We could have have had this...
...but instead this at the helm and blatant conflict of interests
Did everyone get this electronic email from National Capital RSA?
As you are aware members of the OCSL are not ok with what is happening in our district, and we want change to happen.Attached is one of the first steps in standing up for change and strong ethics in our district. I have attached a letter that we ask you, your members, friends and anyone that cares about soccer in Ottawa to send to Ontario Soccer. Make your voice heard. Send it often. Make sure that they cannot ignore us.The email addresses it needs to go to is privacy@ontariosoccer.net and appealcasemanager@ontariosoccer.net feel free to also include other Ontario Soccer staff on your email. I have also attached a summary of what has happened and what this means for your club/players. This might help with any questions you may get. If there is [questions] regarding this that you need to discuss, please use this email address [nationalcapitalrsa@gmail.com].Thank you and happy emailing!
CONFLICT OF INTEREST LETTER TO SEND TO ONTARIO SOCCER
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
To Whom it May Concern,
The Ontario Soccer Conflict of Interest
Policy states the following:
Ontario
Soccer is committed to providing an environment in which all Registrants and
Registered Organizations of Ontario Soccer and any of its governing
organizations (collectively “individuals”) act honestly, in good faith, and in
the best interest of the game of soccer in Ontario. Activities of the governing
organization, and those of its Registrants and Members Organizations, shall be
conducted in a manner becoming the high ethical standard of business conduct
expected of the leader of Soccer in Ontario.
It is our belief that the EODSA Board of
Directors is no longer acting in good faith or in the best interests of those
who play soccer in the district which they represent. We also believe that they
are no longer meeting the ethical standard which their membership expects from
them. Several members of the current EODSA Board of Directors are paid
employees of local soccer clubs who have not recused themselves from making
decisions on matters which could directly benefit their clubs.
On the Board of the EODSA there are 2 paid
staff members of OSU and West Ottawa. The president of OSU is also on the board
of the EODSA. This has led to a situation which meets the below listed conflict
of interest definitions as stated in the October 13, 2018 approved Ontario
Soccer Policies:
The following terms have these
meanings in this Policy:
a) “Conflict of
Interest ” – An incompatibility between one’s private interests and one’s
duties as a trustee of a governing organization
b) “Perceived
Conflict of Interest” – A reasonable perception by an informed person that
a conflict of interest situation exists or exist.
c) “Person” – Any family member, friend, customer,
client, sponsor, colleague, legal person or organization.
d) “Representatives”
– Individuals employed by, or engaged in activities on behalf of, Ontario Soccer, or Registered Organizations, including:
Administrators, Coaches, Directors, Employees, Game Officials, Players,
Registrants, Registrars, Team Officials, contractors, volunteers, managers,
committee members, and officers.
Decisions are being made that are not in
the best interest of the district, but rather that will benefit the larger
clubs. Ontario Soccer’s Code of Conduct specifies that people in our community
are to act towards each other with dignity, respect and integrity. In the
summer of 2018 Ottawa South United sued a former coach after he left their
organization to take a coaching position with West Ottawa Soccer Club. Emails
were then obtained by the Ottawa Citizen that revealed a discussion led by
staff from OSU that the lawsuit would be dropped if the EODSA who’s president
is the General Manager of WOSC, if the EODSA removed the suspension for one of
OSU’s coaches. Both the president of OSU and the clubs general manager were a
part of these discussions.
Section 9(f) of Ontario Soccer’s code of
conduct states the following “Refrain from the use of power or authority in an
attempt to coerce another person to engage in inappropriate or unwanted
activities”. Launching a lawsuit against an individual and then offering to
drop the suit in return for having the EODSA put pressure on OSA to set aside a
disciplinary decision against an OSU coach is not a strategy that a junior
staffer at OSU would have come up with. These types of decisions in soccer
clubs usually originate from the board of directors or senior management. The
fact that both the general manger and the president were kept in the loop
during the discussions of this matter is evidence of their tacit approval of
this strategy. The lawsuit was dropped only after a reporter from the Ottawa
Citizen contacted the OSU general manager.
The EODSA is also misleading its membership
by telling them that the Futsal program being jointly run with EODSA and Soccer
Outaouais teams was approved to operate. This is incorrect and is not acting in
honestly or respect.
The Code of Conduct also states that they
are to “Ensure that financial affairs are conducted in a responsible and
transparent manner with due regard for all fiduciary responsibilities”. Twice
in the last 15 months the EODSA has hired new staff members that were not in
the budget approved by the membership. They also moved the Winter Development
League from being operated by the East Region Soccer League to the EODSA
without the approval of the addition to the EODSA budget by the membership. The
EODSA spent a significant amount of money on the field time for the league
without approval of the membership. The EODSA constitution states that any
expenditures not in the approved budget over $10000.00 are to be approved by
the membership at a Special General Meeting. This expenditure was not approved
by the membership.
We believe that the EODSA and its current
board of director are not acting in a “manner becoming the high ethical
standard of business conduct expected of the leader of Soccer in Ontario” and
ask that they be removed as directors of the EODSA.
With these issues and others surrounding
the conduct and reputation of EODSA board members how is it that these board
members are still permitted to retain their positions. What action is OSA
taking to address the conflicts of interest and breaches of the code of
conduct.
I look forward to your candid response to
these questions,
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Summary of what has transpired
1)
March 19th 2018 - the EODSA sent a letter to the OCSL
notifying the OCSL that they will not be operating District Competitive in
2019. The OCSL appeals the decision to Ontario Soccer
2)
Ontario Soccer upholds the appeal by the OCSL about the
decision to remove District Competitive divisions from the OCSL, stating that
the EODSA did not properly make this decision, nor had the ability to make this
decision.
3)
September 2018 - the OCSL receives a second letter from
the EODSA stating that they will not be allowed to operate District Competitive
division in 2019.
4)
The OCSL held a Special General Meeting on October 27th
to discuss the decision the EODSA has made. The membership overwhelmingly was
against this decision and almost unanimously voted in favour of not moving
these divisions to the EODSA. The general consensus in the room was that the
current set up was not broken so there was no need to make any changes. The
membership requested that the OCSL communicate this to the EODSA and made a
request of the EODSA to hold a town hall with the membership within 30 days.
5)
The OCSL sent a letter to the EODSA on October 30th
informing them of what was discussed at the meeting and that the membership did
not want this change and making the request for the town hall.
6)
On November 9th the OCSL received another letter from
the EODSA informing the OCSL that the Terms of League Operation was being
denied. This means that they are removing their permission of the OCSL to
operate both the District Competitive and District Recreational divisions.
7)
The OCSL is currently in the process of appealing the
decision of the EODSA to deny the Terms of League Operations.
What does all this mean for the average player/team/club:
-
This decision
will ultimately mean the end of the OCSL. With only 16 teams across two
divisions for the OCSL to operate, the league is not viable. This is the end of
40 years of operations.
-
All decisions by the EODSA (including red card hearings)
will have to be appealed to Ontario Soccer. The fee for appealing to Ontario
Soccer is $500 as compared to the $100 appeal fee to the EODSA of an OCSL
decision
-
A potential increase in fees. Even though the EODSA
made this decision almost a year ago, they have yet to present a new budget or
list of fees to the membership. They are predicting an increase in player
registration fees, but have yet to disclose how much this will be. They think
they might be able to decrease team fees slightly, but have yet to present
finalized list of team fees to the membership. There are several lines in the
budget on the expense side that will increase with this change, so it is
expected that they will have to increase revenues for this increase.
-
With the end of the OCSL and ERSL, many clubs will have
fewer AGMs to attend. However, with the amount of topics that would now have to
be covered at the EODSA AGM, the length of this one AGM will be similar to
marathon.
-
An increase in meeting. With the proposal of of these
changes came a proposal of specialized committees for each of the registration
categories (youth vs adult). Adding more committees will add more meetings to
an already busy volunteer calendar.
-
Centralized, limited control - with the shift of
operations to the EODSA, the control over league operations, and things like
fees, fines, team placements, division composition, rules and regulations will
also all be centralized to be controlled by the EODSA board. This will mean
that the average member will have less of an input on the decisions that are
being made. Currently the EODSA board is controlled by the 2 largest clubs in
Eastern Ontario.
-
Service level - Currently the EODSA is staffed with 2
full time staff. This is less than they typically have on staff. With the
addition of the operations of the 2 leagues additional staff will need to be
hired. With league applications being accepted starting the beginning of
January, they are already behind on this area of league operations.
As you are aware members of the OCSL are not ok with what is happening in our district, and we want change to happen.
ReplyDeleteAttached is one of the first steps in standing up for change and strong ethics in our district. I have attached a letter that we ask you, your members, friends and anyone that cares about soccer in Ottawa to send to Ontario Soccer. Make your voice heard. Send it often. Make sure that they cannot ignore us.
The email addresses it needs to go to is privacy@ontariosoccer.net and appealcasemanager@ontariosoccer.net feel free to also include other Ontario Soccer staff on your email.
I have also attached a summary of what has happened and what this means for your club/players. This might help with any questions you may get. If there is [questions] regarding this that you need to discuss, please use this email address [nationalcapitalrsa@gmail.com].
Thank you and happy emailing!
Jeezus! I emigrated from a third world country decades ago and today, this type of questionable behavior was/is expected. I can understand why we were called banana republics. Now, what is more surprising is that officially recognized and registered entities in Canada (by provincial and federal gov. ministries) get away with doing the same. These soccer entities and those gov. ministries is you, the people. They represent you. Entities "of the people, by the people and for the people". Silence is complicit and you expecting to have a fix fall from grace up above is naive. Do something!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the National Capital RSA?
ReplyDeleteMARRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
ReplyDeleteResult of OCSL Appeal of EODSA Decision to not approve TOLO
Ontario Soccer's Appeal Panel has rendered their decision on the OCSL's appeal of the EODSA's decision to not approve the OCSL's TOLO and remove operations of the District Competitive and Recreational divisions from the OCSL.
The full Notice of Decision can be found here (https://ocsl.e2esoccer.com/Downloads/A18-33_Decision_Dec_24_2018.pdf)
Please note that the EODSA does have the right to appeal Ontario Soccer's decision to Canada Soccer. The OCSL will keep you apprised of what is happening.
At this time the OCSL will continue to move ahead with its normal planning process for the 2019 season. We look forward to seeing all of you at the AGM on January 12th.
Wow, burn: "Since OCSL is subordinate to OS, none of OCSL’s leagues are subject to District Association governance".
DeleteWhy didn't the ERSL appeal their termination?
DeleteMy guess, ERSL was lopsided in favour of just doing what OPDP wanted. Few there could do something or were (as the recent descision pointed out) "confused" whose role is/was whose. OSCL has a larger (non-OPDP small club) leadership, with very capable, determined and trustworthy people. The descision does altogether make you wonder; if those at the OPDP led District (calling themselves the: "technical leadership") have no clue about how "confused" they are/were about the soccer rules; what else are they "confused" about? Accounting rules? Business rules? Legal rules? Amateurs.
DeleteMy guess, ERSL was lopsided in favour of just doing what OPDP wanted. Few there could do something or were (as the recent descision pointed out) "confused" whose role is/was whose. OSCL has a larger (non-OPDP small club) leadership, with very capabledetermined and trustworthy people. The descision does altogether make you wonder; if those at the OPDP led District (calling themselves the: "technical leadership") have no clue about how "confused" they are/were about the soccer rules; what else are they "confused" about? Accounting rules? Business rules? Legal rules? Amateurs.
ReplyDeletehttps://ersl.e2esoccer.com/ViewArticle.aspx?NewsID=2497 ERSL will be running like usual. EODSA missed deadlines so at least 1 more year of pretty well run leagues.
ReplyDeleteWTF?!? That is simple incompetence. All the hot air blown up our asses about 'efficiencies', they cannot get some routine documents filed.
Delete---------- Forwarded message ---------
ReplyDeleteFrom:
Date: Fri, Jan 4, 2019
Subject: Youth Competitive Play 2019
To:
Member Clubs,
Please be aware that just before the holiday break, Ontario Soccer advised the EODSA that we would not be allowed to run the youth competitive league, due to a supposed missed deadline of notification.
Please know that the EODSA will be appealing this decision and fully expect that our appeal to Canada Soccer will be upheld.
Similarly, on December 24th, the EODSA was advised that an Ontario Soccer appeals panel upheld an OCSL appeal, thus giving the league operations back to the OCSL. We will be appealing this decision to Canada Soccer as well.
We understand the confusion these Ontario Soccer decisions are bringing to our District, and will work diligently to get both addressed as quickly as possible.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
Is the OPDP a competitive league?
DeleteWhat a fiasco. 'Supposed missed deadline'?
What planet are the people on the EODSA board from? They think the OS rulings are creating confusion? Putting aside the timing of the EODSA board actions, did they miss the parts about how their contention about efficiencies and cost savings are only anecdotal and that they haven't actually provided any concrete support for any savings? EODSA board is corrupt and should resign.
ReplyDeleteLooks like ERSL has put out its preliminary team lists for U13 - U18. Looks like they didn't relegate any teams, and added anyone who asked to be added from the district T1 divisions. To make things worse, I'm hearing the Outaouais clubs are leaning towards playing in the Lac St. Louis AA league for the most part, with the odd exception for teams they consider to be relatively weak.
ReplyDeleteYeah, some of those divisions are starting to look more and more like a house league.
DeleteProbably have to factor in that the ERSL may not have been sure they were running at all three weeks ago.
DeleteThe Gatineau-side clubs always seem to have a very high opinion of their relative quality, which has more often than not proved to be incorrect.
To be fair to the Outaouais clubs, it was really only Gatineau (and I think one Chelsea team) that entered any teams, but the age groups where they had stronger teams all played in the Lac St. Louis AA league - even with the teams they entered in ERSL, I would say they brought the average level of play up (slightly). But the teams they entered in ERSL were seen as being relatively weak and they entered all of their stronger teams in the LSL AA league. Hull (now called FC Gatineau) tends to have the strongest teams in the Outaouais, and they avoided the ERSL altogether. So if these clubs participated in ERSL, it would be great for ERSL, but not so much for the Outaouais clubs.
DeleteLooks like Aylmer is entering teams in some divisions. Could be a decision on a case-by-case basis as to where they enter, depending on the specific team. Gatineau seems to be entering in pretty well every division, but hopefully these are their first teams. Hull seems to be sticking to LSL AA. I think it would be positive for the region if Ottawa, Outaouais and Kingston all played in one league, including academy teams. But ERSL really does have to relegate the teams that finished at the bottom last year - the overall level of play last year was horrible and the only way to improve that is to cut the number of teams at this level.
DeleteThey put a team in the U15 Regional division that played in the District division 2 last year. What the ERSL is doing isn't right for player development. They're making a (even greater) mockery of the league.
DeleteAt this point, I think the ERSL is in survival mode first, player development falls down the list. Exactly what the OPDP clubs want.
DeleteGatineau and Des Collines seem to have changed their minds about some of their teams and are playing them in the Lac St. Louis AA league instead of ERSL (they had originally indicated these teams would play ERSL). I wonder what drove them to change their mind. I know at least a couple of those Gatineau teams were very weak last year and will really struggle in the LSL league.
DeleteERSL needs to fix things at the U14 and older divisions. Having more than 10 teams in any division screws everyone - because they play a balanced schedule, any division with 11 teams will only get 10 official games, and a division with 13 teams will only get 12 official games. They try to compensate for this by scheduling 2 - 4 exhibition games for teams, but those are meaningless and kids in some of the divisions last summer really started to lose interest.
DeleteIf the ERSL won't do it, I urge clubs that had teams which should have been relegated, as well as clubs with teams that were not actually promoted based on the placing, to drop out of the Regional divisions and play in the District divisions, for everyone's sake. Don't waste yours and other people's time.
I get that there is not promotion into U13, but some of those teams need to really think about what level their teams are at. Don't place a team in a Regional division strictly for marketing purposes, because you think it makes your club look bad if you don't have a Regional team.
True. The U15 and U16 divisions have some teams that should have been relegated but weren't (God knows why), but at least those divisions have 10 teams and they'll get 18 official games. As for the U14 division, what stands out is that St. Anthony's is allowed to enter a team that should actually have been relegated from the District T1 division??? And the WOS team at U14 should definitely not be playing there - they should have been relegated based on last year's results. Drop those two teams and at least these kids will get 16 official games.
DeleteAs for U13, I suppose it's based on an honour system - and we all know there are very few people in Ottawa soccer with that.
Anyone know whether that EDL league that FCB Escola was operating is still going on? Heard it is, but can't find any info. They seem to have taken it underground?
ReplyDeleteSo some of the SAAC academies have left OASL (including Sigma, Power, ANB, USC and possibly Rush. Also looks like KNSA & Kingston are joining them, but that BCN is staying with OASL. I guess this increases BCN's travel a bit, being the only remaining OASL program in eastern Ontario.
ReplyDeleteWhere will Sigma etc....play?
ReplyDeleteSigma is playing in SAAC
DeleteSo many divisions in Canadian soccer. Nonsense after nonsense. Politics, turf wars, money grabbing.
DeleteIf Ontario can't organize themselves to have youth leagues where the best play against the best, then there's really no hope.
The best must play against the best, clubs, academies, whatever you call it. All united in an OPDL style league. I still don't understand why it can't happen. It's moronic, it truly is.
OSA should just cease to exist, it couldn't be worse than what the current situation is now.
Finally someone with the sad truth comment. The tree (structure from bottom on up) is stinky rotten and invalid with no action.
DeleteIn the grand scheme of things: "word is...", "7v7 or 11v11", "TD left..." ...it is all relatively minor fluff if you cannot get the best of the best playing against each other and truly showcase the s...t out of it to the general public and to fans. I would be first in line to buy season tickets. That and everyone else's money would go a long way to fund many things. private and non-profit alike. Just like in real life.
That Winter coliseum youth league is just so bad now. The stronger Ottawa teams don't even bother sending top squads anymore. Sad.
ReplyDeleteSome of the more progressive programs in Ottawa stopped having their older teams play 7-aside for years now. Others are now starting to realize that it sets you back. While Montreal and Toronto have a bunch of leagues that run 11v11 at U13 and up and 9v9 at U11/U12, Ottawa just doesn't seem to have the demand to force anyone to operate proper winter competitions.
DeleteNot the demand, it is the finances. The clubs that control the domes where 11v11 is possible don't want to drop the revenue (or add extra costs) that running 2 games at a time provide. WOSC doesn't have that as an option. If anyone were to push that, it would be EODSA, which won't happen as long as EODSA is basically an arm of WOSC and OSU.
DeleteThey play the full field. The costs are definitely higher (probably 3x), but teams can have larger rosters of players. Playing 11v11 with a squad of 18 works out to more playing time than a team of 12 playing 7v7. For U11/U12 games that are 9v9, they use 2/3 of the field, but make sure there is a 7v7 game scheduled on the other third of the field at the same time. Until that happens, you'll have more and more serious players avoiding these leagues and opting to play friendly games instead.
DeleteWord is a lot of Hotspurs players and coaches moved to the Ottawa Internationals. Not sure why. Falling out I guess.
ReplyDeleteHotspurs have been struggling below critical mass for a few years now. Makes value for money questionable, which then makes even more people look elsewhere.
DeleteAny specific age groups/teams that they are leaving from?
DeleteWord is a mass exodus occurred at the U11 level.
DeleteI think the Hornets TD left. That is 2 guys leaving since Lanos left....
ReplyDeleteYeah.
I think Hornets marketing deal with VWC was up and they probably weren't seeing enough additional revenue from it to justify.
DeleteI wonder whether in hindsight they regret not merging with Royals and Nepean City a few years back. I'm not a fan of merging clubs because the basis for these mergers has more to do with $$$ than player development, but I can see Hotspurs shutting downs sooner than later.
ReplyDeleteSorry, was referring to Hotspurs, not Hornets.
DeleteI think jumping into OPDL without really understanding what it would cost and how much demand there was hurt them more. I don't think critical mass is necessarily a good thing, unless that's the club's actual goal. In my experience, smaller programs are able to provide better player development, if done properly.
DeleteSince the wave of mergers began in 2010, Ottawa soccer has lost almost a third of participants. Youth rec has collapsed. Youth numbers are down another 2000 this year.
Delete“DOCUMENTS WILL BE E-MAILED AND POSTED ON THE EODSA WEBSITE”
Deletehttps://www.eodsa.ca/ViewArticle.aspx?NewsArticleID=15916
2017 AGM:
10. STRATEGIC INITIATIVE REPORT
NONE
The President explained that the Strategic Plan is ongoing and encouraged members to be involved in the process in the coming months. He explained that there will be meetings related to the Strategic Initiative that will be imparted to the membership through the website
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
2018 AGM:
President’s Report
To the Membership
2018 was a busy year for the EODSA and its members within the District. Many new ideas, new initiatives and changes were brought forward and implemented to address the decline in player registration numbers over the past 9 years.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
Membership Report
Registration Numbers
The 2018 Outdoor season ended with a decrease in registration numbers of just over 2,173.
Please refer to the tables below for the registration numbers.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
EODSA Strategic Initiatives Report
As the EODSA has gone through multiple staff changes recently and will also have new board members out of the AGM, the EODSA will be revisiting its strategic planning process to finalize a new strategic plan moving forward. The membership will be updated when the strategic plan has been approved by the Board and ready for distribution.
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
Revenues (down 11K) Player registration fees – down 13K due to lower registration numbers
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+
No scores, no standings is not something that appeals to most kids/parents. It's hard to take a sport seriously, especially here in Canada (Hockey country) if there's no scores or standings.
DeleteParents/kids simply are moving towards sports that take it seriously. Nobody cares if there's no scores or standings. I hear it everyday from other parents : "Who cares? There's no scores anyways!". Kids just go to other sports.
The geniuses who came up with this should take full responsibility.
Here is a harebrained idea free of charge. Carry-out more mandated strategic initiative meeting(s) [plural]; with a $100 fine per club that does not participate; and easily offset those declining revenues. Between the OPDP 2017 board take over and today how many were there? ...oh wait.. we don't want $$$ we want players... Not successful at that either? One liner strategic initiatives phrases/comments tackling important issues in a professional document shows how unprofessional they actually are. Confused with other things other than OS rules as well?
DeleteI have been told there is no detail at all about the league operations, just one figure each for revenue and expense. The EODSA used to provide a full 'Statement of League Operations' as part of their audited financials back when they ran leagues.
Delete"the appeal by the EODSA to Canada Soccer was denied. "
Delete"Ontario Soccer is pleased to announce... ...to connect... ...Ontario Soccer Club & Academy Registry (OSCAR)" - Clubs AND Academies?
I'm surprised the Hornets have not merged.
ReplyDeleteI think originally it was because some expert from the Netherlands asked why we were keeping score as kids when we suck at soccer. His point was learn to play first and then keep score. Let's be honest, we still suck at soccer.
ReplyDeleteI think the intent of no scores no standings at the younger ages was to get coaches on board with the concept of coaching with a vision of long term development rather than coaching to win the game today. I personally don't believe removing scores has achieved that alone, but I do think the coaching culture has improved somewhat in terms of long term development as a result of a number of factors. The kids, coaches, and parents all still keep score and there are still coaches coaching to win at u9-12.
DeleteI do think that promotion and relegation should be voluntary for u9-u12 ie a coaching decision, not a league decision based on past years record.
I personally think we could have scores and standings but downplay their importance, especially to adults, and still promote a development first culture. Other sports that Canada does excel at (even other than hockey) allow kids to compete and have results recorded, and even win awards, but attitudes are such that the competition is healthy and contributing to their development, not holding them back as is the case for many in soccer when a coach only coaches to win.
The EODSA adult league rules say that clubs have to pay for their fields on March 1 along with all other costs. That is going to kill a good 20 clubs.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that St. Anthony's website has been down for quite a while now. Anything going on with them?
ReplyDeleteThey seem to have teams registered for ERSL this summer, so I assume it's just a website issue.
DeleteWhat's going on this summer for the stronger U9-U12 teams? Sunday format again? Playing in the EODSA league instead?
ReplyDeleteThere isn't going to be an EODSA summer competitive league. The EODSA did not make a proper application in the correct time frame. So it is either ERSL or Sunday OPDP format again.
DeleteERSL is also offering Sunday games at the U9-U12 age groups for the highest division.
DeleteOPDP still alive? No.... they would never pull the wool over our innocent and naive eyes... would they? Sorry I was born yesterday... NOT!
DeleteIt's for obvious reasons this was pushed through:
DeleteApproved Amendments to EODSA By-Laws and Rules and Regulations at the 2018 AGM held January 26th, 2019
Amendment 1 – Rules and Regulations
New RULE 11 COMPETITIONS
3. Exhibition Games
Shall be in accordance with Ontario Soccer Published Rules. In addition;
b) Blanket written permission shall be granted by the Association to any Club affiliated to the District to authorize exhibition games which only involve teams within the Club.
The thing about Sundays, is you can play teams that are of better caliber. In leagues, you often are matched up against weaker opponents.
ReplyDeleteI didn't find that was our son's experience. They still played the exact same teams as they had in the past, minus Futuro and Seaway Valley. So we really ended up losing one or two games against a very strong team and one or two games against an average team. The other clubs that were excluded from OPDP generally didn't play in tier 1 (certainly not in our son's age group).
DeleteWhat a mess soccer is in this city. An absolute shame. A disgrace.
ReplyDeleteand the result is a really poor track record of producing talent. Ottawa does not compare favourably to Edmonton.
DeleteI do not see any U9-U12 teams registered in the ERSL. What gives?
ReplyDeleteTeam entry for the district and younger age group divisions only starts Monday. So should be adding those over March.
DeleteSo if I understand correctly, Futuro will now be playing these teams, since they will do the Sunday format with the stronger teams?
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what's going on with KNSA? They don't appear to have renewed their ORA status, as they aren't listed as one of the 54 ORA academies, but they don't seem to have any teams registered in ERSL (unless their teams are playing at the district level). Website indicates that their oldest teams will play in the SAAC league, which has at least 6 ORA academies who are facing major restrictions from OS. Is KNSA now operating as an unsanctioned program?
ReplyDeleteAre they even operating anymore?
DeleteKNSA teams are playing under St. Anthony's now, in the ERSL. Odd that neither of their websites mention it though.
DeleteI liked what Kevin was doing with that club. It's an alternative to the usuals who run the city. Nothing against the usuals who run the city, but it's always good to have other options around. Hope he continues.
ReplyDeleteHope it's not true. It's a shame that Ottawa doesn't have enough demand to support a few smaller programs that provide such personalized attention to the players.
DeleteAs I think about it, I haven't heard anything about a March break camp by KNSA either, which I think they usually run.
ReplyDeleteNo social media posts in at least a month. Could be done. Anybody know how Futuro is doing? Barcelona? I hear the latter is doing not so good either.
ReplyDeleteFuturo keeps growing and now has boys teams at U9 - U18 (with the exception of a U17 team) and at least three girls teams. They are also programs at the U5-U8 age groups. The 2001's would be their first cohort that will be going to post-secondary school and apparently there are quite a few of them that will be playing CIS or NCAA soccer in the fall.
DeleteThere are a whole bunch of teams registered under Ottawa Futsal - could these include the KNSA teams? Probably includes some other academies playing under OF as well though.
DeleteCool. Will they play ERSL Premier?
ReplyDeleteERSL seems to be splitting some of the Regional divisions at the U14 - U16 age groups into two (Group A and Group B). Anyone know what the logic is? It doesn't seem to be based on the relative strength of the teams, and I don't know what they achieve if they're splitting them based on any other factor.
ReplyDeleteI hope they aren't planning on determining the Regional champions by having a single game between the group winners. The best team might not always win a one-off game, which means it's less likely that the ERSL would be represented at the Ontario Regional championships by the strongest team in each age group. ERSL teams already put in a pretty pathetic showing at that tournament as it is - don't start watering down what is already relatively weak representation.
DeleteThey might have given the teams the option to be A or B. Sometimes the ones who check off the B box are simply trying to win a division and not having the balls to compete where they should be.
DeleteDid St Anthony get going again? I see a bunch of teams of theirs registered in ERSL. Sometimes two per division. Good for them. It says Ottawa St Anthony. Not Futuro. Not Surad. Not LACA.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't look like they've updated their teams for the specific names yet. Futuro would have one boys team in each age group up to U15 (I think U9 they might have a couple of teams, but not sure which division the second one would be in). Their older teams are playing in the men's league. They would have 2 or 3 girls teams as well. The rest would either be St. Anthony, Surad or Eagles I think. Not sure how many are regular St. Anthony's though, as Surad typically has a number of teams.
DeleteYou can tell that the OPDL is killing the ERSL. Let's be honest here boys, This is now a watered down league with the stronger players being in the OPDL with WOSC, OSU and OTFC (CCA and Cap U. merged). It is still good for the U9-U12, but it stops there.
ReplyDeleteActually, I know of a bunch of games recently where ERSL regional teams beat OPDL teams. Outplayed them quite badly in some cases. If you go watch the stronger teams in any of the streams (Regional, OPDL, OASL), the top couple of teams will be strong, but it drops off pretty significantly after that in every one of these leagues. It's gotten to the point where friendly games tend to be more competitive.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the OPDL teams fared quite poorly at the TFC tournament that was organized, although that was a small sample of teams. I would expect more of the same at the Umbro showcase in May though. Locally, the WOS tournament later this month will have some strong regional teams that I expect will dominate most of the OPDL teams that have entered (one of the age groups has maybe the strongest OPDL team participating, so that would give you a good measuring stick). There is the OSU tournament at the end of the month, but other local clubs seem to be boycotting that one.
DeleteFuturo 05 and 04 teams can certainly compete with local OPDL teams. Apart from that, I don't see any other team that can compete. Of course, there's always great players who choose not to play OPDL because of various reasons, mostly financial, travelling, etc.
DeleteThat's the big tragedy of OPDL, it's really not a measurement of the best players in Ontario. Academies, regional teams still have lots of great players. Until there's a best vs best league, Ontario soccer will not get better.
The 03's have a strong team again, while they don't have an '02 team. The 01's were quite strong, but are now U18. The only anomaly at the U13 and above age groups is the '06 team, which has been rebuilding because of a few problem parents a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of which league teams play in, they'll be faced with far too many uncompetitive games.
Not positive but I BELIEVE TFC 04s will be playing at U15 (instead of a year up) and with the merger with Cap U., they and Futuro could be a good one. Assuming they are in the same regional league/division. There really wasn't THAT big of a difference between them when they were strictly CCA, and I know that Cap U. have strengthened that team.
ReplyDeleteI think the Futuro 04's are playing at their own age. But that team is much stronger than the Cumberland/Cap U team right now. They had a very small roster last year and played many games one and two players short, which is why their results were poor. They now have a full roster with some pretty good new players and there won't be anyone close to them.
DeleteI know a number of players on both teams, and I would say the Futuro 04's are definitely stronger. But who knows, it could be a decent game.
DeleteFuturo 04's played a friendly against Cap U in the fall and absolutely smashed them (really badly). I know that not all of those players will be on the first team this year, but it showed how different the Futuro team was with a full roster of players.
DeleteBoth are pretty good teams and would be a good game, which is what we need more of locally. Teams need to stop avoiding one another, because we would all benefit from having the top local teams play each other as often as possible.
DeleteThey have split up Premier at U9-U12 into A and B divisions as well.
ReplyDeleteAnyone figure out why ERSL has split the U14 and U16 Regional divisions into two groups? Looks like teams aren't playing the same number of games (even within the same group), teams within the same group have different schedules, etc. Unless they plan on not keeping scores/standings, this makes no sense at all.
DeleteOnly explanation I can think of is that maybe they haven't finished the schedules and are still updating? Otherwise, I agree that they're making a mockery of the league.
DeleteIf you look at the U14 & U16 divisions, you'll see a different schedule for the same team, depending on whether you look under "Games" or under "My Team". The schedule under "My Team" seems to be the complete one, but don't know why they can't fix things so you don't have to compile your schedule from multiple sources. All teams within the same group do play the same schedule though. I agree with the earlier comment that when determining the ERSL champions, it's a bit less likely that the strongest team will win at all age groups if they have the group winners play off for the championship. ERSL already doesn't show well at that Regional champions tournament, so I could see this making the league look even worse (although it is definitely the weakest of the four Regional leagues in any case).
DeleteI like the A and B splits. No sense in winning or losing 10-0. Close or reasonably competitive games are much better. I question at least one of those clubs being in Premier A, but I assume the coach knows what he is doing,......
ReplyDeleteThis is really no different than the past with T1, T2 and T3, which was always based on self-selection. It is key that clubs actually put some thought into where the kids on any particular team should be playing. No way in hell that one club should have three teams in the highest division - the odds of the kids on that third team being competitive are slim at best. Even most of the 2nd teams that are entered in the highest division should not be there - I have seen this as an issue for many years now and only wastes other people's time. Clubs use this as a marketing tool and try to load up the number of teams in the top division. I commend the clubs who have made the conscious decision to not enter certain teams in the highest divisions, as I know it's not an easy decision. I also hope that they can find solutions for any kids on those teams that perhaps should be playing in a higher division (whether being called up to an older team, etc.).
DeleteInteresting that Futuro (St. Anthony) is back on those divisions. Also no Hotspurs teams in u11 or u12 Premier.
ReplyDeleteThe u11 (08) Hotspurs team from last year was very good, then in the Winter 18/19 turned into Internationals u11 (parents moved their kids there, abandoning the Hotspurs). But I don't see the Internationals u11 team in Premier (?). Did the parents move their kids again to a different club?
Who gains with these constant movements? Certainly not the kids.
I hope this team hasn't disbanded, and that it shows up in the Premier division.
Futuro has always been playing there - it's the other bigger clubs that left and now returned.
DeleteSounds like a group of parents looking for something that isn't out there.
DeleteThis particular team is now at St Anthony's.
DeleteThree different clubs in less than a year??? Anyone willing to bet they won't end up at a fourth club before the year is up? LOL
DeleteTheir coach is "known". He's coached for many clubs before and leaves in bad terms. I think he was even at Futuro at one point lol. I guess he has come full circle.
DeleteSounds like the coach is the cancer in that situation. Parents don't sound much better though.
DeleteThe 09 OSU Black team is playing a year up in u11 Premier. Interesting choice, it's certainly a very deep and talented group.
ReplyDeleteThe 09 OSU black team is pretty good. Pretty sure they play up for better competition.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not familiar with that specific team, having entire teams play up isn't generally a great idea - some of the kids will definitely benefit, but some will struggle. You'll never find a team where every single player should be playing up. Kids that would benefit from playing up can either play up full-time, be called to play up, or train with older teams. And a team's schedule can always be supplemented with friendly games against strong teams if their league isn't seen as competitive enough. In my experience, clubs that play entire teams up do so to create the perception that the club/team are stronger than they are - if they lose, it's spun as "yes, but they were playing against older kids". What gets overlooked is the inability to properly execute in those games against bigger/stronger/faster kids (again, some kids will be fine, but not all will). Playing entire teams up has no basis whatsoever in individual development.
DeleteAny Futuro players make the Team Ontario teams this year?
ReplyDeleteNo one from Futuro bothered. If you're not playing in OPDL, you can try out and if you make it, you have to join an OPDL team by the following January - if you don't, they won't invite you back. So if you think you're currently getting better training, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by leaving. One kid who just left an OPDL team to join Futuro was supposed to be on the "provincial team" list, but when they found out that he left to join a non-OPDL team, they took him off the list at the last minute.
DeleteI just heard about this player that left OSU for Futuro. If they took him off the provincial team because of that, it's really sad. Ontario soccer is really a sad place to be a young player.
DeleteI understand the stance they take, they want success for the OPDL, they want to force the best players into OPDL teams, but it will never work. Some academies are just too good, and the players don't want to leave, they don't want to take a step into the unknown (OPDL club) when what they have it's perfectly fine.
Only a merger OPDL/OASL at u14+ would really work.
This particular player was very big in OSU, it will probably ignite another local soccer war.
CAPRICIOUS:
Delete- Governed or characterized by caprice: impulsive, unpredictable. (Merriam-Webster)
- Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behaviour. Example: "A capricious and often brutal administration" (Oxford)
- Babyish, incompetent, illogical (Mine)
Yes, it's pathetic on the part of Ontario Soccer. What do they think, that his play will go into a downward spiral in the next two weeks because he left an OPDL team? Yet they chose former team mates of his, who his own club at the time would have rated well below him? And what about some of his new team mates, who I would say are better than him - why are players like that being ignored? Anyway, I think he's made a good choice and will develop parts of his game that may have been neglected over the years. Longer-term, he become a better player.
DeleteI don't think so. If so though, pretty sure they would have to go play for a OPDL team or something of the likes. They had a girl who had to go to OSU if she wanted to play for Team Ontario.
ReplyDeleteIs the U17 Boys St Anthony team at the Wesley Cover the Futuro team? Please confirm.
ReplyDeleteFuturo's U16's (2003) are playing in the U17 division. I believe the U17 St. Anthony's team that is in that group is KNSA.
DeleteSt Anthonys no longer have an identity. It's laughable really.
ReplyDeleteFuturo 04s got worked over real good by WOSC OPDL. Their 05s got beat up bad by Outaouais.
ReplyDeleteIt's the Futuro '06 team that lost to the Outaouais regional team - they've had to rebuild the team and aren't very strong. Futuro's 05's beat WOS and tied Hamilton and Markham - outplayed WOS and Markham really badly.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what happened in the '04 game between WOS and Futuro? The score is surprising, because I know Futuro has played WOS a couple of times recently and was quite a bit better in those games.
I find it funny that people come on here to write short quips aiming to be negative to Futuro. There can be quite a bit more to a game than just the score line... In the same group, WOS opdl 2004 lost to their 2003 regional team which Futuro 04 beat. Hard to say much about any of those games without being there.
ReplyDeleteRegarding 06, even though they have had to rebuild (lost many players due to league politics), they do usually maintain possession very well. That doesn't always translate to goals, but in the long term it will serve them well. Sometimes the score, even if it looks lopsided, is not always reflective of where they are at developmentally, especially at u13 when the goal size increases dramatically compared to goal keeper size and a few good counterattacks with high shots on goal can win a game.
The Futuro '06 team has definitely come a long way in a short period of time. Regardless of people's conclusions based on scores, those kids will individually develop at faster rate than most other kids - I've heard this first-hand from a couple of the families who left that team, that their kids' individual development has slowed/stagnated since leaving.
DeleteAnother example of the score not being indicative of the play was the U14 game between Futuro & WOS yesterday. Futuro won that game 3-2, but I don't think I've ever seen such a lopsided game in terms of possession. I still can't get over how little they had the ball.
Really is too bad some of these teams can't play each other more often. I realized from watching a number of games this weekend that travelling to Toronto to play games against many of these teams is a waste of time. There are definitely some strong teams in OPDL, but I was shocked at how weak some were also. Having the top local teams play each other, supplemented by the odd trip to Toronto/Montreal for games against stronger teams would be so much better for all of our kids.
DeleteWhy was OSU not there?
ReplyDeleteI don't know, something about a lawsuit, or something like that.
DeleteI'm hearing the OSU tournament this coming weekend has really struggled to attract teams and that only one age group actually filled up. Apparently they're still looking for last-minute entries for most of the other age groups just to have some semblance of a tournament - can't even finalize schedules at this point because they're hoping more teams will enter between now and Friday.
DeleteSeems to be a symptom of the toxic atmosphere in Ottawa.
Yes, they're still looking for teams for two of the four boys age groups, and for both of the girls age groups. And this is after scrapping two of the girls age groups they were hoping to run. In the end, they'll probably just fill the spots with their own teams, but I can't imagine out-of-town teams being too thrilled with paying that much to register, travelling here, then playing one or two really weak teams.
DeleteI'm not OSU's defense lawyer, but I find hilarious that some people choose to complain about the fact that top teams in Ottawa don't play each other more often, and then choose not to attend a tournament where all the OSU top teams will be (Canada Cup this weekend). And on top of that, complain about how crappy the OSU Canada Cup will be.
DeleteInstead of being pro-active, come over and bring their kids to play, people think that complaining is better overall for the Ottawa soccer scene.
Don't complain, just show up and play.
Is there a reason for the low attendance?
DeleteWhen you say "just show up and play", you mean pay $750 to play in a relatively weak tournament? If we're being honest, this tournament is pretty poor value for the fee.
DeleteThey could play against some of the stronger local teams in friendlies at a much lower cost. But that doesn't put money in certain people's hands, now does it?
Remember that OSU has been the antagonist for many years now - if you sit down and think of all the clubs and academies that they have an issue with over the years, it's no surprise that very few local clubs are willing to have anything to do with them.
I wasn't complaining about this upcoming tournament being crappy. I was merely pointing out that registrations have been much lower than hoped and that the issues between local clubs is likely a big reason for it.
DeleteBut if you really want to suggest that other clubs are to blame and that they should be entering this tournament regardless of the issues in the background, I should point out that no teams from OSU entered the recent WOS showcase.
Ultimately though, if you think about the recent lawsuit by OSU against a WOS coach (which was really just a part of a series of events involving an OSU coach making unsolicited contact dozens of WOS players), OSU's OPDP initiative (which was directly aimed at Futuro), the numerous complaints filed by OSU with EODSA/OS against KNSA and Ottawa Futsal, among other issues, would you really expect clubs to choose this tournament when there are many others available?
From what I understand, that OPDP thing is squashed, as Futuro is now participating in the ERSL Sunday leagues (u9-u12).
DeleteOSU teams were out in Dallas and New York (06 boys and girls, 05 girls and 04 boys) so they couldn't go to the Wesley Clover Cup.
Yes, there are alot of things in the background, and I actually notice it at my son's games, people are angry on the sidelines everytime they play any OSU team. It sucks.
I think if the thermometer went down a couple of notches from every side, and all clubs could actually get a fresh start, calm down, go to each other tournaments, compete hard and fairly, it would be much better. This constant complaining helps no one.
Show up at the Canada Cup this weekend!
The OPDP thing is quashed, the lawsuit against the WOS coach has been dropped, etc., but these things all leave a bad taste in people's mouths. There's no way any normal person could be subjected to these types of things and turn the other cheek.
DeleteOnly way I can see things getting better would be for two people to step away from Ottawa soccer - but I don't see that happening either.
OSU's U15 boys would have been far better off staying in Ottawa and playing the WOS showcase than going to NJ this past weekend. Due to the weather, their tournament down there was condensed to two short games on Friday, starting at noon and ending by 3:00 pm. Think of the cost to enter, travel for the players and parents, and from what I hear the competition was quite mediocre. Same team went to Dallas last year and ended up only playing 20 minute games because of the weather. As you can imagine, some pretty unhappy parents right now.
DeleteThe competition in the Dallas tournaments (Dallas Cup Boys and Dallas International Cup girls) was certainly not mediocre. It's actually in line with the best teams in the USA (USDA academies). That part of the experience was great for the kids.
DeleteThe weather in Dallas at this time of year? Unpredictable: games cancelled, half games to make up schedule, etc. It makes for a frustrating experience, and unhappy parents.
I find that tournaments in the US are a mixed bag. You can go to a tournament there and do really great, because you put the team in tier3 or 4. So you fool yourself thinking the team is great, but the competition you're facing is actually worse than what you can get by going to Montreal/Toronto or even just playing in Ottawa.
I find it's always best when you travel to the US to play in the top tier, get the eye opener, understand what the top level really is. If your team looses, just try to arrange friendlies with other eliminated teams. But when the weather is crappy and unpredictable, it's just a frustrating experience.
Dallas Cup is definitely a strong tournament. But I was referring to the two short games the '04's played in New Jersey. Weather really can be a crapshoot in March and April, even in Texas. I think a WOS team went to Ohio a year or two ago and had a similar issue - played maybe one game and the tournament was canceled.
DeleteYou're right about US tournaments - unless you're slotted into the top flight, you could be better competition much closer by. I find clubs and academies are always playing up their results at these things, and my first question is always which flight did they play in.
Three teams from OTFC went to Ohio last weekend and only got to play 2 games on first day, second day was cancelled due to weather. They all played top flights and were undefeated. There is talent in Ottawa, but some clubs need to grow up for their players' and club's sake. It all comes down to money unfortunately for the young ones.
DeleteOttawa TFC are getting stronger and stronger especially with the merger. One of the better (if not the best) run program in the city.
DeleteOSU and WOSC do not get along. OSU and Futuro do not get along. OSU and Nepean do not get along. I don't see a trend here.
ReplyDeleteOSU does get along with,...,ah, forget it.
DeleteI was advised that players who play League One here in Ottawa have to pay to play? Is this accurate? If it is accurate, what is the rationale?
ReplyDeleteI believe it was more or less "free" the first year i.e. ~$300 for the season. Then they started charging ~$200/month on the second year because they felt they were loosing money with the program.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting because each team in 2018 was supposed to operate on at least a $24,000 budget for player salaries with at least five of the players on each team having a professional contract and being paid at least $2,000 per year. In 2018, the salary cap for each team was supposed be $40,000.
Are there spectators that pay to watch League 1 games?
DeleteI think it depends of the host club but I doubt any club gets enough revenues from the gate to cover expected budget for player salaries. Seems it most likely comes from sponsors or subsidization from the player pyramid under the club. Not sure how many clubs actually pay players to play.
DeleteWould be great if another club were to enter a team in L1O and not charge players (or charge them less). Another alternative would be to enter PLSQ. FC Gatineau has a team there, but I could see there being enough players locally to have one more team at that level, either in PLSQ or L1O.
DeleteFC Gatineau do not pay to play last I heard. The OSU team could be much stronger, but many of the local talent avoid that organization like the plague. Some 01 Futuro players could be a benefit to that team. Maybe a few of the Gloucester Celtic players. Don't get me wrong, it is not a BAD team. There are a lot of talented players on the team, but they won't do well with the current status quo against the top 3rd of League One. I also wonder if League One will be a bit watered down this year because of the CPL.
DeleteIf you are s "semi-pro" player, paying to play sounds absolutely ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteEven if no-one is paying to watch you play?
DeleteOSU have done terribly in League One. Hard to attract stronger players when you are charging them to play. They are mostly local players who are good soccer players, but how are you going to attract better players from Southern Ontario this way? I feel bad for the players.
ReplyDeleteThe club likely waives the fees, or part of them, of some players in exchange of some coaching duties or admin tasks. Ideally, semi-pro players should not pay to play and some players in the team should be paid. I would hope that some fall into this category. Not sure how many players out of their League One Ontario pool get to pay for free or earn some income.
DeleteIt's going to be a long year for OSU League One. They were outclassed by a sub par team last weekend. You look at the roster though, and there is a LOT of talent. They should do better.
ReplyDeleteThe team is very young and inexperienced. The TO teams have experienced players and alot more to choose from. It's a U23 league with exceptions made for older players. In Ottawa there's no way any team can compete with such restrictions. But with time and patience, and if in fact the top Ottawa players at that age go and play for OSU, anything can happen.
DeleteIf however players choose to stay away from OSU League One for political reasons, then no way.
Imagine in 4-5 years, a team composed of the best players from OSU, Futuro, WOS and Ottawa TFC... that team can beat anybody in TO. Already, if you can imagine an 01 team composed of the best from those clubs, it would be a very good team, not for a u23 league, but in 3,4,5 years for sure.
People not playing there isn't only based on political reasons. Player development in soccer is a much longer process than in most sports - you even see it with players well into their pro careers who sign with clubs that really aren't a fit with their game; those players will often stagnate and hinder their development even into their mid-20's. Many players who have been brought up playing in a possession-based style aren't attracted to the local L1O option, and those players are likely better off finding somewhere that is a fit for their game if they want to continue developing. Unfortunately, we are limited in our opportunities in Ottawa, whereas players in Toronto have lots of choices.
DeleteCouldn't agree more with this. Trying to shoehorn a technical player into a simple long-ball style does no favours for that player. If the only reason a kid like that is playing there is because there is nothing else, that's a huge problem locally.
DeleteMost of these guys played for OSU at one time or another. For a League One team to be truly successful in Ottawa, it will have to be an independent team created with no club affiliation. Ottawa FC or whatever.
ReplyDeleteThese are all players mostly who were in the OSU pipeline. Good players, but Ottawa has Futuro, WOSC and now Ottawa TFC who is getting better....without a complete collaboration, the 3-4 wins only seasons will continue. I agree with the above poster as well, OSU's lack of pretty soccer is evident. I don't get it. A LOT of smart soccer people at OSU, but they play an ugly style from grassroots all the way to men.
One option would be for Fury to run a L1O team, but then you still have the issue of players coming from different systems either: i) not being able to adapt to the style, or ii) finding the system too simple and a drag on their development. Sure, a few people at OSU wouldn't like it if the Fury were running a team, but players are free to player wherever they want and choose what's right for them individually.
DeleteThe other option is that another local club enters L1O also. I've thought it would be interesting if St. Anthony could swing it, given some of the players coming through Futuro, along with other local players who would be a fit for that style.
I haven't seen FC Gatineau play, so don't know if they have a distinct style of play, or whether it's just based on the players available. But St. Anthony/Futuro would definitely be an alternative with a very distinctive style.
Gatineau play a pretty brand of soccer.
DeleteYup. teach your 8 year old to kick the ball to the striker who is twice everyone's size and 40 yards offside, cause that is what proper development is. They need a complete culture change over there.
ReplyDeleteWOSC did not field a U17 OPDL men's team this year?
ReplyDeleteProbably not enough talent to bother. U17s are usually U16s I believe. No point in fielding a team if you're just gonna get beat up. You want to at least be a .500 team at the very least.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago, the OPDL introduced some sort of a U16/U17 division when the first cohort (2001s) reached U16. The teams were mostly 2001s with a few 2000s to help getting numbers.
ReplyDeleteLast year, the U17 was still mostly U16s. In Ottawa, most of the 2001s opted to play men's league.
Due to the failure of the OPDL, the sad part is that Ontario has now lost a real provincial league for U17 and U18 and is missing the train to compete stage of LTPD. Can you believe this?
Anyone know how the BCN teams have been doing in OASL these first couple of weeks? Ontario Soccer won't release scores or standings for any age group because apparently they've been super lopsided. Curious about where they stand in their divisions.
ReplyDeleteThey won't release the scores? I have no idea why so many quit this sport...
ReplyDeleteThey won't release scores, but not for the reason they don't keep scores at U9 - U12. Apparently at the older age groups there have been games where some teams have lost by 25 to 30 goals, and most games tend to be by 6 or 7.
DeleteBCN will no be in Ottawa eventually. What a rip off for a very mediocre program. As for OPDL, I would not say that it has been a failure.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem with OPDL is that it's not best vs best. Neither was OYSL. Until such time where the academies came into this league, it will never be an elite league.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing with OPDL is the lack of standards. Too many teams don't have the quality to play in such an elite league. Too many 8-0, 11-0, etc, and it's always the same teams struggling. In the end it becomes only 6-7 teams competing at a high level, and 16-18 teams really struggling. Some OPDL teams are worse than any ERSL District team you can find. Really really bad, I simply couldn't believe it. But there are other team that are of great quality, mainly Vaughan, Woodbridge, Richmond Hill, North Toronto and a few others.
The league needs to be elevated a bit, but it's not a simple problem to fix. Maybe a mid-season re-arraging of the divisions reflecting the performance.
But single biggest problem, it's not best against best. I would not call it a failure either. As for older age groups, it's tough to make a choice between playing OCSL Mens Premier or U16/17 OPDL. There's still plenty of teams in OPDL u16/u17.
I wouldn't say OPDL has been a total disaster, but it has definitely fallen off the rails. The U16 and U17 divisions were combined because of a lack of players. So you now have some U16 players (who were playing U15 for their club's first team in the prior season), now playing for their club's U16 second team (because many of them would have lost their spots to the U17 players who have stayed in OPDL. These clubs would have what they consider to be their top coaches assigned to the OPDL teams, so they will internally admit that U16 kids who are not on the U17 OPDL team are not getting the best training within their club (but they will never admit this publicly). Secondly, not all U16 players should necessarily be playing up a year - again, it is simply done to fill teams. Third, it is not ideal for a U17 to be playing men's - this is only happening because of the relatively poor quality we are now seeing at U17 (a few years ago, the big drop-off used to be at U18, such that U17 was still a very competitive age group in general). This is what I find most disturbing about the impact OPDL has had - many kids seem to be leaving competitive youth soccer a year earlier than we used to see. At the younger ages, it's all over the map. I wouldn't even say you have any really strong teams anymore because of the dilution among the various streams in Ontario. The spectrum now seems to range from pretty good teams to horrible teams.
DeleteKids today (U17s) are huge though. Better nutrition I guess.
DeleteHave Gloucester Celtic and OSU League One ever played each other? I am curious to know how that would probably go?
ReplyDeleteGloucester Celtic MP is very strong. Would give a lesson to any local amateur or semi-pro team at the very least 4 games out of 5.
DeleteI would have to say that the Ottawa teams in my opinion have faired well overall in the OPDL. Yeah, some age groups stronger than others, but they have done reasonably well. It would be cool to have the OPDL and OASL champs play each other in some sort of ultimate cup championship at the end of the season. There is some very good soccer here in Ottawa. Ottawa has come a long way. The OSUs, WOSCs, OTFCs, FUTUROs....have all produced stellar talent, and the future looks very good. The women's Fury program is very good as well.
ReplyDeleteI would disagree about the quality of the Ottawa teams. The Ottawa OPDL teams generally do well in their league, but that is primarily because take-up in the GTA for OPDL has been very poor. There are many academies in the GTA that are very strong, and I think it would be rare that the top OPDL teams are as good as the top academy teams. A good example was the TFC tournament they organized in the fall, and I would expect we'll see more of the same at the Umbro showcase this weekend. It seems to me that the silos that Ontario Soccer has created makes some people feel good about themselves and they get a false sense of their level of play, but in reality, it's hurting player development across the board.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the Surad teams are now playing under FSTA, which itself has to play under Ottawa Futsal? Also looks like one of the LACA teams is playing under FSTA. Is there only the one LACA team now, or are the others still playing under St. Anthony (they just show all their teams as A or B, so can't really tell which team is which).
ReplyDeleteWhat a joke.....half of these "teams" don't even know if they're coming or going.
ReplyDeleteGoT Daenerys? OPDP rules! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
ReplyDeleteA LOT of young teams in MC1 OCSL this year. It's been cool to see, and they are doing quite well. Futuro, WOSC, OTFC come to mind. Really good soccer being played by all 3.
ReplyDeleteThis phenomena started last year because the OPDL U17 division is for the most part a U16 division and the U17s no longer have a provincial league given that the OSA phased out the OYSL.
DeleteIt's exacerbated by the fact that there is very local good local competition at that age as well.
DeleteI meant "very little good local competition".
DeleteThere used to be a U21 division in the ERSL, but the big clubs were abusing the system - instead of using it as a development tool for U16 - U21 players, they used it to try and gain additional spots in OCSL's MC2 division (OCSL wanted to have the ERSL U21 winner and runner-up promoted directly to MC2). But the big clubs would then use those MC2 spots to add other adult players. The problem with U16 and U17 teams playing MC1 and MC2 is that not every kid is physically ready. If these clubs would instead use a U21 division to allow top kids U16-U21 to play in a separate league, I think it would be really helpful. It's not as big a physical jump as going from U15 to men's, and the technical level would probably be comparable, if not higher than what they're facing in MC1/MC2. Funny that the GTA clubs and academies get it and have a very robust U21 system in the OSL, while Ottawa clubs are always looking for how to cash in on something.
DeleteI witnessed a U16 OTFC team pretty much go toe to toe with a U18 Futuro team the other day. Think it was a 1 goal game only.
ReplyDeleteBoth are good teams and at those ages you might not necessarily have huge physical differences. I saw the Futuro U16's thump their U18's once this winter.
DeleteWhy are the Futuro teams not listed as Futuro in the ERSL under St. Anthony's?
ReplyDeleteIt does make it pretty confusing.
DeleteAt one point in time, at least one other club fought to prevent Futuro from entering teams in the league under the Futuro name... So that, and also they do represent st Anthony's.
DeleteIt is nice to see that the ERSL seems to have most teams playing in it again. Really, the previous situation was not great for the kids so it is a real positive imho.
Which club tried to keep them from using the Futuro name? Why is it ok for other clubs to distinguish their own teams with different names? They seriously can't call their teams "Futuro" because some other club thinks it will indirectly hurt their own marketing? ERSL - who the hell are you working for, your member clubs, or an individual who spends more time trying to figure out how he can personally profit by worrying about others rather than "his" own teams?
DeleteA few years ago Futuro, wanted to play their 2001s in the SAAC league. For that, Futuro needed to become an OSA recognized academy and they did. However, Futuro did not want to play any of their other teams in the SAAC league so they wanted all their others to continue playing in the ERSL leagues. Futuro basically wanted to be both an Ontario recognized for profit academy and also have teams playing under the umbrella of a not for profit community club.
DeleteThis behavior irritated some people because it is like if Futuro wanted to have the cake and also eat it. In Ontario, for profit academies and not for profit clubs do not have the same privileges.
Futuro's way out was to claim that they only had one academy team in their academy and all other teams were actually community club teams for which Futuro was providing additional training. They then removed the Futuro label from the St Anthony Futuro teams.
Fututo is no longer part of SAAC. They therefore do not need to hide the Futuro name and this is much better for them from a branding standpoint.
You've got to love the politics in youth soccer...
The best part about all of this is that it is the "not-for-profit" clubs that are opposed to private academies playing in the same leagues as them. If they would accept that everyone should play in the same leagues, academies wouldn't have to go to these lengths (there are others around Ontario that do the same).
DeleteBy the way, it was Ottawa South United that filed a complaint about this. They also filed a complaint about KNSA playing under Ottawa Futsal Club in the past (though they don't seem to have a problem with FSTA, Surad or LACA playing under Ottawa Futsal?).
An exchange of services is treated different depending on the organization? A. Smith is rolling in his grave!
Deletehttps://youtu.be/a7jJ8C9xUcs (starting at minute 26 or 27)
In theory it is coming. Slow, and grinding and demoralizing volunteers along the wait, but coming. I guess no one wants "free labour".
Even a democratic socialist sees the market distortion.
To clarify the above explanation, the saaq league is/was mostly a Toronto league. So while it might make sense for high school age players to travel to Toronto regularly to find suitable competition, it really doesn't make sense for younger teams. It wasn't really having your cake and eat it so much as finding a reasonable playing solution for the kids. In the end, the 2001 team won the summer league with many games being quite lopsided, so they decided it wasn't worth the travel for them either.
DeleteReally, if the best local teams are able to play each other regularly and you add in some friendly matches with teams from Western Quebec, everyone can get enough challenge to develop without undue travel. Time on a bus is not time on the pitch. Ontario is a big province so it will be hard to make a province wide league work for everyone. Having 2 separate province wide leagues due to the academy vs club politics only makes that worse.
That the ERSL has better participation in terms of first teams in the younger age groups this year is a positive step. Hopefully we will see more of this for older age groups also.
The only reason the younger age groups have a better participation rate at the younger ages is that the 7 clubs (now 6) involved in the opdp fiasco had their hands forced by Ontario Soccer. If you look at the state of the older age groups, it provides a better picture of certain clubs' true intentions. Without naming names, two of the OPDL clubs still refuse to play friendly games against one specific program. And if you were to look into their results and play against mutual opponents, it clearly isn't because they feel it would be a waste of time.
DeleteHere is the thing. Like it or not, Futuro is a private academy that is doing great work.
DeleteContrary to most private academies in the country, they always managed to play against not for profit community clubs and be part of the Ontario Soccer/Canadian "normal" club system because the Fututo owner always managed to find a community club that would let him register his teams as community club teams under their umbrella and letting him run his business the way he wanted. As far as I know, Futuro players would pay registration fees to the host club in addition to their Futuro fees so it was a win win situation for all parties.
To the one who asked about who would win between Celtic and OSU League one.....I'll be honest....I think Celtic would...
ReplyDeleteSt-Anthony's MP is also very strong. Ottawa MP is very very good soccer.
ReplyDeleteWhile U17s (even U16s) can hang and often easily outplay 18 year old plus MC1 teams.....there is a HUGE physical and maturity difference which can lead to issues. I'm talking injuries or in worst case scenarios, real men with real men strength getting frustrated and punching some kid in the head or even worse. I would have to agree that U17 and below is a little young in competitive men's soccer. I've seen it. Adult men getting embarrassed on the pitch and taking out their insecurities in a violent fashion.
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of men that can be reckless in MP, more in MC1 and MC2 is even worst. On top of this, U16s and U17s can be naively cocky. This can create an explosive mix. Not necessarily punches but dangerous tackles or assaults. Most of Ottawa's young teams playing MC1 and MC2 should really be playing provincially in an higher level league but guess what? Ontario no longer has such a league. What a mess we have created.
DeleteI agree. It's one thing to have an exceptional 16 year old playing in a high-level senior league, where the adult players are serious. But when you look at what goes on in a lot of the local games, there are a lot of guys with nothing to lose (in terms of soccer) and nowhere else to go, and they often can't control themselves if they're made to look bad.
ReplyDeleteUnless it is rec....Men should be playing men. No matter how big and strong that 16 year old is....his buddy next to him might not be.
ReplyDeleteMaybe OCSL can make a U17 MP league for those too strong for the ERSL Regional league.
There might be a changing of the guard in men's prem. St-Anthony beat Celtic the other day. On Celtic turf.....
ReplyDeleteThe U16 OTFC team playing Men's C1 is very talented and very physically big. That said, they are still children physically, maturely and legally.
ReplyDeleteThe U17 WOSC team playing MEN C1 is also very talented, but see above. Actually, a handful of those players are actually U16.
Skill wise, those two teams are arguably in the top 3 of that league. BUT, see posts above from the others. Way too young imo as well. This is not tennis. It can be a mean sport.
How are people with Cumberland/Capital United finding the merger? I saw a Cumberland team yesterday where only 3 kids out of 16 or 17 were dressed the same. Everyone else had some different combination of jersey, shorts and/or socks. Do only certain teams get actual matching kits for the entire team?
ReplyDeleteThe transition has been excellent. Both clubs had stellar coaching, so the combination makes it that much better. Both clubs always had a lot of emphasis on the technical aspect of the game and the development of it over the just win attitude. The men's Prem team is doing well, and their 2003s are quite talented playing in men's this year. Big boys. Talented boys.
ReplyDelete