SAAC State of the
Union, Lino Terra - SAAC Commissioner
November 2007
The game of soccer is at a crossroads in this country.
Unprecedented grassroots growth, media exposure and
professional influence are at odds with an outdated
administrative model, well-intentioned but under
qualified leadership and an organizational structure
laced with political influences and compromises
detrimental to the development of the game.
SAAC is in a unique
situation in that we provide services to the soccer
community while remaining at arms length from the
current administration. Nowhere else in Canada is there
an organization that can say they have been outspoken
about what ails soccer in this country and have then
gone out and done something concrete about it.
On more than one occasion
we have heard feedback from ‘recognized’ organizations
about how they are in full-agreement with the programs
and philosophies promoted by SAAC but feel that the same
level of services can be offered by our current
non-profit community club structure.
So, it has been two years
– where is it? Where are the clubs that demand all teams
have licensed coaches? Where are the physiotherapists on
the sidelines of all games and training? Where are the
U10 to U14 leagues that promote player development and
have removed the excessive pressure of
winning-at-all-costs?
The club system has had
two years to assess the programs provided by SAAC and
prove that services are not required. Well after two
years we don’t see anyone close, and meanwhile SAAC
player membership has doubled.
On the other side, we’ve
had a number of groups pop up to discuss and work to
improve to the state of the game. This is a positive
development, but as of yet, only SAAC has gotten past
the discussion stage. We were encouraged at first that
Canada Club Soccer would join us in action, but it seems
to have lost its momentum as its members appear
unwilling or unable to jeopardize their current
positions in the ‘system’ by actually implementing any
real change.
In fact it seems as though
one of the founders – the Vancouver Whitecaps – have
moved on and hitched their wagons to a strategic
partnership with Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact.
So, while others meet and
talk and brainstorm, SAAC will act and continue along
the path set out back in 2005 when four academy
directors got together in a Mississauga office to hash
out an alternative structure for elite player
development.
SAAC established
guidelines for four key areas – Training Standards,
Facilities, Competitions and Coaching – which are the
foundations of SAAC. Along the way we have developed a
system of Governance, Business Plan and long term
strategy to ensure viability for years to come.
So where are we?
Standards & Enforcement
SAAC has continued to evolve in this area.
Membership designations were updated to different
between a true ‘SAAC’ Academy and those still working
towards that goal. A clear path to full (Charter)
membership now exists.
Enforcement is being
stepped up, starting with the Academy membership
presentations being held in the fall of 2007. Academy
visits will commence in 2008.
Standards have been raised
following the 2 year break-in period. All teams now need
a ‘B’ licensed head coach and must have a pre-B coach
(or better) on the sidelines for all games.
Facilities
We were lucky to secure a facility that could
accommodate our program at a centralized location. We
are working closely with ANB Academy and The Country Day
School to ensure our players have access to the best
possible fields and facilities.
As we grow we face the
challenges of distance and travel, so we will be working
with our members outside the GTA to minimize the travel
and associated costs required to participate in SAAC
programs.
SAAC will continue to
encourage organizations to secure their own facilities.
GTA-based teams should expect to do some traveling next
season (i.e. Stoney Creek, Burlington, Ottawa).
Competitions
The competitions ran relatively smoothly in 2008, as
we tried to address issues from last year while dealing
with the growing pains of going from 25 to over 40
teams.
Although there were a few
exceptions that need to be addressed, the level of play
was good and most games were competitive. The Showcase
boys program definitely lived up to it’s name as it
provided a number of hotly contested matches,
culminating with a thrilling final at BMO field.
The spring and fall
programs had good participation and provided the
Academies with additional games and a chance to provide
players with a unique program that extended an outdoor
season that is normally only five months long for
typical competitive programs.
The challenge now is to
ensure a controlled growth so we do not compromise our
mission of providing services to the top young athletes
in the country. SAAC will continue to support
organizations in the development of programs to grow
their business, however the quality of the competitive
program – both in on-field talent and off-field
management – cannot be compromised. It is not the goal
of SAAC to provide a place for all players to play – the
existing club program already provides excellent service
in this regard and there is no reason to reinvent the
wheel. The purpose of SAAC is to provide an outlet for
the top 1-2% of players that are looking for an
alternative player development model to what currently
exists.
We have to be diligent in
separating our Soccer School programs from our Academy
programs. Our members should be focused on identifying
and developing only the best players in the Academy
programs. Teams should only be entered into the Academy
competitions once the can positively represent the
Academy.
As we grow, some
exciting changes are planned for 2008:
Futsal
We will be starting a pilot program for Futsal starting
in January 2008. U10-U14 development divisions will be
run for an 8-week program.
Development Programs
The structure of competition for the development
programs (U10-U14) will be altered from previous years.
Instead of a set schedule being provided at the
beginning of the season. The SAAC Development Teams
schedule will be laid as follows
- Each team will play
every Saturday in the SAAC Calendar (prior to the season
teams will be allowed to block off any weekends required
for travel, other events, etc)
- Game times and opponents will be fluid and will be set
no later than two weeks prior to the date of the game.
The purpose of the change
is to shift our focus from trying to schedule and
reschedule matches around outside influences and
concentrate on providing consistent and appropriate
competition to all our members. We want to instill the
conditioning that Saturday is Game Day.
We are also excited to
announce that we will be implementing an introductory
program next year aimed and boys and girls aged 6 to 8.
The program will be skill and fun focused with a format
of 4-on-4 and no goalies on a small pitch.
An added component of the
Development Program will be the year-end tournaments. In
September 2008, tournaments will be held at the U10-U14
divisions to cap off the summer program. The tournament
will provide an intense and exciting weekend of soccer
for all our Development teams.
Showcase Programs
The Showcase Programs are evolving into their
own distinct entity, and that distinction will be
further enhanced in 2008.
The Showcase divisions
will be run as a true league format, with stats,
standings, knockout competitions and league champions.
To truly define this program, it will operate under a
new name in 2008...
The purpose of the
Showcase Program is to prepare and promote our elite
players for the next stage of their soccer development.
By providing an intense and professionally run program
for players 15-18, we hope to provide the best possible
environment for this development.
Our showcase programs will
focus on two streams. One stream will look to promote
and develop boys and girls that are looking to continue
their soccer careers at Canadian or U.S. post-secondary
schools. The other stream will focus on male players
looking for a professional career in the game.
Working with players on a
professional stream presents a definite challenge, SAAC,
like many others, is acutely aware of the void in
Canadian soccer that occurs for male players once they
turn 19. In order to bridge this gap, SAAC has begun an
investigation into producing elite senior level teams
(U20, U21 or U23) that would compete in a new or
existing senior league. SAAC is more than willing to
work with the OSA, CSL, OSL, USL and/or Toronto FC to
develop this idea.
Coaching Development
The strength of SAAC is in its people – without high
level players and professional coaches, SAAC is just a
concept. We believe we are progressing well in the area
of identify, developing and retaining top level players.
We need to remain diligent in ensure these players are
continually exposed to the highest levels of coaching
available.
Coaching development in
Canada presents two significant obstacles. First, as
youth coaching has been a predominantly volunteer
endeavour for so many years, there is a dearth of
dedicated qualified coaches in this country. Finding
enough coaches that know the game, can work with
children and have been able to maintain appropriate
qualifications is a difficult task. Secondly, it is
unfortunate to say, but even when a coach is willing to
obtain the necessary qualifications, the quality of
Coaching Education programs provided in this country is
simply not up to par with SAAC expectations.
The good news is that
there are alternatives. There are probably a half-dozen
or so UEFA ‘A’ licensed coaches in this country – at
least 3 of which are full-time members of SAAC. These
coaches are valuable resources that we hope to tap into
as grow. As well, the quality of Coaching education
available in the U.S. is vastly superior to what is
available here, both in content and execution.
SAAC is committed to
supporting the Academies in professional development. We
have identified the USSF National Youth License as one
the best available programs for coaches working with
players 12 and under.
SAAC is also looking into
bringing in World Class Coaches to provide information
seminars for our coaches. Some of the Academies have
experience in this area that we would like to tap into.
We are also looking into
the possibility of creating our own ‘Academy Coach’
designation, with a custom designed course that would
either build on, or replace the current Canadian B
License content and be specific to the Academy
environment.
Governance (Roles and
Responsibilities)
We are growing as an organization and as a result
some high level restructuring is necessary to meets the
changing needs of our members.
We would like to expand
the decision-making influence of our members. As part of
our membership interview process, we will be identifying
members that have the potential to be executive members
of SAAC and as such hold voting power. We are also
looking to bring in a capable and dynamic visionary to
act as Chairman of the Board and help lead us through
these exciting times.
We are also looking to
expand our governing committee and administrative staff
so that we can maintain and improve our level of service
as we continue to grow.
The CSA is almost 100
years old and is just now getting around to developing a
list of roles and responsibilities for its various
positions. We are doing this now to ensure we do not get
stuck in the bureaucratic quagmire that currently
infects our game at all levels.
Marketing & Business
Development
SAAC is devoted to the idea that in order to truly
compete on the world stage, players identified as elite
should not have to pay to receive the training required
to become professionals.
It is our goal that within
the next 5 years, all academies will have scholarship
programs in place that allow the best 16, 17 and 18 year
olds to receive professional training at no cost in
exchange for a commitment to the Academy.
In ten years, we want to
see the Academy system evolved to the point were at age
18 enough of players are ready to play professionally
and can command transfer and developmental fees
sufficient enough to allow the entire Academy program,
from age 8 to 18 to be free of charge to the chosen
elite.
National Presence
Although we have been focused predominantly in
Ontario for the past 2 years, it is our hope to
eventually attract organizations across Canada that
share our vision for the development of elite soccer
players. We do realize however, that we must ensure our
base is strong before making this jump.
There are a number of
roadblocks we are attempting to work through to achieve
our vision. The first is one that affects any
organization trying to bring a common vision across the
country – size. Our closest members outside of Ontario
are thousands of miles away and operate in a culture and
climate that is vastly different to that in Ontario. We
also have the challenge of a language barrier with our
eastern neighbours.
That said, we are
confident we can overcome these issues – once we deal
with our biggest obstacle – the current soccer
administration.
It pains me to admit it,
but we vastly over-estimated the ability of our soccer
leaders to look past their little fiefdoms, backroom
agreements and culture of protectionism to actually sit
down with SAAC and our extensive international soccer
experience to assess our program on its merits.
At the national level,
applications for membership were met with a form letter
of rejection and a constitutional change to prevent
further applications. No indication was given as to why
our application was rejected or if they even read it.
Based on feedback we received I doubt they got further
than the opening sentence.
At the provincial level,
the dysfunction manifested itself in other ways. At this
level we were actually able to sit down with the OSA
executive and make our case for membership. The
discussions were always positive and amicable, however
any real and quantifiable follow-up was severely
lacking. Very little effort was made to communicate our
discussions to the OSA membership. Instead, a steady
stream of misinformation was allowed to make the rounds
for almost two years, at which point the OSA finally
distributed information on our application that we were
never given an opportunity to review and which woefully
under- or mis-represented our programs, philosophies and
willingness to work for the common purpose of improving
the game of soccer in Canada.
My frustrations only grow
when I sit in on presentation after presentation given
by representatives of the OSA that talk about how we
need to improve programs for the elite player. I am then
subjected to slide after slide that preach player
development philosophies and standards that are almost
identical to those implemented by SAAC, yet there is
nary a glimpse of recognition for the fact that we have
implemented ideas that they can only talk about.
The time has come for us
to step up our efforts for recognition, not only for our
benefit, but for the benefit of soccer in general. The
sport is undergoing a renaissance that will go to waste
if we don’t push for change in the archaic soccer
administration we are currently saddled with. We
desperately need a system where new ideas are encouraged
and explored, not dismissed or ignored because they did
not come from the ‘right’ people.
We are developing our
strategy and will ensure the soccer administration
understands that we are committed to our goals and are
not going away. We will make it clear to the soccer
community that continued attempts by governing
organizations to prevent our recognition are only
contributing to the problems that plague our game. We
intend to win over the skeptics not by words but by
actions, because the time for talk has long passed.
Lino Terra, Commissioner
Soccer Academy Alliance Canada
(May
26, 2007) - Soccer Academy Alliance Canada held it's
first full day of competition at The Country Day School
on Saturday. 42 teams took part in full day of matches
on a perfect day for soccer. SAAC welcomed many new
member teams on this day, as well as some guest teams
from organizations that may one day affiliation with the
association.
(February
15th, 2007) - The Sudbury Canadians Soccer Club and
Soccer Academy Alliance Canada (SAAC) are pleased to
announce a partnership between the two organizations
that will see SAAC take a significant role in the
on-field development and management of the Canadian's
USL W-League franchise.