER SEASONS

BY MIKE TOTH

Photographs by Les Jones – Covershots Inc., The Canadian Soccer Association and Dick Howard.

Why is it that goalkeepers tend to become the best and most respected television soccer analysts, once the sun sets on their playing careers?

It’s quite simple, says Dick Howard, and he should know. “Standing still for 90 minutes and watching 21 other players on the field makes analysts out of goalkeepers. It tends to make it easy to make the game understood,” he says. “Goalkeepers are always analytical about performances.”

CBC Sports Scott Russell and Dick Howard at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

6 March/April 2012

A familiar face to viewers on Canadian soccer TV broadcasts, Howard and fellow net-tending graduate Craig Forrest rank among the brightest in the business.

Because of their analytical nature and respective backgrounds (having played “the beautiful game” at the highest level), they can (and do) shine the light not so much on what’s happening on the playing field but on why it is happening.

They pick up on significant aspects and developments average viewers may miss – in other words, they explain the complexities of the game in simple terms.

Among the pioneers of Canadian soccer broadcasts, Howard has been a familiar fixture on television for more than a quarter of a century.

In the 1980s when host Dale Barnes first lit up the screen by bringing English League soccer games to CFMT-TV in Toronto, Howard and Mike Povey were hired as analysts for the broadcasts.

Howard subsequently followed Barnes to The Sports Network after it was launched in 1984.

Over the years, Howard has become a seasoned World Cup soccer broadcaster and journalist. An in-depth knowledge of the global game landed him an onsite CBC Radio colour commentator role at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, and his broadcasting career has continued to the present day.

So far he has covered more than 300 games in six World Cups as a studio analyst for TSN. He was an on-site reporter for EURO 1996 and 2000, as well as a studio analyst for EURO 2004.

Howard has also hosted a popular series on classic English FA Cup Finals on ESPN Classic Canada and continues to work as a colour commentator on the U.S. based Fox soccer channel.

Howard provided commentary from South Africa for the most recent FIFA 2010 World Cup on CBC and a fair share of Toronto FC games at the Major League Soccer level. In print media he was also a soccer columnist for the Toronto Sun during the 1990s.

Born in England, Richard James Howard – simply Dick to his friends, colleagues, fans and TV viewers – is a former Canadian international goalkeeper, North American Soccer League player, educator, Canadian national teams coach, long-time FIFA coaching instructor and author.

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Howard’s professional playing career kicked off with Chester FC in England in 1965 and concluded in 1976 with the Boston Minutemen of the North American Soccer League. With a diploma in physical education from the Chester College of Education in hand, he moved to Canada where he joined the Hamilton Primos of the old National Soccer League in 1967. They made it to the championship finals before losing to Windsor Teutonia. During his 11 years as a goalkeeper for Hamilton Primos, Detroit Cougars, Rochester Lancers and Toronto Metros, he was selected for AllStar teams of every league in which he played in North America.

Howard was also on the ground floor of the great North American professional soccer experiment, playing in the inaugural season of the North American Soccer League for the Detroit Cougars in 1968. With a grin on his face, he looks back on the days when many Americans – weaned on football of a different nature – were exposed to their first taste of professional soccer. “We started to spread the word, so to speak,” he says.

“We were very much missionaries, and it was very rewarding to spread the word.”

And he has been doing that ever since, like a good ambassador, spreading the word at home and abroad.

He was a member of the NASL champion Rochester Lancers in 1970.

At the same time he was studying and eventually graduating from the nearby State University of New York at Brockport with a degree in physical education. He was acquired from the Lancers by the Toronto Metros in 1971 and played in Toronto through the 1974 season.

Howard was also a member of the Canadian national team during 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds. All in all, he has five international caps to his credit.

While playing with the Metros, Howard became a physical education teacher at Upper Canada College in Toronto. From 1972 to 1986 he was director of athletics at Crescent School, another private school in Toronto (he is still involved there as their head of soccer development).

He has coached Canadian national youth teams and in 1981 was an assistant coach of the senior Canadian National Team for 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification when Canada came

oh-so-close, falling just one goal short of qualifying for Spain. A technical director of the Canadian Soccer Association from 1986 to 1992, he was also appointed technical consultant of the Toronto Lynx club in 2005.

In recognition of his considerable contribution to Canadian soccer, Howard was inducted into Canada’s Soccer Hall of Fame in 2002 in the builder category.

While his contribution to Canadian soccer makes him worthy of such recognition, Dick Howard has also been a main stage contributor to the game further afield on the global scene. His background, education and qualifications, on and off the field, made Howard an ideal target for recruitment as a globe-trotting ambassador for FIFA. “It is a great experience to get involved with the (world-wide) development of the game,” he says.

Since his first assignment with the FIFA technical group in 1987 setting up clinics in various venues throughout Eastern Canada, he has conducted more than 50 projects as the longest-serving FIFA coaching instructor. Howard has been a member of the FIFA technical committee since 1998 and also ranks as the longest-serving chairman

InsideSOCCER 7

of CONCACAF’s coaching committee. As a FIFA ambassador, he has visited more than 50 member countries on development projects over the past 33 years, labeling it a rather rewarding journey.

He remembers his first international assignment abroad – he received a call from FIFA headquarters in Zurich to conduct a goalkeepers clinic in Kuwait; and, as they say, the rest is history.

While the soccer world governing body has endured a somewhat bumpy ride in recent times and faced a variety of problems, including corruption charges reaching the top echelon in certain quarters, Howard says FIFA stands for “football is for all” and has provided solid leadership over the years –- leadership that has made soccer the world’s most popular game. He points out that FIFA, in addition to its $800 million global financial assistance program, annually shells out some $400 million per member country for programs such as developing facilities, upgrades and office operations.

“FIFA is very much committed to the development of the game world-wide,” he says.

Canada, with only one appearance on the global soccer dance floor – and hoping for a repeat performance – is among the beneficiaries. The stage is all set.

Thirty-five nations from the CONCACAF region started out looking to qualify for a spot in the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil.

Having easily waltzed through the preliminary group stage with home and away wins over St. Lucia, Puerto Rio, and St. Kitts and Nevis, Canada is facing a sterner task facing Honduras, Cuba and Panama in Round 2 later this fall.

Six Round 2 winners will then face six nations for Round 3, with the 12 teams separated into three groups. The top two teams from each Round 3 group will then advance to CONCACAF Round 4, a final group of six teams from which three teams will automatically qualify for Brazil 2014 while a fourth team will advance to an intercontinental playoff against the champion from the Oceania region.

Howard thinks that while the road to Brazil looks rocky, it’s doable – with a bit of a helping hand from Dame Fortune.

“Canada needs a little bit of luck to qualify,” he says.

The last – and only - time Canada has made it to the World Cup finals was 8 March/April 2012

Dick interviewing Canadian legend Bob Lenarduzzi.

Inset: Dick tending goal against Pele in 1972 as the Toronto Metro’s take on Santos at Varsity Stadium. in 1986, and that was held in Mexico.

With the host nation an automatic qualifier, it cleared the way for an extra CONCACAF spot.

Brightening the prospects is a recent change in qualifying that pits the fourth place CONCACAF team against the winner of Oceania. “That half spot looms large,” says Howard. “The key is that everyone (on the Team Canada contingent) must be on the same page and have the same vision. We must take the game to the next level. We (in Canada) don’t have the depth like some other countries.”

But things are changing for the better.

“I see great development, particularly in the women’s game,” Howard says, pointing to the fact that apart from the unfortunate crash in last year’s World Cup in Germany, the Canadian women’s team had sported an enviable record, rising to a lofty sixth place in FIFA rankings. “The Canadian women are clearly showing the way,” he says.

Commitment to quality at various segments of minor soccer across the land is another indicator that the future of Canadian soccer has a more promising and brighter shine to it. There are already more youngsters playing organized soccer in Canada than hockey, and Howard says he is ”delighted to see that the LTPD (Long Term Player Development) program is being implemented and taken seriously”, adding that behind

this well-researched program are “quality people.”

While globetrotting on his FIFA mission, Howard had seen various such youth development programs, but “the Canadian LTPD is the best I have seen globally”, he said. ”It’s superb above all else” and it supplements the FIFA Grassroot Manual. “It fits in well with the CSA (Canadian Soccer Association) plan.”

Soon Dick Howard, the man for all soccer seasons, will be on the road again – but this time the sojourn promises to be more pleasure than work. In recognition of his work, he has been invited, as the world governing body’s guest, to attend the Ballon d‘Or gala night in Zurich, one of the glamour events on the global soccer calendar. Ballon d‘Or (literal translation Golden Ball, originally conceived in 1956 by France Football’s chief magazine writer Gabriel Hanot) is an annual Association Football award, presented to a player who is considered to have performed the best during the previous calendar year. Last year’s winner was Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, the third Argentinean to win the prestigious prize. Also recognized will be the top club team in the world.

“Rubbing shoulders with the very best in the world will be great,” Howard says.

A progra program ram of of The Th T he Ontario Soccer Socccer Association Associ ciati tion Play Soccer Presented by Rogers “On The Road” is a community based interactive program for youth and families. This fun-packed program compliments soccer tournaments and festivals with the overall goal of celebrating soccer.

For more information and to apply to have “On the Road” visit your community or event, please visit www.playsoccer.ca

For more informatio

InsideSOCCER | 3

InsideSOCCER 9

FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter, as he picks QATAR to host the 2018 World Cup.

MONEY: THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

BY BOB KOEP

Photographs Courtesy of FIFA

There were days, way back in the dark ages, when soccer officials put on their navy blue blazers and proudly represented their sport at meetings and conferences without even thinking of asking for some remuneration. It was a matter of honour and pride.

But times have changed and morals with it.

We now have FIFA running billion dollar tournaments. FIFA exercises worldwide power and dominates the global sports media scene. And carries home a lot of money.

And with this power comes the feeling of omnipotence. Bribery, corruption and kick-back deals are not far behind.

For years rumors have been flying that numerous officials around the world were bribed to vote Blatter back into his job, particularly in 2002 when Issa Hayatou of Cameroon made a strong bid for the top FIFA office. A lot of money from both sides is said to have changed hands, and the wildest stories have circulated for years. But in the end Blatter appeared to control more votes than Hayatou and won the day.

We cannot mention everybody here for lack of space, but take for instance the 10 March/April 2012

misfortunes of the now ex-president of our own CONCACAF region, Jack Warner of Trinidad.

Warner always was a fine chap until the World Cup became major business.

And the temptation got a hold of him. He was accused of this and that, like getting sole rights for marketing and TV contracts in his part of the world. Proceeds reportedly went into his pockets. And a little grease money on top. Eventually things caught up with him, and Warner was banned from all soccer activity. But by voluntarily resigning all his posts, he avoided legal action by FIFA. (It appears FIFA is not prosecuting anyone who is no longer in the fold. It also appears FIFA is glad to have this case out of the way without getting egg all over its own face).

But like in a comic opera, Lisse Austin of Barbados was then appointed acting president of CONCACAF (to replace the ostracized Warner) and it didn’t take long

before he, too, was banned from soccer for also being in on the corruption merrygo-round. It seems sometimes you just can’t win.

There are several similar cases involving high-ranking officials, including the chief of the African Soccer Federation, the aforementioned Hayatou, who ran against Blatter in 2002 and later mysteriously switched his support. He is said to have received a bundle of cash from ISL, the FIFA marketing firm (now bankrupt) and then another reported $1.5 million from a different source for supporting Qatar in its bid for the 2022 World Cup. Strangely enough, Hayatou – who, by the way, is also an IOC member and was reprimanded by that organization as well for what they call irregularities – is still listed as the CAF president. But if the going gets rough, he always has the option to resign. That seems to be the way to immunity.

It seems nothing works anymore without some palms getting greased.

Enter Ben Hammam of Qatar, president of the Asian Soccer Federation. He tried to run against Blatter for FIFA president last year and carried suitcases of money to various officials to bolster his bid. But before running up to speed in his election bid, Hammam, too, got banned from soccer, and Blatter ended up as the only candidate for the presidency. (Hammam says that Blatter orchestrated the ban to assure himself of another term.)

But the most prominent scandal involves former FIFA President Joao Havelange of Brazil, who was forced to resign all his offices as a member of the International Olympic Committee, after having been exposed in a kickback scandal. That was during his soccer days, but he is no longer an active official with FIFA, so no action there.

Now Havelange is not a man without means. A multimillionaire who for many years has run Brazilian soccer with his former son-in-law, Ricardo Teixera, and also the world soccer body for 24 years, he is perhaps the best known sporting official in the world and the only lifetime IOC member.

But only now has the Olympic body got wise to his tricks and asked him to go.

There, too, his sudden retirement protects

him from any legal prosecution. But one wonders why an incredibly rich, aging man of 95 would need more money by hook or by crook. It must be an obsession or a way of life. May his future be bright.

Meanwhile, Teixera, a FIFA executive and the chief of the organizing committee for the next World Cup in Brazil, may not be around when the tournament kicks off in two years, as the mountain of bribery and corruption accusations gets higher and higher.

But Teixera may be in deep trouble, as he is said by BBC information to have collected millions from ISL via bogus companies in Liechtenstein.

Just stay tuned.

With all its money and influence, FIFA also has a lot of clout in other areas.

FIFA can force any country to change its domestic laws at World Cup time; that means it really has arrived. Only recently, for example, FIFA forced Brazil to change some of its laws to make sure one of its main sponsors, Anheuser Bush InBev, gets sole rights to sell its beers in all soccer stadiums and surrounding districts during the 2014 World Cup. The Brazilian parliament was very reluctant to change its laws – crying interference – but in the end had no other choice but to amend its laws lest the World Cup go elsewhere.

I wonder what FIFA is going to do in 2022 when its show goes to Qatar, a Muslim country where generally no liquor is sold. You can rest assured though Anheuser-Bush will sell its suds there, too.

Of course, FIFA also demands from

Brazil, as it does from every World Cup host, that its entire World Cup income be tax exempt. The alternative is to be out of the running.

But it appears the country’s biggest star, Pele, at least is back in good standing.

I remember way back in 1993, Pele was said to have been banned from all FIFA events at that time after he asked some unpleasant questions about corruption in a game in Brazil. Pele was in Las Vegas (where the draw for the 1994 World Cup was held) as representative for the then main sponsor, MasterCard. Everybody saw him, but for FIFA with Havelange in charge, he didn’t exist.

It took all of some 20 years for most of the facts in this quagmire to surface. Only recently the British press has started to drain the swamp, and a lot has bubbled up. Even FIFA, which always carefully guards its secrets, began to take notice. It is trying to crawl out of the muck without drawing too much attention.

CAN CANADIANS HELP CLEAN UP THE MESS FIFA GOT ITSELF INTO?

BY BOB KOEP FIFA ON THE ABYSS Two Vancouver, B.C. women, the 2010 soccer hall of fame inductee Silvana Burtini and lawyer Alexandra Wrage, a B.C. native but now working out of Annapolis, M.D. have been appointed to an independent, eleven member strategic committee to look into the mountains of accusation of impropriety at FIFA. Burtini is now a Vancouver police officer. Toronto anti-corruption lawyer James Klotzt is also on the committee.

4 February/March 2012

Other notables on the panel are Brazilean soccer star Marta and Swedish coach (of the U.S. national team) Pia Sundhage.

In a desperate attempt to clean up its act, FIFA has appointed this body to meet with FIFA’s governance committee to start sorting through the mess created by uncounted bribery and corruption scandals reported for some time.

Fact is so many FIFA officials have been accused of taking money under the table that even FIFA president Sepp Blatter found his name in the rumor mill.

In order to sort through the allegations,

Jack Warner with Joseph S. Blatter Even Blatter has announced he will now introduce more transparency and credibility to the organization. In particular, the documents of ISL, closely guarded until now, may reveal how much money went from here to there. It was obviously more than FIFA could handle as the company went bust … and with it a lot of FIFA money.

Maybe sanity will return once the dust has settled. Maybe even FIFA will once again be more up front about its dealings and stop the gravy train. Even when the mountain of money seems insurmountable, someone has to make sure the world’s largest federation is accountable. That would also free some money and effort to concentrate on the next big problem: Game fixing by big time gamblers.

FIFA has been looking for some independent people who are detached from the bribery scene and could be considered neutral, or at least uninvolved.

No one in the Canadian soccer scene has been accused of any wrongdoing and therefore Canadians seem to be the ideal arbiters in this case. Perhaps they can help bolster Canada’s reputation in the soccer world.

These rumors have been around for much of the last 20 years but only broke into the open after British press published a series of investigations into the scandal.

InsideSOCCER 11

FC EDMONTON

HOMECOMING: THE RETURN OF MATT LAM

BY STEVEN SANDOR Photographs Courtesy of Andreas Morse/FC Edmonton

Matt Lam’s year in Japan makes for a bittersweet story; but the Edmonton product hopes he writes a happy ending.

Lam is back with FC Edmonton, after Japanese second-division side JEF United decided not to exercise the option to buy his contract from the NASL team. After Lam’s loan expired on Dec. 31, he came back home to Edmonton.

He’s working out with the club in indoor training sessions, but will be sidelined when he goes under the knife to repair a troublesome left shoulder that led to two lengthy spells on the sidelines in 2011. Still, Lam should be ready to take the field by the start of the NASL regular season in April. “I am very excited,” says Lam. “Everyone wants to know how I feel to be back, and they think I must be disappointed. I think it’s just the opposite. This is a great place to play and this is a very competitive league.”

Flash back to 2010, and Lam, who spent time with Ajax’s academy in the Netherlands, was FC Edmonton’s first hometown star. Under the tutelage of coach 12 March/April 2012

Dwight Lodeweges and assistant Hans Schrijver, Lam flourished and was the club’s best player as it played a series of friendlies in preparation for its 2011 debut. But, before the club could be birthed into NASL, Lodeweges and Schrijver were tempted by a lucrative offer from JEF United, a traditional topflight J-League side that had tumbled to the Japanese second division. The two jumped at the opportunity and recommended that Dutch compatriot Harry Sinkgraven take over FC Edmonton.

The two new JEF coaches didn’t leave town quietly; they signed Dutch midfielder Sander van Gessel, who played the 2010 season with FCE. And they took Lam on a one-year loan, with an option to buy the forward at the end of the 2011 season.

Lodeweges and Schirjver’s contract was lucrative but, as fans later found out, it was also loaded. A major string was attached — that if the two couldn’t get JEF United back to the J-League, they’d be terminated. There would be no time to build a team or a system. It was win, or else.

With nine games left in the regular season, the “or else” part of the contract kicked in, and both Schrijver and Lodeweges were out of jobs. When the coaches who brought him on board were gone, Lam was out in the wilderness, out of favour with the new coach — with injuries making it difficult for him to make a case for himself.

“With nine games left in the season, we were just three points out (of a promotion spot),” recalls Lam. “But the club decided to go in a new direction.

To me, it was an unnecessary move. But, after that, it felt like we had thrown the towel in on the season. There wasn’t enough time left in the season to learn a new system.”

“We felt that we had eight to 10 good players,” says Schrijver, who returned to FC Edmonton and became an assistant to Sinkgraven after being released by JEF United. “But we felt that we didn’t have enough good players to fight for promotion. We said that we had to bring in some more players, but that’s

a money question. So, players weren’t brought in. We feared that as soon as we got injuries or suspensions we would be in trouble. We wouldn’t get the results and we’d lose ground. And that’s what happened. But, we felt that we had done a good job over there.

We got the most we could out of that group, and we were still in the race.”

The season started off well enough; JEF won the opener 3-0 at home.

Then, the earthquake and ensuing struck Japan, leaving an estimated 23,000 dead. No one at JEF United was hurt — the team plays in a Tokyo suburb, away from the area that suffered the most damage — but players were sent home for a week as the season was halted. When they came back, another training camp was held. When the league resumed, JEF was red hot; the team won its first 11 home

games. When the streak was broken — with a draw — the team was booed off the pitch. So much for the stereotype of the polite Japanese.

“There was so much pressure on us to promote. We were doing well with the pressure at the start of the season,” says Lam. “But when we had a drop in form, the nerves started to come in, for the coaches, players and staff. And, eventually, it affected our performance.

“The fans over there are very demanding,” he added. “When the people would recognize us on the street, it was like being David Beckham over there.”

But Lam also dealt with many personal struggles. An ankle injury and then two injuries to his left shoulder limited his playing time. For a two-month span, he’d come back for a week, miss the next two, come back for the next...

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH FC Edmonton is already signing new players for the 2012 season, and the club is staying true to the principles that made it so endearing to Canadian soccer fans in 2011. It is signing Canadian players — and looking at Canadian universities and colleges as places to find talent.

Of the new Canadian signings, two stick out: Calgary native Justin Farenik and former CIS star Elvir Gigolaj.

Gigolaj, who played with London City of the Canadian Soccer League and with St. Mary’s University, was the star of the CIS finals in Victoria. After scoring six times in three conference tournament games, he scored in the quarter-final game over McGill, then scored twice in a 2-0 semifinal win over the University of Alberta. SMU lost to the host University of Victoria in the final, but Gigolaj scored again.

And, who was the only representative from a Canadian pro club to meet with Gigolaj? FC Edmonton’s Director of Soccer Operations, Joe Petrone.

None of the Canadian MLS clubs were there to take in a player that FCE feels 4 February/March 2012

might be a diamond in the rough. Our Canadian MLS clubs spend time and money to find players from universities in Tennessee and California who can be taken in the Supplemental Draft and subsequently cut. Wouldn’t it make more sense to take a chance on a player like Gigolaj, who is Canadian?

“I wasn’t sure if anyone was watching me (at the CIS final),” says Gigolaj. “I had an OK season the year before, too. And there was no news. So I wondered if it was going to be the same. But this year, the biggest thing was having it (the CIS final) in the West. Soccer is much bigger in the West than it is in the East. There Elvir Gigolaj

The writing was on the wall. Now, he’s looking forward to resuming his role on the wing of FCE’s 4-3-3 attack. And, with the team working through the winter in order to prepare for 2012, the feeling is that the team will be much improved from the one that was eliminated in the first round of the 2011 playoffs.

And, getting Lam back is like a major signing, really.

Meanwhile, after tumbling out of the race after the coaching upheaval, JEF United looks forward to another division-two season.

Dwight Lodeweges and assistant Hans Schrijver, Lam flourished, and was the club’s best player as it played a series of friendlies in preparation for its 2011 debut.

BY STEVEN SANDOR were more fans and coaches there.”

Farenik is a left footed defender who looks good in the air. And going up to head the ball is an impressive achievement for him; after all, would you be brave enough to challenge for a corner if you’d been through three brain surgeries?

After three years at Trinity Western University, where he teamed with his old Calgary friend, Paul Hamilton, Farenik decided to go to Europe. He signed with Belgian lower-division side RRFC Montegnee, and then he started to get headaches. One morning, he got out of bed and couldn’t see.

Over the years, he’s needed three surgeries to remove the tumor.

Because the tumor is sticky, it’s hard for doctors to get all of it — and it regrows.

But this last time, they think they were successful getting it all.

“But this last time, they think they got it all and that it shouldn’t come back,” says Farenik. “My last MRI was totally clear.”

And he’s reunited with Hamilton on the FCE backline.

InsideSOCCER 13

HOW A

CANADIAN BOY LEARNED TO RUN WITH SOCCER’S

BY PETER MALLETT

WOLVES

Photographs Courtesy of Les Wilson and The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum

Vancouver’s Les Wilson was recently recognized

by English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers as the team’s ‘Ultimate Mr. Versatile’.

He may be one of the greatest soccer players this country has ever produced but few of Canada’s soccer fans even know his name.

Vancouver’s Les Wilson was recently hailed by Wolverhampton Wanderers as the club’s ‘’Ultimate Mr. Versatile’, with the English Premier League club celebrating his remarkable feat of playing all ten field positions for the first team between 1965 and 1971.

The storied club was established in 1877 and is one of the founding members of English football, but despite the recent accolades from Wolves Wilson struggles for recognition in his own country.

14 March/April 2012

During the cold war era when Wilson became the first North American to make his mark in England’s top flight league, soccer was still distant and foreign to many Canadians who then saw it as an “ethnic sport.” As many of my colleagues told me during my career, I picked the right sport but came from the wrong country,” Wilson confessed.

Long before Canadians like Frank Yallop, Craig Forest, Paul Stalteri or

Left: Les challenges Pele at Empire Stadium in 1976 to a sell out crowd of 32,000 Americans such as Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan or John Harkes made their mark on the pitch in England and matches were broadcast live around the world, there was Wilson.

He is a humble man and is genuinely flattered by the recent recognition from his former team.

“As a player developed in Canada, it gives me a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and pride that I played every position except goalkeeper for a world-famous club in one of the best leagues in the world,” Wilson said.

Although he was a natural fullback or midfielder, his abilities also saw him play a variety of other roles, including winger or target man during his time at the Molineux.

By the age of 16, he had developed his skills with the semi-professional Westminster Royals. His speed and agility had caught the eye of Wolves’ famed manager Stan Cullis after Wilson’s performances in exhibition games at Empire Stadium against Liverpool and Red Star Belgrade in 1963.

Wilson, who was also an accomplished track and field competitor and won the 1962 B.C. High School junior half mile competition, jumped at the chance to play professional soccer when Cullis presented him with a contract offer. He rushed to Vancouver’s international airport to buy a ticket for the overseas flight. But he was refused by the airline because he was still a minor and needed the consent of his parents to get on the flight. When his mother and father learned the details of his transcontinental ambitions, they made him promise to finish high school before joining Wolves.

A young man of his word, Wilson finished his schooling the next year and joined the club in 1964 (on the same day, by the way, that the club added another relative unknown at the time, future three-time North American Soccer League All-Star goalkeeper Phil Parkes). Then on December 18th 1965, Wilson made his debut for Wolves playing away against Middlesbrough.

Prior to 1965 in club football, substitutions were only permitted to a team’s starting 11 if a player didn’t

show up for a match, a far cry from today’s standard of three substitutes per team during a game. On September 2nd of 1966, Wilson struck for his first goal coming on as a substitute against Everton in a game watched by an English television viewing audience of

more than 12-million.

The goal was a watershed moment, as Wilson had become the first North American to score a goal in England’s first division. His biggest thrill, however, would come later on in the season, when he stepped out onto the field for Wolves at Old Trafford against the likes of a team of Sir Matt Busby-coached soccer legends, including George Best, Sir Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles.

His father and grandfather had

raised him as a die-hard Red Devils fan, a passion he held close to his heart even after moving with his family to British Columbia at the age of six. “(When I was) three, my grandfather and father would take me to games at Old Trafford. That is where I got my passion,” Wilson said. “So when I got picked to play at Old Trafford as a teenager, I immediately got my grandfather tickets and admission to the team’s tea room after the game.

Can you imagine my grandfather’s reaction after the game … seeing his grandson rubbing shoulders with Charlton, Busby and Best? It was such a wonderful day for me.”

Wilson would go on to become the first North American to play in over 100 matches in England’s top flight league.

The young Canadian had no idea that his contract with Wolves would ever see him playing in North America, but in 1968, Canadian sports mogul Jack Kent Cooke, then owner of the Washington Redskins, Los Angeles Lakers and Kings, purchased a team in the United Soccer Association. The league saw 12 professional teams from overseas play the summer months in U.S. and Canadian cities, with Wolverhampton being transformed into the Los Angeles Wolves that season.

L.A. defeated Aberdeen of Scotland (the Washington Whips) in the championship game 6-5 in double overtime that season while Wilson inherited the name “The reverend” from Wolves’ Los Angeles fan club and his teammates.” We had a group of five of us Wolves players that were nicknamed the Tea Set,” he said. “Wherever we went we ordered and had copious amounts of tea. I recall my name came from being respected amongst fans and colleagues for believing in fair play, integrity and honesty, which led to the nickname, and it seemed to stick throughout my career.”

In the autumn of 1971 Wilson played for Wolves in the very first ever UEFA Cup competition in a match against Ado Den Haag of the Netherlands, but missed out playing in the tournament final against Tottenham, as a transfer had sent the Canadian to Bristol City and then eventually Norwich the next season, where he wound up his career in England.

InsideSOCCER 15

scandal involving former CONCACAF president Jack Warner and FIFA boss Sepp Blatter had been made public).

Wilson eventually told them no. “I didn’t want to be disrespectful to Jack [Warner] or Chuck [Blazer], but I turned them down,” Wilson said. “I had worked for CONCACAF on some projects previously, and I didn’t like what I saw.

I followed my moral compass on this one. Now when I see the shenanigans going on at FIFA and CONCACAF between Blatter and Warner, I am glad I chose this path.”

He stepped down from his position with the Canadian Soccer Wilson played the 1974 season with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the North American Soccer League before playing on Astroturf surfaces took its toll on his Achilles tendon and he retired from the game as a player. But he would transform his work ethic and knowledge of the game to a successful career as a coach and administrator, working behind the bench and in the front office of the Vancouver Whitecaps for many years. In 1979 one of his greatest thrills came when the Whitecaps won the Soccer Bowl championship game and were greeted by a crowd of over 120,000 well wishers at a parade on Robson Street when the team returned to Vancouver.

Wilson also was a successful manager with Canada’s national teams, first fostering a partnership with former Whitecaps coach Tony Waiters, who together with Wilson helped guide Canada’s men’s team to its first and only appearance in the FIFA World Cup at Mexico 1986.

He was also behind the bench for the Canadian men’s Olympic team and their memorable nail-biting penalty-kicks loss to Brazil at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and in 1989 Wilson helped guide Canada to a soccer gold medal at the inaugural Francophone Games in Morocco, with a 4-1 win over the host nation in the championship game.

Then in 2000 Wilson was behind the bench for Canada’s famous 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup triumph as our national team earned confederation bragging rights for the first and 16 March/April 2012

only time. The Reverend was also a fixture with so many other Canadian national teams, including the U20 and U17 levels.

But bigger things were in the cards for Wilson, as his off-field success had attracted international interest and CONCACAF, the governing body of soccer in North and Central American and the Caribbean, came calling in 1999, wanting to hire him as the association’s deputy secretary.

CONCACAF officials, including general secretary Chuck Blazer fully expected he would take the job and had flown Wilson down to their headquarters in New York and shown him houses and apartments (it was still years before details of the most recent

Association in 2001, and in 2008 Wilson was inducted into Canada’s Soccer Hall of Fame for his accomplishments. He says he plans to write a book about his career.

“I want it to be an educational learning book for Canadian players,” he said. “I want it to say if I can make it in overseas leagues and other players from Canada like Frank Yallop and Tomasz Radzinski can do it too – they can as well,” Wilson said.

Cup Draw: April 15

Entry

Deadline:

April 3 UNDER 12 BOYS

UNDER 13 GIRLS

Preliminary Round Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

Preliminary Round Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

June 2-3 July 28-29 Aug-11 Aug-25 Sep-15

Preliminary Round Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

UNDER 15 BOYS TIER 1

Preliminary Round Tournament Round

May 26-27 June 9-10 Ontario Summer Games August 16-19

UNDER 16 BOYS TIER 1

Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

July 7-8 Aug-11 Aug-26 Sep-08

UNDER 17 BOYS TIER 1

Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

UNDER 18 BOYS

First Round Second Round Third Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

UNDER 21 WOMEN First Round Second Round Third Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

UNDER 12 GIRLS

May 26-27 June 16-17 Aug-11 Aug-25 Sep-08

July 14-15 Aug-12 Aug-26 Sep-09

UNDER 14 BOYS

Preliminary Round Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

June 2-3 June 23-24 Aug-11 Aug-25 Sep-08

Preliminary Round Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

UNDER 15 BOYS TIER 2 Preliminary Round Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

Jun-23 Jul-07 Aug-11 Aug-25 Sep-15

UNDER 16 BOYS TIER 2

Second Round Third Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

Jun-23 Jul-07 Aug-11 Aug-26 Sep-16

UNDER 17 BOYS TIER 2

Second Round Third Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

UNDER 18 GIRLS

Jun-09 Jun-23 Jul-07 Jul-14 Jul-28 Jul-29

First Round Second Round Third Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

Jun-09 Jun-23 Jul-07 Jul-14 Jul-28 Jul-29

Extra Round Preliminary Round First Round Second Round Third Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

MEN

UNDER 13 BOYS

June 2-3 July 28-29 Aug-11 Aug-25 Sep-15

Jun-24 Jul-08 Aug-12 Aug-26 Sep-16

UNDER 14 GIRLS

May 26-27 June 16-17 Aug-11 Aug-25 Sep-15

2012 Ontario Cup Schedule

Preliminary Round Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

June 2-3 June 23-24 Aug-11 Aug-25 Sep-09

UNDER 15 GIRLS Preliminary Round Tournament Round

May 26-27 June 9-10 Ontario Summer Games Aug 16-19

UNDER 16 GIRLS

Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

UNDER 17 GIRLS

Tournament Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

UNDER 21 MEN

Jun-09 Jun-23 Jul-07 Jul-14 Jul-28 Jul-29

First Round Second Round Third Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

May-13 May-27 Jun-10 Jun-24 Jul-08 Aug-12 Aug-26 Sep-16

Preliminary Round First Round Second Round Third Round Quarter Final Round Semi Final Round Cup Final

WOMEN

July 7-8 Aug-11 Aug-25 Sep-08

July 14-15 Aug-12 Aug-26 Sep-09

Jun-09 Jun-23 Jul-07 Jul-14 Jul-28 Jul-29 May-27 Jun-10 Jun-24 Jul-08 Aug-12 Aug-26 Sep-09

For More Information Please Visit: www.ontariosoccer.net

3 February/March 2012

2012

CANADIAN TOURNAMENT GUIDE

MARCH March 7: CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal – TFC vs. LA Galaxy Where: The Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario Canada Contact: Toronto FC Website: www.torontofc.ca March 10 – 11: 22nd Annual Ontario Futsal Club Championships Where: RIM Park in Waterloo, Ontario Contact: Bob Luft Tel: (519) 631–8262, Fax: (519) 631–8262 Email: r.luft@sympatico.com Website: www.ontariofutsal.on.ca Additional Information: Boys/Men Open U11 – U18, Girls/Women Open U11 – U18, entry fee $350 per men’s team, $325 for all other teams, 3 games guaranteed.

March 12 – March 16: Ajax FC March Break Mini Soccer Tournament Where: Durham Indoor Soccer Centre, 1289 Terwillegar Ave, Oshawa ON, L1J 7A4 Contact: Jason Pearson, Ajax Soccer Club Tel: (905) 683-0740 Fax: (605) 683-7197 Email:scheduler@ajaxsoccerclub.ca Website: www.ajaxsoccerclub.ca Additional Information: Mini Soccer Level

5 Club, Mini Soccer Level 6 Club, Mini Soccer Level 7 Club, Mini Soccer level 5 All-Star, Mini Soccer Level 6 All-Star, Mini Soccer Level 7 All-Star, entry fee $300, Boys U9 – U10, Girls U9 – U10.

March 12 – 16: OSA March Break Meltdown – 11 v 11 Where: Ontario Soccer Association, 7601 Martin Grove Road, Vaughan, L4L 9E4 Contact: Robyn McComb Tel: (905) 264-9390 Fax: (905) 264-9445 Email: rmccomb@soccer.on.ca Website: www.ontariosoccer.net Additional Information: Inter-District, Indoor club teams, entry fee $420, 32 teams expected, boys U13 – U16, girls U13 – U16.

APRIL April 6 – 8: Western Canada Soccer Showcase Where: Burnaby Lake Sports Complex West in Burnaby, BC. Contact: Ciara McCormack Email: westerncanadasoccershowcase@ gmail.com Website: www.westerncanadashowcase. com Additional Information: The # 1 girls college showcase event in Canada for the past 4 years

April 14 – 15: NUSC Spring Friendlies - Boys Where: Niagara United Soccer Club, P.O. Box 652 Niagara Falls, Ontario L2E-6V5 Contact: Robert Lewis Tel: (905) 358-3632 Email: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer.ca Website: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer.ca Additional Information: Inter Provincial, Competitive Club teams, U11 – U15 Boys, 16 teams, entry fee $325, entry deadline March 1.

April 16 – 17: Trent University Boys Showcase Where: 1600 West Bank Dr., Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8 Contact: Marco Latin Tel: (905) 728-1023 Email: marco_latin@sympatico.ca Website: www.trentu.ca/athletics Additional Information: age categories: boys U16 + U17, inter-district, entry fee $650, 8 teams.

April 21 – 22: NUSC Spring Friendlies - Girls Where: Niagara United Soccer Club, P.O. Box 652 Niagara Falls, Ontario L2E-6V5 Contact: Robert Lewis Tel: (905) 358-3632 Email: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer.ca Website: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer.ca Additional Information: Inter Provincial, continued overleaf…

ISM T&C Guide 19

Competitive Club teams, U15 – U18 Girls, 16 teams, entry fee $325, entry deadline March 14.

April 22: Good Friday Men’s Tournament at The Soccer Centre Where: Woodbridge ON, The Soccer Centre Contact: David Gee or Melissa McKinnon Tel: (905) 264-9404, Fax: (905) 264-9665 Email: david@dgsports.ca, Website: www.dgsports.ca, Additional Information: Inter-District, men open for Indoor competitive and recreational teams, 36 teams expected, entry fee $400.

April 22: Kick 4 The Cure Where: Scarborough Soccer Centre, 45 Fairfax Cres, Scarborough, ON M1L 1Z6 Contact: Jace Prohaska, Tournament Organizer Tel: (416) 285-8002 EXT 27 Fax: (416) 759-9875, Email: kick4thecure@gmail.com Website: www.kick4thecure.ca Additional Information: Inter-Provincial for women open age, 16 indoor Club teams.

April 27 – April 29: The OSA Annual General Meeting and Soccer 12 Conference.

April 27 – 29: OYSL University/ College Showcase Where: OSA Soccer Centre, Vaughan, Ontario.

Contact: Gerry Gentile Tel: (905) 470-5870 Fax: (905) 477-9799 Email: oysl.admin@oyslsoccer.com Website: www.oyslsoccer.com Additional Information: Under 16 and Under 17. The event is only open to Under 16 and Under 17 Boys and Girls teams who are returning from the 2011 OYSL Season. There will be a “fair” setup where University/Colleges will have the opportunity to promote their school.

April 28 - 29: NUSC Spring Friendlies - Girls Where: Niagara United Soccer Club, P.O. Box 652 Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6V5 Contact: Robert Lewis Tel: (905) 358-3632 Email: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer.ca 20 ISM T&C Guide

Website: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer.ca Additional Information: Inter Provincial, Competitive Club teams, U11 – U14 Boys, 16 teams, entry fee $325, entry deadline March 14.

MAY May 5: NUSC Spring Friendlies - Girls Where: Niagara United Soccer Club, P.O. Box 652 Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6V5 Contact: Robert Lewis Tel: (905) 358-3632 Email: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer.ca Website: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer.ca Additional Information: Inter Provincial, Competitive Club teams, U9 – U10 Girls, 16 teams, entry fee $325, entry deadline March 19.

Soccer Club, P.O. Box 652 Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6V5 Contact: Robert Lewis Tel: (905) 358-3632 Email: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer.ca Website: friendlies@niagaraunitedsoccer. ca Additional Information: Inter Provincial, Competitive Club teams, U9 – U10 Boys, 16 teams, entry fee $325, entry deadline March 19.

May 5 – 6: 2012 Frank Sobil Spring Classic Girls Where: Oshawa Kicks S.C., 66 Russet Ave., unit #17, Oshawa, ON L1G 2R5, Contact: Wendy Cates Tel: (905) 429-2424, Fax: (905) 429 2421 Email: tournament@oshawakicks.com, Website: www.oshawakicks.com, Additional Information: North American and Inter-District Mini and Provincial for girls, U9 play 7v7, U10 play 7v7, U11 play 9v9 or 11v11, U12 - U18 play 11v11, 3 games guaranteed, 400 teams expected, entry fee $350 to $400.

See Advertisement

May 5 – 6: 9th Annual Tillsonburg F.C. Pre -Season and Masters Tournament Where: Tillsonburg Soccer Park 275 Quarterline Road, Tillsonburg, ON N4G 4H5 Contact: Geza Reval Tel: (519) 582-2772 Email: tillsonburgfc@gmail.com Website: www.tillsonburgsoccer.ca Additional Information: Competitive and Peterborough Recreational Club teams entry fee $300, entry City deadline April 13.

May 5 - 6: Trent University Girls Showcase Where: 1600 West Bank Dr., Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8 Contact: Joe Muldoon Tel: (905) 728-1023 Email: jmuldoon@trentu.ca Website: www.trentu.ca/ athletics Additional Information: Age Youth Level 1 League Club, Youth Level 2 League Club, Youth Level 3 League Club, entry fee $700, 12 teams.

May 6: NUSC Spring Friendlies - Boys Where: Niagara United

continued overleaf…

Girls Challenge

Peterborough City Boys Challenge

June 2 - 3, 2012

June 16 - 17, 2012

Inter-District Competitive Girls U10 - U18 Entry Deadline: May 19, 2012 3 Games Guaranteed

Inter-District Competitive Boys U10 - U18 Entry Deadline: June 2, 2012 3 Games Guaranteed

Contact:

Contact:

Peter Vanwensem Tel: (705) 743-5671 Email: pcvan@sympatico.ca

Peter Vanwensem Tel: (705) 743-5671 Email: pcvan@sympatico.ca

www.pcsasoccer.com

www.pcsasoccer.com

See Tournament Listing

See Tournament Listing

May 12 - 13, Ontario Youth Soccer League opening weekend, Mississauga, Ontario May 12 – 13: Frank Sobil Spring Classic Boys Where: Oshawa Kicks S.C., 66 Russet Ave., unit #17, Oshawa, ON L1G 2R5 Contact: Wendy Cates Tel: (905) 429-2424, Fax: (905) 429-2421 Email: tournament@oshawakicks.com, Website: www.oshawakicks.com, Additional Information: Inter-District Mini U9 play 7v7, Provincial boys U11 play 9v9 or 11v11, U12-U18 play 11v11, 3 games guaranteed, 500 teams expected, entry fee $350 to $400.

May 12 – 13: West Niagara

Invitational Soccer Tournament – Boys Where: PO Box 426, Beamsville, ON, L0R 1B0 Contact: Laura Fisher Email: gownist@gmail.com Website: www.lincolnsoccerclub.ca Additional Information: Youth Level 1 League Club, Youth Level 2 League Club, Youth Level 3 League Club, Youth Level 4 League Club, Youth Level 5 League Club, entry fee $375, 375 teams, Boys U11 – U18 Competitive.

May 12 – 13: West Niagara Invitational Soccer Tournament – Girls Where: PO Box 426, Beamsville, ON, L0R 1B0

Contact: Laura Fisher Email: gownist@gmail.com Website: www.lincolnsoccerclub.ca Additional Information: Mini Soccer Level 6 Club, Mini Soccer Level 7 Club, Mini Soccer Level 6 All-Star, Mini Soccer Level 7 All-Star, entry fee $320, 500 teams expected, U9 – U10 Girls.

May 18: Stormfront 2012 Where: 78 Centennial Road Unit 8, Orangeville, L9W 1P9 Contact: Kris Deshais and Pat Leonard Email: office@orangevilleminorsoccer.ca Website: www.orangevilleminorsoccer.ca Additional Information: Inter-District, Boys U11 – U16, Girls U11 – U16, entry fee $375, 125 teams

You are invited to the 10th Annual

FRANK SOBIL SPRING CLASSIC 2012 Girls  Tournament  :  May  5th  &  6th  Boys  Tournament  :  May  12th  &  13th Be  a  part  of  Â

 Boys and Girls U9 to U18, offering divisional play in most age groups 3 games guaranteed U9-U11 mini -$350.00 U11-U18 Full Field $400.00 Register  NOW  online  www.oshawakicks.com Â

                    Oshawa  Kicks  Soccer  Club Â

                       212  King  St  West,  Oshawa,  ON,  L1J  2J2        tournament@oshawakicks.com                   905.429.2424 Â

ISM T&C Guide 21

May 18 - 21: Stormfront 2012 Where: 78 Centennial Road Unit 8, Orangeville, L9W 1P9 Contact: Kris Deshais and Pat Leonard Tel: (519) 941–2517 Fax: (519) 941-0100 Email: office@orangevilleminorsoccer.ca Website: www.orangevilleminorsoccer.ca Additional Information: Inter-District, Boys U9 – U10, Girls U9 – U10, entry fee $375, 60 teams May 18 – 20: Ajax FC College Showcase Tournament Where: Ajax Soccer Club, Ajax Ontario.

Contact: Jason Pearson Tel: (905) 683-0740 ext 222 Fax: (905) 683-7197 Email: scheduler@ajaxsoccerclub.ca Website: www.ajaxfc.com Additional Information: U16 and 17 Boys, entry fee $800. For more information please visit the website. Three games guaranteed, trophies to champions and finalists, gift bags for all other teams, and fun family activity.

See Advertisement May 18 – 21: Umbro Challenge Cup Where: South Surrey, BC Contact: South Fraser Fc Tel: (604) 541-1533 Email: kiddsontherock@shaw.ca Website: www.southfraserfc.com Additional Information: U11-U18 Boys and Girls, Entry fee - $400, entry deadline – May 1.

Boys & Girls U9 to U18 3 game minimum Fee: $350 (U9 to U11) $375 Deadline: June 1, 2012

22 ISM T&C Guide

May 19 – 21: UMBRO Top Rated Showcase Where: Dixie Mississauga S.C., 400 Matheson Blvd., East, Unit #17, Mississauga, ON L4Z 1N8 Contact: Joe Moscato Tel: (905) 609-1089 Email: jmoscato@ umbrotopratedshowcase.com Website: www.umbrotopratedshowcase. com, Additional Information: North American competitive boys and girls U15-U18, 100 teams expected, entry deadline March 16 May 19 – 21: 29th Annual Mississauga International Soccer Tournament Where: Mississauga Soccer Club, 3413 Wolfedale Rd., Unit #15, Mississauga, ON L5C 1V8 Contact: Peter Misseri Tel: (905) 896-4786, Fax: (905) 896-7005, Email: info@mississaugasoccerclub.com, Website: www.mississaugasoccerclub. com, Additional Information: Inter-District boys and girls U8 -10, International boys and girls U11- U18, U19, U20, U21 men and women open, over 250 teams expected, entry deadline May 13, entry fee $375.

May 26 – 27: Middlesex United Invitational - Competitive Where: 24115 Aberdeen Road, Strathroy, ON N7G 3H3 Contact: Sharlene Milliken

Tel: (519) 246-1533 Email: milli1@rogers.com Website: www.middlesexunited.com Additional Information: Inter-District competitive boys and girls U11-U18, men and women open, 100 teams expected, entry deadline May 14, entry fee 325.

May 26 – 27: COVI Soccer Tournament Where: 75 Lady Fenyrose Avenue, Vaughan, ON, L6A 0E6 Contact: Cindy Furfaro-Benning, Tournament Chair Marta DeLorenzo Tel: (905) 850-8679 Fax: (905) 738-7196 Email: covi@rogers.com Website: www.eteamz.com/covi Additional Information: Inter-District boys and girls, Boys U9 – U10, Girls U9 – U10, entry fee $350, entry deadline April 30, 100 teams expected.

May 26 – 27: West Rouge Challenge Where: 513 East Ave., Toronto, ON M1C 2X1 Contact: Nick Kassermelli Tel: (416) 281-3989 Additional Information: Inter-District, Mini/Youth, Boys and Girls U9 – U12 $375, Girls U13/14 and U15/U16 $375, Boys U13/U14 and U15/U16 $425.

May 26 - 27: The 18th Girls Annual Icebreaker Where: Ottawa Internationals S.C., 1237 continued overleaf…

Join us for our

(U12 to U18)

Annual Competitive Team Tournament

Newmarket Street, Unit #7, Ottawa, ON K1B 5N6, Contact: George Bennett Tel: (613) 237-1890, Email: gbennett8606@rogers.com, Website: icebreaker@ottawasoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District Mini girls U10-U11, North American girls U12-U18, entry deadline April 20, 224 teams expected, entry fee $400/425.

JUNE June 1 - 3: 9th Annual Barrie Subway Spiritfest Where: Barrie Soccer Club, Barrie Ontario.

Contact: Kim Nicholl Tel: (705) 739-7844 Fax: (705) 739-3534 Email: info@barriesoccer.com Website: www.barriesoccer.com Additional Information: U9 – U18 Boys and Girls, 3 games guaranteed, entry deadline May 11, 3 games guaranteed.

For more information please visit the website.

See Advertisement

June 2 – 3: Middlesex United Invitational - Recreational Where: 24115 Aberdeen Road, Strathroy, ON N7G 3H3 Contact: Sharlene Milliken Tel: (519) 246-1533 Email: milli1@rogers.com Email: www. middlesexunited.com Additional Information: Inter-District recreational boys and girls U11-U18, men and women open, 100 teams expected, entry deadline May 18, entry fee $300 - $350.

June 2 - 3: Kingston Outdoor Senior Soccer Tournament Where: Greater Kingston Senior S.A, 25 Fawn Brook Drive, Elginburg, ON K0H 1M0, Contact: Abel Almeida Tel: (613) 353-2052 Email: abel@ sousareadymix.ca Website: www.kingstonsoccertournament.com -– Additional Information: Inter-Provincial Recreational and Competitive, men and women open, men over 35, female over 30, entry fee $350.

June 2 - 3: The 18th Boys Annual Icebreaker Where: Ottawa Internationals S.C., 1237 Newmarket Street, unit #7, Ottawa, ON K1B 5N6, Contact: George Bennett Tel: (613) 745-7400, Email: icebreaker@ ottawasoccer.com Website: www.ottawasoccer.com/ icebreaker Additional Information: Inter-Provincial boys U10 + U11, North American boys U12-U18, entry deadline April 20, 184 teams expected, entry fee $400/$450.

June 2 – 3: Peterborough City Girls Challenge Where: 556 Garbutt Terrace, Peterborough ON, K9H 7S9 Contact: Peter Vanwensem Tel: (705) 743 - 5671 Email: pcvan@sympatico.ca Website: www.pcsasoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District competitive girls U10-U18, entry deadline May 19, 80 teams expected, entry fee $325/$350. continued overleaf…

34thEDITION Annual 35th

LESCOSMOSDEGRANBY

INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL SOCCER PHANEUF SOCCER JEAN-YVES JEAN-YVES PHANEUF OF GRANBY OF GRANBY

August 31, September 2, 3, 2012 September 2 - 5,1, 2011 in Granby, Qc., Canada, International Soccer Jean-Yves Phaneuf of Granby (Labor Day) Contact: Johnny Phaneuf, day and evening (450) - 372-0914, Fax: (450) -777-6072, email: arsrycos@granby.net Web: granbyinternationalsoccer.com Male and Female: U-12 to U-16, Entry fee: $340 to $360 Can.

Registration DeadlineisisAugust July 27, Registration deadline 1, 2012 2011 For more information call Jean-Yves (Johnny) Phaneuf, Tel: (450) 372-0914 or Fax: (450) 777-6072

www.granbyinternationalsoccer.com E-mail: arsrycos@granby.net Tournament sanctioned by the FQSF

24 ISM T&C Guide

AU GRAND BAZAR

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t

I S T

CATÉGORIES DE U-8 À U-18 FILLES ET GARÇONS TOURNOI COMPÉTITIF SAUF POUR LA CATÉGORIE U-8

P ’  .-.  : @-. 25 February/March 2012

See Advertisement June 2 - 3: Unionville Milliken Challenge Cup Where: Unionville Milliken Soccer Club, 7700 Kennedy Road Unionville, ON L3R 9S5 Contact: Unionville Milliken Soccer Club Tel: (905) 477-5425 Fax: (905) 477-6772 Email: info@u-msc.com Website: www.u-msc.com Additional Information: Inter-district U9 to Adult (U9/U10 – Mini), Competitive Club Teams, entry deadline May 6, early bird rebate deadline April 29, entry fee $350, early bird fee $325. Minimum 3 games guaranteed and awards for champions and finalists.

See Advertisement June 8 – 12: Ancaster Heritage Days Tournament Where: Ancaster S.C., 314 Wilson St. East, Ancaster, ON l9G 2B9 Contact: Alain Theroux

Tel: (905) 304-1491 Email: events@ancastersoccer.com Website: www.ancastersoccer.com/ heritage Additional Information: Inter-District Mini for boys and girls U8,U9, U10, competitive and recreational for U11-U18, entry deadline May 20, 280 teams expected.

June 9 – 10: Collingwood United Invitational Where: 328 First St., Unit 200, Collingwood, ON L9Y 1B4 Contact: Annette Schneider, Tel: (705) 446-1550 Fax: (705) 446-0321 Email: cusc.tournament@gmail.com Website: www.collingwoodusc.ca Additional Information: Inter-District Mini boys and girls U9-U10, Competitive U11-U15, entry deadline May 1, 90 teams expected, entry fee $400.

June 9 - 10: OSU Mini Girls Nike

4th AnnuAl BARRIE All StAR ChAllEngE AuguSt 24, 25, & 26, 2012

Select and All Star Teams Welcome GUARANTEED 3 GAMES Over 60 Teams Attended in 2011 For more information on registration please visit www.barriesoccer.com or email info@barriesoccer.com

U10-U18 Boys and Girls Presented by the Barrie Soccer Club OSA Sanctioned 26 ISM T&C Guide

Challenge Cup Where: Ottawa South United SC, P.O. Box 362 Manotick, ON K4M 1A4.

Contact: Jim Lianos Tel: (613) 692-4179, ext. 111 Email: osugm@osu.ca Website: www.osusoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District and Inter-Provincial Girls U9, U10, U11, entry deadline May 6, entry fee $395.

June 9 - 10: Friendship Tournament Where: Nepean, 6-200 Colonnade Rd. South, Nepean, Ontario, K2E 7M1.

Contact: David Holder Tel: (613) 723-5762 Fax: (613) 224-9731 Email: info@hotspurs.ca Website: www.hotspurs.on.ca Additional Information: Boys U9, U10, U11, Boys and Girls U12-U18. Entry Fee - $350/$410. Entry deadline – May 12, 2012.

June 15 – 17: 8th Annual Lake Simcoe continued overleaf…

9th AnnuAl BArrie SuBwAy

SPiritFeSt June

1, 2, & 3, 2012 Entry Deadline: Friday May 11, 2012 GUARANTEED 3 GAMES Over 160 Teams U9-U18 Attended in 2011 Boys and Girls For more information on registration please visit www.barriesoccer.com or email info@barriesoccer.com

Presented by the Barrie Soccer Club OSA Sanctioned

Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê

The OSU Force Academy is proud to announce the 2012 Edition of the Junior and Senior College Showcase of Champions.

The Showcase of Champions in partnership with the Dallas Texans Soccer Club ( #1 Ranked US Club) and Nike , the worlds most respected sports brand would like to cordially invite your team to participate in the Annual Showcase of Champions soccer tournament which takes place from Friday August 3rd to Monday August 6th, 2012 in Canada's Capital; Ottawa.

The Showcase of Champions was created to provide student athletes with an event to showcase their talents in front of USA and Canadian College and University coaches. The competition and a large number of scouts in attendance, makes this an exciting opportunity to help players demonstrate their soccer abilities and to establish contacts with university/college coaches and recruiters.

Tournament Dates Aug. 3 – Aug. 6, 2012Ê

The Showcase of Champions will host both a Junior Showcase (U13 & U14 ) and a Senior Showcase (U15, U16 & U17 ) for both Boys and Girls. We expect top teams & clubs from across Canada and the US to participate in our tournament.

This is an International tournament, open to Canadian, US and International teams.

4 day format – 3 game minimum One game per day  Preliminary games played Fri. Aug. 3 – Sun. Aug.5  Finals will be played on Monday, Aug.6  

The Showcase will be offered to top Boys and Girls teams in Canada and the US.

    



Junior Showcase – Registration fee is $625 Can.  U13 & U14 ( born in 1999 & 1998 )



Senior Showcase – Registration fee is $775 Can.  U15,U16,U17( born in 1997,1996,1995)

Jim Lianos Tournament Director 613- 692-4179 ext.111 613-692-0489 jim.lianos@collegesoccershowcase.ca

 Level of Play:

- US - State Cup, League champions - Ontario - OYSL (level 1), Regional (Level 3 ) - Quebec - AA & AAA teams - Other Provincial / Regional level teams from across Canada - International teams

27 February/March 2012

Top rated facilities Top teams from Canada and the US Athletic trainers on site Coaches reception College Coaches from Canada and the US

Ê

Register on line at www.collegesoccershowcase.ca

Boys Rep Tournament Where: Lake Simcoe S.C., 24795 Woodbine Ave., Unit 2, Keswick, ON L4P 3E9 Contact: Grant Mayo, Tel: (905) 476-4283 Email: lssc@lakesimcoesoccer.com Website: www.lakesimcoesoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District for boys U8-U9 Mini, and U11-U18 Competitive, 90 teams, entry deadline June 1, entry fee $375.

June 16 – 17: Peterborough City Challenge Boys Where: 556 Garbutt Terrace, Peterborough ON, K9H 7S9 Contact: Peter Vanwensem Tel: (705) 743 - 5671 Email: pcvan@sympatico.ca Website: www.pcsasoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District competitive boys U10-U18, entry deadline June 2, 96 teams expected, 3 games guaranteed entry fee $325/$350.

See Advertisement June 22 – 24: 8th Annual King Classic Where: King City S.C., 14 Curran Crt, King City, ON L7B 1B4 Contact: Kevin Tierney, Tel: (905) 833-0127 Email: info@kingcityroyals.com Website: www.kingcityyouthsoccer.com Additional information: Inter-District Mini and Recreational boys and girls U9 U10, and U11 - U18, entry deadline June 8, 32 teams expected, entry fee $275.

June 23: The ‘Robbie’ Mini Soccer Festival Where: Scarborough Soccer Center, 45 Fairfax Crescent, Scarborough, ON M1L 1Z6 Contact: Julia Prohaska, Tournament Chair Micheal Ellis, Tel: (416) 285-8002, ext 27 Fax: (416) 759-9875 Email: robbieminifestival@hotmail.com Website: www.robbiesoccertournament. com Additional Information: Inter-District for boys and girls U8 and U9, 32 teams, entry deadline June 1, entry fee $250.

June 23 – 24: Rexdale Rebels Cup Where: 925 Albion Road, unite 301, Etobicoke, ON Contact: Ilario Barale Tel: (416) 745-1078 28 ISM T&C Guide

Email: ISOCER62@gmail.com Website: www.rexdalesoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District Mini boys and girls U9-U12, entry deadline May 23, 48 teams expected, entry fee $300.

June 23 – 24: 36th Soccerfest For Girls and Women Where: St. Thomas S.C., 71 South Valerie St., St. Thomas, ON N5R 1B1 Contact: Carmen Luft, Tel: (519) 631-5852 Fax: (519) 631-8262 Email: r.luft@sympatico.ca Website: www.stthomassoccer.com Additional Information: North American Competitive girls U11-U18, and women open, 80 teams, entry deadline May 28, entry fee $350.

June 23 – 24: Whitby Iroquois Cup Where: Whitby Iroquois S.C., 685 Rossland Rd. West, Whitby, ON L1R 2P2 Contact: Giselle Donaldson Tel: (905) 668-2009 Fax: (905) 666-2431 Email: tournaments@whitbysoccer.com Website: www.whitbysoccer.com Additional Information: InterDistrict Mini boys and girls U9 – U11, competitive U12-U18, entry deadline June 1st, 200 teams expected, entry fee $375.

See Advertisement June 30 – July 1: 36th International Soccerfest For Boys Where: St. Thomas S.C., 71 South Valerie St., St. Thomas, ON N5R 1B1 Contact: Carmen Luft, Tel: (519) 631-5852 Fax: (519) 631-8262 Email: r.luft@sympatico.ca Website: www. stthomassoccer.com Additional Information: North American Competitive for boys U11- U18, entry deadline May 28, 80 teams expected, entry fee $350.

June 30 – July 2: The 46th Annual ‘Robbie’ International Tournament Where: Scarborough Soccer Center, 45 Fairfax Crescent, Scarborough, ON M1L 1Z6 Contact: Julia Prohaska, Tournament Chair Micheal Ellis Tel: (416) 285-8002, ext 27 Fax: (416) 759-9875 Email: admin.robbiesoccertournament.

com Website: www.robbiesoccertournament. com Additional Information: Inter-District Mini boys and girls U10, 50 teams expected, International. Competitive for boys and girls U11-U18, Club teams only, 250 teams expected. Proceeds from the tournament go to Cystic Fibrosis. Minimum of three games, package for each participant including crest and program, individual trophies for Champions and Runners-up, team keeper trophy. Campus accommodation is available, for travel packages contact The Robbie tour agent: CSTT Sports Management International, 246 Waterloo St., London, ON N6B 2N4, at: (519) 4336677 or 1 (800) 304-6346, fax: (519) 4337040, email: sports@sport-travel.com, www.sport-travel.com.

June 30 – July 2: Kelowna Canada Day Where: Kelowna, BC Contact: Rutland Youth Soccer Association Tel: (250) 491-7879 Email: rysmail@shaw.ca Website: www.rutlandyouthsoccer.com Additional Information: U11-U18 Boys and Girls, Entry fee - $450, entry deadline – May 31.

JULY July 6 – 8: Giddy Up Cup Where: Calgary Alberta Contact: Calgary Minor Soccer Association Website: www.calgaryminorsoccer.com Additional Information: Come to Alberta and enjoy the World Famous Calgary Stampede at the foot of the beautiful Rocky Mountains! Tournament is open to ALL Girls and Boys U14 - U18 in Tier I, II and III. Cost is $525.00 per team. Entry Deadline June 15.

See Advertisement July 7 – 8: Cambridge Annual Heritage Tournament Where: ComDev Soccer Park 745 Fountain St. N., Cambridge, ON N3H 4R7.

Contact: Derek Bridgman, Tournament continued overleaf…

CALGARY’S PREMIER SOCCER TOURNAMENT! JULY 6-8, 2012 Come to Alberta and enjoy the World Famous Calgary Stampede at the foot of the beautiful Rocky Mountains! _____________________________________________________________________________________ Friday June 15 Wednesday June 27 Monday July 2 Friday July 6 Sunday July 8

Team Entry Deadline Schedules Available Team Rosters Due Opening Ceremonies Tournament Ends

Ê

REGISTER TODAY!

Ê

Open To Girls And Boys U14-U18 In Tiers I, III And III. Cost Is $525.00 Per Team For More Information go to www.calgaryminorsoccer. com See “Giddy Up Cup Promo” on YouTube! Ê Ê

Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê

2012 CMSA COACHES CONFERENCE Ê

“The Complete Athlete” Ê

April 14 and 15 SAIT Polytechnic Campus 301-16 Avenue NW, Calgary, Alberta Registration is now open to all Coaches! $25 includes ALL field and classroom sessions, participant packages, lunches and coffee for the entire weekend!

Sessions will feature expert clinicians discussing “The Complete Athlete”- physical, technical, emotional, lifestyle and safety. Don’t miss the soccer exhibition hall!

Sheldon Kennedy, Co-founder, Respect Group Inc. • Tony Waiters, Founder World of Soccer • Wayne McNeil, Co-Founder, Respect Group Inc. • Dave Clarke • Kelly Anne Erdman • Clare Fewster • Laurie Fisher • Barry Morrison • Matt Thomas • Jim Loughlin• Shaun Lowther

Ê

Ê

For more information about the clinicians and how to register, please visit www.calgaryminorsoccer.com

Director David Boyce Tel: (519) 653-6800 Fax: (519) 653-7892 Email: clubhouse@cysoccer.ca Website: www.cambridgeyouthsoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District Mini boys and girls U8, U9, U10, recreational boys and girls U12, U14, U16, U18, competitive boys and girls U11 – U18, 204 teams, entry fee $350.

July 7 – 8: Cataraqui Clippers Girls’ Ambassador Cup Where: Cataraqui Clippers SC P.O.Box 20034, Kingston, ON K7K 2T6 Contact: John Nador Tel: (613) 384-6196 Email: ambassadorcupchair@ clipperssoccer.com Website: www.clipperssoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District Mini U8 - U11, North American competitive U12-U18, entry deadline June 1, 128 teams expected, entry fee $350/$400.

30 ISM T&C Guide

July 7 – 9: Mississauga Canadian Cup, Canada¹s International Youth Soccer Tournament Where: Tournament Time, 110 Lynedock Crescent, Toronto, ON M3A 2B1 Contact: Executive Director Bert Lobo Tel: (416) 416-846-4866 Email: info@mississaugacanadiancup.com Website: www.mississaugacanadiancup. com Additional Information: International boys and girls U11-U18, U21 men and women, entry deadline May 15 , 120 teams expected.

July 13 – 15: Georgetown All Star Tournament Where: 427 Delrex Blvd., Georgetown, ON L7G 4J1 Contact: Dave Foster Tel: (905) 877-2649 Fax: (905) 877-5323 Email: dfoster@utilitysecurity.on.ca Website: www.georgetownsoccerclub. com – Additional Information: InterDistrict mini boys and girls U9, U10, entry deadline July 2, 90 teams expected, entry fee $350.

July 14: 13th Annual Mini Soccer Tournament Where: St. Thomas S.C., 71 South Valerie St., St. Thomas, ON N5R 1B1 Contact: Carmen Luft, Tel: (519) 631-5852 Fax: (519) 631-8262 Email: r.luft@sympatico.ca Website: www.stthomassoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District mini boys and girls U9, U10, entry deadline June 15, 60 teams expected, entry fee $175.

July 14 – 15: OSU Mini Boys Nike Challenge Cup Where: Ottawa South United SC, P.O. Box 362 Manotick, ON K4M 1A4.

Contact: Jim Lianos Tel: (613) 692-4179, ext. 111 Email: osugm@osu.ca Website: www.osusoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District and Inter-Provincial Boys U9, U10, U11, entry deadline May 6, entry fee $395.

continued overleaf…

NSC_2012_Inside_Soccer_Tournament_Magazine_FullPage_Outline.pdf 1 21/01/2012 11:51:22 AM

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30 February/March 2012

July 14 – 15: Peterborough City Annual Mini Cup Where: 556 Garbutt Terrace, Peterborough ON K9H 7S9 Contact: Peter Vanwensem Tel: (705) 743 - 5671 Email: pcvan@sympatico.ca Website: www.pcsasoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District competitive boys and girls mixed, U7-U9, 3 games guaranteed, entry deadline June 30, 48 teams expected, entry fee $300.

See Advertisement

The Thornhill Soccer Club is pleased to invite you to participate in our 26th Annual

Challenge Cup Tournament August 18th and 19th, 2012 Open to Level 3, 4, 5, and 6 teams Ages U11 to U18 and

Select/All-Star teams/Competitive Ages U9 to U10 and

Recreational/Competitive teams Open Age (including U21) and, new this year

U-08 team Festival Entry fee $375.00 Entry deadline July 24th, 2012 Early bird discount $350 if received by June 1st, 2012 For more information or an application form call 905.881.8599 or visit our web site at

www.thornhillsoccer.com

E-mail: herb_schranz@lycos.com

July 21 – 22: Kickin’ It On The Moraine Where: Oak Ridges Soccer Club, P.O. Box 2025, Richmond Hill, ON L4E 1A3 Contact: Giancarlo Tripodo, Tournament Chair Christine Schwarze Tel: (905) 313-8920 Fax: (905) 313-8919 Email: clubmanager@orsc.ca Website: www.orsc.ca Additional Information: Inter-District boys and girls competitive U11 – U14, 64 teams expected, entry deadline June 29, entry fee $375.

See Advertisement July 21 – 22: Cataraqui Clippers Boys’ Ambassador Cup Where: Cataraqui Clippers S.C., P.O. Box 20034, Kingston, ON K7P 2T6 Contact: John Nador, Tournament Director Hugh Daechsel Tel: (613) 384-6196 Email: ambassadorcupchair@clipperssoccer.com Website: www.clipperssoccer.com Additional Information: InterDistrict mini boys U8 - U11, North American competitive boys U12-U18, entry deadline June 15, 128 teams expected, entry fee $350/$400.

July 21 - 23: 21st Select Tournament For Boys Where: St. Thomas S.C., 71 South Valerie St., St. Thomas, ON N5R 1B1 Contact: Carmen Luft, Tel: (519) 631-5852 Fax: (519) 631-8262 Email: r.luft@sympatico.ca Website: www.stthomassoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District Recreational boys U11-U18, Club and Select teams, 80 teams expected, entry fee $325.

July 21 – 22: Ajax FC Boys and Girls All-Star Tournament Where: Ajax Soccer Club, 77 Centennial Road, Ajax ON L1S 4S4 Contact: Jason Pearson Tel: (905) 683-0740 ext 222 Fax: (905) 683-7197 Email: scheduler@ajaxsoccerclub.ca Website: www.ajaxfc.com Additional Information: Boys U9 – U18, Girls U9 – U18, entry fee $350, entry deadline June 22. For more information please visit the website. Three games guaranteed, trophies to champions and finalists, gift bags for all other teams, and fun family activity.

See Advertisement continued overleaf…

32 ISM T&C Guide

AJAX FC 2012

TO U R N A M E N T S C H E D U L E

AJAX FC BOYS & GIRLS ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT

COLLEGE SHOWCASE TOURNAMENT

Dates: May 18th, 19th and 20th Location: Ajax, ON Contact: Jason Pearson Address: 77 Centennial Rd., Ajax, ON. L1S 4S4 Phone: 905.683.0740 ext 222 Fax: 905.683.7197 Web: www.ajaxfc.ca E-mail: scheduler@ajaxsoccerclub.ca Entry Fee: $800.00 Ages: U16 Boys, U17 Boys

Dates: July 21st and 22nd, Location: Ajax, ON Contact: Jason Pearson Address: 77 Centennial Rd., Ajax, ON. L1S 4S4 Phone: 905.683.0740 ext 222 Fax: 905.683.7197 Web: www.ajaxfc.ca E-mail: scheduler@ajaxsoccerclub.ca Entry Fee: $350.00 Ages: Male U9 to U18, Female U9 to U18 Deadline: June 22, 2012

AJAX FC BOYS & GIRLS COMPETITIVE TOURNAMENT

Dates: September 1st, 2nd and 3rd Location: Ajax, ON Contact: Jason Pearson Address: 77 Centennial Rd., Ajax, ON. L1S 4S4 Phone: 905.683-0740 ext 222 Fax: 905.683.7197 Web: www.ajaxfc.ca E-mail: scheduler@ajaxsoccerclub.ca Entry Fee: $350.00 Ages: Male U9 to U12, Female U9 to U12 Deadline: August 3, 2012.

REGISTER TODAY! REGISTRATION FORMS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.AJAXFC .C A THREE GAMES GUARANTEED TROPHIES TO CHAMPIONS & FINALISTS 3 REFEREES GUARANTEE AND HIGH C ALIBRE COMPETITION

W W W. A J A X F C . C A

7 7 C E N T E N N I A L R D. , A J A X

905.683.0740

July 28 – 29: 21st Select Tournament For Girls Where: St. Thomas S.C., 71 South Valerie St., St. Thomas, ON N5R 1B1 Contact: Carmen Luft, Tel: (519) 631-5852 Fax: (519) 631-8262 Email: r.luft@sympatico.ca Website: www.stthomassoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District Recreational girls U11-U18, Club and Select teams, 80 teams expected, entry fee $325.

July 28 – 29: 28th James Canuel Memorial Tournament Where: Conlon Farm Sports Facilities, 335 Ebert Road, RR1,, Perth Contact: Shannon Gent Tel: (613) 264-1240 Email: sgent@ripnet.com Website: www.pusc.ca/content/ canuel-tournament Additional Information: men open, over 35, women open, mixed over 35, 34 teams, entry deadline June 24, entry fee $275.

AUGUST

August 3 – 5: 27th Challenge Brossard Soccer Tournament Where: P.O. Box 92027, Brossard, QC J4W 3K8 Tel: (416) 500-4347 Email: challenge@soccer-brossard.com Website: www.soccer-brossard.com Additional Information: boys U8-U16 and U18, girls U9-U16, U18, entry deadline May 13 for U11 to U18, June 13 for U8 to U10, in 1995 and in 1998, the Quebec Soccer Federation named Challenge Brossard the Best Soccer event in the Province of Quebec, in 1997 the Brossard Soccer Association was the Host Club for the Canadian ClubChampionship in category U19, 10 minutes drive from downtown Montreal, on the South Shore, 238 teams from the USA, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec participated in 2007, register on the Website, using the MS Word or pdf document.

See Advertisement

Contact: Tournament Director Jim Lianos Tel: (613) 692-4179. ext. 111, Fax: (613) 692-0489 Email: jim.lianos@ collegesoccershowcase.ca Website: www.collegesoccershowcase.ca Additional Information: Junior Showcase – U13, U14, Male and Female, entry fee $625. Senior Showcase – U15, U16, U17, Male and Female, entry fee $775.

See Advertisement August 4 – 6: Westside Summer Heat Where: West Kelowna, BC Contact: Westside Youth Soccer Association Tel: (250) 707-0203 Email: wssoccer@shaw.ca Website: www.wysa.ca Additional Information: U11-U15 Boys and Girls, Entry fee - $400, entry deadline – July 15. This year’s tournament will offer U11, U12, U13, U14, U15 and U16 age groups for both boys and girls Metro/Select, Gold, Silver and Bronze level teams.

August 3 - 6: College Showcase of Champions Where: Box 151, Manotick, ON K4M 1A4

Presents

Peterborough Mark Foster Memorial Tournament August 11 - 12, 2012

The Richmond Hill Challenge Cup

When: September 14th to 16th, 2012 Where: Richmond Hill, Ontario Ages: U9 to U18

www.richmondhillsoccer.com A great way to wrap up the summer!

34 ISM T&C Guide

Inter-District Recreational Male Open and Over 35 Women Open Entry Deadline: July 25, 2012 Contact:

continued overleaf…

Peterborough Mini Challenge Cup July 14 - 15, 2012 Inter-District Competitive Boys and Girls U7 - U9 Entry Deadline: June 30, 2012 3 Games Guaranteed Contact:

Peter Vanwensem Tel: (705) 743-5671 Email: pcvan@sympatico.ca

Peter Vanwensem Tel: (705) 743-5671 Email: pcvan@sympatico.ca

www.pcsasoccer.com

www.pcsasoccer.com

See Tournament Listing

See Tournament Listing

WOODBRIDGE SOCCER CLUB JOIN US IN 2012

WOODBRIDGE CLASSIC Boys and Girls September 22 - 23, 2012 U9 - U10 $350 U11 - U18 $375 Deadline: September 1, 2012

Teams Guaranteed 3 high quality games Travel permit required for teams outside of district.

International teams require travel permission.

Sanctioned By:

Tournament Headquarters and registration at Vaughan Grove Soccer Complex in Woodbridge.

Home of the Woodbridge Strikers Please call our office for more information.

905 851 4496

www.wscstrikers.com

August 10 – 12: 33rd Annual Mario Robitaille National Soccer Tournament Where: C.P. 670, Granby, Quebec, J2G 8W7 Contact: Mario Robitaille, President Tel:(514) 863-5436 Fax: (450) 378-4053 Email: info@tournoimariorobitaille.com Website: www.tournoimariorobitaille. com Additional Information: recreational, House League, All-Star House League and Inter-City boys and girls, U5 and U8 play festival format, U9 to U11 play tournament format, guaranteed 3 games, entry deadline July 9.

August 10 -12: 4th Annual North Bay Challenge Cup Where: 259 Landsdown Ave., North Bay, ON P1B 6Y3 Contact: Frank Nucara Tel: (705) 495-6671 Email: frank.nucara@hotmail.com Website: www.selectsoccerclub.com Additional Information: Inter-District competitive boys and girls U11-U16, entry deadline July 11, 48 teams expected, entry fee $275.

August 10 – 12: Brantford Soccer Classic Where: Brantford Galaxy Youth SC, 67 Edith Monture Ave., Brantford, ON N3T 6N1 Contact: Shawn Burtnick Tel: (519) 753-0776.

Fax: (519) 753-3817 Email: brantfordsoccerclassic@rogers. com Website: www.brantfordsoccerclassic. com, Additional Information: Inter-District boys and girls U11, U12, U13, NorthAmerican Competitive U12, U13, entry deadline July 17, 60 teams expected, entry fee $375.

August 11 – 12: Heart of York Summer Classic Where: Newmarket S.C. 611 Steven Court, Unit 4, Newmarket, ON, L3Y 6Z3 Contact: Lucille Abate Tel: (905) 836-8761 Fax: (905) 836-9473 Email: president@newmarketsoccer.com 36 ISM T&C Guide

Website: www.newmarketsoccer.com Additional Information: North American boys and girls mini U9 and U10, competitive club teams U8 – U18, entry deadline July 6 2012, 170 teams expected, entry fee $395.

See Advertisement

Tel: (613) 277-4946 Email: kltc@ottawaroyals.com Website: www.ottawaroyals.com Additional Information: Inter-Provincial mini boys U9-11, competitive boys U12-17, entry deadline July 10, 72 teams expected, entry fee $400 - $425.

August 11 – 12: 16th Annual Cameron Memorial Where: Centennial Park, Quinte West S.C., P.O. Box 22002, Trenton, ON K8V 6S3 Contact: Nikki Larry Tel: (613) 965-6283 Fax: 613-965-5743 Email: qwsctourney@cogeco.ca Website: www.quintewestsoccerclub.com Additional Information: Inter-Provincial mini boys and girls U8 - U11, competitive U12-U18, entry deadline July 8, 150 teams expected, entry fee $325/350.

August 17 – 19: Brantford Soccer Classic Where: Brantford Galaxy Youth SC, 67 Edith Monture Ave., Brantford, ON N3T 6N1 Contact: Shawn Burtnick Tel: (519) 753-0776 Fax: (519) 753-3817 Email: brantfordsoccerclassic@rogers. com Website: www.brantfordsoccerclassic. com, Additional Information: Inter-District mini boys and girls U9 and U10, InterDistrict U14 – 18, entry deadline July 22, 115 teams expected, entry fee $300.

August 11 – 12: GIST 2012 - Girls MINI Where: Gloucester Soccer Association, 6148 Vineyard Dr., Ottawa, ON K1C 2N6 Contact: Cindy Cornfield, Tournament Chair Amy Ferguson Tel: (613) 837-7015 Fax: (613) 837-6798 Email: hornets@magma.ca Website: www.gloucesterhornets.ca/ Events Additional Information: Inter-District Mini girls U10 and U11, North American Competitive U12-U18, women open, 180 teams, entry deadline July 10, 152 teams expected, entry fee $375/$425.

August 11 – 12: Mark Forster Memorial Where: Peterborough City Soccer Association, 556 Garbutt Terrace, Peterborough, ON K9H 7S9 Contact: Peter VanWensem Tel: (705) 743-5671 Fax: (705) 743-5671 Email: pcvan@sympatico.ca Website: www.pcsoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District Recreational, male open and over 35, women open, entry deadline July 24, 48 teams expected, entry fee $350 See Advertisement August 11 – 12: Kickin’ in the Capital - Boys Where: Ottawa Royals Soccer Club, 10 Windbrook Cr., Kanata, ON K2M 1L4 Contact: Jeff Mullen-Dennis

August 18 – 19: 26th Annual Thornhill Challenge Cup Where: 2400 John St., Thornhill, ON L3T 6G6 Contact: Herb Schranz or Mike Kehoe Tel: (905) 881-8599 Fax: (905) 881-1836 Email: herb_schranz@lycos.com Website: www.thornhillsoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-district Mini boys and girls 08 (festival format) and 09 – U10, Inter-Provincial boys and girls U11 – U18, and recreational/ competitive teams men and women U21, open, entry deadline July 31, 175 teams expected.

See Advertisement August 24 – 26: 4th Annual Barrie All Star Challenge Where: Barrie Soccer Club, Barrie Ontario.

Contact: Kim Nicholl Tel: (705) 739-7844 Fax: (705) 739-3534 Email: info@barriesoccer.com Website: www.barriesoccer.com Additional Information: U10 – U18 Boys and Girls, 3 games guaranteed, select and all star teams welcome, 3 games guaranteed. For more information please visit the website.

See Advertisement continued overleaf…

36 February/March 2012

August 25 - 26: Unionville Milliken All Star/Select Tournament Where: Unionville Milliken Soccer Club, 7700 Kennedy Road Unionville, ON L3R 9S5 Contact: Unionville Milliken Soccer Club Tel: (905) 477-5425 Fax: (905) 477-6772 Email: info@u-msc.com Website: www.u-msc.com Additional Information: Inter-district U9 to Adult (U9/U10 – Mini), Recreational club league/all star teams, entry deadline August 3, early bird rebate deadline July 22, entry fee $350, early bird fee $325.

Minimum 3 games guaranteed and awards for champions and finalists.

See Advertisement August 31 – September 3: 35th Annual International of Soccer Jean-Yves Phaneuf of Granby Tournament Where: 433 St-Hubert, Granby, Quebec J2G 5P1 Contact: Jean-Yves (Johnny) Phaneuf Tel: day or evening: (450) 372-0914 Fax: (450) 777-6072 Email: arsrycos@granby.net Website: www.granbyinternationalsoccer.com Additional Information: level A, AA, AAA, regional, inter-regional, provincial teams (L.S.E.Q.) and Regional Select teams (F.S.Q), boys and girls U12-U16, best soccer event in the Province of Quebec, team registration on Friday night September 3rd at the Envolee School, entry deadline August 1.

See Advertisement

SEPTEMBER September 1 – 2: Festitalia Soccer Tournament Where: 9 Dallas Ave., Hamilton, ON L8V 2E2 Contact: Mary Cavalluzzo, Tournament Chair Nicole Young Tel: (905) 318-1933 Fax: (905) 318-8699 Email: mcavalluzzo@mhysc.org Website: www.mhysc.org Additional Information: Inter-District boys and girls U8, U9, U10, North American competitive U11-18, entry deadline August 19, 120 teams expected, entry teams $325.

38 ISM T&C Guide

September 1 – 2: 49th Annual Croation National Soccer Federation Tournament Where: Joe Sam’s Park, 752 Centre Rd., Waterdown, ON L0R 2H1, Hamilton Croation Contact: Ivan Rados, Tournament Chair Ante Culina Tel: (905) 662-8333 Email: ivan.rados@hamiltoncroatio.com Additional Information: North American competitive men open, over 35, women open, 40 teams.

September 8 – 9: Kickin’ in the Capital – Girls Where: Ottawa Royals Soccer Club, 10 Windbrook Cr., Kanata, ON K2M 1L4 Contact: Jeff Mullen-Dennis Tel: (613) 277-4946 Email: kltc@ottawaroyals.com Website: www.ottawaroyals.com Additional Information: Inter-Provincial mini girls U9-11, competitive Girls U12-17, entry deadline July 10, 72 teams expected, entry fee $400 - $425.

September 1 – 3: Ajax FC Boys and Girls Competitive Tournament Where: Ajax Soccer Club, 77 Centennial Road, Ajax Ontario, L1S 4S4 Contact: Jason Pearson Tel: (905) 683-0740 ext 222 Fax: (905) 683-7197 Email: scheduler@ajaxsoccerclub.ca Website: www.ajaxfc.com Additional Information: Boys U9 – U12, Girls U9 – U12, entry fee $350, entry deadline August 3. For more information please visit the website. Three games guaranteed, trophies to champions and finalists, gift bags for all other teams, and fun family activity.

See Advertisement

September 14 – 16: Richmond Hill Challenge Cup Where: Richmond Hill S.C., 10660 Yonge St., P.O. Box 30553, Richmond Hill, ON L4C OC9 Contact: Jan Cass Tel: (905) 883-4990, ext 114 Fax: (905) 883-4141 Email: jan@richmondhillsoccer.com Website: www.richmondhillsoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District mini boys and girls U8, U9, U10, North American competitive U9-18, entry deadline August 24, 150 teams expected, entry fee $375.

See Advertisement

September 7 – 9: St. Catharines Grape & Wine Youth Cup Where: Concord Soccer Club, 16 Melbourne St., St. Catharines, ON L2P 3J8 Tel: (905) 988-5682 Fax: (905) 988-9879 Email: concordsoccerclub@bellnet.ca Website: www.concordsoccerclub.ca Additional Information: Inter-District Boys U11 – U17 North American competitive and recreational boys U11-U17, entry deadline August 15, 150 teams expected, entry fee $350.

See Advertisement September 7 – 9: 8th Annual Lake Simcoe Girls Rep Tournament Where: Lake Simcoe S.C., 24795 Woodbine Ave., Unit 2, Keswick, ON L4P 3E9 Contact: Grant Mayo Tel: (905) 476-4283 Email: lssc@lakesimcoesoccer.com Website: www.lakesimcoesoccer.com Additional Information: Inter-District for girls U11-U18 Competitive, 90 teams, entry deadline August 1, entry fee $375.

September 22 – 23: Woodbridge Classic Where: Woodbridge Soccer Club, 7401 Martingrove Rd. Woodbridge, ON L4L 8V3 Contact: Frank Scarlata, Tournament Chair – Pino Sacco Tel: (905) 851-4496 Fax: (905) 851-6761 Email: wstrickers@bellnet.ca Website: www.strikers.com Additional Information: Inter-district boys and girls U9 – U10, Competitive U11 – U 18, entry fee $350 - $375, entry deadline September 1, teams guaranteed 3 high quality games.

See Advertisement

BOOk YOUR AD IN

INSIDESOCCER

TODAY!

Contact Branden Clark by email at branden@insidesoccer.ca or by phone at (905) 833-1973.

Unionville Milliken Soccer Club

2012 Tournaments

Challenge Cup

All-Star/Select

June 2 & 3, 2012

August 25 & 26, 2012

Jurisdiction: Inter District

Jurisdiction: Inter District

Age Groups: U9 to Adult (U9/U10–Mini)

Age Groups: U9 to Adult (U9/U10–Mini)

Level: Competitive Club Teams

Level: Recreational Club League/All Star Teams

Registration Deadline: May 6, 2012

Registration Deadline: August 3, 2012

Early Bird Rebate Deadline: April 29, 2012

Early Bird Rebate Deadline: July 22, 2012

Tournament Fee: $350

Tournament Fee: $350

Early Bird Fee: $325

Early Bird Fee: $325

Minimum of three games are guaranteed. Awards for champions and finalists.

For more details: Tel: (905) 477-KICK (5425) Fax: (905) 477-6772 Email: info@u-msc.com Web: www.u-msc.com

YORK REGION SOCCER ASSOCIATION

Home of 50,000 Registrants to the Great Game of Soccer

Full Service Youth Soccer Clubs Lake Simcoe S.C. Markham S.C. Newmarket S.C. Oak Ridges S.C. Richmond Hill S.C.

Aurora Youth S.C. East Gwillimbury S.C. Glen Shields Futbol Club King United S.C. Kleinburg-Nobleton S.C. Aurora S.C. Mt. Albert Lions S.C. Newmarket & District S.C. Veneto Lions S.C.

Adult Soccer Clubs

Thornhill S.C. Unionville-Milliken S.C. Vaughan S.C. Whitchurch-Stouffville S.C. Woodbridge S.C. Woodbridge Italia YR Hellenics YR Shooters

The YRSA and its Members support the Long-Term Player Development (L.T.P.D.) principles of Coach Development

Effective 2012, all coaches are required to meet the following coaching certification standards: L.T.P.D. Courses Learning to Train (Stage 3) Soccer For Life (Stage 7) Respect in Soccer (RIS) Making Ethical Decisions (MED) Laws of the Game (LOTG)**

YRSL Senior YRSL Youth CGSL/CSL (Level 4 and Level 5) (Level 5) /OYSL OWSL/OSL Boys Girls Boys Girls (L4, L3, L1) Women’s Men’s Men’s U8-U11 U8-U10 U12-U17 U11-U17 U12-U18 U21 - Senior Elite Prem. Div 1

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If you received your Community Coach Certificate prior to September 1st, 2011 – then you will require the certification laid out below:

Former OSA Community Coach Child Diploma Youth Diploma Senior Diploma

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Respect in Soccer (RIS) Laws of the Game (LOTG)** **The Laws of the Game (LOTG) Course is for Coaches of York Region Teams only

For further information please check out our website at www.yrsa.ca

US2012 TOURNAMENT GUIDE APRIL

March 30 - April 1: Emerald Cup Girls Where: Overland Park (Mid-West Region) Contact: Josh Flett Tel: 800 878-2167 Email: jflett@challengersports.com Website: www.challengersports.com/ tournament Additional Information: Last year marked the first year that the Emerald Cup was played over TWO weekends - the last weekend of MARCH for the BOYS and the first weekend in APRIL for the GIRLS. It made for back-to-back weekends of exciting soccer action for some of the top teams from all over the Midwest (and Canada)! In total, nearly 400 teams participated over the two weekends.

Great competition with ALL tournament games being played at the Overland Park Soccer Complex makes this a MUST for all premier teams in 2012. If you are looking for GREAT competition on a GREAT WEEKEND at the FINEST soccer facility in the Midwest, the EMERALD CUP is the event for your team/club. U8-U19.

March 30 – April 1: Southern Soccer Showcase, Girls weekend Where: hosted by Twin City Youth Soccer Association at BB&T Soccer Park, Winston-Salem, NC, Contact: Greg Snipes Tel: (336) 682-1114 Email: tournaments@twincitysoccer.com Website: www.twincitytournaments.com Additional Information: girls U15 - U19, matches scheduled around College Friendlies hosted by Wake Forest Demons Women¹s soccer programs.

The Southern Soccer Showcase is a Got Soccer Platinum event where the best of college and club soccer come together. In conjunction with club matches, the ACC Women’s Soccer

Tournament will be played at BB&T Soccer Park so your team will be playing in front of and along side some of the best college coaches and teams in the nation.

April 20 – 22: 11th Annual Havoc Soccer Tournament Where: Hoover, Alabama, Contact: Justin Sexton Email: jneumann@hooversoccerclub.com Website: www.hooverhavoc.com Additional Information: Hoover Soccer Club has chosen to limit the age groups to U9-U14 in order to offer a truly memorable tournament experience. The tournament will offer competitive and Recreational divisions for both boys and girls teams in the U9-U14 divisions.

April 27 – 29: Challenger Cup Where: Shawnee (Mid-West Region) Contact: Josh Flett Tel: 800 878-2167 Email: jflett@ challengersports.com Website: www.challengersports.com/ tournament Additional Information: Entry Deadline: Friday, March 23, 2012. The Challenger Cup, on April 29 - May 1, 2011, was a great mid-season tournament for lower level premier (DII, III, IV, V) and recreational teams. All other events at this time of year cater to the ‘elite’ premier teams only. However, the Challenger Cup will offer your team(s) the perfect opportunity to prepare for the spring season by playing against other teams of similar ability, so every game will be competitive, fun and CHALLENGING. The Challenger Cup is held at two of the finest soccer facilities in the KC metro area - Stump and Swarner Parks in beautiful Shawnee, KS. These great fields at local venues make the Challenger Cup a must-play mid-season event for your lower level premier or recreational team.

April 28 – April 29: 14th Annual SWSC May Day Classic Where: Saratoga-Wilton Soccer Club (SWYSC), Contact: Melody Holiday Email: mholiday@swysc.net Website: www.swysc.net Additional Information: Boys U8 - U18, Girls U8 - U18, ENYYSA Sanctioned Soccer Tournament for Premiere and International Teams, Application

MAY May 11 – 13, 5th Annual Palm Beach Cup Where: Sponsor Palm Beach Soccer Academy, Palm Beach Florida Contact Gary Walker Email: garywpalmbeachsocceracademy. com Website: www.palmbeachcup.com Additional Information: boys U9 -U18, girls U9 - U18, Application Deadline: 04/01/2011 May 19 – 20: Leawood Soccer Fest Where: Leawood (Mid-West Region) Contact: Josh Flett Tel: 800 878-2167 Email: jflett@challengersports.com Website: www.challengersports.com/ tournament Additional Information: Entry Deadline: Friday, April 20, 2012. An end of season tournament for recreational teams only!!

This is a unique opportunity for your team to play against the recreational teams of other clubs, at one of the finest soccer complexes in the city! U6-U14.

May 19 – 20: Nike Champions Cup Where: Sponsor Florida Rush Soccer, West Orange, Florida Contact: Bill Fisher Email: tournaments@floridarushsoccer.com Website: www.floridarushsoccer.com Additional Information: Boys and Girls continued overleaf…

ISM T&C Guide 41

U8/U9 though U18/19 May 26 – 27: 2012 Kickers Colonial Cup Where: Richmond (East Region) Contact: Tish Schrock Tel: (804) 644.5425 x 304 Email: tschrock@richmondkickers.com Website: www.richmondkickers.com/ tournaments/colonialcup Additional Information: Entry Deadline: Friday, April 20, 2012. Outstanding end of season tournament for Travel (Club) and top level Recreation teams U8 through U19. Fantastic venues and locations, great city to visit and play soccer all in one! Pricing from $360 to $675.00 Boys and Girls teams accepted.

May 26 – 28: Disney’s Memorial Day Soccer Shootout presented by Danimals Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Contact: Michael LeBlanc in Canada Tel: (416) 364-3775 ext. 4217 Email: Michael.leblanc@merit.ca Website: www.espnwwos.disney.

go.com/events/soccer/memorial-daysoccer-shootout Additional Information: Disney’s Memorial Day Soccer Shootout includes: Professionally maintained fields, minimum 3-game guarantee in a round robin format, certified referees, athletic trainers on-site, ice water at each field, Adidas game ball provided to each team, awards presented to 1st-4th place teams for groups of 7 or more teams, 1st & 2nd for groups of 6 or fewer teams. U9-U10 $450, U11-U12 $550, U13-U18 $750.

Entry Deadline April 15, 2012.

May 26 - 28: NSC CUP Where: Blaine (Mid-West Region) Contact: Jen Een Tel: (763) 717-3235 Email: jeen@nscsports.org Additional Information: Entry Deadline: Friday, May 4, 2012. Come and play in the Premier Memorial Day Soccer Tournament in the Midwest over Memorial Day Weekend. U9 through U19 Boys and Girls.

May 26 – 28: The 37th Annual Virginian Soccer Tournament Where: Northern Virginia Contact: Valerie DiBenedetto Email: vtdepd@soccertournament.com Website: www.soccertournament.com Additional Information: age categories: boys and girls U9 - U19. Now In its 37th year, the Virginian Soccer Tournament is one of the largest on the East coast with over 600 teams participating from 28 US states and as far as Canada and Germany. Four games are guaranteed for all teams. We offer a College Showcase with great fields, attended by 100+ collegiate coaches, 4 levels of competition, incredible awards, player profile book, festival division for U9 - 10, certified athletic trainers, The Virginian has a reputation for being one of the most professionally run tournaments in the country and offers a chance to enjoy a great soccer experience just minutes from Washington DC. The Virginian is a Class I tournament and is open to USYSA FIFA affiliated club/league teams and is continued overleaf…

Our tournament attracts some of the finest boys and girls u8-u19 soccer teams from across the northeast and Canada.

• Every team is guaranteed at least 3 games.

• Games are played on high quality, well groomed fields.

• Saturday night “Family Fun Festival” including dinner, entertainment and fireworks.

• This is considered a “friendly noncompetitive” tournament for ages U8-U10.

Don’t miss it, register your team today!

Additional information or questions may be directed to Gary Pollock /Kim Vogt at cobrasoccer2009@yahoo.com

Visit our website at:

www.cobrasfc.org 42 ISM T&C Guide

UP YOUR GAME with Merit Sports at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida

© Disney

Disney Soccer Acadamy

Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament

Jun 18–21 & 25–28, 2012

Jul 16–21, 2012

Join us for the 2nd annual 4-Day Instructional Camp at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex featuring appearances by professional English Premier League Players: Craig Bellamy of Liverpool, Paul Robinson of Blackburn Rovers and Aaron Hughes of Fulham.*

Take on the world! The Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament has attracted teams from more than 20 countries for 13 years and continues to grow. The Disney Cup offers young athletes and their families a once in a lifetime tournament travel experience.

Registration for the 4-day session

8 nights

$390

Departures: Jun 17, 24, 2012

per child

$769

Departs: Jul 14, 2012

quad

Includes:

Includes:

• Daily on-field instruction on the world-class fields of ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort • Appearances by professional English Premier League players • Event t-shirt • Athlete gift • Daily lunch

• 8-nights accommodation at Disney’s Pop Century Resort • 4-day Magic Your Way theme park ticket with Park Hopper® and Water Park Fun • Admission to the Opening Celebration • Team registration into the Disney Cup • Admission to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex • Transportation to and from ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex • Disney’s Magical Express • Special Participant or Coach Gift • RBC Classic Medical Insurance policy • Merit Sports Travel On-Site Assistance • Complimentary airport transportation

*Please note players are subject to change.

© Disney

For more information, contact your Merit Sports Travel representative: Michael LeBlanc | 855.226.9233 | michael.leblanc@merit.ca meritsportstravel.com

42US$,February/March 2012 per person, land only. Flights not included. Please contact us for details. ON–4499356/4499372

InsideSOCCER 42

| BC–33127/34799/34798 | QC–7002238 | 200–111 Peter Street, Toronto, ON M5V 2H1 | Canadian owned

an approved tournament of the Virginia Youth Soccer Association affiliated with USYSC, USSF, and FIFA. Teams play a minimum of four (4) games. In addition to individual trophies for Champions and Finalists, Champions will receive a special t-shirt marking their team’s achievement.

May 26 – 28: 36th Annual Columbia Invitational Memorial Tournament Where: Columbia Invitational 401 Center Street Suite 205 Mount Airy, MD 21771 Contact: Megan Schmidt Tel: (240) 925-4855 Email: mschmidt@elitetournaments.com Website: www.elitetournaments.com Additional Information: age categories: boys and girls U9 to U19.

May 26 – 28: Adidas Warrior Soccer Classic Where: Dayton Oh (Midwest Region) Contact: Carol Maas Tel: (937) 233-7958 Fax: (937) 235-1872 Email: carolmsoccer@aol.com Website: www.warriorsoccerclassic.com Additional Information: age categories: boys and girls U8 - U19, adult men and women, entry deadline March 20, entry fee $595.

May 26 – 29: 20th Annual Memorial Day Classic Where: (sponsor) Amherst Soccer Club/ Hampshire Football Club Contact: Lisa Davidson, Email: tournament@amherstsoccerclub. com Website: www.amherstsoccerclub. com Additional Information: boys U8 - U18, Girls U8 - U18

JUNE June 16 – 17: Kalamazoo Invitational Soccer Showcase (KISS) for Boys Where: Kalamazoo Soccer Complex, 901 South Drake Road, United States, 49009, Contact: Alan Maxwell Tel: (517) 367-3266 Email: kisstournament@aol.com Website: www.kisstournament.com Additional Information: Number of Guaranteed Games: 3, Top competitors — 250 premier/elite teams expected from around the country, Registration Deadline: April 30, 2012, Cost Per 44 ISM T&C Guide

Team: $600 - Number of Spots: 250 Teams, 186 Colleges from 27 states have participated. You wont find a better overall combination of quality competition, referees, fields, organization and college exposure, except at a select few platinum level events! KISS is open to all elite/premier level teams including USYSA, US Club Soccer, Super Y League and ODP teams and Canadian clubs.

June 23 - 24: Kalamazoo Invitational Soccer Showcase (KISS) for Girls Where: Kalamazoo Soccer Complex, 901 South Drake Road, United States, 49009, Contact: Alan Maxwell Tel: (517) 367-3266 Email: kisstournament@aol.com Website: www.kisstournament.com Additional Information: Number of Guaranteed Games: 3, Top competitors — 250 premier/elite teams expected from around the country, Registration Deadline: May 7, 2012, Cost Per Team: $600 - Number of Spots: 250 Teams, 186 Colleges from 27 states have participated. You wont find a better overall combination of quality competition, referees, fields, organization and college exposure, except at a select few platinum level events! KISS is open to all elite/premier level teams including USYSA, US Club Soccer, Super Y League and ODP teams and Canadian clubs.

June 23 – 25: San Diego Pegasus Cup Where: San Diego, California.

Contact: Raffi Ruotolo Email: ruotolo@pegasuscup.com Website: www.pegasuscup.com Additional Information: This year’s tournament will be the most competitive we have had, commitment to participate has been received by the many top Southern California Clubs. Over 400 teams will participate, making the Pegasus Cup one of the largest tournament in the Country. International teams will come to Experience the Cup and to join us in what many describe one of the best, most organized and fun tournament around. The Pegasus Cup will be held on June 23,24,25, for the U8 to U13 age groups and June 30, July 1,2, 2012, for the U14 to U19 age groups.

All preliminary games will be played on

Saturday and Sunday, some Quarterfinal games and Semifinal games will be played on Sunday afternoon. Finals will be on Monday with the latest game played at 4pm. The tournament deadline is May 18th, 2012. All applications received after the deadline will be placed on a waiting list.

June 30 – July 1: HSBC 2012 NPSL Tournament Where: Sponsor Niagara Pioneer Soccer Club, Youngstown, NY Website: www.niagarapioneer. demosphere.com Additional Information: boys U10 - U19, Girls U10 - U19

JULY July 13 - 15: 22nd Annual Cobras FC Summer Classic Where: Total Sports Experience 880 Elmgrove Road, Rochester NY 14624 Contact: Kim Vogt Email: cobrasoccer2009@yahoo.com Website: www.cobrasfc.org Additional Information: Our tournament attracts some of the finest Boys and Girls U8-U19 soccer teams from across the northeast and Canada resulting in a solid competitive tournament. Every team is guaranteed at least 3 games. Games are played on high quality, well groomed fields. Saturday night “Family Fun Festival” including dinner, entertainment and fireworks. This is considered a “friendly non-competitive” tournament for ages U8-U10.

See Advertisement July 13 - 15: Schwan¹s USA CUP Weekend Where: 1700 105th Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55449, USA Contact: Colleen Bourdon Tel: (800) 535-4730 Cellular 1-800-535-4730 Fax: (763) 785-5699, Email: market@usacup.org Website: www.usacup.org Canadian Contact: For more information in Canada contact Canadian Agent Bert Lobo Tel: (416) 578-4909 toll free: 1-866-358-1899 continued overleaf…

44 February/March 2012

InsideSOCCER 44

Fax: (416) 441-1757 Email: info@tournamenttime.com Additional Information: Please visit website for the application form, age categories: boys and girls U9 through U19. Visit the website for fees and housing options.

With over 450 US and International teams competing, Schwan’s USA Cup Weekend offers a unique international competition in a weekend format.

The youth player can experience the world in Minnesota. An Olympic style environment is created, with every match played at the National Sports Center campus. Schwan’s USA Cup Weekend offers the best in customer service and experience fulfillment.

Competing at Schwan’s USA Cup Weekend gives the youth soccer player memories that will last a lifetime.

See Advertisement July 16 - 21: Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Contact: Michael LeBlanc in Canada Tel: (416) 364-3775 ext. 4217 Email: Michael.leblanc@merit.ca Website: www.espnwwos.disney. go.com/events/soccer/disney-cupyouth-soccer-tournament Additional Information: Take on the world! The Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament has attracted teams from more than 20 countries for 13 years and continues to grow. This event offers your team the opportunity to compete at world-class facilities while also enjoying everything the Walt Disney World® Resort has to offer. The Disney Cup offers young athletes and their families a once in a lifetime tournament travel experience. From professional event organization and legendary Disney guest service to the world-class facilities at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, teams can expect the very best. A Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament features: Professional tournament organization and service, all games played at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, minimum 4-game guarantee with no more than one (1) game per day, allowing plenty of time to visit the Walt Disney World® 46 ISM T&C Guide

Theme Parks with family and friends, specially-priced packages for athletes, coaches and spectators include hotel accommodations, theme park tickets, transportation and admission to all tournament games, opening party for all teams, certified referees, athletic trainers on-site, ice water at each field awards presented to 1st-4th place teams for groups of 7 or more teams, 1st & 2nd for groups of 6 or fewer teams, ESPN Coaches Fundraising Kit. See Advertisement July 17 - 21: 2012 Schwan’s USA Cup Where: 1700 105th Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55449, USA Contact: Colleen Bourdon Tel: (800) 535-4730 Cellular 1-800-535-4730 Fax: (763) 785-5699, Email: market@usacup.org Website: www.usacup.org Canadian Contact: For more information in Canada contact Canadian Agent Bert Lobo Tel: (416) 578-4909 Toll free: 1-866-358-1899 Fax: (416) 441-1757 Email: info@tournamenttime.com Additional Information: Please visit website: www.usacup.org for the application form, age categories: boys and girls, U9 to U17, and U19, U9 - U10 is a jamboree-style event, U11 through U19, two tiered format: Gold flight and Silver flight, premier sites, over 50 fields in one location, 14,000 players, 400 games played daily. Constant activity on over 700 acres with Olympicstyle ceremonies and over two dozen activities and clinics. College coaches recruiting, International competition, and many soccer related activities, U9+10 US$240 team fee + $50 player fee, U11+U12 US$290 team fee + $50 player fee, U13 - U19 US$380 team fee + $50 per player fee, US$150 housing deposit if choosing College Dormitory or School room, player fee based on housing option.

See Advertisement July 28 - 30: San Diego Surf Cup XXXII Where: San Diego Surf Cup Office, 3101 La Costa Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92009 Contact: Mike Connerley, Tel: (760) 944-7176 Fax: (760) 944-4256

Email: scoffice@surfcup.com Website: www.surfcup.com Additional Information: age categories: boys and girls U16 to U18. The San Diego Surf Cup continues to be the summer showcase for youth soccer’s Best of the Best after 32 years! Surf Cup draws the attentions of thousands of spectators year attracted nearly 400 college coaches and scouts in 2011. There’s no better place to play and be recognized!

And with the beautiful summer weather in San Diego and a whole host of vacation activities from amusement parks to beaches you can’t go wrong attending the Surf Cup! Applications go live January 25th, 2012!

AUGUST August 4 – 6: San Diego Surf Cup XXXII Where: San Diego Surf Cup Office, 3101 La Costa Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92009 Contact: Mike Connerley, Tel: (760) 944-7176 Fax: (760) 944-4256 Email: scoffice@surfcup.com Website: www.surfcup.com Additional Information: age categories: boys and girls U10 – U15. The San Diego Surf Cup continues to be the summer showcase for youth soccer’s Best of the Best after 32 years! Surf Cup draws the attentions of thousands of spectators year attracted nearly 400 college coaches and scouts in 2011. There’s no better place to play and be recognized!

And with the beautiful summer weather in San Diego and a whole host of vacation activities from amusement parks to beaches you can’t go wrong attending the Surf Cup! Applications go live January 25th, 2012!

August 11 – 12: California Cup Where: Anaheim, Southern California, sponsor Anaheim Soccer Association Contact: Amador Nunez Email: tourndirect@anaheimsoccer.org Website: www.e7apps.com/speedweb/ site/index.php?site=CALIFORNIACUP, or www.anaheimsoccer.org.

Additional Information: boys U8 -U19, girls U8 - U19, Anaheim Soccer Club invites you to join us for the Southern California’s longest running Soccer continued overleaf…

46 February/March 2012

InsideSOCCER 38

Tournament. Classification: Class I – Open to all US Youth Soccer State Associations; Super Y league, US Club Soccer, AYSO affiliated Teams. Complete On Line Registration, to include Player Roster, Bracket Information, Game Schedules, and Game Scores On-Line, Including payment of REGISTRATION FEE. Hotels tournament discounts available, 4 Games (guaranteed three (3) games) plus Championship Trophies, Medals to the Champion and Finalist. All games will be played in West Anaheim, Central Orange County, Major tourist attractions; Disney Resort, Disneyland Park, Disney’s California Adventure Park, Downtown Disney Resort , Knott’s Theme Park and Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament are located within 5 minutes of our venues.

Please join us for a great weekend of soccer. The recipe is simple: Great Teams, Great Fields, Great Refs and Great Hosts!

August 11 – 12: Beach 5 Sand Soccer Where: LONG BEACH, New York.

Contact: sponsor Beach 5 Sand Soccer Series Website: www.beach5sandsoccerseries. com Additional Information: boys U8 - U17, Mens Open, Coed Open, Girls U8 - U17, Womens Open, Coed Open, August 17 - 19: Disney’s Pre-Season Soccer Kick Off Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Contact: Michael LeBlanc in Canada Tel: (416) 364-3775 ext. 4217 Email: Michael.leblanc@merit.ca Website: www.espnwwos.disney. go.com/events/soccer/pre-seasonsoccer-kick-off Additional Information: Disney’s Soccer Showcase Qualifier maybe your ticket to the Proving Ground. The top two finishers in each age group at the Qualifier will earn an automatic berth into Disney’s Soccer Showcase (U15-U18) in December, and the winners will be guaranteed a spot in the top flight. All Disney Soccer Tournaments Include: Professionally maintained fields, Minimum 3-game guarantee, certified referees, athletic trainers on-site, ice water at each field, game balls, awards 48 ISM T&C Guide

presented to 1st-4th place teams for Groups of 7 or more teams, 1st & 2nd for groups of 6 or fewer teams August 18 – 19: SYA Cardinal Cup Where: Centreville Virginia Contact: Steve Lovgren Tel: (804) 833-2092 Email: steve@cspsoccer.net Additional Information: Entry Deadline: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 Southwestern Youth Association would like to officially invite you and your teams to the 8th annual Cardinal Cup. We are expecting around 150-200 teams to this year’s event! Last year’s event was tremendous, and building upon our previous success, this year our staff is scheduling more soccer activities during the weekend. Check back often and pay close attention as we post our event schedule soon! TOURNAMENT FEATURES: - U9-U19 1st and 2nd Place awards - No 8:00 am games! - Assigned by quality referee association - Located in Centreville/Clifton Area - Vendors at site with soccer products - Minutes from historical attractions - Veteran tournament management - Field warmup times between games - DOC’s call for special rate and package Priority scheduling for coacheswith 2 teams - Easy online registration with the capability to take credit card August 24 – 26: Genesee Cup Where: Grand Blanc Michigan Contact: Annalisa Van Houten Tel: (248) 863-5440 Email: avanhouten@ameritech.net Additional Information: This will be the 3rd year for this fast growing tournament. Over 150 teams hosted.

Great venues, great competition,with teams from all over Michigan and surrounding states.

August 25 – 26: Bowling Green Fall Soccer Challenge Where: Bowling Green Ohio Contact: Arnold Zirkes Tel: (419) 807-8381 Email: azirkes@juno.com Additional Information: Bowling Green Fall Soccer Challenge August 25-26, 2012 Guaranteed three games All games at “ONE” location Awards for division

champions and finalists* *Except U9 teams will receive participation awards instead Upper and Lower divisions to accommodate everyteam in your club Age Brackets Boys U9(U8), U9, U10, U11, U12, U13, U14/15 Girls U9(U8), U9, U10, U11, U12, U13, U14, U15, U16, U17, U18 & U19 Cost $375 per team (U9 & U10) $400 per team (U11 & U12) $450 per team (U13 - U19) Location Bowling Green, Ohio Application Deadline August 1, 2012 Space Is Limited, So Register EARLY! For more information visit our web-site.

SEPTEMBER September 1 – 2: 2012 Labor Day Endless Summer Soccer Tournament Where: Panama City Beach, Florida.

Contact: sponsor Bay United Soccer Club - Jill Holt Email: busc@comcast.net Website: www.

EndlessSummerSoccer.com Additional Information: boys U6 - U19, girls U6 - U19. Join us for our Labor Day Weekend Endless Summer Soccer Tournament in Panama City Beach and enjoy 3 days of our beautiful white sand beaches, emerald waters, picturesque sunsets and competitive soccer. What more could you want?

September 1 - 3: Disney’s Soccer Showcase Qualifier Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Contact: Michael LeBlanc in Canada Tel: (416) 364-3775 ext. 4217 Email: Michael.leblanc@merit.ca Website: www.espnwwos.disney. go.com/events/soccer/soccer-showcasequalifier Additional Information: Start your season the right way at the Disney’s Pre-Season Soccer Kick-Off. This youth tournament will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and is open to boys and girls U9-U14. Kick-off your season and spend a weekend at the Walt Disney World® Resort!

Disney’s Pre-Season Soccer Kick-Off includes: professionally maintained fields, minimum 3-game guarantee in a round continued overleaf…

robin format, certified referees, athletic trainers on-site, ice water at each field, game balls, awards presented to 1st-4th place teams for Groups of 7 or more teams, 1st & 2nd for groups of 6 or fewer teams, ESPN Coaches Fundraising Kit. September 1 – 3: 4th Annual La Jolla Labor Day Classic Contact: Sponsor La Jolla Soccer - Rose Sanford Email: lajollalaborday@aol.com Website: www.lajollasoccertournaments. org Additional Information: La Jolla Soccer Club, home of the La Jolla IMPACT Competitive program would like to invite your teams to participate in the “4th Annual La Jolla Labor Day Classic”. This is a Class I quality seeded Competitive Soccer Tournament that will be played in beautiful La Jolla, California and surrounding areas; September 1-3, 2012. La Jolla Soccer is offering the least expensive tournament in San Diego County that is open to all USYSA affiliate teams for boys and girls U8-U19. The entry fee for U8-U10 is $550.00 and $575.00 for U11-U19.

September 21 – 23: Force Football Club Invitational Where: Bloomfield Hills Michigan Contact: Annalisa Van Houten Tel: (248) 863-5440 Email: avanhouten@ameritech.net Additional Information: Entry Deadline: Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 NEW DATE: SEPT 21-23, 2012 (FORMERLY LABOR DAY WEEKEND). Over 200 teams from Michigan, Ohio and Canada as well as several different divisions offered.

OCTOBER October 26 – 28: Las Vegas Mayor’s Cup International Tournament Where: Las Vegas, Nevada Contact: In Canada Bert Lobo Tel: (416) 578-4909 Toll free 1-866-358-1899 Email: info@tournamenttime.com Email: info@LVMayorsCup.com Website: www.LVMayorsCup.com Additional Information: PLATINUM for boys and girls U10 - U15, 3 game

guarantee, entry deadline Sept.6 2012, entry fee $580, Canadian teams receive $500 discount, this tournament showcases the world-class fields recently constructed by the City of Las Vegas.

It¹s held during the Best Weather of the Year with highs averaging 72F. Make Las Vegas your Big Trip of the Year.

NOVEMBER November 23 - 25: Disney’s Junior Soccer Showcase Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Contact: Michael LeBlanc in Canada Tel: (416) 364-3775 ext. 4217 Email: Michael.leblanc@merit.ca Website: www.espnwwos.disney. go.com/events/soccer/junior-soccershowcase Additional Information: Disney’s Junior Soccer Showcase offers younger age groups the chance to experience the same great national competition and top-notch tournament organization as their older counterparts in the original Disney’s Soccer Showcase in December.

What a great way to build your team’s resume on their way to the Proving Ground. Disney’s Pre-Season Soccer KickOff includes: professionally maintained fields, minimum 3-game guarantee in a round robin format, certified referees, athletic trainers on-site, ice water at each field, game balls, awards presented to 1st4th place teams for Groups of 7 or more teams, 1st & 2nd for groups of 6 or fewer teams, ESPN Coaches Fundraising Kit.

DECEMBER December 27 - 30: Disney’s Soccer Showcase (Boys) Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Contact: Michael LeBlanc in Canada Tel: (416) 364-3775 ext. 4217 Email: Michael.leblanc@merit.ca Website: www.espnwwos.disney.go.com /events/soccer/soccer-showcase-boys Additional Information: Welcome to the Proving Ground! Disney’s Soccer Showcase is the ultimate place for top clubs to be seen by hundreds of college

coaches looking for great soccer talent.

Rated #1 youth soccer tournament in the U.S. in a Soccer America survey, Disney’s Soccer Showcase gives athletes a chance to shine on one of the biggest stages set for youth soccer in this country.

Disney’s Pre-Season Soccer Kick-Off includes: professionally maintained fields, minimum 3-game guarantee, certified referees, athletic trainers onsite, ice water at each field, game balls, awards presented to 1st-4th place teams for Groups of 7 or more teams, 1st & 2nd for groups of 6 or fewer teams, ESPN Coaches Fundraising Kit. December 31 – January 3, 2013: Disney’s Soccer Showcase (Girls) Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Contact: Michael LeBlanc in Canada Tel: (416) 364-3775 ext. 4217 Email: Michael.leblanc@merit.ca Website: www.espnwwos.disney.go.com /events/soccer/soccer-showcase-girls Additional Information: Welcome to the Proving Ground! Disney’s Soccer Showcase is the ultimate place for top clubs to be seen by hundreds of college coaches looking for great soccer talent.

Rated #1 youth soccer tournament in the U.S. in a Soccer America survey, Disney’s Soccer Showcase club gives athletes a chance to shine on one of the biggest stages set for youth soccer in this country. Disney’s Pre-Season Soccer KickOff includes: professionally maintained fields, minimum 3-game guarantee, certified referees, athletic trainers onsite, ice water at each field, game balls, awards presented to 1st-4th place teams for Groups of 7 or more teams, 1st & 2nd for groups of 6 or fewer teams, ESPN Coaches Fundraising Kit.

BOOk YOUR AD IN

INSIDESOCCER

TODAY!

Contact Branden Clark by email at branden@insidesoccer.ca or by phone at (905) 833-1973.

ISM T&C Guide 49

INTERNATIONAL

2012 TOURNAMENT GUIDE APRIL April 1 - 2: The Easter Cup Where: Haarlem, The Netherlands Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Age Categories: boys U9 - U17, girls 9-13. The Easter Cup (Formerly the Holland Easter Classic) is regarded as Europe’s leading international Easter soccer tournament. Your team is invited to participate in theannual Easter Classic featuring more than 250-300 teams from 12 countries. The tournament features 25 grass fields spread over different locations in the medieval town of Haarlem and it’s surrounding villages.

April 4 - 9: Mediterranean International Cup Where: Spain, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U12 – U19.

In the classification round, the teams are divided into groups of 4. All of them will meet in a round robin series. The two best teams of each group will go to the play-off.

April 7 - 8: Holland Cup – 3rd Addition Where: The Netherlands, Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, Cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours.com Additional Information: International 50 ISM T&C Guide

youth soccer tournament: Holland Cup: “The World of international football”.

Dozens of nationalities and participants from all over the world come together for an international soccer event filled with football and entertainment.

Together they make a journey into the world of international soccer and meet innumerable football friends from other cultures.

April 7 - 9: Blackpool Cup – 18th Edition Where: Blackpool, England, Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours. com Additional Information: Over 160 soccer travel teams from more than 7 different countries will be traveling to Blackpool for Easter Bank Holiday for this exciting international youth soccer tournament.

This lively English entertainment and seaside resort serves as the venue for the Blackpool Cup soccer tournament, one of the best international youth soccer tournaments in England, a great success every single year.

April 9 - 10: Audruicq Tournoi Where: France, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U14 – U18.

Located close to the French port of Calais with easy access to the cosmopolitan cities of Paris and London, this is an ideal Easter venue and tournament. With many different age categories and competition levels, this tournament offers teams from

North America an excellent international experience featuring many French teams from all regions.

April 10 – 13: Trofeo Mediterraneo – 27th Edition Where: Barcelona, Spain, Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours. com Additional Information: Each year, EuroSportring offers a series of international youth soccer tournaments that are all held under the auspices of local soccer club CF Tordera. Not only is the destination an excellent location for youth soccer travel teams, the soccer facilities are also unique: a soccer park between Malgrat de Mar and Lloret de Mar with 9 beautiful grass soccer fields and a view of the sea!

MAY May 27 – 28: Amsterdam Cup Where: Holland, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U9 – U17, Girls U9 – U13. This tournament is operated by the same organization that runs the prestigious Haarlem Cup and Holland Easter Classic. Amidst two of the largest European tournaments and set in the Amsterdam area, this is the perfect venue for those teams looking for an early summer tournament. continued overleaf…

• 850 teams from 45 countries • Denmark’s largest sporting event • The World’s third largest youth soccer tournament • The World’s most international youth tournament with 90% foreign teams • Excellent grass fields in a safe environment • 20,000 participants playing in international groups • Free pick up and drop off at the train, ferry and airport in Northern Jutland • Free buses between the schools, the Dana Cup center and the playing fields • Free Dana Cup event area • Free WiFi in the schools and the center area and much more • Kilometers of beautiful sandy beaches close by • A fantastic organization with top class personal customer service • Memories for the rest of your life Organizer:

Media Partner:

Classes: Boys: B19, B17, B16, B15, B14, B13, B12 (7), B11 (7) Girls: G19, G17, G16, G15, G14, G13, G12 (7) Accommodation is in schools or we can offer upgrade options.

Package tours are also available.

For more information please contact Dana Cup at soccer@danacup.dk Or check out our homepage at www.danacup.com

Download DANA CUP App

iPhone / iPad

Follow Dana Cup on:

Android

50 Cup, February/March Dana Hjørring · P.O.2012 Box 151 · 9800 Hjørring · Denmark · Telephone 9891 1300 · Fax 9891 1614 · e-mail: soccer@danacup.dk inside_soccer_can_2096x2731_dc121 1

09/11/11 12:04:47

JUNE

June 21 - 24: Mytikas Cup – 14th Edition Where: Katerini, Greece. Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours. com Additional Information: Since 1998, the Mytikas Cup international youth soccer tournament has taken place in Pieria, an area at the foot of Mount Olympus, the mount of the 12 Greek Gods in antiquity.

June 25 - 29: Italy Cup – 23rd Edition Where: Rimini, Italy. Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours. com Additional Information: The Italy Cup international youth soccer tournament includes a superb mix of great atmosphere, lovely seaside resorts and exciting international soccer competition.

The harbor town of Cesenatico is a pleasant seaside resort on the Riviera Romagnola, a great travel destination for youth soccer teams.

June 25 - 30: Lisboa Cup – 3rd Edition Where: Portugal, Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours.com Additional Information: In 2012 the Lisboa Cup international youth soccer tournament will take place for the third 52 ISM T&C Guide

time. 2011 was a tremendous success with the international youth soccer teams that traveled to the tournament.

The Lisboa Cup 2012 will have, besides elite Portuguese teams, many other international teams from across the globe.

JULY July 1 - 6: Copa Catalunya – 9th Edition Where: Spain, Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours. com Additional Information: Each year, EuroSportring offers a series of international youth soccer tournaments that are all held under the auspices of CF Tordera.

Not only is the destination excellent for soccer teams to travel to, the soccer facilities are also unique: a sport park between Malgrat de Mar and Lloret de Mar with 9 beautiful grass soccer fields and a view of the sea!

July 2 – 8: Donosti Cup Where: Spain, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U14 – U16, Girls U12 – U17. One of Spain’s best regarded and largest soccer tournaments, the 19th annual Donosti Cup takes place in the stunning northern coastal city of San Sebastian. Expecting about 200 teams representing 29 countries, a strong representation of Spain’s top youth clubs and with a spectacular opening ceremony of 28,000 participants, the Donosti Cup is undoubtedly one of the most exciting summer tournaments offered.

July 3 – 8: Barcelona Cup Where: Spain, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190

Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U11 – U18, Girls U15, Women’s Open. Join us in one of the most hospitable cities in the world to share the passion of soccer at the Barcelona International Cup. Located in the center of Barcelona, this tournament utilizes a variety of grass and turf fields while featuring over 100 teams from all over Europe.

July 3 – 9: San Marino Cup Where: Italy, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U11 – U19, Girls U14 – U19, Women’s Open. The Republic of San Marino is located in central Italy just a short distance to Rimini and the Adriatic coast. The historic town of San Marino can be reached by cable car where your team can take advantage of excellent shopping and catch the changing of the guard ceremony at the Palazzo.

July 5 – July 9: The 19th Annual 2012 Hawaii International Cup Where: Honolulu Hawaii Contact: Honolulu Bulls Soccer Club Email: info@soccerhawaii.com Website: www.soccerhawaii.com Additional Information: Will be held at the waipio soccer complex , 23 beautiful fields and a 4000-seat stadium, this is an ussf/fifa sanctioned tournament for u8, u9, u10, u11, U12, U13, U14, U15, U16, U17, And U19 Girls And Boys Club Teams.

NON-REFUNDABLE TEAM FEE: $575 FOR U-16 THRU U-19, $500 FOR U-11 THRU U-15, $300 FOR U-8 THRU U-10. The 19th Annual Hawaii International Cup Is Shaping Up To Be The Largest Ever. Please Reserve YourSpot As Soon As Possible To Guarantee Your Participation.

July 10 – 14: Tivoli Cup Where: Denmark, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com continued overleaf…

Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U11 – U19, Girls U11 – U17. This fantastic international soccer tournament was created for girls and boys aged 10-20 and features participating teams from 20-25 nations. Some of the countries participating last year included Belgium, Cyprus, Ghana, Holland, Iceland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, United States and Denmark.

July 10 – July 15: The Kanga Cup Where: Canberra, Australia Contact: Capital Football Email: kangacup@capitalfootball.com.au Website: www.kangacup.com Additional Information: Now entering its 21st year, The Kanga Cup International Youth Tournament offers teams a chance to be part of the biggest international youth soccer tournament in the southern hemisphere. The tournament started life in Sydney in 1991, but moved to Canberra two years later, and has since grown into one of the pre-eminent youth soccer tournaments in the South East Asian and Oceania region. Past participants have been from Oceana (Fiji, New Zealand, East Timor and, of course, Australia) Asia (China, Chinese Taipei, Korea, India, Malaysia and Indonesia) Europe (Russia, Georgia, England, Denmark, and Italy), and the US. For an experience you will never forget head ‘Down Under’ for a week of soccer, friendship and fun, including five days of action-packed soccer and social activities including annual opening ceremony, player disco, movie night and much more!

July 10 – 15: Upper Austria Cup Where: Denmark, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U9 – U17, Women Open. This popular tournament in a beautiful Austrian setting will be a real breath of fresh air for soccer enthusiasts! Set in the town of Wels, near Linz, over several days in July, there will be time to enjoy the stunning scenery and mountains of the region as well as

the special local hospitality.

July 16 - 19: Alpen Cup – 18th Edition Where: Austria, Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours. com Additional Information: A warm welcome to Wolfsberg, an excellent destination for international soccer travel teams!

Immediately upon arrival, international soccer tournament participants will realize they are regarded here as esteemed guests. Something the Mayor of Wolfsburg will underline once more in his welcoming speech at city hall.

This sensation will be strengthened further because the organization does everything within its power to offer their international soccer guests a great time.

July 16 – 22: Gothia Cup Where: Scotland, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U11 – U18, Girls U12 – U19. Join Sweden and the rest of the world this summer at what is considered the “World Youth Cup” of international soccer tournaments and where Gothia Cup winners often describe themselves as “world champions”. The atmosphere surrounding the opening of the Gothia Cup is nothing less than electric with 40,000 spectators, all dancing and singing in an Olympic style ceremony.

The city of Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city, is host to this world class event with a variety of activities July 16 – 23: Aberdeen International Football Festival Where: Scotland, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U14 – U16,

Girls U15. The Aberdeen Festival was organized to enable young people from all parts of the world to meet not only on the field of play but during many of the social, cultural and fun events surrounding this true “soccer party”.

Founded in 1981, the festival is held in picturesque Seaton Park and situated within easy walking distance to the center of Aberdeen, which is also known as “The Floral City”.

July 17 - 22: Valencia Cup Where: Spain, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U10 – U19, Girls U16 – Open.

July 21 - 28: Buenos Aires Cup – 2nd Edition Where: Argentina, Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours. com Additional Information: The Buenos Aires Cup is the premier international youth soccer tournament in South America.

Teams from all continents are taking part in the event to measure their skills against local competition from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile.

July 22 - 28: The Great Wall Cup – 2nd Edition Where: Beijing, China. Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.premierinternationaltours. com continued overleaf…

ISM T&C Guide 53

Additional Information: The Great Wall Cup of Beijing is an international youth soccer tournament that will give youth soccer teams and players traveling from all over the world an opportunity to experience China with much more than just the game of soccer itselfThrough the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Beijing gave the world a great impression of passionate people, rich culture and great facilities! With the rapid economic growth, Beijing is always full of opportunities for everyone, including soccer travel teams to take a trip to visit.

July 23 - 27: Denmark Cup Where: Denmark, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U10 – U18, Girls U13 – U16. Cup Denmark is the only cup that guarantees excellent grass fields and most importantly, all the fields are within walking distance of each other!

July 23 – 28: The Dana Cup Where: Hjorring, Denmark.

Contact: For tour information contact Bert Lobo Tel: (416) 578-4909 Email: info@tournamentime.com Email: soccer@danacup.dk Website: www.danacup.com Additional Information: If you have been to Hjorring and taken part In the Dana Cup, you already know why Dana Cup is Denmark’s largest and the world’s most International soccer tournament for youth teams. 850 teams from 45 countries, Denmark¹s largest sports event and the world’s most international youth soccer tournament. Age categories: Boys 11 - 12 (7 a side), 13 - 19 (11 a side), Girls 12 (7 a side), 13 - 19 (11 a side). More than 20,000 participants playing in international groups.

All games played on excellent grass fields in a safe environment. Accommodation in schools or hotels. The popular tournament is hosted by Hjorring, idyllic town situated at the heart of vacation country and just a few miles from the famous beaches of the west coast and many other tourist attractions. Come meet the World!

See Advertisement 54 ISM T&C Guide

July 26 – 29: Manchester International Soccer Festival Where: England, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U12 – U17, Girls U15 – U18, Women’s Open, and Men’s Open. The Manchester Festival is Britain’s largest soccer tournament attracting over 500 teams from 25 nations offering your team the opportunity to compete against international teams and enjoy a memorable stay in this truly great soccer city.

July 29 – August 6: Arsenal International Soccer Festival Where: England, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: U11 – U19 Boys and U14 – U16 Girls. 2012 will mark the 22nd annual tournament at the stunning grounds of the Royal Holloway College and Bedford New College, situated in the picturesque Surrey countryside and central London is 40 minutes away by train.

July 30 – August 5: Norway Cup Where: Norway, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: U13 – U19 Boys and U13 – U19 Girls. The Norway Cup plays host to 1,500 teams from around the world and has become a gigantic success with over 30,000 participants leaving with an unforgettable soccer experience.

The Norway Cup in Oslo caters to youth between the ages of 13-19 years old.

Hosted by BÊkkelagets Sportsklub and Dagbladet, this tournament is in its 36th year in existence and is the largest tournament of its kind in the world with youth from every continent participating

AUGUST

August 2 – 5: Haarlem Cup Where: Holland, Eurotech Soccer Tours Contact: Jim Risher, National Director Eurotech Soccer Tours Tel: 1-800-679-9830 Fax: 1-888-370-2190 Email: info@eurotechsoccertours.com Website: eurotechsoccertours.com Additional Information: Boys U11 – U19, Girls U15 – U17. Regarded as one of Europe’s leading summer international tournaments, the 27th annual Haarlem Cup will welcome about 300 teams from more than 25 countries. More than 140,000 soccer players from more than 70 different countries participated in the history of the tournament. The tournament matches are played on 35 first class grass fields in the medieval towns of Haarlem and Heemstede, a short drive west of Amsterdam and close to sandy beaches. Activities include the Coca-Cola Beach Party, opening ceremony, Soccer Village, use of training fields, and local sightseeing excursions August 8 - 11: Galway Cup – 6th Edition Where: Galway, Ireland. Premier International Tours Contact: For information in Canada call Shawnna Relke at Premier International Tours Tel: (905) 713-1471, (888) 322-1471, cell (416) 888-2642 Email: Shawnna@ premierinternationaltours.com Website: www.galwaycup.com Additional Information: The Umbro Galway Cup is regarded as one of the leading international youth soccer tournaments in Europe. Played in Drom Soccer Park on immaculately manicured grass soccer fields, soccer teams traveling to this international tournament are provided with the stage to showcase their talents to soccer coaches, scouts and appreciative audience. The competition has been broadcast on national television and has attracted international youth soccer teams from the UK, the USA, Canada, Eastern Europe, as well as a strong representation of Irish soccer clubs

ACADEMIES & CAMPS CANADIAN Ajax FC Summer Camps Address: Ajax FC - 77 Centennial Rd, Ajax, L1S 4S4 When: July 3 – August 7, 2012 Contact: Jason Pearson - Scheduler, Ajax FC Tel: (905) 683-0740 Fax: (905) 683-7197 Email: scheduler@ajaxsoccerclub.ca Website: www.ajaxfc.ca See Advertisement USC Elite Summer Camps Address: USC Academy, 1500 Avenue Road, Box 1336, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5M 0A1 Contact: Klaus Baeorf Tel: (416) 782-1248 Fax: (416) 782-2767

Email: info@usc-academy.ca Website: www.usc-academy.ca Additional Information: Elite Camp 1: Havergal College: July 9 - 13, 9 am - 4 pm (full day, age 8 -16 ). KixKids Camp: Havergal College: July 9 - 13, (half day or full day, age 5 - 7). Elite Camp 2: Bayview Glen School: August 27 - 31, 9 am - 4 pm (full day, age 8 - 16).

See Advertisement The ANB Academy Fourth Annual International ID Camp Address: The ANB Acadey, 23 Trish Dr., Richmond Hill, ON L4E 5C5,Canada When: June 2012 Contact: Bassam Naim Tel: (905) 313-8661 Email: bassam@anbfutbol.com

Website: www.anbfutbol.com Additional Information: ID Camp Location – CDS: the home & training grounds of The ANB Academy.

Power Soccer School of Excellence Winter, Spring & Summer Address: Power Soccer Academy, 2763 Teak Cres., Oakville ON L6J 7M6 Contact: Liam Power – Academy Director Tel: (905-829.0562 Fax: (905)-829-9509 Email: liam@powersoccer.ca W ebsite: www.powersoccer.ca Additional Information: Training venues: Upper Canada College, Crescent School; Bob Rumball Centre (Toronto), Toronto City Sports Centre Dome, Marshall McLuhan H.S. (Toronto), St. Patrick’s H.S.

Soccer Camps 2012 www.ajaxfc.ca 77 Centennial Rd. Ajax 905.683.0740

*ALL FULL DAY CAMPS INCLUDE AN AFTERNOON SWIM AT THE AJAX COMMUNITY CENTRE PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL STAFF EXCELLENT PLAYER:COACH RATIO (1:6) $30 ADMIN FEE ON CANCELLATIONS AFTER JUNE 25 EARLY DROPOFF AND LATE PICKUP AVAILABLE FOR $20 HALF DAY • 9-12PM FULL DAY • 9-4PM

continued overleaf…

Three Star NATIONAL Champions  PMS #136 C (Gold)  PMS #1797C (RED)  PMS #COOL GRAY 2C (LIGHT GRAY)  PMS #COOL GRAY 6C (MEDIUM GRAY)  BLACK WHITE

PREMIER SKILL DEVELOPMENT GOALKEEPER ACADEMY GOALSCORER’S ACADEMY DEFENDING TO WIN ACADEMY THE PLAYMAKERS ACADEMY TEAM DEVELOPMENT

SIZE: Approx. 3.5”w x 3.375“h

REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.AJAXFC.CA OR AT THE CLUBHOUSE ISM T&C Guide 55

(Toronto), Carruther’s Creek Soccer Centre (Ajax), Lambton Kingsway Jr. Middle School (Etobicoke) Age Groups range from 4 to 15 years of age See Advertisement Power Soccer Pre-season PRIMER Program Address: Power Soccer Academy, 2763 Teak Cres., Oakville ON L6J 7M6 When: May - June Contact: Liam Power – Academy Director Tel: (905) 829-0562 Fax: (905) 829-9509 Email: liam@powersoccer.ca Website: www.powersoccer.ca Additional Information: Training Venue: York University Glendon Campus. Age Groups: FUNdamentals (4-5 years) Soccer Essentials (6-7 years) Soccer Sense (1.5hrs) (8-15 years)

Advanced level (1.5hrs) (6-15 years).

Elite Player Clinic: Summer Camps Address: Power Soccer Academy, 2763 Teak Cres., Oakville ON L6J 7M6 When: July 2012 Contact: Liam Power – Academy Director Tel: (905) 829-0562 Fax: (905) 829-9509 Email: liam@powersoccer.ca Website: www.powersoccer.ca Additional Information: Training Venue: Crescent School (Toronto). Age groups range from: 7-15 years of age.

Power Player Academy Team Program (by invitation) Address: Power Soccer Academy, 2763 Teak Cres., Oakville ON L6J 7M6 Contact: Liam Power – Academy Director Tel: (905) 829-0562 Fax: (905) 829-9509 Email: liam@powersoccer.ca Website: www.powersoccer.ca Additional Information: Sunderland AFC Youth Academy Official Link February – December, 2012 (10 month training) Teams Ranging from U8–U15, U7 Introductory Academy. Professional training in a team program. Training Venues: GTA. Oakville Soccer Club Soccer Fun Camps Where: Pine Glen Soccer Centre, 1520 Pine Glen Road, Oakville, ON, L4M 4P4 Contact: Andrew Brown Tel: (905) 849-4436 Fax: (905) 849-3677 Email: abrown@oakvillesoccer.ca Website: www.oakvillesoccer.com Additional Information: Daily soccer instruction. Three Out of Park Adventures, your own soccer ball and camp t-shirt, World Cup and Olympic themed fun games, and Friday lunch.

Golden Goal Scoring AcademyCourse Presented By: the author of the upcoming book: “The Last 9 Seconds” - John DeBenedictis Contact: John DeBenedictis Tel: (416) 291-7184 Email: goldengoalscoring@rogers.com Website: www.goldengoalscoring.com Additional Information: This 3-day Psychologically based course will increase a players ability to score goalsinstantly!

GUARANTEED - Limited enrollment per course: (must be 14 year of age or older). Course Dates, Location and Cost: June 1, 2, 3 Pickering, $499.00, July 9, 11, 13 - Richmond Hill $499.00, July 10, 12, 13 - Richmond Hill $499.00, July 16, 17, 18, - Pickering, $499.00, July 30, 31 - Aug 1, Long Island NY $699.00, Aug 7, 8, 9 Mississauga, $499.00, August 28, 29, 30 - Toronto, $499.00

continued overleaf…

56 ISM T&C Guide

INTERNATIONAL Paul Banta’s - SOCCER CAMP at TREASURE Beach Sports Park Where: Treasure Beach Sports Park, Jamaica When: July 15, 2012 - July 20, 2012 Contact: Paul Banta - Camp Director Tel: 843-235-3762 Additional Information: Join us in 2012!

Held on the beautiful and historical college campus of middle georgia college and at the famous and historical south coastal resort jake’s hotel and sport park in historical international soccer camp. We guarantee you’ll have a lot of fun and a great soccer experience. Camp sites - only 14 team spaces available per session - camp prices range from $469 (advanced) $559 (elite & jamaica) our academy & camp programs - advanced team & individual field player camp elite team & individual players academy - elite or advanced goalkeeper academy - striker/attacker advanced academy - youth team & individual field player advanced developmental camp.

Manchester United Soccer Schools Where and When: April 1 - April 6 at Manchester, England (Easter Session). April 2 - April 16 at London, England (Easter Session - English Language Course), July 1 - July 6, 2012 at Manchester, England, July 1 - July 14 at Manchester, England (English Language Course), July 3 - July 16 at London, England (English Language Course), July 8 - July 13 at Manchester, England, July 15 - July 20 at Manchester, England, July 15 - July 28 at Manchester, England (English Language Course), July 17 - July 30 at London, England (English Language Course), July 22 - July 27 at Manchester, England, July 29 - Aug. 11 at Manchester, England (English Language Course), July 29 - Aug. 3 at Manchester, England, July 29 - Aug. 3 at Manchester, England (Girls Session), July 31 - Aug. 13 at London, England (English Language Course), Aug. 5 - Aug. 10 at Manchester, England, Aug. 5 - Aug. 10 at Manchester, England (Goalkeeper Session), Aug. 12 Aug. 17 at Manchester, England, Aug. 19 Aug. 24 at Manchester, England.

Additional Information: The Official Summer Soccer Camps of one of the most 56 February/March 2012

prestigious and powerful soccer clubs in the world; learn to play the Manchester United Way at Manchester United Soccer Schools! This is the official camp of one of the world’s most popular clubs and in 2011 alone, children from more than 80 different countries attended a Manchester United Soccer Schools residential camp.

Camp includes a visit to Manchester United’s Old Trafford Stadium and a skills challenge.

Manchester United Soccer Schools also offer sessions which include English Language courses. Secure online registration available.

AC Milan Junior Camp Where and When: June 17 - June 23 at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, June 24 - June 30 at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Cavalese Val di Fiemme, Italy, July 1 - July 7 at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Altopiano di Asiago - Gallio, Italy, July 8 -July 14 at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Altopiano di Asiago - Gallio, Italy, July 15 - July 21 at Jesolo Lido, Italy, July 22 - July 28 at Jesolo Lido, Vittorio Veneto, Italy, July 29 - Aug. 4 at Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy.

Additional Information: The AC Milan Junior Camp (MJC) is the Official Summer Academy Soccer Camp organized by one of the most prestigious, powerful, and popular soccer clubs in the world: AC Milan. The soccer training sessions, depending on your site, will be led by such AC Milan soccer legends as Filippo Galli (former player and AC Milan Youth Department Manager), Pierino Prati (former player and Manager of one AC Milan’s top soccer schools in Milan), Stefano Eranio (former player and AC Milan scout) or Fulvio Florin (professor of the AC Milan Academy); these AC Milan supervisors are supervised by Otello Di Remigio, the official youth scout of AC Milan Youth Teams and the Sporteventi Head Coach. Secure online registration available.

FC Barcelona Soccer Camp Where and When: July 1 - July 13 at Barcelona, Spain, July 15 - July 27 at Barcelona, Spain, July 21 - July 28 at Barcelona, Spain, July 29 - Aug. 10 at Barcelona, Spain.

Additional Information: The FC Barcelona camp is a unique and exciting ISM T&C Guide 57

opportunity for teens to experience specialized soccer training through an official partnership with one of the world’s most successful soccer teams and their expert coaches. Enjoy exclusive access to FCB training methods and facilities for a true Barca experience. In addition to world-class training, players also participate in daily soccer-related workshops and enjoy cultural tours and visits. Secure online registration available.

Chelsea Soccer Schools Where and When: July 1 - July 14 at London, England, July 15 - July 28 at London, England, July 29 - Aug. 11 at London, England.

For More Information: Contact Branden Clark by email at branden@insidesoccer.ca or by phone at (905) 833-1973.

58 ISM T&C Guide

Additional Information: The Official Soccer Camp of world-famous Chelsea FC of the English Premiership (first division) allows campers to gain an insight into the training methods and techniques which comprise the Chelsea Soccer Schools model. The camps take place at Chelsea FC’s worldclass Cobham, Surrey training facility; the same facility where the Chelsea first team practices. The camps also include a weekend visit to Chelsea FC’s home soccer stadium, Stamford Bridge Stadium (subject to availability).

Optional English as a Second Language courses are also offered by the camp.

Secure online registration available.

Real Madrid Soccer Camp Where and When: July 1 - July 14 at Madrid, Spain, July 15 - July 28 at Madrid, Spain, July 29 - Aug. 11 at Madrid, Spain.

Additional Information: The Real Madrid Soccer Camp allows its participants to experience the official soccer camps of one of the world’s most famous soccer clubs, Real Madrid! Camp participants will be immersed in Spanish culture and experience a “Madridista” environment.

Participants experience the training methods used by Real Madrid to train their world class players and coaches.

Experience the official soccer camps of one of the most successful clubs in history. Secure online registration available.

KIA REVEALS SOCCER INFLUENCED SPECIAL EDITION

KIA OPTIMA

Recently Kia Canada premiered a oneof-a-kind vehicle at the 2012 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto. In a collaborative effort between Kia Canada and the Toronto FC, the vehicle exudes an athletic design that will catch the eye of both soccer fans and car enthusiasts where ever it goes.

The Optima TFC Special Edition vehicle will be seen at select 2012 Toronto FC home games at BMO Field and will also make special appearances at a variety of events and venues throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Watch for it…

it’s really something to see.

Kia has been an active soccer participant for many years. “The customized Toronto FC Optima is a vehicle specifically designed to commemorate the ongoing spirit of our partnership since 2007,” said Robert Staffieri, Director of Marketing for Kia Canada Inc. “The Optima has been recognized with numerous highly respected Canadian awards this year, and with its competitive spirit, it was a natural choice to celebrate with our longterm partnership with the Toronto FC.”

Kia Canada Inc. is the official vehicle sponsor of all three Canadian Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. In addition to Toronto FC, Kia Canada is also partnered with the Vancouver Whitecaps and, most recently, the Montreal Impact.

Check out the 2012 Kia Optima SX Toronto FC Special Edition with its custom gloss black hexagon pattern with matte black TFC logo treatments. Beautiful!

InsideSOCCER 59

FUTSAL HEAT IN THE WINTER

BY KRIS FERNANDES

Photographs by Kathleen George

When the snow tires are on and empty hot chocolate cups overfill the bins, it means that Canadian futsal is in top gear, and as always, ISM has the 5-a-side game covered with all the recent developments. In this issue we bring you the vital news from the college ranks, the creation of an elite league for the nation’s best players, and latest updates on the national team.

With the CSA’s High Performance Director Tony Fonseca lifting the interim tag and quietly appointing Sipho Sibiya as the Head Coach of the Canadian Futsal Team, the Association hosted their national ID camp last month, the first since 2003. Sibiya summoned his 22 selections to the Richmond Olympic Oval for a three-day training session and game, which featured a mix of soccer, futsal, and arena-soccer players all looking to solidify a spot on the squad that will attempt to qualify for the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup in 60 March/April 2012

Thailand in November.

Getting to Bangkok will take a lot of work and will ultimately require two stages, as CONCACAF recently announced that Canada will face El Salvador in a two-legged series in which the winner on aggregate will qualify for the 5th edition of the continental championships. The dates and locations of those matches have yet to be determined but are expected to take place closer to the eight-team competition, which is now set to go from July 2-8th at the spectacular

Domo Polideportivo in Guatemala.

There will either be a home and away series, but a more likely and practical scenario would have both teams playing both games in Guatemala.

Since the announcement of the qualification process, Canada is favoured early on by pundits to defeat El Salvador and will rely upon their strong athleticism and discipline to try and advance.

However, it only takes four hours to drive across El Salvador, meaning the tiny Central American nation will have the distinct advantage of being able to train together consistently in the lead up to the matches. Many Canadian players, on the other hand, will be spread far out across North America – some playing in the Major Indoor Soccer League or even overseas (such is the case with promising prospect Robbie Tice, who is currently playing soccer in Norway’s 2nd Division).

El Salvador have been working to advance their futsal program for a couple of years now, having hosted

an initial 54-man identification and training camp back in 2009 with their Futsal Coordinator, José De La Cruz, while also sending their top instructors to various FIFA courses over the last couple of years, including a major one back in November that was taught by two-time FIFA Futsal World Cup Championship winner, Spain’s Javier Lozano. They’ve mostly kept their program’s progress under wraps and, like Canada, haven’t attempted to qualify for the tournament since 2004; so, it will be very interesting to see what they bring to the table.

Sibiya will need to maximize the time with his final selections at Canada’s week-long training camp and rely heavily on the expertise of his assistant coaches, who have a deep understanding of futsal, to work on tactical strategies for the team. Although Canada features many players who are in top physical shape and are quite quick, they lack

for the most part futsal-specific skills and experience, which is increasingly becoming a much more valuable asset in the international game.

If Canada can get past the Salvadorans, they will battle against seven other nations to get to the World Cup.

The CONCACAF Championships will see two groups of four, with the top two from each advancing not only to the semi-final round, but also automatically booking a ticket to Thailand for the big show.

As hosts, Guatemala will have a huge advantage in front of their notoriously raucous home supporters.

It is the second consecutive time, and third overall, that the regional futsal-powerhouse and defending champions will host the competition.

Part of their fine-tuning continues to include exhibition games against the world’s top teams, including a close pair of 3-1 defeats to Brazil last month, which has easily made them the #1 ranked nation in the confederation going into the competition.

In addition to Guatemala, five other nations have already been allocated spots in the eight-team continental tournament: Panama, two-time champions the U.S.A., four-time runnersup Cuba, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

The eighth and final spot will be contested at the Caribbean Futsal Tournament (February 17-23) and between Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, St, Kitts and Nevis and Guyana. Cuba will also participate in this competition, but as mentioned earlier, they have already been automatically been granted entry into the CONCACAF Championship.

Haiti or Trinidad and Tobago are tipped to win the coveted spot.

Despite many more countries in the region now getting their national futsal programs on track, only a select few CONCACAF nations currently have a national or top level league for their top players to shine in.

Futsal Canada is now laying the groundwork here to solve that issue.

All five of the Ontario-based futsal players who attended the national ID camp are now getting the chance to sharpen their court skills on a weekly basis as the launch of the Canadian Premier Futsal League (CPFL) finally kicked off on January 7th at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

Featuring seven top futsal clubs from the Southern Ontario region with elite futsallers, some that have represented national teams in both FIFA and AMF rules futsal competitions, the CPFL immediately establishes itself as the top futsal league in the country.

The CPFL will feature a 12-game regular season in its inaugural year with a balanced home and away schedule followed by the playoffs. The championship game will be hosted at Seneca College in Toronto in mid-April.

All the details can be found at their website: cpfl.ca.

Select matches will be played on Friday nights and Saturdays, which will allow for primetime local television broadcasts and also create an opportunity for fans both familiar and new to experience the sport live in order to build interest and participation.

Games will be played within FIFA official futsal court dimensions, and for the first time, two full 20-minute halves with a stop clock will be

InsideSOCCER 61

CANADIAN PREMIER FUTSAL LEAGUE TEAMS Barrie Futsal Club Brampton City United London Athletic Mississauga Eagles Real Toronto Toronto Boca Juniors York Region Shooters utilized, bringing a more professional competition and atmosphere than has ever existed here.

Elite Brazilian sports brand Penalty has also signed on as the league’s official ball sponsor, with the Penalty Max 1000 being used in every match.

Widely considered the best producers of futsal equipment worldwide, Penalty is currently the official ball of three major futsal leagues in the world: The Brazilian Futsal League, the Spanish Futsal League, and now the Canadian Premier Futsal League.

With futsal still being relatively new to most Canadian regions, it was only logical that the CPFL launched in futsal-rich Ontario, home to over 7,000 players. Naturally, the league

must eventually expand to include multiple divisions in different regions across the nation in order to truly be classified as a “Canadian League”, and there are discussions currently under way to launch divisions in both Southern Quebec and lower-mainland B.C. within the next two seasons when more established FIFA futsal clubs start to develop.

In addition to the aforementioned world class competitions, the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto are not that far away. With futsal being a gold medal sport at those Games, the CPFL will act as the prime avenue for the top players to shine over the next four years and earn spots on the national team that could very well find itself

up against teams like Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Guatemala.

Part of the medium and long-term vision of the CPFL is to incorporate a progressive pyramid of play that includes youth clubs and academies, player residency programs, and eventually a women’s elite league in order to give all Canadian players, coaches and referees the best futsal opportunities possible.

Another excellent futsal league initiative is continuing to develop in oil country, where the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference is operating its third season of the only fully sanctioned college or university futsal league in North America.

The three tournament ACAC series features six colleges: Ambrose, Keyano, Olds, Medicine Hat, Mount Royal, and 2011 champions, Lakeland, which etched out the first victory of the 2012 men’s campaign with a tight 4-2 shootout victory over Olds.

On the women’s side, it was the Mount Royal Cougars that drew first blood with a convincing 5-1 victory over the Keyano Huskies and star forward Karlee Hodl scoring a pair, including the game winner.

Hodl and the rest of the Cougars will have a chance to win on home court as the second tournament takes place on February 11-13th in Calgary.

The championship tournament will take place over the weekend of March 10-11th at Medicine Hat College and should provide an excellent chance for Albertans to see futsal live.

Kris Fernandes can be contacted at kris@insidesoccer.ca

62 March/April 2012

With one of the School’s eight guiding principles – Advocate Fitness for Life – as its guide, The Country Day School’s coaches and players have been working energetically on a variety of initiatives over the past few seasons in conjunction with the Positive Coaching Alliance (http://www.positivecoach.org/) Ever-focused on the continuous development of their craft, this year, the Department has been enhancing its coaching philosophy as ‘double-goal coaches’. The double-goal coach has two main focuses throughout the year – one, naturally, is winning, and the other more important – and highly transformative goal – is developing in each and every player the necessary qualities to be successful, not only in sport, but also in life.

Very often, Directors of Athletics and their coaching teams will talk about building character athletes, and while many do a great job in the effort, many also fall short of designing and defining benchmarks to assess athletes’ progress in character development. Why benchmarks? Well, put simply, character-

building is not as immediately evident as other skill mastery in athletics. In a coach’s world, it is obvious when the kids have mastered their throwing, spiking, skating and passing skills, but can a coach assess as easily if students have truly strengthened their character in a given term? Every professional athlete is mindful of his or her stats, so why not model this type of score-keeping and develop a positive character scorecard for our students, thereby giving coaches clearer insights as to where their coaching could be directed? CDS asked itself this question, and this year our coaches are reporting on each student in the eight categories that we have deemed valuable for the development of the total athlete. The first four categories focus on leadership, sportsmanship (including respect for officials, opponents, and rules), coachability, and being a

BUILDING CHARACTER ATHLETES AN INSIDESOCCER SPECIAL REPORT BY JOHN ANDERSEN DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS, THE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL

Photographs by Stan Behal 64 March/April 2012

great teammate (including respect for teammates, self and coaches). The last 4 categories focus on commitment and effort in both practices and games.

Like every school across the nation, at The Country Day School’s athletics ceremonies, coaches share highlights of the season. Inevitably, the audience hears compelling stories about winning scores and character athletes. At CDS, the audience also hears from the athlete’s perspective. Their personal stories of determination, teamwork, commitment and mature insights beyond their years illustrate what they have learned and how they have developed personally.

This winter, Grade 12 student Siena Hilley Bland shared her perceptive definition of a good teammate and the positive impact that being part of a team has had on her life; and Spencer Fontein (Grade 12) spoke passionately about commitment. Even though there is always more to be done, hearing these stories gives us confidence that our efforts as double-goal coaches are paying off.

If you are going to be committed, it means sometimes you have to give up other things that you like to do, but that is part of being truly committed...There are so many opportunities to try new things and receive amazing coaching. I encourage everyone to try something new…make a commitment to try it and see where it takes you. As Arthur Ashe, a famous tennis player said... “Start where you are, use what you have and do what you can”...and only then will you know what you can achieve.

Spencer Fontein, Grade 12 (Aurora)

When I think of a good teammate, I think of traits like selflessness, confidence, kindness, leadership and willingness to step out of their own comfort zone in order to make another feel comfortable...A true teammate works not only to improve themselves but works to make the team improve. They never expect any less from any member of them than they expect of themselves. The actions of each player on the team influence every other player, and their attitudes towards the team and the sport. It is up to each player to take responsibility for their own actions. A support system is created within a true team and they will hold each other up so that they overcome challenges together.

Siena Hilley Bland, Grade 12 (King)

InsideSOCCER 65

EPL’S ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION AND THE BURDEN OF

ENGLISH SOCCER

BY TokunBo ojo

The English Premiership League (EPL) is the most-watched league in the world. Every weekend from August to May, EPL matches are televised simultaneously in more than 211 countries worldwide.

As a global band with estimated monetary value of over $US12 billion, the sponsors and advertisers of the league are constantly smiling because of good returns on their investment. They are not the only ones smiling. Many clubs, players and their agents also have every reason to celebrate for being part of this EPL global bonanza.

However, for everything that’s good, there is always a hefty price to pay. The price is that the EPL is not an “English” league anymore, but a global league with players coming now from every nook and cranny of the world.

While this on its own is a great thing in terms of marketing and players’ competitive edge, a cross section of English media, players and fans see it as the core reason for the English national team’s continuous poor performance at the World Cup and Euro Cup. “I think there is a risk of too many foreign players coming over, which would affect our national team eventually if it’s not already,” England’s midfielder Steven Gerrard told the UK’s Telegraph before England lost to Croatia and missed the 2008 Euro Cup.”It is important we keep producing players. There is no point having the best league in the world if the national team is going to suffer in the long run.”

You cannot have your cake and eat it too.

That is impossible.

Since the old division one metamorphosed to the EPL in 1992, the coffin of grass-root soccer development in England was firmly nailed shut. As it is now, the EPL is strictly about making money and less about developing talents for the English national team.

For instance, a team like Arsenal is more interested in grooming players for sales than developing players for the national team. To that end, if Arsenal finds raw material in a far away country like the Ivory Coast, it will yield a maximum return on investment after 66 March/April 2012

a year or two; consequently, it makes sense that Arsenal would rather go for raw talent than groom talent from Peckham Street in London – talent that might not yield as positive an investment return on the field and in the transfer market. That’s the way that the game is played in soccer’s current commodity market.

Prior to ‘super-commercialization’ of EPL and the massive influx of foreign players, England had always been an underachiever in the international soccer championship arena. With the exception of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, which it won on its own soil by sheer of luck, England has won no other major global or regional title. And with the present landscape of EPL, England’s drought of championship titles will continue for many years to come if it doesn’t make a strategic investment in the technical development of future players and coaches.

With their devotion to the ancient “kickand-follow” style, many English coaches (such as Graham Taylor, Glenn Hoddle and Steve McClaren) have neither helped the English national team, nor the future of many young English players. Such playing style is too limiting and one dimensional in this day and age, because soccer is no longer a game of 22 people running around with a ball for 90 minutes or more. It has become a more technical game that requires a certain level of intelligence and skill beyond how to balloon the ball in the air. In the 1960s, such style could take you a long way. Now, it cannot take you anywhere.

A limited local talent pool for modernday soccer has been the perfect excuse for EPL teams to go abroad and get players or potential future stars that can play the game with their “heads.” Whether this excuse is logical or not, it is open for debate. But given the composition of players in the EPL’s

top teams, it appears logical that Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal are no longer “players’ manufacturers” for the English national team.

By virtue of their ownership, fan base and structure, these teams are more interested in the monetary rewards that come from playing in the UEFA Champions league and from the sale of players than in manufacturing players for the English national team. Manchester United would rather recall Paul Scholes from retirement or sign a half-fit Michael Owen than gamble with its spot in the UEFA Champions league.

It’s a much safer risk than taking the time to groom another future Owen or Scholes.

It is high time that the English Football Association (FA) and its partners wake up and face the reality of economic globalization, as it manifests itself in the EPL. Instead of constantly whining about the dominance of foreign players in the EPL and its adverse effect on the English national team’s performance, they should divert their financial benefits from the EPL into the technical development of coaches and players at the grass-root levels.

If they develop players that can play modern soccer and compete at the highest level with players from around the world, the clubs will have no choice than to feature these players regularly in the league. This will also reflect in the national team’s performance, because you have tested and proven players who play regularly with the world’s best and experienced players in the EPL and other top leagues.

There was a time when foreign players dominated German Bundesliga, La Liga (Spanish league) and French league. The soccer federations in those countries turned the tide by investing in training for local coaches and young players. In this context, the best players and coaches that might have gone unnoticed were meticulously developed and brought through the system.

The result is that the character of their leagues has changed and the performance of their national teams has improvement.

Perhaps reality will set in when Coach Fabio Capello and his ageing English national team wobble and fumble again in the Euro Cup this summer. One can only hope that the fallout will prompt English soccer stakeholders to look inward and make the much needed structural change, as opposed to their usual perpetual blaming of others for England’s woeful performance in major championships.

THE ROAD TO THE ROGERS CENTRE:

TFC’S CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ADVENTURE

BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN

Photographs by Les Jones – Covershots Inc.

Leave it to Toronto FC to kick-start their most important season to date with a bang -- a bang to the sound of more than 55,000 packed into the Rogers Centre, supporters hungry for professional football on a grand scale. It is, at its very core, Toronto FC’s most important game ever.

68 March/April 2012

The Reds take on the reigning MLS Champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy, in the knockout quarterfinal stage of the CONCACAF Champions League on March 7. The two sides meet after successfully maneuvering through the group stages of the competition.

The two will meet in a home-away series, first in Toronto, and then in Los Angeles at the Home Depot Center on March 14. The winner of the series advances to the semi-finals. The two MLS clubs have prepared throughout the offseason for this encounter.

Toronto FC can take solace with the plethora of knowledge available to head coach Aron Winter. It is no stretch to say that, one-on-one, Los Angeles may possess a stronger side, but, as the old adage goes, any team in the MLS can defeat the other on their day.

Toronto will, however, need some luck on their side. Player injuries and loan spells play into Toronto’s hand. The Galaxy loaned out their captain and clutch goalscorer Landon Donovan to English Premier League outfit, Everton F.C. for two months; his return to Los Angeles may see him tired and perhaps dealing with nagging injuries.

Besides Donovan, Los Angeles are also without key defender Omar Gonzalez. The young centerback suffered a torn ACL on his first day training with German club FC Nuremberg and will be unavailable for both games. Adding to Los Angeles’ problems is the loss of highly influential creative midfielder Juninho, who has opted to sign for Brazilian powerhouse Sao Paulo.

On the flipside, Toronto FC have fared much better in shaping their roster ahead of this encounter. Much of the side remains the same, which comes as a relief to Toronto FC fans, as Ecuadorian winger Joao Plata has signed a permanent deal with the club

after a one-year loan spell. Plata, along with Danny Koevermans, Eric Avila and Ryan Johnson, provide Toronto FC with their offensive spark.

As the date to the big game comes closer, we look back at the Aron Winter’s 2011 campaign, reviewing each step to the quarterfinals. This is Toronto FC’s road to the Champions League:

Joao Plata converted a penalty, bringing the total score to 2-2.

Both sides shared similar spells of possession, but ultimately, Toronto FC’s Mikael Yourassowsky’s smart run into the box gave him a great chance from a Plata cross, one that he buried into the back of the net.

THE NUTRILITE CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP Much of Toronto FC’s success in the Champions League can be attributed to head coach Aron Winter, who took over at the beginning of the 2011 season and set clear goals for the club, one of which was a successful repeat of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.

The Canadian Championship’s new format introduced FC Edmonton into the competition, playing alongside repeat champions Toronto FC, MLS’ newest franchise, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and lower division club, the Montreal Impact.

Toronto FC were matched up with FC Edmonton in a home-away series, while Montreal took on Vancouver. The winner of each series would face each other in the finals.

A 3-0 demolition away from home, lead by club captain Maicon Santos and in-form striker Alan Gordon, gave Toronto FC a lot of breathing room and set them up for success in the home leg; Toronto FC did just that, beating FC Edmonton 1-0 at BMO Field and making their way to the finals on a 4-0 aggregate.

Whereas Toronto’s ride to the finals was a relatively smooth affair, Montreal and Vancouver was a hotly contested encounter. Late goals and dramatics saw the Vancouver Whitecaps advance to the finals.

The set up was perfect for both teams; in their hunt for a third consecutive Nutrilite Canadian Championship, Toronto FC was pitted against their newest MLS competition. Vancouver, on the other hand, still bore scars from the 2009 edition, one that saw the trophy all but stolen from their hands by Toronto.

The first leg, played at Empire Field in Vancouver, saw the two teams split goals and walk away 1-1. This set up the BMO Field encounter as a make-or-break encounter. Vancouver struck first, before

Toronto FC’s Canadian Championship was not just a victory for Aron Winter and his team; it was also the first chance for the newest crop of Reds to develop team chemistry. Much of Toronto FC’s season prior to the final game against Vancouver had been lackluster, but with the Voyageurs Cup in hand, Toronto FC began showing signs of unity, understanding, and, most important, confidence. With Vancouver heartbroken once again, Toronto FC walked away as champions, with one eye now set firmly towards the CONCACAF Champions League group stage.

THE CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE With the group stages now in sight, Toronto FC still had one more trial they needed to pass. This test came to Toronto in the form of Real Estelí F.C. Another home-away series awaited Toronto, who made quick work of the Nicaraguan champions, winning via an aggregate score of 4-2.

With the group stages now in sight, Toronto FC still had one more trial they needed to pass. This test came to Toronto in the form of Real Estelí F.C. Another InsideSOCCER 69

home-away series awaited Toronto, who made quick work of the Nicaraguan champions, winning via an aggregate score of 4-2.

With the group seed game now in hand, Toronto was placed in Group C with the likes of Pumas from Mexico, Tauro FC from Panama and fellow MLS side FC Dallas.

Toronto eased past Tauro FC in the first game by a score of 2-1, before falling to Dallas 1-0. With three points in two games, Toronto FC flew to Mexico to take on their toughest opposition yet – Pumas.

Pumas, the nickname for Club Universal Nacional A.C., were the group’s heavy hitter. Toronto FC headed into the game in Mexico with an air of confidence, but left it quite bitter; a 4-0 loss meant Toronto needed to gain points elsewhere if they were to progress out of Group C and into the knockout stages.

As Toronto’s season progressed, the club began winning more and more games. The arrival of designated players

Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans sparked Toronto FC and the team finally had solid leaders on the field. This translated well for Toronto FC, which defeated Tauro once again, this time by a score of 1-0. With six points in four games, Toronto FC played host to Pumas, this time at BMO Field.

It was, at once, a game of high hopes and tactical masterstrokes. Playing Torsten Frings as a centerback, Aron Winter adjusted his team’s formation to accommodate for a very pacey Pumas offense; the result was a 1-1 draw, giving Toronto FC an incredibly valuable point against tough opposition.

In a way, Toronto FC supporters always knew that the final game away at FC Dallas would be the most important one, and they were proven right. With Pumas comfortably in first, Toronto FC and FC Dallas both has enough points to secure the second place spot – the Reds needed a win to progress through the group stages.

Toronto started the game maintaining

possession, passing the ball amongst themselves, not really getting into any immediate danger. Danny Koevermans scored first for Toronto FC, giving the Reds a 1-0 lead. FC Dallas turned on the pressure almost immediately, but couldn’t find an equalizer. Joao Plata, on the other hand, was ripping through the Dallas defense, netting twice and sealing FC Dallas’ fate. Toronto walked away as unlikely 3-0 winners, securing a spot in the Champions League knockout stages.

The Dallas game will go down in Toronto FC history as the single greatest performance Toronto FC has ever successfully pulled off. A berth in the Champions League quarterfinal achieved, Toronto now looks to Los Angeles, as they continue their pursuit for the Champions League trophy.

PREPARING FOR THE MLS:

THE MONTREAL IMPACT

BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN

The Montreal Impact are making the jump to Major League Soccer for the 2012 season, and as the campaign kick-off date comes closer, the Impact, too, are getting closer to completing their preparations. Here are five areas the Montreal Impact have addressed as the 2012 Major League Soccer season gets set to start: HIRING HEAD COACH JESSE MARSCH The Impact kicked off a floodgate of changes with the hiring of former Chicago Fire, Chivas USA and American international midfielder Jesse Marsch as their head coach. Marsch, who has played in excess of 300 MLS games in a career spanning more than 10 years, brings with him a plethora of experience and contacts.

REIMAGINING THE BRAND Montreal has always been a historic team in the lower divisions of North American soccer, and, much like the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps before them, 70 March/April 2012

the jump to MLS comes with a brand new image. A new badge and jersey give Montreal a fresh, professional look while keeping true to their historic roots.

THE EXPANSION DRAFT As an expansion team for 2012, Montreal’s expansion draft gave them 10 picks, which they could use across the league to select players unprotected by their respective teams.

Montreal selected well, picking up MLS starters like Justin Mapp from Philadelphia, goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts from LA, and stealing Houston Dynamo legend Brian Ching.

THE CANUCK CONNECTION Montreal’s Canadian quota may be lacking, but signing Canadian international midfielder Patrice Bernier to a non-designated player contract gives Montreal a local hero of their own. Still, Montreal will be yearning for local boy Andre Hainhault, currently with Houston Dynamo, which may just explain the shocking Brian Ching selection – could he be used as trade bait? Food for thought!

THE MLS SUPERDRAFT With the number one pick in the MLS SuperDraft, Montreal could have addressed any one of their positional needs with a solid player. A forward like Darron Mattocks would be an immediate goalscorer; a midfielder like Kelyn Rowe would give them spark and flair; ultimately, Montreal chose defender Andrew Wenger, a solid selection and someone with whom they can build a solid backline.

BEHIND THE WHISTLE

BY MIKE KENNY

I recently watched the Liverpool FC vs.

Newcastle United FC, and the commentator made an interesting comment: “Today’s referees do not allow tackles. If a player mis-times a tackle 10 times in 20 minutes or, for that matter, five times, it should not be a yellow. The problem is referees have not played the game.”

First of all, most referees have played the game. When they discover they’re not good enough to make it as a player, they take up refereeing. But the questions that came to my mind were: Has that commentator ever refereed a game?

Or made a split second decision that is going to be reviewed by players, coaches, commentators and TV crews? That’s what referees deal with in every match, regardless of the level of play. Nevertheless, that commentator essentially said you are allowed to commit five fouls in 20 minutes as long as they’re not “nasty fouls.” Has he ever heard of “Persistent Infringement of the Rules,” which is a yellow card offence?

In that same game, the commentator said that the referee has to watch his positioning after the ball hits him. The player turned 180 degrees and tried to put the ball between the referee’s legs to a team mate. The player was moving forward with 10 yards of space in front of him, and he stopped and reversed his direction. How is a referee expected to anticipate that?

This is typical when former players and managers who do not know the rules become commentators. So why don’t the networks have a referee or retired referee in studio to answer these questions during games: What is a referee thinking?

Why did he book that player but not the previous incident?

Recently, a Sky Sports programme aired on Sportsnet here in Canada featured the EPL’s Dermot Gallagher, whose answers at times shocked the hosts. A couple of times, Mr. Gallagher simply said he thought the referee got it wrong, prompting the hosts to ask, “Where’s the consistency?”

That made me wonder: why can players have various levels of skill but referees are expected to be the same as yesterday’s referee, like robots?

Referees are human and therefore have different personalities. What managers and players should expect is that the same referee is consistent from match to match.

That said, the best managers in the world advise their players on what to expect from the referee assigned to their match. (over the years, I have worked with many competent

referees that have a different style than I do.

None of us are correct or incorrect…we just have different tendencies.)

With all the confusion out there, my plea to both Sportsnet and TSN (holders of TV rights to Euro 2012) is to please add a referee or retired referee to your broadcast crew.

That way, your viewers may get more insight as to why the officials made that decision.

(By the way, I am offering my services.)

Now, back to the commentators and players who expect referees to be perfect.

Here are some quotes from live broadcasts that show they are also human, David Letterman style:

TOP 10 DAFT FOOTBALL QUOTES 10 ‘Never go for 50-50 ball unless you’re 80% sure of winning it’Ian Darke 9 ‘If that had gone in, it would have been a goal’ - David Coleman 8 ‘They have won 66 games and they’ve scored in all of them’ - Brian Moore 7 ‘England now have 3 fresh men with 3 fresh legs’ - Jimmy Hill 6 ‘He likes to receive it in tight positions, which I love to see young blokes do’ - Ray Wilkins 5 ‘I’m 30 now but back then I was 19... that was 7 years ago’ - Lee Bowyer

4

‘We feel unbeatable at Ewood Park - even when we play away from home’. - David Bentley 3 ‘And it’s 1-1 to Fulham’ - Peter Beagrie 2 ‘Marseilles needed to score first, and that never looked likely once Liverpool had taken the lead.’

- David Pleat

AND THE NUMBER ONE DAFT FOOTBALL QUOTE: 1 ‘In this league, any team can beat any other - and to prove it there were seven draws yesterday’ - Don Goodman

Mike Kenny has been refereeing for more than 30 years, starting as a 12-year old in Richmond Hill. His experiences have taken him across Ontario, the USA, England, Scotland and throughout Ireland culminating in officiating in the Irish Premier League Reserve Division in 2009. Mike recently became the VP of the YRSRA and is an OSA Instructor who wants to dedicate himself to recruiting and helping young referees fulfil their potential. You can contact Mike at kenbroagency@gmail.com

CALLING ALL YORK REGION REFEREES: InsideSOCCER Magazine (ISM) and the York Region Soccer Referees Association (YRSRA) are pleased to announce that they have recently come to an agreement whereby all members of the YRSRA will receive a subscription to ISM. This is part of a membership push about to be launched by the YRSRA. Membership for new Referees is free of charge. Returning Referees only pay $10 annually.

Membership also includes discounts at soccer Membership also includes food deals at the retailers in York Region including: following pubs: • Soccer Plus, Bradford • Tom & Jerry’s, Newmarket • Soccer Nation, Aurora • Tom & Jerry’s, Aurora • City Soccer Plus, Richmond Hill • Archibald’s, Richmond Hill • In2Sports, Woodbridge • Unionville Arms, Unionville • Avanti, Markham This new membership package will be launched by the YRSRA at various meetings throughout York Region in February and March. Details can be found at www.yrsra.ca

InsideSOCCER 71

FIT FACTS

SPEED ENDURANCE TRAINING

THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL TRAINING CAMP

BY RICHARD BUCCIARELLI In my role as Fitness Coach with the Canadian National Women’s U17 team, I was recently tasked with planning the physical component of their eight-day training camp in November 2011.

Upon reviewing the camp schedule, I saw that the plans included two exhibition games, two inter-squad games, and two training sessions per day during the course of the week.

Even in a short (eight-day) training camp, a physical component of training is required, as players must be able to continually improve their fitness each month in preparation for World Cup qualification matches in the spring of 2012. The main problem encountered when trying to plan fitness sessions is the lack of time allotted during each practice (15-20 minutes), as well as the high overall fatigue level of the players throughout the week. In order to effectively plan fitness training sessions that provide adequate training load to the players, while minimizing the risks of overtraining and fatigue, I decided to 72 March/April 2012

use a relatively new and unique form of training, called speed endurance training.

Speed endurance training involves performing four to eight sets of 30-second exercise bouts, at an intensity between 80-90 percent of maximum, with a work-to-rest ratio of one-to-six (i.e. 30 seconds of work, three minutes of rest). Over the past 10 years, speed endurance exercises using this protocol, both without and with the ball, have been proven to be as, if not more, effective at improving players’ overall endurance levels than more traditional continuous aerobic and aerobic interval training. The main difference – and main advantage – of speed endurance training over the more traditional methods mentioned above is that speed endurance training achieves the same results, with one-

third of the total training time. Whereas conventional workouts of continuous aerobic training can take 60 minutes or more to complete, the speed endurance protocol mentioned above, performed in small groups, can be completed in as little as 12 minutes (with a little as two to three minutes of actual training time). The significant reduction in total training time of up to 75 percent is most useful in training camps where practice time – and the players’ level of energy – is limited. Furthermore, the ability to use the ball in these workouts adds a level of specificity that leads to better overall improvements in soccer skill, as well as aerobic fitness.

Below are two session plan diagrams of speed endurance sessions, with the ball, that we used at the Women’s National U17 team camp in November and that can also be easily applied to any youth academy / rep. team training sessions:

SPEED ENDURANCE: PASSING/RECEIVING Set-Up: Three to four stations, consisting of two red cones, placed 20m apart, with two white cones 3m inside them; stations include for players: two inside the station, without a ball and two placed on the red cones, with a ball Activity: players inside sprint, at 90-95 percent intensity towards the outside cones; once they get inside the

PASSING/RECEIVING

DEFENSIVE JOCKEYING

s s r e d n s g l t e – e f l s

s h s r o g

, m e o d l

t e e

white cones, they must receive a pass from the outside and play a one-touch pass back to the outside player, then sprint to the opposite side for the next pass; players repeat this sequence for 30 seconds in total ReSt: after the 30-second work period, inside players switch with the outside players, and the activity starts again; once both groups of players have performed one 30-second repetition, both groups will rest for another two minutes, and then the first group moves back to the inside for their second repetition SUmmARy: • One set • Four repetitions • 30 seconds • 90-95 percent intensity • Rest = three minutes • Work-to-rest ratio: 1:6 • Total session time: 10 minutes • Total player training time: two minutes

SPEED ENDURANCE: DEFENSIVE JOCKEYING Set-Up: Three to four stations, consisting of two red cones, placed 30m apart; stations include four players: two inside the station, one without a ball and one with a ball, and two placed on the red cones, without a ball

Activity: player inside, with a ball, plays a long pass to the player without the ball (30m away) and sprints at 95 percent intensity to close the player down in a defensive posture; the player with the ball dribbles diagonally and forwards (at 70 percent intensity), while the jockeying player moves backwards, for the entire 30 m distance; repetitions should take 30 seconds in total, with the next group of two players starting their activity once the first group finishes; players repeat the sequence in the opposite order (i.e. attackers become defenders, and defenders become attackers) in their next repetition ReSt: after the 30-second work period, inside players switch with the outside players, and the activity starts again

SUmmARy: • Two sets • Four repetitions (two at 95 percent - defending, and two at 70 percent - attacking) • 30 seconds • 70-95 percent intensity • Rest = three minutes (between defending’ and ‘defending’) • Work-to-rest ratio: 1:6 • Total session time: 10 minutes • Total player training time: four minutes Richard Bucciarelli is the President of Soccer Fitness Inc., and Fitness Coach for the Canadian National Women’s U17 team. For more information about Richard and Soccer Fitness, please visit www.soccerfitness.ca.

         

 

   

     

   

       

   

   

     

 InsideSOCCER 73

COACH DAVE: MY CORNER

HOW TO WIN THE PROVINCIAL

CHAMPIONSHIP IN ONTARIO

BY DAVE KENNY I am not sure how many times I played in the Ontario Cup – I am guessing maybe ten or twelve. I never won it, never even got close. I think that one year we made the quarter finals before bowing out.

I’ve coached club rep soccer 15 of my 33 years. During that time, we entered the Championship four times. Sixteen years in total and never even a sniff of the trophy.

As a player, the teams I played on improved, but we could not get over the hump. We ran into Wexford, Oakville or St. Andrew. In fact, I was probably 18 before we even beat those three clubs at all.

Growing up in, what was then the small town of Richmond Hill, we depended on developing our players. Nobody was coming from other teams to play in Richmond Hill. In fact, Richmond Hill was one of the first clubs to actually hire a Head Coach. He was not paid much, but it was a new concept. We worked hard as players. We improved our individual skills, team play and overall performance, but it wasn’t quite good enough to take on the provincial powerhouses.

Now let’s fast forward to the present.

For the last 12 years, I have been coaching with the Guelph Soccer Club. The teams I have coached have predominately been made up of home grown players.

Occasionally we may get the odd player from one of the nearby rural communities, but generally our players are local. Being seen as the “little sister” in the area, we have lost players annually to our “big brothers” Waterloo and Kitchener. Once our players became “too good” for our teams, they would have “no choice” but to move on to the other clubs, to play on a “better” team or in a “higher” league.

The Guelph club, under new Technical Director, Ruben Flores, has new programs 74 March/April 2012

in place to try to stop this drain of players.

Player development has always been the most important aspect of the game that is stressed upon all of my players. For 12 years I have also done my best, as a coach, to get our local teams to those higher leagues and maybe even win an Ontario Cup. I was reluctant to enter teams into Ontario Cup until I felt we were competitive. Or in other words, were sufficiently skilled enough to compete at that level.

I have attended numerous coaching clinics, developmental sessions and seminars throughout Canada, the U.S. and Britain, including most recently the Coerver Coaching course in Guelph. The predominant message in those sessions has always been player development leads to success.

How can so many “experts” have it wrong? Development does NOT lead to success… it leads to losing players, or, dare I say “POACHING”!!!

In 2010, my coaching partner, Mark, and I took over a group of boys playing in the L5 league in South West Region. We outlined our plans for future development, the result of which would include getting to L3 for 2012, with an opportunity to reach OYSL in 2013.

After two successful seasons, we obtained our goal. Two league losses in two years put us in a position to play L3 in 2012. You would think the parents and players would be pleased. In fact, most are extremely happy. Unfortunately, success creates egos. From the team that started L5 in 2011, six players have now

moved on to play for other teams. Three play in Mississauga, and three have gone to our big brother: Waterloo.

The parent of one player who went elsewhere told me “the coach really wants to get this team to OYSL.” I’m pretty sure all coaches in L3 want the same thing. I guess Waterloo wants it more, which explains why two Kitchener players are also going to Waterloo. The irony is that Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph all should be playing in the same league (L3), vying for a spot in OYSL. So now I have a problem. How will I ever win the Ontario Cup when developing players keep leaving our club? After all, it is all about me. I want to win the Cup. I need to “entice” players to come to MY team. Not just any player; I only want the best players. I need to start hanging out at the District and Regional tryouts. That is where the best players will be. Then I need really good sponsors.

The more I can spend on my team, the cheaper I will make it for the parents. That will get the parents on side. Then I need to convince everyone that my program and facilities are better than what they are currently getting. I am also going to the best tournaments around.

Now I am ready to go. Ontario Cup, Here I Come!!!

Okay, all joking aside, player movement from team to team has always been a problem in Ontario Soccer. A team that loses a close final will go and find that last player to make sure they win next year.

I would like to know the last team to win the Ontario Cup at say, U16, with a team developed, (not assembled), from scratch.

When was the last time a small community, with local players, won the Cup? Let’s consider the Georgetown/ Brampton/ Mississauga/Oakville corridor.

Players here have numerous clubs from which to choose. At the same time, a coach has a lot of players to pick from as he moves from club to club assembling a team.

With emphasis on winning, what becomes of “player development?” Is winning that important that recruited players are willing to forego further development? Apparently the answer is YES. Unfortunately, unless the parents and players can see the benefit of staying in a strong developmental program and realize the difference between development for the long term and winning in the short term, they will

continue to jump to a “winning” team.

Let me be clear. I have no problem with a player moving to another team if it is clearly about player development or opportunity. If the coaching or program is significantly better, it may be time to move. For instance, if at 16 or 17 your goal is a scholarship, then certainly playing for a team going to a U.S. Showcase tournament makes sense. But do you benefit more from going to that team and sitting on the bench all year than playing for your old team?

Lateral moves, I don’t understand, especially with 12-year-olds. I would argue that staying on your previous team would be better in the long run. Moving to simply be on a “winning team” is not development.

If you are a replacement player this year, you could very well be the replaced player next year. Then what do you do in year three?

For as long as roaming players and poaching coaches have been a problem in Ontario, so too has been the fact that

nothing has realistically been done about it. There are now some residency restrictions, limiting the number of outof-district players, but it does not stop poaching and player movement within the district.

Let me ask all you parents. If a coach is continually poaching players to better his team, rather than develop the team he has, what is he actually teaching your children? What happened to integrity, perseverance and loyalty? Our kids are not professionals and neither are our coaches, but some seem to think they are.

I never thought I would say this, but maybe hockey has it right! If a player at the AA level wants to move to AAA, he must play in the AAA centre closest to his residence. If he is not good enough to make AAA, he generally returns to his home club. He does not play AA at the AAA club and he does not normally move to another AAA team (due to travel distance), even if his parents think he should play at that level.

Former National Team captain, Jason

DRILL OF THE MONTH “CRAB” I have been asked by parents and coaches alike. “When should you start teaching slide tackles?”

My response…”How about never” While a sliding tackle looks great to spectators and TV audiences, it really should only be used as a last resort. It is a desperate attempt to recover from a mistake. Proper defending, with patience and jockeying should eliminate the need for a sliding tackle. In addition, referees today seem to call a slide tackle a foul, almost every time, and a slightly mistimed tackle will end up in a red card.

A slide tackle automatically makes the ref think. Was it from behind? Was it twofooted? Were the studs showing? Did the tackler get the ball first? Not only that,

but a bad slide can burn the skin off the top of your leg.

All that said, a sliding tackle can be a goal saver or create excitement and a momentum shift so therefore we should introduce it to young players. Players will actually learn the finer points of a slide tackle when they get an opportunity to play on a rain soaked field.

A fun and easy way to introduce the “motion” of the slide tackle is a game I like to call, “CRAB.” It is also a good drill to develop dribbling skills for the other players.

SET UP

deVos, presented a discussion paper to the OSA that proposed a Triple A, Double A type system for rep soccer in Ontario.

The emphasis of his proposal was player development, and the paper contained a built-in system to protect clubs from transient players and poaching coaches.

But is the deVos proposal going dormant?

The OSA is changing, but is it enough?

Clubs, coaches, parents and players would all be required to set aside their egos in order to make the proposal work.

Unfortunately the likelihood of that happening is slim. Until it does, poaching and roaming will continue and the teams that do it best will be the “winners.”

I, on the other hand, will continue to do my best to develop players and HOPE they see the long-term benefits of the programs we now have in place. I will keep trying, but I’ve also resigned myself to the fact that I may never win the Ontario Cup. Well, maybe not for a few years yet.

All players have a ball, inside the grid, except “the crab” .

Players begin dribbling around the grid using all the control skills they know.

On the coach’s signal, the crab enters the grid on his hands and feet, with his butt on the ground. The crab attempts to kick the players’ balls out of the square. A player who has his ball kicked out of the grid also becomes a crab. The game progresses until only one player is left with a ball. Reward the last player by appointing him the first crab in the next game.

COACHING POINTS •

Encourage crab to play the ball (and not the legs of the player) by staying low to the ground and timing his challenge properly.

•

Encourage the players to dribble away from the crab and keep control of the ball. Move to open space.

•

Encourage crabs to work together and communicate with each other, as they would do on a soccer field.

Set up a 10 X 10 yard square grid.

InsideSOCCER 75

THE SOCCER HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES

THE 2012 INDUCTEES The Soccer Hall of Fame has just announced the 2012 Induction Class. It is comprised of four Players, two Builders, a Pioneer Award Recipient, an Organization and a Team of Distinction, all listed below.

InsideSOCCER will continue to follow this years inductees and provide you with more information as we get closer to the Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies which will take place in Toronto early in June. See our next issue for more details.

TEAM OF DISTINCTION 1989 Francophone Games Canadian Men’s Team – 23 years after their Gold Medal Victory PLAYERS Charmaine Hooper – Played 129 times for Canada, voted Canada’s Female Player of the Year in 1994, 1995 and 2002.

Carlo Corazzin – Played 59 times for Canada and was a member of Canada’s CONCACAF Gold Cup winning team in 2000.

Mark Watson – Played 78 times for Canada between 1991 and 2004 making his full international debut against Honduras. His lengthy club career took him back and forth between North America and Europe.

Andrea Neil - Played 132 times for Canada. Played in 4 FIFA World Cups.

BUILDERS Angus Barrett - Angus has been involved in soccer for more than 45 years representing both the Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canadian Soccer Association.

Gordon Arrowsmith - Long time referee in the NASL. On Canada’s FIFA list from 1982 – 1991 and officiated at the Canadian Soccer League Final in 1988 and 1991.

PIONEER AWARD John Richardson - Long time B.C. Administrator as secretary of the B.C. Soccer Commission a position he had held since its inception in 1933. He was also a council member of the Dominion Football Association from 1948 until his death.

ORGANIZATION OF DISTINCTION Victoria West - Formed in 1896 and won numerous provincial championships.

They were national champions in 1976, 1979, 1982 and 1984.

THE BRIAN BUDD AWARD OF DISTINCTION The Brian Budd Award was developed to recognize outstanding individuals in promoting the game of soccer in Canada. The candidate must exemplify

good character, show outstanding dedication, achievements and leadership in developing soccer in Canada and provide inspiration to past, present and future generations.

2012 Recipient – Gerry Dobson First media job: News-writer CKO All News Radio, 1979.

Gerry is the host, and commentator on Sportsnet’s soccer programs. He hosts Soccer Saturday which most Saturday mornings in the season shows live coverage of English Premier League games. The program also includes a 30 minute show covering soccer in general.

He is also the commentator on Canadian national team games and on Toronto FC games.

Career highlights: Barcelona Olympics, play-by-play on rowing where Canada won 4 gold medals, Silken Laumann’s bronze; The Golden goal by Richard Hastings to beat Mexico in theGold Cup; The World Cup in Germany 2006; The Women’s World Cup 2010; Alpineskiing at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics; Rogers Cup tennis

Congratulations to All! 76 March/April 2012

SOCCER PROGRAMME SOLD FOR $35,400!

Words and Photographs by Les Jones – Covershots Inc.

Apart from the Soccer Hall of Fame and a few serious collectors such as Birmingham fan, Basil Tomlinson in Ottawa, there is little demand for soccer memorabilia in Canada. Wonderful, unique and important artifacts are being discarded and thrown in the trash.

By contrast, and as with hockey memorabilia in Canada, collecting soccer memorabilia is a huge business in Europe.

Everyone seems to be collecting, with early programmes, player jerseys and signed or vintage photos in big demand.

Apart from specialist soccer memorabilia websites, trade shows and of course Ebay, there are regular, specialized, live auctions dealing exclusively in ”football” items, while other vendors hold the occasional football auction or more general sports memorabilia auctions.

In 2011, Graham Budd Auctions set a world record price for a programme, selling a single printed sheet for the 1889 F.A. Cup final for $35,400!! About the same time, Sotheby’s sold the world’s oldest rule book, from Sheffield Football Club, dated 1857, for $1.6 MILLION!!

Other auctioneers offering exclusively soccer items include Knight’s, Football Sport Auctions Limited, Mullock’s, Sportingold and Methuselah. Others, such as Bonham’s, cover a variety of sports, and of course there are a host of on-line auction sites.

Auctions are big business. In their last two-day sports auction, Budd sold 679 items, taking in an estimated £326,000 (of which more than half

was for football). Look at this selection to get an idea of the variety available and of the prices that soccer memorabilia can fetch: • An Itinerary for the 1926 England tour of Canada - $420 • 1912-1928 Spurs photo album - $3,200 • 1930 World Cup ticket - $420 • 1921 Scottish international medal - $930 • 1921 Programme – England vs Scotland - $3,000 • 1953 Eire international cap - $930 • 1955 England jersey - $2,800 • 1962 England Division 1 Championship medal - $7,200 And if you were a soccer fanatic looking for that special architectural feature for your back yard, you could have acquired the 16’ high, 16’ wide, metal Royal Tunnel gates - timber with iron fittings - from the recently demolished Wembley Stadium for a mere $9,300!

Even though the sport was widely played both 50 and 100 years ago, you see very few soccer items in Canada – even at garage sales, flea markets, antique shops and auction sales. When a former player or administrator dies, the family doesn’t always appreciate the significance of their preserved artifacts; considering them worthless items, they often just dump them.

Years ago at a Toronto antique mall, I had the good fortune to locate photographs and trophies from Ontario’s Western Football Association dating from 1883. More recently at a Markham Antique Show, I found an impressive collection of Ulster United items, including trophies dating from their Canadian Championship of 1925. It included the type of ephemera that might easily be overlooked but is a delight to a historian: a player registration card for 1915, a black armband with the club logo, photos from the 1920s, a match programme from 1949 and newspaper clippings that highlighted the career of George Forsythe.

There may be important, even valuable, soccer items in your basement or attic, in cupboard drawers that are never opened, in dusty cardboard boxes or mixed in with old jewellery in some forgotten container.

The soccer community deserves to see them. If you have items that you think might be useful to The Soccer Hall of Fame & Museum in Vaughan or if you would like an appraisal please contact me at: lesjones@ca.inter.net or 416 691-1555 InsideSOCCER 77

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78 March/April 2012

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InsideSOCCER 79

2/2/2012

DID I REALLY SAY THAT?

ALL WE NEED IS CASH

BY DENNIS FITTER

Don’t believe all the rhetoric you heard during the broadcasts and read after the women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Vancouver. Stuff like Canada came into this tournament looking for a place in London and achieved their goal. Or, mission accomplished. Too many people are always trying hard and digging deep to upside aspects of our soccer program that really do not exist.

Plateaus would be a more apt description of the woman’s program, and for about eight years now, each plateau is merely a slight bit higher than the previous.

Not so much in the results mind you, as in the approach to the game of football. The results aren’t all that much different than achieved under Even Pellerud. The lovely thing is the game is aesthetically much more pleasing, even when losing 0-4 to the Americans.

Let’s not forget Pellerud’s Olympic team in China notched five goals in four matches and allowed only six. That sixth goal came in extra time and kept them from a medal appearance and 1 – 2 versus USA wasn’t a cause for embarrassment. But, their approach to the game was dreadful stuff to watch.

Being nothing more than honest; we would not be able to top that, should the same scenario present itself in London this summer.

Other nations – Japan, England, France, Brazil and a few more, including USA – have had evolutionary upsides to their programs.

Canada is clinging to a cliff, struggling not to fall from the present plateau. With the steady improvement they’ve been making, don’t be surprised if the girls from Mexico stake claim to the CONCACAF number two

spot in four years time.

Hey, I will say it again. I like the stuff our girls are playing. It’s real football. Carolina Morace introduced them to it and John Herdman is taking it a step further. It is crowd pleasing stuff and the interest it stirred at the ticket windows in Vancouver is proof positive of that!

But are we producing enough real footballers to succeed at real football?

The problem is no and it is no because there still is not enough money and organizational commitment expended on the program. I cannot tell you here, because I cannot find a reliable number to report, but the US women’s program goes through more in one month as ours does in two or three years.

The funding situation is one aspect of a national team program that has never had a significant upside. I know how 16, 17, 18 year old girls can afford to dedicate themselves to the Canadian soccer program, but how do 26, 27, 28 year old women manage to hang in?

The Canadian Soccer Association needs a team of money hunters just as dedicated to the soccer cause as the players.

In a broadcast interview following the final match hammering, I think it was Christine Sinclair who searched to put a

positive spin on the result by stressing the need to continually improve and how that comes from playing top-notch teams like USA. Immediately, my heart went out to Stephen at the helm of the Men’s National Team.

There was a FIFA date while the tournament ran in Vancouver.

The US men played Panama and Venezuela, winning both matches. They have Italy in Italy, February 29, Scotland and Brazil at home May 26 and 30 respectively with one more opponent TBA before CONCACAF World Cup qualifying begins.

Oh, and just for good measure, preparations included seven matches – three of those against Central American teams – in five months to close out 2011.

How do you compete against that?

Stephen Hart’s Canada team has their preparations lined up too. European based Canadians will play Armenia, yes Armenia in Cyprus, yes Cyprus, on the February day United States takes on Italy. That should be a big money maker! Yep. So far, that one match is also it for preparing to face Cuba, primary threat Panama and our old nemesis Honduras in matches which really count, this summer and fall.

So, that is our MNT version of Christine Sinclair’s advice on team improvement?

Advancing into the final round of six does not look good.

There exists a long list of superlatives used to describe a well-balanced team playing an attractive match, down on the field. Inventive, creative, confident, spirited, intelligent, disciplined, dedicated, cohesive are a few of the ones I like seeing used.

Has anyone stopped to think a wellbalanced team includes the members sitting behind desks in the office too?

The CSA is forever whining about the shortage of money for our National Teams. Know why? The coach can’t demand that the list of superlatives apply at the office too.

Could I think out-loud to beg just one word from that list of superlatives to describe the office side of the team, it would be inventive. After all, its mother is cash. Doesn’t Argentina owe us a visit before a high priced, full house at Rogers Centre or BC. Place?

Did I really say that?

Dennis Fitter InsideSOCCER 81

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                                