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ISSUE #96 MAY/JUNE 2012
WWW.INSIDESOCCER.CA
INSIDESOCCER e Magazin Publisher Emeritus
Alfons Rubbens - alfons@insidesoccer.ca
Publisher/Editor
Mark Miller - mark@insidesoccer.ca
Art Director
Steve Smiley, RGD - steve@the-carlisle-group.com
Director of New Business
Susan Elliott - susan@insidesoccer.ca
Director of Business Operations and National Accounts
Branden Clark - branden@insidesoccer.ca
Marketing and Special Event Coordinator
Justin Clark - justin@insidesoccer.ca
Senior Staff Writers
Dennis Fitter, Bob Koep, Kris Fernandes, Mike Toth
Web Master
Saul Markowicz
Contributing Writers Armen Bedakian, Michael Betterncourt, Richard Bucciarelli, Susan Elliott, Les Jones, Dave Kenny, Mike Kenny, Tokunbo Ojo, Steven Sandor.
Contributing Photographers Michael Bettencourt, BMO, The Canadian Soccer Association, Andreas Morse/FC Edmonton, Les Jones, Montreal Impact, Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum, Toronto FC Cover Photo: Michael Bettencourt 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:
INSIDE... INSIDESOCCER MAGAZINE
At the risk of sounding immodest, we here at InsideSOCCER Magazine think that this month`s issue # 96, the Parents` Guide to Soccer, is one of our best efforts to date. In recent months we have added to our list of regular, talented and thought-provoking contributors (whose names are listed on our masthead), bringing you even greater scope and perspective. To be sure, we continue to depend on our senior staff writers (Dennis Fitter, whose periodic column Did I Really Say That gives us a unique and edgy read of the soccer world; Bob Koep, who is one of the deans of soccer journalism and always in-the-know; Mike Toth, whose creative prose and contacts at every level in Canadian soccer entertain us and provide us with inside knowledge that no one else has; and Kris Fernandes, whose colourful feature stories make his readers feel they are right there – whether they’re in Barcelona or Toronto). Most recently, we have added Steven Sandor and Armen Bedakian to our masthead. Both Steve and Armen bring a wider scope to what has been our coverage to date, with Steve’s regular coverage of FC Edmonton and Armen’s coverage of Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact. And in this issue, we are proud to welcome Michael Bettencourt to our pages. Many of you will recognize Michael as one of The Globe & Mail’s premier automotive writers, but how many of you know about his long-standing passion for The Beautiful Game? Michael’s profile of yet another Michael – namely, 12-year-old Michael Thornton – is a ringside seat on the debut of a young man we expect to see a lot of in the years ahead. As Michael – Bettencourt, that is – put it: A “talented renaissance boy prompts European family decisions … from Toronto’s Beaches to A. S. Roma. Check it out, beginning on page 20. On another note, we are pleased to recognize our own Publisher Emeritus, Alfons Rubbens. Alfons, who founded InsideSOCCER Magazine in 1992, was honoured this month with the Center Circle Media Award, presented by the Ontario Soccer Association for outstanding work in developing soccer through the media. Alfons, of course, needs no introduction, as he has been one of the seminal forces in the evolution of soccer in Canada. It InsideSOCCER’s Publisher Emeritus, Alfons Rubbens (middle), goes without saying that his influence in alongside Ugo DiFederico (left, OSA VP) and Russ Turnbull (right, President) as he receive’s his Center Circle Media Award at the lives of many soccer aficionados over YRSA the Ontario Soccer Association annual Soccer Conference. Alfons the years (players, reporters, writers – and received the Media Award for his outstanding work in developing yours truly), has been immense. (Editor’s soccer through media. note: I hope my words didn’t embarrass you too much, Alfons. I know how you like to keep a modest stance!) This is how the OSA put it in describing Alfons’ contributions: “Alfons Rubbens received the Media Award for his outstanding work in developing soccer through the media. In 1977, he not only founded the Whitchurch-Stouffville Soccer Club, but was also a founding member of the York Region Soccer League. Then in 1978, he was one of the founding members of the York Region Soccer Association. In 1992, Alfons founded InsideSOCCER Magazine. In the beginning, the magazine was hardly more than a newsletter sponsored by the York Region Soccer Association. Today, InsideSOCCER is a national magazine that features stories from all across the country and the world. The magazine’s growth and success has attracted renowned writers and photographers, creating a professional, full-color publication that keeps its readers informed and intrigued.” Well done, Alfons. It is with great pride that we, too, join in congratulating you on receiving this huge honour.
INSIDEOUT Publishing and Marketing Services P.O. Box 151, King City, Ontario L7B 1A5, Tel: 905.833.1973 Web site: www.insidesoccer.ca Printed in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without written permission of the publisher © Copyright InsideSOCCER Magazine
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IN THIS ISSUE... 10 PLAYING SOCCER TO HELP OTHERS BY SUSAN ELLIOTT 12 GOAL-LINE TECHNOLOGY BY MIKE TOTH 14 FOR TORONTO FC, IT’S THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN 16 THE UNITED KINGDOM OF SOCCER BY BOB KOEP
18
THE NEW FC EDMONTON
FC Edmonton defender Paul Hamilton
6 May/June 2012
18 THE NEW FC EDMONTON BY STEVEN SANDOR 46 SAVE BALOTELLI FROM HIMSELF BY TOKUNBO OJO 47 2012 SOCCER HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES 50 PARLEZ-VOUS SOCCER BY STEVEN SANDOR
52 THE MONTREAL IMPACT KICK OFF THEIR MLS ADVENTURE BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN 54 INSIDESOCCER MARKETPLACE 58 UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS AND CAMPS 65 NEW THIS ISSUE: CLUB NEWS
TRAINING
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SOCCER TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR ALL SkILL LEVELS AND AGES • Elite, Recreational and Team Camps • Positional Specific Training Programs and Coaching Clinics • Only soccer programming with access to the new state of the art Toronto FC training facility located at Downsview Park
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SPECIAL FEATURE: PARENTS’ GUIDE TO SOCCER 20 CANADIAN A.S. ROMA 12 YEAR OLD INVITEE MICHAEL THORNTON BY MICHAEL BETTENCOURT 24 SUPPORT YOUR CHILD BY DAVE KENNY 26 SOCCER OR SCHOOL… WHAT COMES FIRST? A BRYCE ALDERSON EXCLUSIVE BY STEVEN SANDOR
28 BMO TEAM OF THE WEEK IS BACK BY SUSAN ELLIOTT
38 PARENTS’ GUIDE TO CAFFEINE USE FOR SOCCER PLAYERS BY RICHARD BUCCIARELLI
30 THOMAS RONGEN, TFC ACADEMY DIRECTOR, SPEAKS WITH INSIDESOCCER MAGAZINE BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN
40 LTPD PARENTS’ MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
34 INSIDESOCCER’S BASIC SOCCER TERMS FOR PARENTS’ 36 BEHIND THE WHISTLE BY MIKE KENNY
26
42 COACH DAVE, MY CORNER BY DAVE KENNY 44 SOCCER COVERAGE KICKS INTO HIGH GEAR BY LES JONES AND MIKE POLLAK
A BRYCE ALDERSON EXCLUSIVE
Nana Attakora and Bryce Alderson vs. Léster Blanco
8 May/June 2012
7 February/March 2012
PLAYING TO
SOCCER
HELP OTHERS BY SUSAN ELLIOTT
A brand new festival is coming to Toronto this summer... and it’s all about soccer! Organizers have just announced that Festival of Football will take place at Eglinton Flats, in Toronto on Saturday, August 18, 2012. The epic all day event is a fundraiser celebrating the most popular sport around the globe, and the culture, community and passion that surround it. All proceeds will go to support West Park Healthcare Centre - a leader in rehabilitative and long-term
“The Festival of Football will be Canada’s first adult-oriented mass-participation, grassroots soccer fundraising event right in our own backyard,” says Mike Fenton, Executive Director, Campaign, for the Foundation. “We promise it will leave a lasting legacy for our community.” care. This fundraising event will support West Park’s recently announced Campus Development plan, in partnership with the Ontario government. All proceeds from the tournament will support this much needed expansion at West Park
Healthcare Centre Foundation’s new Capital Fundraising Campaign. The Festival of Football is challenging the soccer community to fundraise just like other top sports in Canada. We are all familiar with the dozens of walks, runs, cycling events, marathons and hockey events that raise money for charities and worthy causes and give back to the Canadian communities in which we live. This is the first time that soccer is at the heart of such an event on a grand scale. It provides a great opportunity for the soccer community to harness their passion for the sport and give back to a community leader in healthcare - in order to make a difference in other people’s lives. Festival of Football promises to be a celebration for all members of the community and will feature musical groups, celebrity and VIP appearances, interactive activities, multi-cultural cuisine, prizes and much more. Over 100 teams will play at least five games per team in a 6-on-6 format. Teams will play on mini fields, with matches consisting of two 15-minute halves. All
games will be officiated by referees. Organizers say that skill level or soccer knowledge doesn’t matter, as they will ensure teams face others at the same ability. Teams, consisting of 8 to 14 players, will be grouped into skill based and customizable divisions. For instance, age, gender or industry. Anyone interested can join in the fun, from recreational soccer teams, colleagues at work, or groups of friends who love “Footy!” Registration is only $45.00 per player, and teams will be challenged to raise $8,000.00 for West Park, or about $570 per person. “We call this our “Friends and Family” fundraising format, says Fenton. “Each player will only need 20-30 friends and family members to help them reach their fundraising target.” The Festival of Football website has all of the tools you will need to make fundraising easy and fun. There is also a section that will answer all of your questions and provide any other support that you will need in order to achieve your goals. The event is being organized with support of a volunteer Advisory Cabinet of leaders from the soccer, business and media sectors, including Alf De Blasis, Senior Commercial Producer, TLN/Telelatino, John Hyland, Club Head Coach, North Toronto Soccer Club, Julian Carr, District Coach, Peel Halton Soccer Association, former Canadian women’s national team player Helen Stoumbos, Dino Rossi, President, Milltown FC, and other influential members of the soccer community, including the Ontario Soccer Association and the York Region Soccer Club. In addition, business and community leaders are providing their endorsement of this event as Festival of Football ambassadors including Councillor, Frances Nunziata, Peter Sloly, Deputy Chief, Toronto Police Services and Wayne Butler, President, Toronto Soccer Association. You will be hearing a lot more buzz about this epic event throughout the summer. You won’t want to miss it. For more details visit www.festivaloffootball.ca or call 1 855 775 GOAL (4625). West Park Healthcare Centre Foundation, which houses the largest amputee rehabilitation hospital in Canada. This fundraising event will support West Park’s recently announced extensive expansion plan, in partnership with the Ontario government. All proceeds from the tournament will support this much needed redevelopment plan. Shown to the left is an artists rendering of the proposed expansion.
10 May/June 2012
4 February/March 2012
Canada’s Michal Misiewicz smothers the ball on the goal-line during the 2012 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying in Nashville, TN.
GOAL-LINE BY MIKE TOTH
TECHNOLOGY
Photographs Courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association
To have or not to have? Whether goal-line technology will propel the beautiful game into more enlightened spheres, keep it where we are now, or (heaven forbid!) backheel it into darker ages… that’s the frequently recurring question that experts, non-experts, fans, proponents and opponents are weighing in on left, right and centrefield across the globe. The matter of goal-line technology – and what its introduction could, or will do, to soccer – has been lurking on the sidelines for years, but it took an international hullabaloo that erupted during the quarterfinal stage at the 2010 World Cup match at Bloemfontein in South Africa to force FIFA to take a closer and more serious view. Late in the first half, with Germany leading 1-0, England’s attacking midfielder, Frank Lampard, gained control of the ball just outside the penalty area and let go with a great strike that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced way behind the goal line before spinning back into play. Based on the linesman’s signal (he was, by the 12 May/June 2012
way, nowhere near to get a clear view) the referee denied the goal. On television replays, millions around the world saw what was clearly a legitimate goal, but as the referee’s decision is considered final, Germany went on to win and knocked England out of the World Cup. In a strange twist of football fate, Germany’s march on to the semis in South Africa was somewhat of a revenge for what has become known as the “Wembley goal.” That particular goal came about in the final of the 1966 World Cup that pitted Germany against host country England. With 11 minutes of extra time gone and the two sides locked in a 2-2 tie, England striker Geoff Hurst latched onto a cross from Alan
Ball (the red-haired midfield dynamo from West Ham) and unleashed a hard shot that hit the underside of the crossbar. The ball bounced down toward the goal-line and off the ground before being scrambled away by the German defenders. Hurst raised his arms in celebration – and so did his England teammates, including Roger Hunt who was closest to the goal. Not being certain if the ball had crossed the line, Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst felt he needed to consult his linesman, Tofic Barhranov, from the Soviet Union. Since they didn’t speak each other’s tongues, the communication was strictly non-verbal – the Azerbaijani linesman simply pointed to the centre spot, signaling a goal, and referee Gottfried awarded a goal. It was the goal that decided the fate of the 1966 World Cup as England went on to win 4-2, capturing the one and only World Cup in the history of modern soccer’s “birth country”. Such debatable ”ghost goals“ have provided fuel to soccer lore for just about as long as the beautiful game has been around. Ghost goal is a phrase first coined by ex-Chelsea manager José Maurinho (now bench boss of Real Madrid) describing a phantom goal that “came from the moon” and resulted in a 1-0 win for Liverpool knocking Chelsea out of the 2005 UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Having to make such close-call decisions ranks among the worst nightmares for referees. At times even television replays fail to determine whether the ball has completely crossed the goal-line. Whether goal-line technology is a good call or not is a rather contentious issue in soccer. Proponents of modern technology are convinced tools already exist, but FIFA, soccer’s governing body, is far from convinced and has until recently stubbornly resisted testing such proposals as goal-line technology, instant replays or adding extra officials. Their arguments? They don’t want the game to lose element of “human error” or disrupt continuity. Rubbish, say those on the other side who feel the time has come for soccer to go where it has not yet gone and integrate suitable technological innovation to assist match officials. How often have we seen
players swarming around in attempt to change referees’ minds, clearly disrupting continuity and flow of the game? Instant replay, or some such, would provide faster means and, at the same time, eliminate such ugly time-wasting disruptions. In response to increasing pressure, FIFA had reluctantly agreed to test the Cairos GLT system (produced by Germanbased Cairos Technologies in partnership with Adidas), which involves using a ball embedded with a microchip that can send an instant signal to the referee when the ball fully crosses a goal-line sensor. The system was first tested on a trial basis at the 2005 Under-17 World Championships in Peru and underwent further testing at the 2007 World Club Championships. A few months later in March 2008, FIFA’s International Football Association Board (a body which determines the laws of the game) put the brakes on further testings, then decided to permanently ditch the technology after FIFA president Sepp Blatter considered the Adidas system “only 95 per cent accurate.” But soccer being what it is, permanents don’t last forever, and the Cairos GLT system was soon back in play. After the 2010 World Cup (fuelled by the Lampard goal/no-goal incident and some other questionable referee decisions) President Blatter announced that the world governing body would reopen discussions and run a series of tests involving nine different systems currently under review across Europe. Hawk-Eye system is among the technologies under review. First developed by Dr. Paul Hawkins (hence the ”Hawk” in the name) in 1999 and since improved by Roke Manor Research, the technology, involving six cameras positioned at each end of the field, is currently employed primarily in tennis, but also in cricket and snooker. Arguments gainst the Hawk-Eye include that it is not a real-time system, so play has to stop for officials to review the play in dispute. Also under consideration is Goalminder Technology, fronted and developed in England by Harry Barney and Dave Parden, after their favourite Bolton Wanderers were relegated to the sidelines due to a wrongly disallowed goal. The system uses highspeed cameras built into the goalposts and crossbar, is capable of recording images at 2,000 frames per second and delivers visual evidence to the game official in
less than five seconds. Goalminder is also the cheapest. If FIFA comes to a decision and allows goal-line technology, we could see it being applied by the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Or sooner, says Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Dick Howard, who also happens to be a member of FIFA’s technical committee since 1998 and ranks as the longest-serving chairman of the CONCOCAF coaching committee. “There is no doubt, to my mind, that GLT will be in place in all the major FIFA
the best – and also the worst – in soccer around the globe. He and his on-screen analyst partner, Craig Forrest, have been exposed to the game at various levels, including the English Premier League, Major League Soccer here in North America, Champions League, European Championship, World Cup and Canadian internationals involving both men’s and women’s teams. “Part of the debate centers around the type of goal-line technology to be used. Should it be a micro chip in the ball to
tournaments in the years ahead, starting with the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan later this year,” says Howard. “Some confederations, such as UEFA, could well implement GLT technology in future EURO tournaments, and it is likely to be implemented in the top national leagues such as the Barclay’s Premiership. Costs could well restrict its implementation, however, in many parts of the world of football.” Howard sees Cairos GLT and Hawk-Eye as the two top contenders. “Look for the Hawk-Eye system , so successful in tennis and cricket, and recently purchased by SONY (a FIFA partner ) to be an integral part of Brazil 2014,” he says. Veteran television Rogers Sportsnet broadcaster Gerry Dobson, whose face and voice are familiar to soccer fans across Canada, says: “FIFA is painfully slow to make changes to any aspect of the game. Their obstinacy is hurting the game, as it has evolved over the years and yet rule changes do not reflect the modern game. Like any other sport, players are bigger, faster, stronger. The game moves too quickly now for a single referee and two assistants to see everything. I fear if FIFA does try to move forward on this issue, they’ll mess it up anyway.” Dobson is well qualified, having seen
determine if it crossed the line? Should there be a goal-line official? They have experimented with an extra assistant behind the endline, but that has proven to be useless,” he says. ” Or should they do the sensible thing and use video replay? They will likely not go with what makes sense in every professional league in North America. They seem to like the ‘human element’ even if it costs teams or countries games.” Dobson says that “any type of technology to help the officials is way overdue. But if you’re looking for a pioneer in this regard, don’t look to FIFA. Change will likely come in England first. Maybe as early as next season.” Even Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has recently waded into the issue, urging the powers to move into a more enlightened era. “I think the football authorities need to sit together and see how we can improve it,” Wenger was quoted as saying. “It is time for us to help the referees and not be so conservative and finally opt for video. Video will help the referees, not question their authority. It will give them more credit, more authority and produce fewer mistakes.”
InsideSOCCER 13
TORONTO FC
FOR TORONTO FC, IT’S THE
JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION
BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN Photographs Courtesy of Les Jones - Covershots Inc.
After a year of competition, spanning the course of 16 games, in stadiums anywhere from Nicaragua, to Mexico, to Los Angeles, and to a 47,000-strong Rogers Centre, Toronto FC’s CONCACAF Champions League adventure has come to an end. Toronto FC went down to Torreón, Mexico, to take on fellow semi-finalists, Club Santos Laguna, in a make-or-break match, which, if Toronto FC won, would take them to the Champions League final. It just wasn’t meant to be.
14 May/June 2012
Toronto FC fell by a score of 6-2 in Mexico, with Santos Laguna replicating the 6-goal rout they had dished out to the Seattle Sounders just weeks ago in the quarterfinal stage. Certainly, Toronto FC’s semi-final finish
was no walk in the park. In our last issue, we were building up to the quarterfinal match against the Los Angeles Galaxy, a side everyone expected to advance. With the Rogers Centre sold out, Toronto FC took on David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane et al, and, unbelievably, walked out with a 2-2 draw against the reigning MLS champions. A 2-2 draw may seem like a huge accomplishment, but even that scoreline was not flattering to Toronto FC, which took an early two-goal lead and then blew it in the last minute. It all started when Torsten Frings swung a well-placed corner kick into the box, which landed at the foot of on-form striker Ryan Johnson, who took no time to hit the roof of the goal. Then, moments later, MLS SuperDraft pick Luis Silva found himself unmarked on yet another Frings cross, and headed home beautifully. It didn’t take long, however, for Los Angeles to regroup. Mike Magee found the back of the net and made it 2-1. The scoreline held, the clock struck 90, and in typical fashion, poor defending in extra time gave Los Angeles an equalizer off a corner kick, with captain Landon Donovan hitting one home. To think that Toronto FC could have walked out of the Skydome with a win! Wouldn’t that be something? Fate, however, plays by its own storyline. The away leg in Carson, California, was now more crucial than Toronto FC would have wanted it to be; they planned to put Luis Silva with the header for TFC’s first goal against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Toronto FC’s Nick Soolsma (L) collides with Club Santos Laguna’s Osmar Mare during the CONCACAF Champions League Semi Finals.
the game to bed at home, and for good reason: the Galaxy went undefeated at home throughout the entirety of their 2011 campaign. Los Angeles also held the away goals advantage, having scored twice in Toronto. Anything less than a 2-2 draw would see Toronto’s Champions League dream washed away off the shores of Santa Monica beach, into the Pacific Ocean. This game provided all the drama and plot twists you would expect from a Champions League game, and the result at the end would not disappoint either. Toronto FC went into the Home Depot Centre and, much like in the Rogers Centre beforehand, Ryan Johnson came up big on the 34-minute mark, scoring a crucial 1-0 opener and setting things up for a massive upset. Toronto FC were once again in that critical driver’s seat. Soon after, Ty Harden dove in for a clearance off a Landon Donovan cross, intended for Robbie Keane. It should have been an easy clearance, but, surprising his own keeper Milos Kocic, Harden slid in and connected with the ball just enough to kiss it into his own net. A costly owngoal, one that saw the two sides stand level once again, put Toronto FC into allor-nothing mode. If the first half was the story of Toronto FC’s own undoing, the second half was a tale of redemption; Nick Soolsma found
Ryan Johnson’s cross, slotted home, and put Toronto FC up 2-1, the final score on the night. Who would have seen that coming? If there was a team Toronto FC was not supposed to defeat, it was the sweethearts of the MLS, the Los Angeles Galaxy. However, beat them they did, walking out with a 4-3 win over two legs, and making it to the semi-finals where they were matched up with Mexico’s firstplace side, Club Santos Laguna, their toughest test yet. Meeting at BMO Field, Toronto FC would take on Santos for a spot in the finals. BMO Field proved to be a fortress once again for Toronto, which carved out a hardfought 1-1 draw, setting up a grand finale, make-or-break showdown in Mexico. We’ve come full circle now; as mentioned before, Toronto FC fell 6-2 in Torreon, ending their Champions League run. Twice, Joao Plata put Toronto FC ahead, but Santos Laguna equalized effectively, before kicking up their offensive pressure in the second half. The rest, as they say, is history. Santos scored four more times, killing off Toronto FC’s Champions League ambitions.
It can be said that Toronto FC has never seen a sight quite like Santos Laguna. They relied too much on the youthful, raw talent of their draft picks and academy graduates. With no Torsten Frings or Danny Koevermans available, they certainly lacked experience. Yet, it was the young winger Joao Plata who pushed Toronto FC forward. Plata, of whom so much was spoken of last season, showed up once again when it counted. It was fitting that he should wrap up Toronto FC’s CONCACAF Champions League dream, considering how many times Plata stepped up before to advance his club to the next stage. Toronto FC achieved the impossible three times: they claimed their third Canadian championship, ousted Dallas and Los Angeles, and made it to the semifinals. When supporters look back at 2011 and 2012, they will remember their club’s first foray into international success. That’s the lesson Toronto FC will take from their CONCACAF Champions League adventure; they made their supporters proud, reaching levels no one expected them to. Really, on the most basic level, it was fun. It was fun to watch Toronto FC win, fun to see the drama unfold as Toronto FC made their way to the top, taking casualties with them. Isn’t having fun the real prize anyway?
Toronto FC’s Luis Silva celebrates his goal in first-half action as Toronto FC plays the Los Angeles Galaxy in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarter final at Rogers Centre. InsideSOCCER 15
THE
UNITED KINGDOM SOCCER OF
BY BOB KOEP
Photographs Courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association
The upcoming Olympic soccer tournament in London reveals a fact that is usually not in the back of the mind of most people: England is not a separate, sovereign state. While England is recognized by FIFA as an entity with her national team participating in all international tournaments under the banner of the St Georges Cross, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) only recognizes the United Kingdom as a country. According to international protocol, England is part of the United Kingdom. Because of this, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has not participated in Olympic soccer in over 40 years. This year, however, the subject is on the carpet, as the host country has to field a team in the Olympic tournament. So the arguments began over who is to represent that country, as the formation of a true U.K. team seems to be impossible, even though it is pretty much a done deal that a team composed of English players will get the job. All four Football Associations, those of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, are opposed to the fielding of a unified team, as they fear such a move would open the door to watering down their fiercely defended independence status of the “Home Nations.” They were willing to run a playoff tournament among the four Associations, with the winner to represent the U.K. at the Olympics. But even though the subject has been 16 May/June 2012
debated over and over again, nothing ever came of it, and the job obviously has gone to the English by default. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland just won’t play under the Union Jack and thus leave it free to England to play under “That Banner.” On the other hand, Jim Boyce, the FIFA Vice President, and the British Olympic Association argued that there is no legal restriction that prevents any player with a British Passport from joining a U.K. team. But it won’t be. Of course, the location of the stadiums has nothing to do with regional pride. The games are played in six stadiums across Britain. In England, there is action at Wembley, and the spanking new main 80,000-seat Olympic stadium in the Stratford section of London. Games are also played at Old Trafford, Manchester, St James Park, Newcastle, City of Coventry Stadium, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, and Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland. No arena in Northern Ireland was selected. The final is played Aug. 11.
at the 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium. Of course, the new Wembley is strictly a soccer stadium now, with no running track. That is why a separate Olympic stadium was built in the first place – to accommodate the athletics (track and field) competition. That arena is possibly being taken over by either Tottenham Hotspurs or West Ham United after the games; otherwise, it would be an empty relic, much like the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. As usual, the Olympic soccer tournament is an under-23 competition, and most senior players are not concerned about this U.K. argument. At this time an England team gets the nod, and it is feasible, but not likely, the odd player from the other associations might sneak into the lineup, albeit under the risk of
being ostracized at home. So don’t bet on it. Coming back to the under 23 status of the Games, it is because of FIFA that a full fledged tournament is not possible. After the Olympics were opened to professionals, FIFA was afraid the IOC would stage its own World Cup and thus take away, or at least seriously reduce, the value of its biggest money making tournament. Thus FIFA and the IOC came to an agreement that the Olympics would only feature under-23 players (with the exception that three over age players would be permitted perhaps to add an aging star or two to spruce up a roster of rather unknown players). It is even possible that David Beckham may end up playing for the U.K. With this under-23 set up, one can see that the tournament features some countries with names unfamiliar to World Cup aficionados. Among the 16 teams in the competition are countries such as United Arab Emirates, Gabon, Morocco, Belarus and a yet unknown country from Asia or Africa. Oman and Senegal are playing for the last slot. Other teams in the tournament are the hosts: South Korea, Japan, Egypt, Brazil, Uruguay, Spain, Switzerland, New Zealand, Mexico and Honduras. The women had their excitement, too, when Iran was banned from further participation as that country refused to adhere to the FIFA dress code. The Iranian women had played in a Hijab (covering their faces) in preliminaries but were then banned from continuing to wear that particular attire. A total of 12 teams are contesting the women’s games. They are the hosts, Japan,
North Korea, Cameroon, South Africa, United States, Canada, Brazil, Columbia, New Zealand, Sweden and France. Canada’s men’s team succumbed to Mexico in the last round of playoffs, and the old story continued: If you run into Mexico in any kind of playoff, you are out. The women did a lot better there. They managed to beat Mexico and reached the continental final against the U.S. They lost that one, but the two top nations from our CONCACAF section qualify, and reaching the final was enough to do the trick. Coming back to the U.K.’s roll in Olympic soccer, that country was quite involved in the competition way back in amateur days when associations didn’t stand their ground the way they do now. In fact, Britain won the gold in 1908 and 1912, then entered in 1920, but not again till 1936. London was the first Olympic
host after the war, and a U.K. team under Manchester United Coach Matt Busby finished in fourth place, having been beaten by Denmark, 5-3 in the consolation final. The Gold medal in that tournament went to Sweden, a 3-1 winner over Yugoslavia. But when Eastern European Communist countries started to field their full national teams (claiming they were amateurs) the U.K. eventually decided not to enter the Olympics any more. And in 1974, the country announced there would be no more UK teams in soccer. Now they will have to show their colors, because the Host just cannot stay away. Even if they are all English, they will have to carry the Union Jack into battle.
Canada’s Olympic Gold Medal Hopefuls (From left to right): Christine Sinclair, Karina LeBlanc, Shannon Woeller, Rhian Wilkinson, Candace Chapman, Christina Julien, Desiree Scott, Sophie Schmidt, Melissa Tancredi, Kelly Parker, and Lauren Sesselmann. InsideSOCCER 17
FC EDMONTON
New FC EDMONTON THE
BY STEVEN SANDOR Photographs Courtesy of Andreas Morse/FC Edmonton
3 3 3 3
New black home jerseys? Check. A new stadium to call home? Check. A rebuilt back line? Yup. A couple of shiny new strikers? Check that, too. And, even though FC Edmonton has undergone a raft of off-season changes, the team’s raison d’être — to promote and nurture Canadian talent — remains intact. Of the 25 players who start the season with the team, 17 are Canadian. That’s 68 percent. But even though the ratio of Canadian players on the roster remains high, the cast of characters is different. Of the 25 players who started the 2012 NASL season on the roster, 11 are new to the club. And Canadian forward Matt Lam wasn’t with the team in 2011, as he was on loan to Japanese side JEF United. And, to go with a new, (hopefully) improved lineup: a long-awaited move to Clarke Stadium, located adjacent to Commonwealth Stadium on the city’s north side. The team leaves Foote Field and its smaller-than-regulation hard artificial turf for a regulation pitch that’s 76 yards wide. The team is installing temporary stands to boost Clarke from a capacity of 1,200 to 4,000 seated, with standing room for 1,000 more. A beer garden is at the south end, while a family play area is set up on the north side. Food 18 May/June 2012
trucks and independent vendors will sell food at the games, to get away from the stale hot dogs and flat beer you find in a lot of stadiums. Of course, the refurbished Clarke Stadium layout is only seen as a temporary solution. Owner Tom Fath’s goal is to get Edmonton a soccerspecific stadium in which to play. So far, Edmonton’s city council has listened to the team’s pitch — but Fath knows that the club needs to show, not tell. So, he hopes the crowds will be much stronger in the new Clarke than they were at Foote last season, where 2,000 was considered a decent night. Fath said it’s up to supporters to show Mayor Stephen Mandel and the city that Clarke is a stepping stone, not a destination. They need to fill Clarke in 2012, which is helped by a fan-friendly schedule that sees FCE play almost all of its home games on Sundays with 2 p.m. kickoffs. FC Edmonton defender Paul Hamilton dons the new kits during the 2012 Home Opener at Clarke Stadium.
“It will show we need a stadium for FC Edmonton, so we can control our own destiny going into the future,” said Fath. To increase the team’s visibility, home games are not only available on UStream, which carries all NASL games, but are also available through CBC Edmonton and CBC.ca — with play-by-play man Gareth Hampshire with the call and yours truly with analysis. There were discussions about a local CBC television broadcast later in the year, but that’s not finalized at the moment. But, having the games on CBC’s website gives FCE more relevancy to fans across Canada than simply being part of the NASL’s package deal with UStream. As well, the team’s home games will once again be broadcast locally on TEAM 1260 radio. And with a brand new home, the team kicked off the NASL season with an entirely rebuilt backline. Of the four men who started in the back of coach Harry Sinkgraven’s 4-3-3 formation for the team’s season opening loss to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, none of them were FCE players in 2011. Yes, mainstay Paul
Hamilton was suspended and is expected to resume his role as the captain of the defence, but his supporting cast will change. Ex-Montreal Impact defender Kevin
into the FCE starting XI. Lassonde has been with the U-20 and U-23 programs, and can play on either the right or left; in the first game of the season, he started at right back and then switched to left after West got hurt. “The national teams have used me more as a fullback, and in Germany I was used more as a midfielder,” he said. “But I have no trouble playing right back or left back. I believe that if you can play right, you can play left, just a matter of which foot to use. Playing right back is really no different than playing on the left.” FC Edmonton had the secondworst goals against total in NASL last season. And, even though the attack was good enough to get the Eddies into the playoffs, the goalkeeping position needed to be addressed. Last year, Dutch veteran Rein Baart struggled with both poor form and discipline issues (two red cards last season). Lance Parker, the former Chivas USA keeper, suffered a compound fracture to his right arm, while No. 3 keeper Jaswinder Gill had back issues
Hatchi is on the left side of defence, and former Fort Lauderdale Striker Adam West will also bolster that side. After he’d signed, Hatchi recommended Jonathan Joseph-Augustin, his old teammate from his days with French second-division side Grenoble. He impressed Sinkgraven and was signed. And, for Canadian soccer supporters, the most interesting acquisition was Fabrice Lassonde, the Quebecer who was at FC Ingolstadt of the 2. Bundesliga, then auditioned with his hometown Montreal Impact last summer but was never offered a contract. Lassonde walked right
that kept him out all season. At times, FCE had to use amateur Justin Ammar on an emergency basis. So, Director of Soccer Operations Joe Petrone overcompensated. David Monsalve, the former Toronto FC and Canadian U-20 keeper, was signed late last year and was expected to start the season as No. 1. Parker, when he returns from injury, will compete for the job. And then, Edmonton brought in some goalie from Calgary named Michal Misiewicz to be the No. 3. Oh, you’ve heard of him? Canada’s top player at the Olympic qualifiers? Yeah,
FC Edmonton goalie Michal Misiewicz outleaps a Minnesota Stars forward for the ball during the Clarke Stadium NASL opener.
the original plan was for Misiewicz to start the season on FCE’s reserve team. But, the Olympic performance — mixed with an injury to Monsalve and the fact Parker wasn’t ready to start the season — got Misiewicz into FCE’s starting XI a lot faster than anyone would have predicted back in January. And, to add even more depth to the position, FCE signed John Smits, the University of Toronto product who was regarded as the top keeper in CIS last season. FCE also made two key signings to help at the other end of the pitch. Not only does Edmonton want to cut the number of goals allowed, it would love to find another 10-15 goals out of the strikers. So, the team cut a unique deal with Chilean side Colo-Colo; FCE acquired striker Yashir Pinto on a one-year loan. But, even though Pinto is in Canada on loan, FCE would get a healthy percentage of the proceeds if he is sold within the year. But, right now, the former Chilean U-20 striker is expected to be the team’s offensive catalyst. But immigration issues mean that he can only play games on Canadian soil to start the season. And, Serisay Barthelemy, who played in the French second division with SC Bastia, showed up at the NASL Combine in February looking for a job. He did so well, that he earned multiple offers. But, in the end, he chose to come to the Eddies, where he has two French teammates and another French speaker in Lassonde to keep him company. Barthelemy was the team’s top scorer in preseason, and if he repeats that form in the regular season, and Pinto can provide another 10 goals, it will make a huge difference. The ironic thing about FC Edmonton in 2012 is that while Eddies remain committed to nurturing Canadian talent, it will be the new foreign players like Pinto, Barthelemy and Hatchi who determine if the team will do better than its fifth-overall finish in 2011.
InsideSOCCER 19
SPECIAL FEATURE:
PARENTS’ GUIDE TO SOCCER CANADIAN A.S. ROMA 12 YEAR OLD INVITEE
MICHAEL
THORNTON BY Michael Bettencourt
Photographs Courtesy of Michael Bettencourt
Talented renaissance boy prompts European family decisions. From Toronto’s Beaches to A.S. Roma history, 12 year-old Michael Thornton is first Canadian to ever be offered a place in storied Italian club academy.
Francesco Totti, captain of the Serie A Club Roma, with Michael during his trial in Italy.
20 May/June 2012
Twelve year-old Michael Thornton loves the A.S. Roma cap he had signed by Francesco Totti, which hangs on the back of his bedroom door months after the A.S. Roma star signed it in Italy. But Thornton is not quite sure if that’s his most prized possession from his successful trial with the storied Serie A team’s academy early this year, or if it’s the Roma jersey the 2006 World Cup winner also signed for him. Or perhaps the Toronto grade six student’s favourite momento could be the blown up photo of Thornton receiving the signed jersey from the Roma talisman. Either way, even with Thornton and his family knowing not a lick of Italian, the highlight of the trip was certainly meeting the Italian star, who became the Serie A record-holder earlier
this year for scoring the most goals ever for one team in Italy’s top league. Thornton may very well be able to add to his Totti haul in the next year, as the club has invited Thornton and his family to move to Italy to join the club’s prestigious academy. Thornton is the first Canadian ever offered a spot in the Roma academy, says the family’s Italian agent Stefano Calvigioni, it and Juventus’ academies the largest youth programs in Italy, and amongst the most highly regarded in Europe. “The skill is very high there, and they compete in European tournaments there against top youth teams from across Italy, from Barcelona, from Manchester,” said Calvigioni. “To have a Canadian on any of those teams, is almost impossible to find.” After receiving the invite from Youth team director Bruno Conti, himself a former star with Roma and the Italian national team, Thornton (born in 2000) started with the 1999 ‘B’ team. In his first game, his team won 6-1, with Thornton scoring five and assisting on the other. “Stefano started laughing, turned to us and asked ‘Are all players from Canada like this?’” said Paul Thornton, Michael’s father. Thornton Senior had no soccer background previously, but studied the sport intensely as his son’s enthusiasm and abilities grew. The Roma coaches lauded his speed, his ability to shoot with both feet, and his ball control. The latter is a skill Michael demonstrated in Italy often, once in a freestyling session with Roma’s Brazilian mid-fielder and master juggler Rodrigo Taddei, as well as to help ingratiate himself to his young Italian teammates, only a couple of whom could speak basic English.The original trial was scheduled for a week, but in the end, Thornton, his parents, and his two brothers all stayed two weeks in total, at the request of Roma management, which covered the entire family’s travel expenses over that time. After another week of playing with the older 1999 ‘A’ team, the coaches had seen enough, and offered him a formal invitation to join A.S. Roma’s youth academy at any time. It’s a major step for the entire family, as it would mean moving Michael, his parents, his older brother Chris and his soccer-loving younger brother David. And just five years prior to that Roma invite, a seven year-old Michael Thornton had not yet
played an organized game of football in his young life. That first organized football match was in a recreational league just down the street from his house, in the trendy Beaches area of Toronto, on a bumpy patch of grass that literally overlooks Lake Ontario. His father says that it was easy to tell that Michael was one of the quickest
kids on the field, and that while every boy and girl playing would chase after the ball in the usual roving swarm, it was Michael that emerged from it with the ball at his feet most often, kicking it down field for him to chase – and often score. “He was ridiculous, he’d run with the ball, and could kick with both feet almost from the beginning,” said the elder Thornton. “I bought a radar gun, and there’s a one kilometer an hour (speed) difference in his kicks between both feet.” As his goals piled up, the rec league coaches and parents started instituting rules to slow him down, restricting him to behind the centre line, or not allowing him to score until at least five other children had netted. By then, the family knew they had a natural athlete on their hands. His room is lined not only with soccer trophies and medals, but also for 50 and 100 metre sprints, cross country triumphs, as well as breaking an Ontario long jump record that stood for 33 years. Outside of sports, he does very well in school, having won awards for his art, is an accomplished singer, and as I heard at his house, plays a mean ‘Hotel California’ on the guitar. In short, a true Renaissance boy. This would be a wondrous award haul for any 12 year-old, but it’s all the
The Thornton’s (From left to right): Michael’s eldest brother – Chris, father – Paul, Michael, mother – Debbie, and youngest brother – David InsideSOCCER 21
HOW PARENTS CAN HELP GROOM FUTURE FOOTBALL STARS Make sure it’s fun for them. Focus on drills and individual technical skills, versus playing on a winning team. Take time out for useful and fun practice, and best training, whenever possible. Be willing to challenge them: put them on older teams, extra practice on their opposite foot, and on what they’re not as strong on (yet). Always start with praise, and make them analyze the game for you – never criticize, especially if they’re working hard. Encourage other sports: participation in gymnastics, track and cross country will help with key balance, speed and stamina on the pitch. more remarkable here because Michael Thornton has been living with Type 1 diabetes since he was six years old, a year before he started playing soccer for fun. This rare form of the disease is said to reduce life expectancy by a minimum of 15 to possibly 27 years (according to the latest information from the Public Health Agency of Canada), threatening organs such as the heart, eyes, nerves and kidneys, due to an inability to produce insulin. He therefore needs daily injections of insulin to survive, which used to be in the form of three to four needles a day. Living with the condition has since been made much easier with a continuous insulin pump that’s attached to his body, giving 22 May/June 2012
him a little black box to constantly carry around, to check when he needs a snack. “It’s actually a help for him (diabetes) in some ways, because he eats like a body builder,” says his father, whose wife previously was a body builder as well as a serious volleyball player. “He eats a lot of food, he knows how many carbs he’s eating, he never eats junk food, and never drinks pop.” Michael’s father has since put him in a variety of schools and trained with different coaches, starting in serious football with Power Soccer (powersoccer.ca), then moving up to Elite Soccer Development (www. elitesoccerdevelopment.com) located about 90 minutes away from home in the Niagara wine region, then working with Dave Zonfeld at Sigma Sports Solutions (www.sigma-sports.net), Robin Van der Laan (www.rvdlsoccer.com) and now with Junior Groves at Masters Futbol Academy (www.mastersfutbolacademy.ca/). He also does regular freestyle training sessions with Kevin de Serpa, of Ginga Soccer (www.gingasoccer.ca), which may teach flashy crowd-pleasing juggling tricks, but also refines that all-important first touch, Dad says, which is key for professional football players. “The best players in the world are great freestylers, and the reason why is that every time they touch the ball, it’s all about control,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if someone sends a long looping pass to you, or rifles it across the ground, if you
have a good first touch, you’ll be able to control the ball right away, which gives you a major advantage over a defender.” So with training from all these accomplished coaches, both here, in Italy and in Holland, where he spent 10 days last summer playing against kids drilled in the ways of ‘total football,’ who has taught Thornton the most, I ask him? “My Dad,” he says with no hesitation, soccer background or no soccer
background. “He spends every spare moment of his time with me and my family,” said the 12 year-old. The boys are allowed to practice in the house, and Paul often takes the boys outside to practice with them in the laneway behind their house, reinforcing the notion that while good coaching is important, practicing what you learn from those coaches on your own time is key. Michael Thornton used to dream about playing for Manchester United as a (younger) youngster. Now the 12 year-old wonders aloud whether Man U’s academy is as good as the one at Barcelona, or even Manchester City. “I’d have to see how they train, and see what they’d do to help me,” he says about the suddenly fathomable but still remote possibility of joining Man U’s youth program. “Now I dream about scoring lots of goals like Messi or Ronaldo – though I’d like to be on a team I could stick to for a long time.” Fathomable because advisor and agent Calvigioni is working on arranging trials with both Barcelona and Manchester City, as well as potential shorter training sessions with Roma, until the family can arrange to immigrate with their son, wherever he ends up in Europe. “We’re looking at being there in a year or two,” says Michael’s mother Debbie, who is fully ready to pull her other two boys and themselves from their lives in Canada to live in a country where they don’t speak the language, or have any relatives, friends or any current career prospects. “I know some parents have sent their kids there on their own, or with one parent, but I couldn’t do that.” Ten year-old David has his own football ambitions, and would love to join his older brother on an academy pitch in
Europe. But he admits, in the shadow of the soccer pitch where he and his brother just played in a mid-April tournament, that there are things he would miss if he moved away. “Things like my house, and the CN Tower.” It’s not difficult to see that the least enthusiastic family member about any potential move is oldest brother and teenager Christopher, who spent the game featuring his two younger brothers with his nose buried in his iPhone. “I like Toronto, personally,” he admits, seemingly torn between the rest of the family’s European excitement, and his own understandable misgivings. He and the rest of the family would be happy to be able to stay in Canada, if the football career prospects were all the same, said Paul. “If Canada was doing great (at teaching high level soccer), we would not be emigrating.”
While the quality of instruction, competition and investment are inarguably leagues ahead in the soccer powerhouses in Europe, the domestic prospects are brightening, if slowly. With the rise of professional MLS teams in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto over the past six years, each of them is building up their youth programs. Toronto FC’s is the most advanced, with youth academy programs starting at age six, at a new $20 million national training facility shared by TFC that opens this summer. At least one close observer to the national Canadian soccer scene estimates that between 40 and 80 high level Canadian youth players are training in Europe at any given time. If that’s accurate, it suggests that the professional prospects of the vast majority of even these fortunate players are by no means certain. And unlike going to the U.S. on a scholarship, as many talented Canadians do in many sports, there’s no diploma or degree available in Europe as a worthwhile consolation prize. For the Thorntons, whether successful in reaching first team European football or not, they realize that Michael is living the dream of young soccer players and parents by the thousands across the country, and by the millions – if not billions – of footie fans across the globe. “Just don’t forget to get me Champion’s League tickets,” says a fellow parent in passing to Paul. It’s another vote of confidence on a long journey that could very well result in Michael Thornton being the one signing the autographs for excited young football players.
InsideSOCCER 23
SUPPORT YOUR CHILD: IT COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE
BY DAVE KENNY A parents’ attitude and conduct has a tremendous impact on a young soccer player. In order for a player to get the most enjoyment from the soccer experience, he or she will need the full support from parents. Success to a young player is measured by enjoyment of the sport, meeting new friends, refreshment breaks and not necessarily trophies. With this in mind, here are a few suggestions to make sure your kids have a SUCCESSFUL soccer season.
1. LET THE COACHES COACH
In essence, let the coaches do just that – be the coaches. Leave the coaches to discuss strategy, training, motivating and critiquing. As a parent, you have entrusted the coaches to look after your child (otherwise you would have volunteered), and they need to be free to do their job. If a player is being coached by a parent as well, there are too many voices and the child is often confused. A few years ago I was coaching a girls’ team. On a free kick we had a set play. Our outside midfielder, on the “parents” side of the field, pretended to be talking to another player. The play was for her to draw an opponent to her and then run late to gain the field behind the defenders. As 24 May/June 2012
she was playing her part to perfection, her mother was yelling, over and over, at her to “Move up the field!” Eventually the player turned to her mom and yelled “I’m supposed to be here!” Mom then realized she was trying to do the job of the coach.
2. SUPPORT THE PROGRAM
Get Involved. Make sure your child is on time for practices and games. Volunteer for fundraisers, put up the nets, car pool, etc. Kids always like to see their parents involved. When you do drop your child off for a game, please stay and watch, at least a portion of the game. You simply being there to support your child will resonate as support for both the player and the team as a whole. During my first year of coaching, I coached four and fiveyear-olds. I was only 15. We were finished by around 7:30 p.m. and one player had to wait for a ride. I waited with him until
8 p.m. His mother thought soccer was a good time to go grocery shopping. Tears from her scared five-year-old proved to her that maybe she should stick around.
3. DO NOT BE A DRIVING CRITIC
Far too many parents analyze the game on the drive home. I have heard horror stories from players that they hear everything they did wrong and what the team did wrong all the way home. Parents should always be the child’s number one fan. Never criticize their performance. Always stress the positive. Most important, continually encourage your child.
4. CHEER FOR ALL PLAYERS
When a parent cheers for all players on the team, it encourages teamwork. Teammates are friends for the duration of the game. Cheer not only for your own child, but also for your child’s team mates.
5. BEHAVE PROPERLY
For a player to perform at his or her best, he or she needs to play without distractions. Do not yell at the referee. Do not yell at other parents and certainly not at other players. Do not degrade the other team with negative comments. These types of behaviour take away from a player’s focus and have a negative impact on performance of not only that one player, but also the team as a whole. During a tournament game a few seasons ago,
a photographer mother moved around the corner flag to get some enhanced photos. The opposing coach felt that she was getting too close to his goalkeeper and asked the referee to remove her. The husband of the photographer then got involved and started yelling across the field at the coach. That, in turn, set off parents yelling at other parents and a larger distraction was created. Within thirty seconds of the re-start, the son of the photographer was carded for a reckless tackle. He lost his focus because of his parents’ behaviour.
6. DO NOT BRIBE YOUR CHILD
Offering “a dollar a goal” or ice cream after a game as a reward for performance can distract a player and will be counter productive. I once was coaching a 12-year-old player who was trying to score from bad angles, long distances and even directly from a corner. His inability to score caused great frustration for him, and he was not playing to his typical ability. He told us afterwards that his dad has told him that
they would stop at Tim Horton’s on the way home, and he would get a doughnut for each goal scored. He went home hungry.
7. KEEP IT ALL IN PERSPECTIVE
Try to show your child that even a loss can be a win. Focus on the process not the result. If the player performed to the best of his or her ability, it’s a win! A player’s enjoyment should come from the sport and the effort in the game, not only from the win. Never let your child’s emotions get too high or too low. Also, remember there is more to life than 10-year-old soccer. Schoolwork, relationships and other activities are just as important to yours child’s development. Teach the importance of commitment and ensure the fulfillments.
8. DON’T RELIVE YOUR CAREER
Your child is not you. Don’t try to relive your successes or failures through your child. You cannot live vicariously through his or her activities. If your child’s performance is creating strong emotions in you, perhaps you need to step back and take a breath. Your
relationship with your child will last longer than his or her playing days, so don’t jeopardize it because she may not be as good as you were (or you think you were).
9. ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD TO TALK TO THE COACHES
As much as coaches think they are getting through to all players, sometimes that is simply not the case. Encourage your child to speak directly to the coach if he cannot make practice or is having difficulties. Encourage your child to take responsibility for his or her involvement on the team. Taking responsibility leads to confidence and confidence leads to success - on and off the field.
10. ALWAYS KEEP IT FUN
When the fun disappears, your child will stop playing. Soccer can be played for life. As long as the enjoyment is there, a player will keep playing.
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InsideSOCCER 25
Nana Attakora and Bryce Alderson vs. Léster Blanco - 2012 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying
BRYCE ALDERSON AN EXCLUSIVE
SOCCER OR SCHOOL… WHAT COMES FIRST? BY STEVEN SANDOR
Photographs Courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association
At an age when most kids are thinking about their high-school graduation, Bryce Alderson is getting paid to play soccer. When a boy signs a professional contract at the age of 17, which is how old Alderson was when the Whitecaps promoted him from their Residency to the pro roster, it seems to the casual fan that the boy’s success has come oh so fast. But it’s not the case. Even though Alderson, who turned 18 in February, is still taking correspondence courses so he can finish his Grade 12 education, he and his family had to make some very tough decisions that led to his leaving Ontario for the West Coast and a new life with the Whitecaps Residency. Before Alderson was old enough to drive a car, his parents, Mark and Darline, realized that their son had special talent. 26 May/June 2012
And, like most parents in their position, they wanted to ensure their son balanced his education with his need to grow in soccer. After all, no parent would publicly say “education just isn’t as important as our son’s soccer career.” It’s not politically correct to do that. But, when their son was on the provincial U-15 team, they knew he would have other options than just biding his time, waiting for a university scholarship. Academies would come calling. “Definitely, every player has that discussion,” says Alderson. “Mine came when I was 15. For me, soccer, I love it, but up to then school came first. We had seen soccer as a route to getting an education,
maybe having my school paid for. But then we said that this might not be the best option, and that school would always be there, waiting for me.” And that was it. Instead of keeping on the wait-for-university-route, in 2010 Alderson left his hometown of Kitchener, Ont., for Vancouver, where he joined the Whitecaps Residency a year ahead of the team’s inclusion in Major League Soccer. Even though Alderson remained in Canada, he was three time zones away from his family. So, yes, he did feel pangs of homesickness. He missed family and friends. But, for a young player, being away from family and friends also has its positives. And when it comes to the development of a young soccer player, the positives of being on one’s own at such a young age can actually outweigh those negatives. “The (Vancouver) weather can be tough, when it rains but, overall, I coped really well,” says Alderson. “In some ways, it was good not being at home. Not as many eyes are on you. And it’s easier to look after yourself, to look after your body.” That’s the truth. Without Mom and Dad’s cooking — or a fridge filled with homemade treats — players can often keep themselves in better condition. There are many stories about players who have come back to their hometowns to play and have gained weight because they have been around their families again. It’s easy
2011 CONCACAF Men’s Under-17 Championship Captains Julio Moncada and Bryce Alderson
to stay disciplined when you have to cook for yourself. It isn’t so easy when Mom, who means well, makes your favorite highcalorie comfort food. To be fair, that carries on into a player’s adult life. In the years I have spent covering pro sports, I have lost count of the number of coaches who have told me how much they want their team to play on the road during holiday seasons, so their players are away from family distractions like Christmas shopping or Easter feasts or long-weekend plans with friends. When temptation season is at its height, coaches want their players in hotel rooms, not with their families. It keeps them focused on the team, their jobs and their diets. Since Alderson arrived in Vancouver, the accolades have come fast and furious. He was named Canada’s U-17 player of the year in both 2010 and 2011. Last year, he led the Canadian U-17 side to a second-place finish in the CONCACAF championships — and that team did not surrender a goal until extra time of the final against the United States. Alderson captained the side when it went to Mexico for the U-17 World Cup. And, he was one of two players (Samuel Piette — who plays in France —being the other) to jump from the U-17 side into coach Tony Fonseca’s side that went to the semifinals of the Olympic qualifying tournament, only to lose to Mexico. Alderson got one start in the tournament — not bad, considering his tender age. Really, he was there to get experience so he can lead Canada’s charge to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. Alderson admits that he was a “lastsecond” call-up to the U-23s and that he
only heard a couple of weeks before the roster was announced that he’d be on the long list of 24 players, which was eventually pared down to 20 for the tournament. But Fonseca marveled at how Alderson plays beyond his years. “He’s a very, very composed player,” said Fonseca. “He can play fast, he can play slow.” Fonseca went with a young lineup, saying that he “got the ones that have the talent and the potential to move forward.” Alderson and Piette are the prime examples, though Piette saw more playing time with the U-23s than Alderson did. Now, would Alderson be on such a fasttrack to success had he still been playing youth elite soccer in Ontario? Would he have made the U-23 side had he and his family decided to wait things out and hope for an NCAA scholarship? Would
he have been made a Generation Adidas player at the tender age of 17? No. And that’s what the Alderson story illustrates. Every parent will say a child needs to have a balance between education and athletics. But, with soccer, where players are expected to begin their careers at much younger ages than you see in other team sports, that balance is naive. Sure, Alderson said he’d love to go to a high-school grad with his old buddies in Kitchener, but to advance in the sport, there were sacrifices that needed to be made. “It doesn’t seem early when you go through the system,” says Alderson. “If you look at soccer academies in Europe, this is not abnormal.” And that’s true. Junior Hoilett left Canada as a teen to join Blackburn Rovers’ academy. His brother, Jaineil, went to Germany as a teen. Piette is a teenager living in France. When a Canadian leaves for Europe as a teenager, it’s seen as part of the process. With three Canadian MLS academies and FC Edmonton of the NASL having launched its own academy, that process is coming home to North America.
CONCACAF Men’s Under-17 Championship Maxime Crépeau and Bryce Alderson. InsideSOCCER 27
BMO TEAM OF THE WEEK
BMO
TEAM WEEK IS BACK! OF THE
BY SUSAN ELLIOTT Building off the success of last year’s launch, BMO, the bank of soccer, has announced its continuing support of their many soccer programs and sponsorships and has confirmed the return of this nationwide contest to support youth soccer teams across Canada. BMO Team of the Week, now in its second year, is a program dedicated to acknowledging youth soccer teams (age 7-12) that display team pride, spirit, and community commitment and passion for the game. Coaches and parents can nominate their favorite youth soccer team by logging on to BMOsoccer.com. BMO has made entering very easy. You simply need to state in an
28 May/June 2012
essay with photos or video why you think your team deserves to be considered to be the Team of the Week. Every week from now until July 13 BMO’s panels of judges will select a winning team that will receive $500, tracksuits and a donation to a local charity. The weekly winning teams will become The Glen Shields Sun Devils 2000 Girls at the life changing, cheque award presentation.
finalists for the grand prize, which includes $125,000 towards a renovation of their soccer pitch, the largest prize ever in Canada for a single-sport facility refurbishment. They will be named BMO Team of the Week 2012 Champion and will also receive a road trip to either a Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Montreal Impact or Canadian National Team home game, and a donation to a charity of the team’s choice. The selection of the BMO Team of the Week Grand Prize finalist will be open to the Canadian public through online voting between August 13 and August 27. Last year’s lucky winner was Glen Shields Sun Devils 2000 Girls. In addition to winning the $125,000 prize from BMO to be used towards a field refurbishment of the club’s choice, the Glen Shields girls received further funding from the City of Vaughan to match the grand prize. Glen Shields has raised funds and worked with the city and BMO to put another $130,000 toward the turf field, making the total of their contribution $255,000. “Glen Shields is very excited about the approval of the turf field,” said club president Vince Marchese. “We have worked hard for this for a number of years, working with city staff, raising funds and appealing to council. Now that the funding for the turf has finally been approved, we look forward to continuing to work with the city so that this field can be built as soon as possible.” The Glen Shields soccer club has reached an agreement with Vaughan to build a $1.3 million artificial turf field for Concord Thornhill Regional Park. “Winning the BMO Team of The Week Grand Prize totally changed our lives, the girls, their parents and the community all worked together towards this goal; it was such a rewarding experience,” said Team Manager Tina LaRocca. “The Club had been working to raise money for a new field for many years, and there was never enough funding. The BMO prize money, combined with the publicity generated by this team of 11-year-old girls, brought the City of Vaughan to the limelight, and in turn, the additional funds required making their dream a reality. Construction should start anytime now, and the Glen Shields Sun Devils girls have been promised they will be the first to play on the new turf this fall.” Make sure your teams register and vote. It sounds like the experience of a lifetime and an inspiring opportunity for all. See BMOsoccer.com for more details.
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THOMAS
RONGEN TFC ACADEMY DIRECTOR SPEAKS WITH INSIDESOCCER MAGAZINE
BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN Photographs Courtesy of Toronto FC
Sitting in an office at BMO Field, the buzz of a Real Madrid game can be heard coming from a television perched up high on the wall; a whiteboard is marked with the familiar scribbling of a 4-3-3 formation, similar to head coach Aron Winter’s, yet somehow different; the formation is the same, the names are not – Joao Plata isn’t on the board, but a player named “Hamilton” is. Toronto FC Academy Director Thomas Rongen occupies this room. Here sits the overseer, the key to future success at Toronto FC’s Academy. It’s obvious Rongen loves his football – he watches Madrid play their fast, counter-attacking game with a smile; he understands it all – The 4-4-2, the 4-3-3, the 3-5-2, all weapons in his tactical arsenal. “Remember Ruud Van Nistelrooy?” he asks. “He’s at Málaga, now, I believe.” He knows he’s right about his fellow Dutchman, the former Real Madrid striker who captained the Dutch national team, but he double-checks anyway. Málaga CF indeed. 30 May/June 2012
Rongen is the man when it comes to player development at the Toronto FC Academy, and so InsideSoccer has come to get his take on the unique role parents have on the development of players both on and off the field. For him, building a relationship with
ASHTONE MORGAN: “Definitely, have a lot of patience and give them a lot of encouragement. Keep playing, get better, and feed them good food! Those things always count in the end of the day.”
each player’s parents is a key step. At the beginning of the season, Rongen sets up meetings, both individually and in groups, outlining the clubs philosophy and personal goals, making sure each and every mother, father, grandparent and guardian is on the same page. “Our relationship with the parents is very, very important,” said Rongen. “It needs to be.” Players’ parents are important to Rongen’s plan of action. Without the helping hand they provide, some key steps to success would be missed. Outlining his plan –, which he calls the “P.D.P.” (Personal Development Plan) Rongen checks off all the critical elements that the P.D.P. takes into account -everything from sleeping habits to the social structure at home and in school, to a child’s diet and schedule -- all in the name of developing players into firstteam quality footballers. “In order for us to achieve these goals, it’s very important that the parent buy into this plan,” said Rongen. “Kids need to sleep longer, need to have a better breakfast, and parents need to sacrifice a bit more to get them here on time, cut down travel time and stimulate their kid by giving him more responsibilities.” Responsibilities that, Rongen makes clear, include school. Rongen understands the system here. Having played (and coached) the majority of his life in the United States, he knows the importance
KEITH MAKUBUYA: “It’s comforting to know that you have your parents behind you, to do what you want.”
of post-secondary education. This is reflected in his approach to handling each player’s future aspirations, something he is actively developing, too. “We’re very keenly aware of the needs of the players and the dreams of our players when we talk to them in our personal meetings,” Rongen said. “They all dream about playing for the first team of Toronto FC, and that’s great! We are very realistic, however, (knowing) that only one or two each and every year will make it, which means you have to provide and stimulate education, because the only other route is to go to university or college.” “We want to make sure we know how kids are doing at school,” he continued. “It’s important to us as well, in the grand scheme of things, because we understand that the bulk of these players will move on to other places, be it schools in the United States and Canada, be it on a lower level, professionally, or with some of our affiliates, where we can monitor them for a year and see if we want to bring them in as homegrown players for the first team.” The Toronto FC Academy has already found first-team success. Defenders Doneil Henry and Ashtone Morgan made the jump to the senior squad, followed quickly by Matt Stinson, Oscar Cordon, Keith Makubuya and, most recently, goalkeeper Quillan Roberts. These homegrown players all graduated after spending a few years developing
at the various stages of the Academy, such as the U17s, the U19s, and the senior academy. The new Downsview initiative also gives each of these teams, as well as the senior roster, a place to train, grow and build chemistry. A new facility is being built in Downsview Park, to the tune of $25 million, which includes eight different fields, a clubhouse, and all the accommodations you could think of. Rongen is visibly excited about the Downsview training center. “It’s awesome,” said Rongen, grinning as he points to a mockup of the massive building and fields. “We are going to be the best in Canada in terms of facilities, the best in MLS in terms of facilities, and we want to be one of the best in the world. In terms of facilities and housing, all of our players will eat together, have lecture sessions and video analysis, they will have nutritionists, strength and conditioning coaches and tutors. Outside of football, there is a way of life, and investing $25 million in their youth, their future, makes quite a strong statement. It resonates across Canada.” All of this is done in an effort to develop the game locally. Rongen knows that the best way to find great footballers is to start early, and nurture these children in a professional environment. “We want to create personalities,” said Rongen. “We use the TIPS program, which stands for Technique-Insight-PersonalitySpeed. The lower we go, the more we look at technique first and foremost, so we’re preaching to the lower levels and with the parents to allow experts to train your kids, to be supportive, and encourage, so we can create a passion for the game.” Toronto FC leftback Ashtone Morgan offered some advice to parents on how to communicate with their kids too. “When I was at the academy, I needed my parents emotionally and psychologically, because sometimes it’s tough,” said Morgan. “At home, talk to your kids about soccer, how they’re doing, things they can work on, negatives and weaknesses, it really helps. I went home everyday, talked to my dad and released
all my stress (by talking with) him… the next day I’m always fresh and ready to go.” “Actually, I still do the same right now!” he added with a cheeky smile! Rongen also advises parents to focus less on results and more on individual growth.
QUILLAN ROBERTS: “Just listen to your kids, and support them in any decisions they make. Help them, help them get along and hopefully they can achieve their dreams.”
InsideSOCCER 31
MATT STINSON: “You get them involved and do whatever it takes. If that means driving an hour every day to get the best training, that’s what you have to do. But, it has to come from the kid.”
DONEIL HENRY: “It was all my choice. My determination. They didn’t push me to do it, it was my choice and I respect my parents for that, because it’s not like they forced me to do anything.” 32 May/June 2012
“It shouldn’t be about winning, it shouldn’t be about trophies, and it shouldn’t be about medals; it should be about healthy competition, and good training, particularly with the ball,” said Rongen. Right now, Toronto FC is partnered with 20 clubs across the region, each of which work on the core fundamentals required not just for football, but also for the specific culture Aron Winter has instilled at Toronto FC – the 4-3-3. Players are being developed with this formation in mind. When asked about the best course of action parents can take to get their children onto a professional level, Rongen didn’t outline anything radical; instead, he advised a very practical approach. “To me, the easiest way is to go to the closest club to your house, in your own environment, preferably with your
OSCAR CORDON: “There’s a lot of ups and down, good times and bad times, but my family has always been there to support me. I know as a young kid, you’re traveling a lot, but my family has always been there.”
children’s friends, where you can share carpooling, and let them explore other sports too. Train twice a week, and play a game on the weekend for fun.” If the talent and hard-work is there, they may just be picked up at a very young age; Toronto FC starts their academy programs at the U12 level. Yet, amidst the ambitious planning, the professional programs, and the development of Toronto FC players, he still dreams bigger. “The ideal situation is for 11 kids from Toronto to play for the first team,” said Rongen, pointing at the whiteboard inscribed with the names of the academy regulars. “In the end, our goal is to have a player within the next decade end up in Manchester United, Barcelona or even Real Madrid!”
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CDS Inside Soccer Magazine v3.indd 1
12-04-25 9:52 AM
INSIDESOCCER’S BASIC
SOCCER
The line that runs along the length of the field on each side. When the ball goes outside the touchline, a throw-in occurs. Throw-In:
FOR PARENTS’
CORNER ARC:
Penalty Box Arc:
A quarter-circle located at each of the 4 corners of the field. On a corner kick, the ball must be kicked from inside this arc.
A circular arc that extends from the top of the penalty box area. The centre of the arc is the penalty spot.
Corner Kick:
Penalty Spot:
Where the ball is kicked from the corner arc in an attempt to score. Corner kicks are awarded to an attacking team when the ball crosses the end line last touched by the defending team.
The small circular spot located in front of the center of the goal line from which all penalty kicks are taken. Penalty Kick:
The line that runs along the width of the pitch on each side. Depending on which team touches the ball last, a corner kick or goal kick will occur when the ball crosses the end line.
A kick taken from the penalty spot by a player against the opposing goalie. A penalty kick is awarded for the most severe rule violations and those committed by the defense within its own penalty area. Penalty kicks are also taken in a tiebreaker to decide a match.
Goal Kick:
Goal line:
The defending goalkeeper kicks away the ball from inside the goal area. Goal kicks are awarded to the defending team when the ball crosses the end line and was last touched by a player on the attacking team.
The line that runs right across the front of
34 May/June 2012
Centre Line: The line that divides the field in half along its width. Centre Circle: The circular marking in the centre of the field. The kickoffs are taken here to start or restart the game. Kickoff: The method of starting a game or restarting it after each goal. A player passes the ball forward to a teammate from the centre spot. Wall: A line of 2 to 6 defending players pressed together shoulder-to-shoulder to protect
Goal Area
Penalty Box Arc
Penalty Box Area
Goal Area
Goal End Line
Touchline (Sideline)
Centre Circle
Penalty Box Area
Centre Line
Penalty Box Area: A rectangular area with its long edge on the goal line; the goalkeeper may use his hands to block or control the ball only within this area.
The region of the field near the midfield line. The midfield is the area controlled by the midfielders.
Touchline (Sideline)
Goalkeeper: The player positioned directly in front of the goal who tries to prevent shots from getting into the net behind him. The goalkeeper is the only player allowed to use his/her hands and arms, though only within the penalty area.
Midfield:
End Line
Corner Arc
Where a player throws the ball from behind his/her head with two hands. The player must have both feet on the ground while throwing the ball. A throwin is taken by a player opposite the team that last touched the ball before it went out of bounds across the touchline.
Penalty Box Arc
End Line:
Touchline:
Corner Arc
Goal
TERMS
the goal. The ball must completely cross this line for a goal to be scored.
their goal against a close free kick.
Pitch:
Forwards:
Yellow Card:
Another word for soccer field.
A card that a referee holds up to warn a player for dangerous or unsportsmanlike behavior, also called a caution. Two yellow cards in one game earns a player an automatic red card, which removes him from the game.
Juggling:
The 3 or 4 players on a team who are responsible for most of a team’s scoring. Forwards play in front of the rest of their team where they can take most of their shots on goal.
Tackling: The act of taking the ball away from a player by kicking or stopping it with one’s feet. Striker: The team’s most powerful and bestscoring forward who plays towards the centre of the field.
Keeping a ball in the air with any part of the body besides the hands or arms. Players use this for practice and developing coordination. Header: The striking of a ball in the air by a player’s head. Hand Ball: A foul where a player touches the ball with his hand or arm. When a hand ball occurs, the opposing team is awarded a direct free kick.
Midfielders: The 2, 3 or 4 players who link together the offensive and defensive functions of a team; they play behind their forwards. Defensemen: The 3 or 4 players on a team whose primary task is to stop the opposition from scoring. Also called fullbacks.
For More Information: Contact Branden Clark by email at branden@insidesoccer.ca or by phone at (905) 833-1973.
InsideSOCCER 35
BEHIND THE WHISTLE BY MIKE KENNY
PARENTS’ GUIDE TO SOCCER…
REFEREES
As this edition of InsideSOCCER Magazine is the Parents’ Guide to Soccer, Behind the Whistle will focus on stories involving parents that I have witnessed in my 30-yearrefereeing career…humorous, shocking and disgusting. I could write volumes, but in the interest of space, I have just highlighted a few. But first I would like to offer some advice for parents of young referees just embarking on their career. TO PARENTS OF YOUNG REFEREES: • Make sure your son/daughter looks the part. It may cost a few dollars to buy him/ her the proper shirt, shorts, socks and boots but first impressions are very important. Your child will feel more confident walking onto the field and he/she will have respect from the coaches and players. • Teach your child to introduce himself/ herself with confidence to the coaches. Look the coach in the eye when introducing themself. One trick we teach young Referees is that if they struggle to look at adults in the eye, then look at the end of their nose while speaking to them. • Encourage your child to accept constructive criticism and never stop learning. Don’t be afraid to speak to senior referees and ask their advice. No referee is perfect and therefore can always learn from fellow referees regardless of age and experience. • Learn to develop thick skin…have a sense of humour. Despite most clubs having a zero tolerance policy, he/she will experience a coach or parent yelling from time to time. Remember, 75 percent of the time, that parent is wrong because they don’t know the rules. They haven’t read the Law Book but you have. Just smile to yourself and get on with the game. If it continues, stop the game and ask the coach to deal with that parent. • Create a referee bag for your son/daughter to store all of their equipment and uniform. With today’s busy lifestyle, when you are rushing out to the field, you just have to lift the bag and go. Your child does not want to arrive at the field to discover they forgot their socks or their whistle. What should be in the Bag? • Shirt, shorts, socks, boots, extra shirt (different colour) • Whistle, ref wallet with pencil, cards, watch, coin, flags 36 May/June 2012
• Garbage bag in case of wet weather to put your equipment bag in • FIFA Law Book; if something happens at the game, you can look it up right after the game on the way home. Never open it at the field (as it shows your child was unsure of the rule) but have it handy so you can look it up while still fresh in your minds. • Many fields are side by side, so encourage your child to go and chat with fellow referees before the game, at half time and after the game. Sharing stories gives the referees a sense of togetherness…that they are not alone out there. • Most importantly…support your child. Many young referees give it up because they feel isolated. Let them know you are there for them if they have an irate parent to deal with or had to make a tough decision. TO PARENTS OF PLAYERS: Soccer is an emotional game, and sometimes parents let their emotions get the better of them. What they don’t realize though is that once parents start yelling at the referee, their children’s game suffers. Young players look up to their parents and coaches. Many times over the past 30 years I have seen parents getting too involved in a game and start yelling at the referee. As a result, the players start to do the same and their game deteriorates. Many years ago, I refereed an Under 12 game in Vaughan. One team scored which the opposing coaches (who were also parents) felt was offside. They started screaming from the sideline and started to enter the field of play to come at me. During this time, an 11-year-old came up and pushed me. This player had not said a word to me all game. It was the actions of the coaches that caused the player to react that way. Following the game, I filed my report to
find out those two coaches had just finished serving a six-month ban for doing exactly the same thing. Needless to say, I found it disgusting that their club would allow them to coach again. In 2010, I refereed a house league tournament in Aurora. The World Cup was on at the time. One parent was constantly criticizing my decisions. You could hear the other parents getting frustrated with him, and his own son on the field was getting embarrassed. At one point he yelled out “Hey, Ref…they want you at the World Cup.” I chimed back: “I know, but I told them I was all ready booked at this tournament.” Not that I encourage referees to interact with parents, but I couldn’t resist, and the laughter from the sideline embarrassed the parent enough that I didn’t hear from him again the rest of the game. The point to be made here for parents is to remember three things: 1) Your bad behaviour/actions have an adverse effect on your children. 2) Just like young players, young referees are also learning as they go. Players do not have the skills to play for Canada when they start playing the game, so don’t expect referees to be great when they are first starting out. Every year, there is a staggering 30 percent turnover in young referees, many of whom give up the game soon after starting due to parental abuse – something to think about the next time you turn up at a game where there is no referee. 3) When you get excited and want to yell at the referee or your child, just relax, take a deep breath, take a sip of your Tim Horton’s and remember why you signed up your child for soccer in the first place: to have fun, become fit, meet new friends, develop social skills and to learn soccer skills. 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 fulfill their potential. Feedback is welcome at kenbroagency@gmail.com
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FIT FACTS
PARENTS’ GUIDE TO
CAFFEINE FOR USE SOCCER PLAYERS BY RICHARD BUCCIARELLI
Thousands of dietary supplements exist for ‘overthe-counter’ purchase today, many of which propose benefits to performance for athletes. Coaches, parents, as well as athletes themselves, seem to be bombarded today by advertising companies selling products which they claim will reduce injuries, enhance recovery, and will make players perform at a higher level. Parents of young athletes should be especially wary of dietary supplements that they may be giving to their children. Among the many risks of taking dietary supplements are: • • • •
possible absence of any active ingredient possible presence of an illegal / banned substance possible impurity / presence of contaminants in the product / packaging lack of long-term study / lack of knowledge of possible side-effects To recognize supplements that are potentially effective and relevant to 38 May/June 2012
soccer, three specific criteria must be met: 1.
Does the supplement work? (it must affect some physical, physiological, psychological, or other health factor that has an influence on performance in soccer)
2. Is the supplement safe? (it must not cause any adverse health effects) 3.
Is the supplement banned? (it must not contain any substance which is named in a banned substance list, or which may result in a positive doping test)
The purpose of this article is to focus on and explain the use and benefits of a commonlyused dietary supplement that has been scientifically proven to achieve some sort of performance enhancing effect in athletic populations: Caffeine.
DOES IT WORK?
Caffeine is a stimulant, popular both among athletes and the general population, and contained in coffee, tea, chocolate, as well as several different kinds of soft drinks and colas. In a thorough review of scientific literature about caffeine, Hespel et. Al. (2006) concluded that caffeine most likely benefits performance by decreasing the perception of fatigue, enhancing central drive, and/or improving muscle fibre recruitment. Studies on caffeine in endurance athletes (cyclists) showed that both moderate caffeine doses (between 5 and 13 mg per kg of body weight – Graham & Spriet, 1991, Pasman et.Al., 1995) and lower doses (between 2-6 mg per kg of body weight – Graham & Spriet, 1995, Kovacs et.Al., 1998) caused a substantial improvement in endurance exercise capacity. More recently, a study by Cox et. Al. (2008) showed that doses as low as 90mg of caffeine during a 2 hour exercise test could result in significant performance improvements as compared to subsequent tests. While research into the effects of caffeine on soccer players is minimal, the evidence shown above should be directly applicable to the sport of soccer, which, like endurance sports such as cycling, also places a heavy demand on the aerobic system in order to supply energy for muscular work. Caffeine is especially useful for soccer players both because it is rapidly absorbed (peak plasma levels are typically reached within 1 hour of ingestion) and because the performance enhancing effect on endurance (through reduced perception of fatigue, enhanced central drive, and increased muscle fibre recruitment) is maintained for at least 3 hours after ingestion (Graham et. Al., 1998). This means that caffeine could be ingested during the pre-game warmup and still have a positive performance enhancing effect even if the game goes into extra time (total of 2-2.5 hours of physical activity).
IS IT SAFE?
Habitual caffeine users, including athletes, will commonly consume doses of caffeine similar to the ones listed in the studies above on a daily basis, and such doses have never been shown to cause any adverse or negative health effects. Thus, low doses of caffeine can be considered safe for athletes.
IS IT BANNED?
It must be noted that caffeine is presently listed as a banned substance by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the NCAA / CIS (American and Canadian University athletics associations) but not the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA). The quantity at which caffeine is considered banned, however, is 15 mcg (micrograms) per mL (milliliters) in a urine sample. In layman’s terms, this concentration would be the equivalent of a dose of 8 or more mg per kg of body weight (or the equivalent of 10-15 cups of coffee). This means that the “low” doses used in the studies mentioned in this article (which clearly have a positive effect on endurance performance and range from between 1-6 mg per kg of body weight) would not be considered banned by any sport or athletic association and will not lead to a positive drug test. The chart below lists safe, effective, and rational caffeine use guidelines for athletes. All coaches, parents, and athletes must consult with a physician before taking any dietary supplement. Doses of more than 6 mg per kg of body weight should NOT be consumed, as they may lead to a positive drug test. Richard Bucciarelli is the President of Soccer Fitness Inc., and Fitness Coach for the Canadian National Women’s U17 team, which will be travelling to Guatemala in May 2012 for the CONCACAF qualification tournament for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup. For more information about Richard and Soccer Fitness, please visit www.soccerfitness.ca.
TYPE OF USER
DOSE 2-4 WEEKS PRIOR TO COMPETITION
DOSE 30-60 MINUTES PRIOR TO COMPETITION
NON-HABITUAL USER (0-4 CUPS OF COFFEE/ TEA PER WEEK)
1 cup coffee/tea every other day (3-4 cups per week)
Minimum of 75mg, maximum of 4mg per kg of body weight
HABITUAL USER (7-14 CUPS OF COFFEE/ TEA PER WEEK)
1 cup coffee/tea per day 7-5 days prior; no coffee/ tea 4-1 days prior
2-6 mg per kg of body weight
InsideSOCCER 39
skills. There will still be competition but the emphasis will be not on avoiding “mistakes”, or coaches selecting the biggest, fastest players to help “win” league games, but rather giving all players the opportunity to play and develop their skills.
PARENTS’ MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS 1. What Is LTPD?
LTPD stands for Long-Term Player Development. It represents a philosophy that is much more focused on ensuring players who love soccer stay in the game for life and enjoy the experience. It further ensures that all players—recreational and the more talented, competitive players— are developed to their full potential. LTPD (though not necessarily with a formal “name” attached to it) is common practice in many of the best soccer nations in the world. It stresses, especially at the crucial early development ages, far less emphasis on games and “winning”, and much more on practice, touches, creativity, skill development and learning how to play and enjoy the game. In Ontario, we are working toward an approach where players U12 and younger will practice and train much more than they play in “games”, with field sizes and training methods geared to specific development stages, which can be different for every young player. For the aspiring players, they in later years (U13 and up) will have the opportunity to play in a very competitive elite-level league. Further, such players will have much greater opportunity to be “identified” for regional programs and ultimately the provincial 40 May/June 2012
team, and not just at the U13 level, for example. We are also tackling, through LTPD, the “elephant in the room”, a fragmented competitive and league structure which has hindered creativity and player development for too long in Ontario. In short, we are committed to a different mindset, creating a soccer culture that is about really getting the best out of our players, so they continue to learn and grow every day. Everything we do going forward will be rooted in this objective: what is best for the player to help them reach their potential.
2. Is this about developing elite level athletes or recreational players? Both! The focus of LTPD is to help both the player who is in youth soccer strictly for fun and fitness, but also the talented youngster who dreams of a future in the sport—be it a scholarship and/or to play professionally or for the Canadian National team. At the young ages, we will stress basic physical literacy, and players will go through the various development stages not worried about “winning games” but instead actually developing their individual
3. Isn’t this just another trendy thing recommended by academics who don’t even know soccer? One of the great things about LTPD is that it is much more than an academic exercise. It is a proven method of developing players—with science and research to back the claims—long already utilized by some of the best soccer nations in the world, including Spain, Germany, US, Australia and many others. England has embarked on this road as well, because top former players and coaches there have identified that the emphasis at the early ages on “winning” hurts true player development. So while we know change is often resisted, and we understand that, we also know that those who are passionate about soccer in Ontario (and Canada)—whether administrators, coaches or parents—want the best for the young boys and girls who play our great game. So if you are playing for fun, we want the experience to truly be fun. If you are playing for fun and to go further in the game, we know from international “best practices” that this approach will grow the sport in Ontario and Canada and most importantly, give many more youngsters the chance to shine, be identified and find a future in the game.
4. I talked to my child’s coach and they said they didn’t agree with LTPD. Why is this being pushed on us? We understand that there will be pushback from some coaches and parents and even some on the administrative side of the game. That’s natural. And we want to be clear. Not everything about the way that soccer has been “delivered” in Ontario has been ineffective. We have many great coaches. Many Clubs and Academies have done some wonderful things for years and are ahead of this curve. But we need to understand that this is the direction that all sports in Canada are indeed moving. Canadian Sport for Life has started the ball rolling, and the Canadian Soccer Association has taken this to the next step. Here in
Ontario, we are looking at what is being done in soccer around the world and we are determined to create our own “made-inOntario” approach to doing what is right for our young players. For example, we have upgraded our coaching curriculum to make it much more focused on our players and developing skills. Importantly, we will be spending all of 2012 creating awareness around LTPD and what it means, and hopefully dispelling some of the miscommunication that is out there. We will be looking for feedback from all across the province, so that once we start to phase in LTPD in 2013, we are all working together to make the soccer experience all that is can and should be for all of our players, regardless of where they live in the province.
5. Are you getting rid of the Ontario Youth Soccer League (OYSL)? If so, why? It was a great league for good players. The OYSL has played an important role for many years. Over the past few months, we have had some top soccer people in the province, part of our Technical Advisory Council (TAC) research what is being done elsewhere (in British Columbia, for example, and in soccer centers around the world) and what is the best way to structure our competitive leagues to ensure we give our players the best chance to develop and reach their potential in soccer. One of the things we have identified is that, rather than create an elite development league that tends to draw individual teams that are built around “star” players (and unfortunately, quite often players who have been “poached” from other Clubs/ teams), we will establish key standards— benchmarks that Clubs must achieve in
order to be considered to have their teams play in a high-level development league. So, rather than promotion and relegation as driving factors (and some of the many negatives that come with that approach in youth soccer) we will be pushing Clubs to meet LTPD standards in coaching, training and administration.
6. LTPD sounds great why is it taking so long getting it implemented? Based on the extensive feedback we are receiving, we know already that we are moving way too fast for some, and way too slow for others. Some want change things tomorrow; others would prefer the status quo. Our job is to listen to everyone who has the best interests of the children at heart, and then do what is right based on LTPD values—and lots of real-life experience and very current research. It is clear that LTPD is a great approach, and from a timing perspective, we want to do things right, rather than quickly. So we are looking at a phased-in approach to LTPD, with some pilot projects already underway in 2012 and with an eye toward broader implementation—again, pilots, phasedin, starting at the younger ages—in 2013.
when the focus really should be on whether each player is progressing and developing as they can and should. Parents want to see enjoyment and they like to see improvement. When we really strive to focus on those things, we are helping the child the most. There will be plenty of room – and time – for competition. House-league participants will still play games, but there will be more practices than games. And games will be played on small-sized fields as appropriate for younger players. For the serious player looking to play at a high level in the future, there will be no lack of competition as part of a holistic approach to authentic overall skills development. Competitive leagues for talented players U13 and older will provide an extremely challenging environment where winning will be part of the objective—once the players have developed the necessary skills and a thorough understanding of the game.
8. Competition is a natural part of life why take it away from children. Isn’t it better to learn to compete in 7. It makes no sense to play a sport a controlled environment such as and never keep score and not have on the soccer pitch? standings. How else do we know Competition is “part of life” without question. But at the early ages (U8-U12) how our kids are doing?
While parents are of course interested in how their son or daughter’s team is “doing”, most parents are understandably most concerned with a) is their child enjoying the sport they are participating in and b) are they seeing an increase in the skill level of their child. While watching “games” can be enjoyable, unfortunately too many parents— and yes, coaches— take games and game results far too seriously. This creates a focus on scores, winning games and league standings even at the early ages (U8U12, for example)
we need to focus on enjoyment and skill development. We have been lacking in this regard for too long in Canada. Our kids have natural talent, as much as anyone in the world. But if they don’t receive the best type of training, skills development and coaching at the early ages, those that aspire to play internationally some day won’t and aren’t ready to compete with the world’s best in later years. Clearly, the present “system” has not worked for Canada. So we need to do better, much better. And we will. And part of that is a focus on skills, rather than just games and “winning”. Once youngsters reach an appropriate age range, likely U13, there will be plenty of opportunity to compete— and to learn how to “win” and lose”—at a recreational or elite level here in Ontario.
InsideSOCCER 41
COACH DAVE: MY CORNER
HOW MANY GOALS ARE TOO MANY? BY DAVE KENNY How many goals are enough? How many goals are too many? At what point is your team simply “running up the score” and embarrassing the competition? Tough questions if you have ever had a team run up the score against your own team. Tough questions if sportsmanship is one of the traits you are trying to instil in your team. Tough questions if you are the coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team. Pia Sundhage, Head Coach of number one ranked U.S. team, came under fire recently for having her team score too many goals. Sundhage, a former Swedish international player, was seen celebrating on the sidelines as her team netted a tenth, eleventh, twelfth and more against inferior competition at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. American striker, Abby Wambach, when asked about her team running up the score replied, “…we didn’t get the job done the last qualifying tournament and this is a statement we are making to the rest of the world….” So what kind of statement is the U.S.A. making? One of arrogance and bad sportsmanship? Or are they really just playing by the rules? In the case of the American women, it’s a bit of all of the above. Is it the Americans’ fault that, other than Canada, Mexico and emerging Costa Rica, CONCACAF can not supply sufficient competition? The rules of the tournament state that goal difference will be used as a tie-breaking tool in the event two teams have equal points. Is that the Americans’ fault? Unfortunately, the nature of such tournaments dictates that there needs to be a winner. Over the years, both as a player and a coach, I have been on both sides of 42 May/June 2012
lopsided games. Having teams continually fill our net is not fun. Seeing the players celebrate running up the score is worse. Players who “over-celebrate” have always brought out the anger in me. Do not show me up, and do not show up my team! A few years ago, a team I was coaching played in a local tournament. Our first opponent was weak, and by the end of the first half, we were up by six. We “called off the wolves,” so to speak. No more goals unless they come from outside the penalty area. We felt that if we were still taking shots at goal, it would show that we were still putting out an effort, and at the same time not trying to embarrass the opposition by running up the score. We ended up with a total of eight. We won our next game and tied our third, resulting in a total of seven points. The third team we played also had seven points, and by tie-breaker rules, goal difference came into play. We were eliminated because team three ran up the score against team one to twelve or thirteen. So did we do the right thing by not scoring? If it’s about winning, we were wrong. If it’s about doing the right thing, I think we were right. I ask my team to always play with class, win or lose. Sundhage defended her team by saying the way to respect your opponent is by trying your best. Sometimes I think you respect your opponent more by looking like you are trying your best. I remember when a team eased up on us, and our coach tried to put a positive spin on our performance, stating we “only gave up two in the second half.”
We knew the other team was showing us up. They were taking it easy, all the while giggling and laughing. Honestly, in that case, I would have preferred if they kept scoring instead of laughing at us. No class. In 2011, I took my U12 team to Laval Quebec for the Coupe Laval International. It was my third trip to this tournament, one I very much enjoy for its outstanding organization. The rules of the tournament state that the maximum goal differential of six will apply to each game. In addition, if a team does score the maximum differential, a mercy rule is invoked and the game is called. (This has the added benefit of keeping games running on time). It does, however, lead to another question. Is being “mercied” more embarrassing than giving up more goals, but lasting to the fulltime whistle? It also creates another problem. Teams pay a large amount of money to enter tournaments for a “guaranteed” number of games. If a team is “mercied” three games in a row, has it received its guaranteed games? Has it received its money’s worth? Would the mercy rule work in the CONCACAF Tournament? It would save some teams from having others running up the score, but realistically it’s not going to happen. With the time and money invested in these qualifying tournaments, organizers could never call a game early without upsetting players, fans and sponsors. Would it stop the Americans? Probably, it would not. Sundhage, remember, claims the best way to respect your opponent is to play your best against them. Apparently, this includes running into the Guatemalan goalkeeper
when you are already up by double digits. The goal of CONCACAF, and FIFA itself, is to grow the sport of soccer into new markets. Unfortunately, until the “new” teams develop well enough to be competitive, we are going to continue to have games
that are blow outs. But if we really want to grow the sport internationally, we need to stop these outlandish scores. A six year old girl, watching her national team, say, the Dominican Republic, getting beat by 14 goals, is not going to rush out to play soccer. One of my big concerns about the CONCACAF tournament was the effect it would have on the youth soccer player. In particular, was watching the U.S. team going to alter the behaviour of some of my own players or opponents? My first concern was the behaviour of Coach Sundhage, and my second, the American players. I was fortunate to attend a coaching clinic, run by Pia Sundhage, shortly before she took over the National team. I was extremely impressed with her performance and spoke highly of her to other coaches. After watching her antics during the Dominican Republic game, my opinion of her has changed slightly. If my own team was up ten goals on another team, I would certainly not be celebrating with fist-pumps and high-fives. My response would have been a quiet comment to my assistant, such as, “That was well taken.” With regard to the American players, I no longer hold them to the same level of responsibility I did during their first game. They were following the coach’s instructions, as confirmed in Wambach’s comments about proving something to the world. They were obviously under instructions to
PET PEEVE Read the rules to most tournaments. Find the tie-breaking section. You will find something similar to this. “In the event of two teams being tied on points the following shall determine the group winner” A) winner of the game played between the tied teams B) goal differential C) goals for D) goals against E) coin toss Here’s what drives me nuts. If goal differential and goals for are equal, it is impossible for goals against to be different. TAKE IT OUT OF THE RULES! “punish” their opponents. So is all the controversy about the Americans’celebrations simply our Canadian bias and perspective of their “arrogance.” Would we have a different opinion if we were scoring 14 goals per game? Good sportsmanship should always supersede the need to embarrass teams, particularly in youth sports. To test whether or not my team understood what I have been teaching, I asked what my players’ opinions were of the U.S.A.’s actions. I am pleased they agreed it was “unsportsmanlike.” I then asked, “What would you say if it was Canada and not the U.S.? Would you cheer or be upset?” The response was that they would probably cheer, as fans, but not as players. Would our National team and coaches react the same way?
I would like to pass along a bit of advice: To tournament organizers, in the interest of sportsmanship: Please take away the need for teams to run up the score against weaker opponents. Make the “fewest goals against” the second tie-breaker behind the head-to-head result. Cap the number of goals that count towards goal differential, or decided it on penalty shots. Don’t allow teams to be embarrassed. Your tournament is not that important in the big picture. To coaches: Please have the decency to control the amount of goals your team scores. Do you really need to run up the score? Is winning so important that you are willing to crush the spirit of the kids on the other team? If it is, perhaps you need to ask yourself again why you coach.
DRILL OF THE MONTH “4 CORNERS - SQUARE PASSING” SET UP
of the grid to pressure the passers
• Set out a square grid with 10 yard sides
• As skill levels improve, make the defender “active” thereby trying to intercept the passes
• 3 players per group each starting at a different corner • One ball per group
COACHING POINTS
• Teaches players to move to receive a pass as well as to move after passing the ball • Develops pass accuracy • Encourage players “call” for the pass
HOW TO PLAY
• Player 1 starts with the ball and must pass along the grid line to player 2 or 3 • If the first pass goes to Player 2, player 3 must move down the line to give Player 2 another option. Each passer must have 2 options of pass direction for each pass • Passers must pass along the line • Passes should never be made across the grid
PROGRESSION
• Start with two or three touches per player depending on skill level and gradually work to one touch passing • Add a “passive” defender to the middle InsideSOCCER 43
SOCCER COVERAGE
KICKS INTO HIGH GEAR BY LES JONES & MIKE POLLAK Photographs Courtesy of Les Jones - Covershots Inc.
If the health of a sport can be judged by the amount written about it, then soccer is a robust A1 – fit and healthy with an expected long life. Coverage by national newspapers is vigorous: From the days of Norm DaCosta, The Toronto Star has seemingly recognized its readers’ enthusiasm for soccer, and Daniel Girard has been carrying on an excellent tradition. Even the National Post, which has always given the impression that business people have little time for sport, let alone soccer, has picked up the tempo through Matthew Scianitti. The Sun’s coverage isn’t quite the same since George Gross’ days, though it, too, is adequate; and even if the Globe & Mail coverage is dependent on wire services it is reasonably comprehensive. Behind them all, Neil Davidson and Gavin Day at C.P., with their incisive coverage, continue to ensure that no paper has an excuse for ignoring the sport. InsideSOCCER Magazine, soon to celebrate its 100th issue, is the veteran of the magazine side, watching others come and quickly go. The quantity and diversity of Canadian soccer blogs, forums, pod casts and on-line magazines is overwhelming. Voyageurs, Red Nation and It’s Called Football come readily to mind, but our favourite, partly because it touches on our soccer past, but also because it is so well written is ‘amoresplendidlife’ by Torontonian, Richard Whittall. And take a look at the contemporary book scene. The number of soccer titles about Canadian soccer can be counted on two hands, and most of those stem from soccer historian-extraordinaire, Colin Jose. However, the last 12 months has seen a slew of volumes either by Canadians or about Canadian soccer. The influx of ‘Canadian’ soccer books 44 May/June 2012
began a couple of years ago with The Fix: Soccer and Organised Crime, a disturbing but compelling book on corruption in professional soccer by Canadian exile Declan Hill. It concludes that soccer is diseased, and the future outlook worrying. (There are also rumours of an upcoming expose on Jack Warner, the former CONCACAF President, accused of bribery, which, if so, is guaranteed to raise everyone’s blood pressure.) Then Bobby Lenarduzzi issued Bob Lenarduzzi: A Canadian Soccer Story, which provides a behind the scenes look at the Canadian soccer scene, with both amusing and distressing anecdotes. His prognosis is for continual, if slow, progress. Globe & Mail TV analyst and passionate soccer supporter, John Doyle, released The World is a Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer. An entertaining paperback, it will likely provide more enjoyment than most TV shows. It approaches soccer from a different perspective and focuses mainly on the fans at the major tournaments in the first decade of the 21st century. Metrosport owner John DeBenedictis produced a well-thought-out, wellillustrated and comprehensive guide to the mental side of soccer, The Last 9 Seconds. It covers motivation, morale, mechanics and marksmanship; every coach out there should find the time to read it. Former Canadian international and
coach, Paul James, has just surprised the soccer community with Cracked Open, his life-story. It covers his drug abuse (from which he has made a full recovery), his playing and coaching career. The book also has revealing details on the 1986 Merlion Cup bribery scandal. The Quebec Soccer Association is also expected to follow up its Histoire du Soccer Québécois with a History of the Quebec Soccer Federation (only in French) to mark the Association’s recent centenary. Meanwhile, former national team manager, Les Wilson, is also working on a book about his life in soccer. This year is also the 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Soccer Association and the illustrated coffee-table book SOCCER: Canada’s National Sport, intended to help mark the occasion, is expected to raise eyebrows and cause a few apoplectic fits, on the title alone! Ottawa’s Jim Hubay has just completed Youth Soccer in Canada, and there’s also a book for kids: Clive Toye isn’t Canadian but he did run the Toronto Blizzard and, following on from his critique of the NASL in ‘A Kick in the Grass’, has just published Toby and The Greatest Game, no doubt a gift for his grandchildren. And for a change of pace, top freelance soccer writer and InsideSOCCER columnist, Dennis Fitter has just released ‘Mexico City – the Golden Years’. It doesn’t mention Mexico’s many World Cup appearances or CONCACAF championships but is instead a complex and intriguing 97,000 word murder-mystery with no mention of soccer whatsoever! Soccer is, however, the background for the new novel from InsideSOCCER’s regular contributor Steven Sandor; Playing for Keeps is set among a Croatian family in Edmonton. All in all, 2012 is shaping up to be a productive one for soccer literature. Soccer is in ”write good health” and, with World Cup qualifying on the horizon, let’s hope our men’s team shows itself to be in equally good shape. Reaching the finals – now that would be especially worth writing about!
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SAVE BALOTELLI FROM HIMSELF
BY TOKUNBO OJO
terrible in a short time in the league. From setting his $3.5 million home on fire because (the result of a fireworks prank) to picking up silly red cards for his emotional outbursts, he is a maverick whose“escapades have already become part of Manchester folklore,” according to World Soccer Magazine’s Jim Holden. Born in Sicily to Ghanaian parents and raised by his adopted Italian parents, he has been trouble from the moment he made his professional soccer debut with A.C Lumezzane in the Italian Series C at the age of 15. If he not fighting with his team mates at the training ground, he is be arguing with his coaches or simply skipping training sessions. He is a coach’s nightmare, in spite of his talent. Coach Jose Mourinho, who worked with him at Inter Milan from 2008 to 2010, declared him “unmanageable.” It was not a surprise that he sold him at the first opportunity, without any regret. If Mourinho, who is well-respected for his excellent ability to manage players, could not handle Balotelli, who else can handle him? Granted Balotelli has a lot to offer on the field, but his attitude stinks. If he isn’t careful, he might even surpass the combined EPL legacies of Cantona and Keane, both of whom took top honors for indiscipline and hot-temper... that is, if he lasts as long as they did (Cantona retired at 30 and Keane at 34).
While English Premier League (EPL) is full of excitement and intrigues, it is also characterized by some legendary cult figures such as Eric Cantona and Roy Keane, who are renowned more for their off-field antics than their on-field achievements. These are the EPL’s “bad boys”. They are larger than life and are as prominent as the league itself. Through their ego, emotional outburst and acts of indiscipline, they drain support away from their coaches. They are “laws” unto themselves. For these reasons, whenever they come to the fore, which is not often, they steal the spotlight from everyone and become the headache of all. When they sneeze, everyone catches cold. 46 May/June 2012
This season has seen the emergence of another one of those bad boys. He is Mario Balotelli, Manchester City’s striker. Like John McEnroe was to Tennis in the 1980s, the 21-year-old, Italian-born striker is fast becoming a legendary Super brat of soccer because of his disciplinary problems on and off the field. Signed from Inter Milan for almost 36 million Canadian dollars in 2010, he has become EPL and Manchester City’s enfant
However, instead of vilifying him every time he goes wrong, it’s time to ask: “How can we help Balotelli and save him from himself?” He clearly needs professional help before he self destructs and destroys his career.
THE SOCCER HALL OF FAME
THE 2012 INDUCTEES TEAM OF DISTINCTION Canada’s 1989 Francophone Games team – The Canadian Men’s team, under extreme conditions, went on to make soccer history by winning the gold medal at the first Francophone Games held in Morocco in 1989. Canada played its first two games in Mohammedia, beating Burkino Faso 3-1 and playing to a scoreless tie against the Ivory Coast. The tie secured Canada’s spot in the semi-final, where they defeated Congo in a 2-1 victory before 20,000 fans in Casablanca. Canada went on to defeat the home favourites, Morrocco, in the final with a score of 4-1.
PLAYERS
Charmaine Hooper – One of the finest female players ever developed in Canada, in any sport, Charmaine represented her country 129 times in international competition, scoring 71 goals. She made her national team debut in 1986 against the U.S. in Minneapolis. Charmaine played in three World Cups and was chosen as a member of the FIFA all-star women’s team in 1999. During her playing career she was voted Canada’s Female Player of the Year in 1994, 1995 and 2002. Most recently Charmaine was appointed to the FIFA Task Force 2014, a
group that includes many of the legends of the game. Carlo Corazzin – Carlo made his national team debut against Morocco in 1994 and went on to play a total of 59 times for Canada. He was not only a member of Canada’s CONCACAF Gold Cup winning team in 2000, but was top scorer with four goals, including a penalty kick in the final against Columbia. He began his professional career with Winnipeg Fury of the Canadian Soccer League in 1992 before moving to England, where he played 367 games in the Football League and scored 111 goals for four different clubs. Mark Watson – Mark made 78 appearances for the national team between 1991 and 2004, making his full international debut against Honduras. Mark’s lengthy club career saw him play in the Canadian Soccer League for Ottawa, Hamilton and Montreal and then Vancouver 86ers of the A League before going overseas. He played in England and Sweden and then in the U.S. MLS for Columbus Crew, New England Revolution and D.C. United, as well as Charleston Battery of USL. Andrea Neil - Andrea made her national team debut in 1991 in Haiti during the CONCACAF championships and went on to play 132 times for Canada. Andrea played in the 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007
Women’s World Cup finals, in the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Pan American Games. Andrea earned her 100th cap against Costa Rica on March 5, 2004, and her 132nd against Ghana on September 15, 2007. She spent 18 years in the women’s national team program and six years with the Vancouver Whitecaps. BUILDERS
Angus Barrett Angus’s involvement with soccer in Canada has spanned nearly 50 years. He has been a player, coach, official, and finally an administrator, in Newfoundland and Labrador. He led youth teams to provincial titles in all age categories and was president of the provincial soccer association from 1995 to 1999. As a member of the Canadian Soccer Association Executive, he has led national teams on overseas visits on numerous occasions and represented the CSA in the Canadian Olympic Association for five years. In 2009 Angus was awarded the prestigious Aubrey Sanford Meritorious Award for his outstanding commitment to soccer in Canada. Gordon Arrowsmith - Gordon started refereeing in Scotland in 1965 and brought five years experience with him when he immigrated to Canada in 1970. He began refereeing in the North American Soccer League in 1981 and was appointed to the FIFA list in InsideSOCCER 47
1982. In that year he refereed the TransAtlantic Cup game between the New York Cosmos and the famous National Club of Montevideo, Uruguay at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. He was on the FIFA list for ten years and his international experience includes the Presidents Cup in South Korea and numerous other internationals. PIONEER AWARD John Richardson - John was a lawyer who came to Canada in 1919 and played soccer in Vancouver before moving
on to soccer administration. He was appointed secretary of the British Columbia Soccer Commission in 1933 and guided soccer through the turbulent years of the 1930s and World War II. He was a council member of the Dominion of Canada Football Association from 1948 until his death in 1952. In 1966, he was inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame. ORGANIZATION OF DISTINCTION
Victoria West - Victoria West was founded in 1896 as part of the Victoria West Athletic Association. They have
won the Garrison Cup three times, the Vancouver Island championship twice and the Jackson Cup as champions of the Victoria and District League 16 times. Victoria West won the national championship in 1976, 1979, 1982 and 1984 and has produced numerous outstanding players who went on to play nationally. Victoria West is one of the oldest clubs still playing in Canada. THE BRIAN BUDD AWARD OF DISTINCTION 2012 Recipient – Gerry Dobson 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.
AN EVENING OF
SOCCER EXCELLENCE Join us in welcoming the Induction Class of 2012 into The Soccer Hall of Fame! This year we will be honouring eight extraordinary Canadians, one Soccer organization and one team of distinction that have made an impact on the sport of soccer in our country.
The Canadian Soccer Association is holding a centenary match game featuring the Canadian Men’s team vs. the U.S.A. on June 3rd as part of their 100th anniversary celebrations.
ticket purchased.
The 2012 Induction Banquet will take place on June 2nd at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto.
The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to offer a complimentary match ticket to this game for each banquet
www.thesoccerhalloffame.ca
48 May/June 2012
For further information and on-line ticket sales visit the The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum’s website at
5 February/March 2012
MONTREAL IMPACT
Patrice Bernier with Canada during the 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
PARLEZ-VOUS
SOCCER
BY STEVEN SANDOR
Photographs Courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association and the Montreal Impact
The scene: B.C. Place. The event: Montreal Impact training session, just one day before the team is to open up its first MLS season with a road date against the Vancouver Whitecaps. There is a large throng of Frenchlanguage media that has followed the team to Vancouver, and they are waiting to talk to the Impact’s star midfielder. The club’s PR people tell the English media, who are hopelessly outnumbered, that Patrice Bernier will answer all media questions in French, first. And that’s the irony. This scene plays itself over and over, whether Bernier is in Montreal or on the road. Whenever reporters need soundbites en Français, Bernier has to do the talking. In the second-largest French-speaking city on the planet, Bernier not only the sole Canadian to be part of the Impact’s starting XI, he’s also the only Francophone on the team. During that opening weekend in Vancouver, the irony is all the more obvious. Before the Impact got to the stadium, the Whitecaps held their training session — and the French media were able to get material from Alain Rochat, Sebastien Le Toux and Eric Hassli. Bernier not only has to anchor the Impact midfield, he is the ambassador for the club to a nation within a nation. 50 May/June 2012
In every other MLS city, the coach is the most-quoted person in a club. In Montreal, Bernier is the go-to man. That means he can never have a day where he trains and can then duck into the dressing room and out the back door of the stadium. And it seems so odd, that in a city where the most storied pro hockey
team of all is crucified in the media for not having a French-speaking coach, the Impact’s lack of Quebec talent hasn’t been vociferously criticized. “I have to say that it is nice,” says Bernier. “I have to be the representative for the French side of the team. I knew there would be a lot of interviews and attention. But, even I didn’t think it would be so much.” With the pressure comes an intense feeling of pride. Bernier was a member of the Impact from 2000-2002; then,
Below: Patrice with his home club, the Montreal Impact, during their inaugural MLS season.
like so many other North American players, he went to Scandinavia to find his fortune in European football. He was an important part of the midfield for both Norwegian side Tromso and Denmark’s FC Nordsjaelland, with a short stay at Germany’s Kaiserslautern in between. Last season, Bernier, now 32, was at Danish side Lyngby — and the Impact brain trust visited him several times, trying to convince him to finish his
career at home. The offer was too good to refuse, and, Bernier has been a fixture in the starting XI from the start of the Impact’s debut season in MLS. “It’s a great moment for soccer in Montreal; we have reached the highest pinnacle of North American soccer,” says Bernier. “Toronto was the first team, Vancouver second, and now this big for Montreal. This is the culmination of all the years of work that have been done to build soccer in Quebec, and in Canada.” But Bernier says he and the Impact won’t be happy to be just expansion cannon fodder for the rest of the league; though, through the first four games of the season, the Impact will earn just one point, and score just three goals. “I think the expectations are not that high, when you look at the history of expansion teams in this league,” says Bernier. “But we will take it one game at a time. We have been competitive in preseason, and we believe in ourselves. With good spirit and good effort we can create some surprises.” And, Bernier adds, playing in Scandinavia helped him prepare for the media pressure-cooker that is Montreal. In Scandinavia, players do their work
in small communities, and really have nowhere to hide. In some ways, being a star in Norway is more difficult than being a star in England or Spain. But, even though Bernier says he is fine with the workload for now, one of his Canadian teammates recognizes that the situation can’t last forever. Evan James, whom the Impact took in the Supplemental Draft and who later played for Canada’s U-23 team at the Olympic qualifiers, says he is working on improving his French skills. “Patrice can’t do it all. It’s not fair to him. He needs some time off from the media. It’s time for other players to step in.”
InsideSOCCER 51
MONTREAL IMPACT
THE MONTREAL
IMPACT ADVENTURE KICK OFF THEIR MLS
BY ARMEN BEDAKIAN
Photographs Courtesy of The Montreal Impact
When the Seattle Sounders and the Philadelphia Union joined Major League Soccer, the league was in an expansion frame-of-mind. Schedule shifts, conference shuffling and increases in games played fueled the growth of North America’s premier soccer league. It didn’t take long before the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers also joined, making the jump from the historic NASL division into MLS. With 18 teams in 2011, the MLS was nowhere near ready to call it quits when it came to expansion; whispers of a third Canadian franchise began to heat up, and, finally, after years of speculation and planning, the Montreal Impact became Major League Soccer’s 19th franchise. Wearing their historic blue kits, the Montreal Impact joined the ranks of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC, playing at the plateau of North America’s soccer pyramid. Led by head coach Jesse Marsch, and using Joey Saputo’s ‘Saputo Stadium’ as their home field, the Impact began their process of acquiring players for their league debut. Every expansion team goes through a special draft, and Montreal were no exception; this draft, called the MLS 52 May/June 2012
Expansion Draft, gave Montreal 10 picks, which they could use to sign players from other teams. Allowed only one player per team, and forbidden to select from each club’s list of protected players (of which 11 are chosen) Montreal made their selections, rounding out their roster with solid MLS regulars like Justin Mapp, Sanna Nyassi, and Davy Arnaud, who now captains the team. Was it business as usual for an expansion side? Nope. Montreal stole Brian Ching. I say stole, because Ching, being a franchise player, captain and longest serving player for the Houston Dynamo, was left unprotected under the assumption that no team would prize apart club and player. Montreal, however, were thinking two Zarek Valentin and Bernardo Corradi celebrate after an Impact goal vs TFC.
moves ahead. They saw an unprotected captain and a list of protected players including Montreal native Andre Hainault, and put one-and-one together; steal the captain, bring Hainault home. It was a good move, but one that didn’t pan out in the end. Houston called their play, and were willing to give up a second round draft pick for their captain. Ching, not being in the Impact’s plans, was traded back to Houston. The MLS SuperDraft was equally kind to Montreal, which selected much-touted forward (midfielder? defender!?) Andrew Wenger first overall. Wenger, who can basically play every single position on the field if you asked him to, was the perfect signing for Montreal. Of course, to round out a roster, a team needs to sign their own players, and Montreal made some star signings of their own too; Canadian international Patrice Bernier was added early on. Serie A defender Matteo Ferrari and former Valencia striker Bernardo Corradi gave Montreal some Italian flair. Finally, Colombian duo Nelson Rivas and Miguel Montaño added much-needed South American creativity from front to back.
The Impacts Matteo Ferrari battles with the Whitecaps Eric Hassli during the season opener in Vancouver.
The locker room full, Montreal has kicked off their MLS campaign with a lot of promise. Their first ever game was against Canadian adversaries, the Vancouver Whitecaps. The two teams share a rivalry that goes back 20 years, so it was natural that MLS would schedule the two together to kick off the 2012 MLS Season. They met at BC Place, and it didn’t take long for Vancouver to show Montreal how things work in MLS, with Sebastian LeToux scoring three minutes in. Soon after, Vancouver made it 2-0 with probably the most impressive bit of teamwork they have ever displayed; when LeToux’s pass was dummied by Hassli, before Brazilian forward Camilo ran through the box before cutting in and scoring. It was a stunning performance by Vancouver, but a heavy loss for Montreal, in their very first game in Major League Soccer. Still, the Impact kept their spirits up, and heading over to their temporary home, Olympic Stadium, played host to the Chicago Fire. Playing the same starting lineup as they did against Vancouver, the Impact supporters packed the stands, recording an attendance figure of roughly 58,000 people. With all that support behind them, the Impact would not disappoint, when Sanna Nyassi swung in a cross and gave captain Davy Arnaud a free header, which he put away.
It was the clubs very first goal in Major League Soccer, and what a goal it was. Chicago would strike back, and end the game 1-1, but in front of almost 60,000 people, the Impact picked up a well-deserved point. Their next three matches would prove a bit more frustrating. Heading over to Crew Stadium, Montreal fell 2-0. One week later, Montreal flew to Red Bull Arena to play the New York Red Bulls; a Thierry Henry hat-trick was too much for Montreal to handle, as they fell 5-2. Finally, the Impact took on Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium, and had no luck, losing 1-0. With one draw and four tough losses, Montreal needed points, badly, and their next game would be the perfect opportunity to get it; it didn’t hurt that their opponents were bitter enemies, Toronto FC.
Montreal Impact Supporters Group
Bernardo Corradi
The Montreal Impact Shield. La Garde! Felipe Martins
Montreal could smell victory, and with a tinkered lineup, it didn’t take long for the Impact to go up ahead, Sinisa Ubiparipovic scoring in the 18th minute his debut for Montreal. They controlled the game with 60 percent possession, and in the 81st, Andrew Wenger, playing forward, scored for Montreal again, making it 2-0. Toronto FC’s Danny Koevermans put on back late, but it was not enough, and the Montreal Impact handed Toronto FC their fourth straight defeat, and picked up their very first win in MLS. How sweet it was for Montreal! There’s still work to be done for Quebec’s MLS team, but in their first handful of games, the Montreal Impact have shown they have all the makings of a quality side. Just how much of an impact they will have this year remains to be seen, but for Montreal fans, the future is certainly looking good. As they say in Montreal, “Allez le Bleus!”
InsideSOCCER 53
INSIDESOCCER
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54 May/June 2012
INSIDESOCCER
MARKETPLACE cds.on.ca King, Ontario
Rent the CDS Cyclone Dome! The Country Day School’s new Cyclone Dome was opened in early 2012. Situated on our 100-acre campus, the dome covers a new stateof-the-art synthetic turf field that is the second installation of its kind on campus. Both turf fields are manufactured to exacting standards. They complement 6 natural playing fields, 3 full-sized gymnasiums, 4 tennis courts, 2 softball diamonds, a syntheticsurface track and field complex, and 2.5 kilometres of crosscountry and mountain-biking trails. Community groups, clubs and associations interested in renting athletic facilities on campus are welcome to inquire: Cyclone Dome Bassam Naim | dome@cds.on.ca | 905.313.8661 Other Athletic Space Bruce Carman | rentals@cds.on.ca | 905.833.1220 CDS (JK-12) is an independent, co-ed, university-preparatory school.
InsideSOCCER marketplace is the perfect one stop shopping guide for all of your soccer needs. The latest in equipment and apparel from some of the best retailers in the business.
56 May/June 2012
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To advertise in the InsideSOCCER Marketplace, contact: Justin Clark by email at justin@insidesoccer.ca or by phone at (905) 833-1973.
InsideSOCCER 57
UPCOMING
TOURNAMENTS AND CAMPS UPCOMING SOCCER TOURNAMENTS 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. 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-cup-youth-soccertournament 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 58 May/June 2012
Complex, minimum 4-game guarantee with no more than one (1) game per day, allowing plenty of time to visit the Walt Disney World® 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 onsite, 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. 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. August 3 - 6: College Showcase of Champions Where: Box 151, Manotick, ON K4M 1A4. 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. 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 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. 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-season-soccer-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 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: 26th Annual Thornhill Challenge Cup Where: 2400 John St., Thornhill, ON L3T 6G6 Contact: Herb Schranz or Mike Kehoe
2012_Inside_Soccer_Tournament_Parent_Magazine-V5.pdf 1 23/04/2012 11:39:27 AM
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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. 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  Â
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. September 14 – 16: Richmond Hill Challenge Cup Where: Richmond Hill S.C., 10660 Y onge 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. 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. September 22 – 23: Woodbridge Classic Where: Woodbridge Soccer Club, 7401 Martingrove Rd. Woodbridge, Ontario, L4L 8V3 Contact: Frank Scarlata, Tournament Chair – Pino Sacco
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PREMIER SOCCER TOURNAMENT! JULY 6-Â8, 2012 Come to Alberta and enjoy the 100th Anniversary of the Calgary Stampede at the foot of the beautiful Rocky Mountains! _____________________________________________________________________________________ Â Open to Girls And Boys U14-ÂU18 in Tiers I, III and III. Cost is $525.00 Per Team For more information visit
www.calgaryminorsoccer.com
on YouTube!
                      Â
60 May/June 2012
         Â
        Friday  June  15                Team  Entry  Deadline           Wednesday  June  27      Schedules  Available           Monday  July  2                Team  Rosters  Due         Friday  July  6                    Opening  Ceremonies                      Sunday  July  8  _______Tournament  Ends            Â
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 6 February/March 2012
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.
UPCOMING SOCCER CAMPS 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 Website: 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. (Toronto), Carruther’s Creek Soccer Centre (Ajax), Lambton Kingsway Jr. Middle School (Etobicoke) Age Groups range from 4 to15 years of age CHERRY BEACH SOCCER CLUB (Downtown TO) – Summer Soccer Camps Address: Cherry Beach Sports Field, 199 –275 Unwin Avenue, Toronto, ON M4M 3M9 Contact: John Hendriks – Camp Director Tel: (416) 367-4359 Fax: (416) 367-4356 Email: camp@cherrybeachsoccer.ca Website: www@cherrybeachsoccer.ca Additional Information: Our summer camp will be held at downtown Toronto’s beautiful harbor front on state-of-the-art artificial turf fields. We encourage you to view the serene location and daily itinerary to get a sense of what we will be offering. From July to August for only $260/week (NO HST), boys and girls from ages 6-14 years old will come together to learn the FUNdamentals of soccer and enjoy a variety of other fun and enjoyable sporting activities. Emphasis will be on soccer drills and scrimmages led by ex professional players who are fully certified and accredited coaches today. Other fun activities include nature walks, golf mini-put ... a trip to the splash pad, Olympic game competitions and all sorts of other ball games along with pizza Fridays etc. Participant vs councilor/coach ratio of 8:1 or better. Under inclement weather conditions we’ll move into a structured indoor facility at Polson Pier for shelter where participants can read or play board games while they ride out the storm. Call us and ask us about group rates and/or specific Rep Team, Goaltending or Canada’s 1st Academy or Elite Training. Power Soccer 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. 62 May/June 2012
CLUB NEWS PICKERING SOCCER CLUB TAKES A FIRST STAND WITH STOP BULLYING NOW! BY SUSAN ELLIOTT Photographs Courtesy of Bill Stavrou Photography At a time when politicians are drafting anti-bullying legislation across the country, and teachers and principals are intent on taking matters into their own hands, one local soccer club is stepping up in a big way with its just-launched, first-of-its-kind antibullying campaign. The Ontario-based Pickering Soccer Club’s STOP BULLYING NOW! campaign kicked off recently with a strong commitment to reinforce existing anti-bullying messages that kids are currently hearing at school. The program focuses on what it means to be bullied as a player, as a coach, or a referee? And, yes, I did say referees and coaches. Beyond the bullying children face, it apparently happens all too many times with young referees and coaches, too. What a shame to discourage and humiliate these up-and- coming young referees from continuing to excel and thrive in the soccer world. The same goes for the coaches – the vast majority of whom volunteer their free time to help our children develop as athletes and become better individuals overall. We all need these influential people – our kids
do, we do, and soccer, in general does. We need their dedication, their commitment, encouragement and enthusiasm to keep the beautiful game, well … beautiful. Unfortunately, bullying happens in all circles of the sport, and it needs to be recognized… and stopped. That’s why programs like STOP BULLYING NOW! are so vital. They provide a clear message to everyone – especially kids who are developing attitudes and behaviours they will carry with them for life. It’s a message that says bullying is an unacceptable behavior, and that it’s okay to admit feeling hurt when bullied and to talk openly about it with parents, coaches, team mates, family and friends. In short, it’s about letting people know that bullying is no longer a taboo subject. “We really think that it is a good thing that this Stop Bullying Now message is clear to all
kids,” said Pickering Soccer Club, Club Head Coach, Tony La Ferrara. “We hope that it might spark a conversation in a family and provide an opportunity for family members to talk openly. Then we can do something about it.” To that point, during the course of the entire summer season, all referees will wear a vest with the STOP BULLYING NOW! logo clearly visible to all spectators and players. It sends the message that they will not tolerate this offensive behaviour wherever they see it. Referees, with the help of coaches – and, I hope, parents, too – will intercede and STOP BULLYING NOW! whenever it happens According to Tony La Ferrara, this kind of program has never been put in place by any other sport organization in the country. “We hope that every soccer community and other sporting organizations in Canada will follow our lead and join us in the fight
against bullying,” he said. Given that there are more than two million registered soccer players in Canada -- according to the Canadian Soccer Association -- the beautiful game seems like a strong place to start … or, should I say, to STOP BULLYING NOW!
LONDON CALLING... THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME. BY SUSAN ELLIOTT
Photographs Courtesy of Aurora SC
This past March a group of U18 girls from the Aurora Stingers 1994 team embarked on the trip of a lifetime as they set out to travel to England to play in a series of matches against Chelsea, Tottenham, Queens Park Rangers and West Ham. While the results on the field were not as successful as they would have liked, the overall experience was one that they will never forget. The camaraderie of the teammates, the competition, the real life experiences, will be forever lasting. Aside from the soccer and cultural experiences one of the highlights was a visit to the residence of Canada’s High Commissioner to Britain – Honourable Gordon Campbell. Mr. Campbell was presented with an Aurora team jersey, which he proudly dons for a team photo shoot. InsideSOCCER 65
COACHES ARE ALWAYS INTERESTED IN WAYS TO KEEP THEIR PLAYERS HEALTHY ON AND OFF THE PITCH.
David Beckham broke his foot just prior to the 2002 World Cup, and then told the world of the impressive results of treatment that he got from homeopathic medicine. From “The Homeopathic Revolution� by author Dana Ullman
HomeSafe Health is a practice dedicated to linking natural health systems with the medical health industry. Our mission is to facilitate the safe integration of homeopathy and its processes into family life for the development of healthy children, youth, and adolescents as they
A safe, affordable, and financially responsible way to introduce non-toxic health care into your family life. Many parents are looking for answers to explain what is right for their child when it comes to health and athletic development. As a coach, you need something that will help explain the facts in an easy, accurate, and user-friendly manner so that parents can make an informed decision about health care.
transition through the life cycle.
HomeSafe Health is on your team. Through a complimentary first session, we can help extend the natural health benefits of soccer and athletics through safe, non-toxic health care and consultation. Visit homesafehealth.com to learn more about the programs, products and services offered.
412 SIMCOE STREET, NEWMARKET, ONTARIO, L3Y 2M3 (416) 716-8891 TEL
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WWW.HOMESAFEHEALTH.COM
HomeSafe Health proudly supports youth soccer skills and development through Madskills and Extreme Kicks Sports Centre.
CANADIAN MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM CENTENNIAL MATCH 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP BRAZIL™ QUALIFIERS
Canada vs USA – June 3rd Canada vs Honduras – June 12th
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT CANADASOCCER.COM/SEETHEERISE Season package, group discounts and family pack available