Statistics in? Collaboration chic again?
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"For greater clarity" the exact targeted wording
[Hypocritical] b randing rules : " except for sponsorship branding " " sponsor may not be a soccer club, which is not recog...
What are the league options for U9-U12 this fall/winter? Or would you recommend scheduling friendlies instead?
ReplyDeleteSmart people know that information you do not have is a competitive disadvantage (in and outside the field). Smart people also know that recruitment or collaboration with other smart people (academies or clubs or businesses or communities), who fill in the loop holes, is a competitive advantage.
ReplyDeleteThree Ottawa teams playing Ontario Cup finals this weekend - best of luck to Futuro U14 boys, Cumberland U17 girls and St. Anthony's MP.
ReplyDeleteCumberland U17 girls and St. Anthony's MP teams won their Ontario Cup finals this weekend - congratulations.
DeleteAlso congrats to Futuro U14 boys and Gloucester Inter O35 on their great runs as well, coming up just short in their finals.
Anyone know who won the ERSL U16 and U14 playoffs? For some reason the league doesn't post the scores?
ReplyDeleteKingston Clippers U16 beat OSU U16 4-0. I'd say the balance of play was a bit closer than that, but Kingston was the better team.
DeleteFuturo U14 beat Kingston Clippers U14 5-0. That game was really one-sided and could have been 10 or 12 to nothing.
Both winning teams go on to the Ontario Regional Champions Tournament in Guelph on Thanksgiving weekend, along with the other U14 - U17 ERSL champions (Gloucester U14 girls, Futuro U15 boys, Futuro U15 girls, Gloucester U16 girls, OSU U17 boys and Seaway Valley U17 girls).
They also haven't posted the scores from the Cup and Shield finals.
DeleteAnyone know what's going on with fatdog.ca? No information about soccer this season for some reason. All they actually have is a listing of which schools are playing American football and field hockey (no scores or schedules for those sports either).
ReplyDeleteIt's odd that they won't follow soccer, but are instead focusing on sports where only a dozen or so schools are participating. Would be nice if someone else would pick up the sports they've decided not to cover. I would think something like Ottawa Sportspage would be all over that (volleyball as well).
DeleteIs that Barcelona that I see in the EODSA winter league.
ReplyDeletePeople should be boycotting that league until they switch the format to 11v11. While teams around the GTA and Montreal all play 11v11 indoors over the winter starting at U13, many in Ottawa still accept mediocrity when it comes to player development.
DeleteHopefully that company that runs PISL in Toronto will organize something here in Ottawa now that they got a contract from OS to expand that operation. PISL isn't a very strong league in GTA, but it's better than the nothing we have here in Ottawa during the winter.
DeleteIt's BCN Sports Canada. They pay a royalty fee to FC Barcelona to use the name & logo.
ReplyDelete"...is that it’s one of the most commercialized of youth sports; it contains a flourishing industry of tournament directors, private club and travel teams, and assorted soccer-related businesses whose financial interest is served by the status quo."
ReplyDeletehttps://bit.ly/2M6ikXE
This is for the US not Canada, but the similarities make you wonder why our Ottawa community/neighbourhood festivals, local fields go empty or without your local association's, club's, or league's support.
Congratulations to Cumberland U17 girls on winning the national championship, and also to St. Anthony's men's team on finishing 2nd at the nationals. Great representation of Ottawa soccer.
ReplyDeleteAlso congratulations to Futuro '05 boys on winning the Ontario Regional Championships (as co-champions).
RE:National Championships. I assume OPDL teams do not compete. I assume For Profit Academies do not compete. What about the other provinces? If you play in your provincial league, I assume you also do not compete? Please clarify.
ReplyDeleteOPDL and OASL teams can't participate in Ontario Cup, so aren't able to qualify for nationals. There seem to be a number of reasons for this - OPDL teams are restricted from training/games for a period after their season, so there's no way they would be prepared for the nationals; OASL and OPDL teams tend to use quite a few overage players, so many would struggle to enter teams made up entirely of the proper age (this is more common in OASL, but is becoming more prevalent in OPDL as some clubs struggle for numbers); then there's the original concern about not wanting OPDL teams to look bad against regional league teams. Ideally, all teams would be allowed to enter the Ontario Cup, and all teams would be allowed to play in the top-level provincial league based on on-field merit. Sadly, we're far from that.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about all other provinces. I know Quebec's AAA provincial league is open to any club (not academies) that earn promotion, and I don't think clubs are restricted from entering the cup competition either.
Going back to the OYSL type system with promotions/relegations would only create the same problems that existed before:
Delete- Rampant recruiting and off the field maneuvers to get the best players on each team
- Players moving from team to team depending on who got promoted or relegated.
That was no way to develop players. OPDL is the best system, promote a standard based league where the best teams and academies play. The first academies got accepted in OPDL, soon others will follow.
OPDL does have problems, some teams struggle with numbers, so they put on uncompetitive teams, or load it with overage players which is obviously just a money grab for the club. I think the standards need to be stricter in some cases, some clubs are not ready for OPDL: Toronto High Park and Toronto Soccer Club are prime examples of it. The clubs should just be honest, if you don't have numbers, or the team is uncompetitive, just don't enter it to OPDL. But money speaks louder I guess.
But I do agree that Ontario Cup should be open to all teams (OPDL and academies as well).
The average/best OPDL teams would never loose to any regional teams, the difference is way too big. Academies it's a different story, some OASL academies can certainly be as good or better than OPDL teams.
My kid's regional team has beaten some of the top OPDL teams. They've also thrashed some of the average teams - you're overestimating the level of play in OPDL.
DeleteRecruiting is going on anyway - maybe a bit less than it used to under OYSL, but it is still quite rampant. The one point I do agree with you about is the player movement, which I think stems from parents lack of understanding when it comes to player development. Moving to go to a better development/coaching environment is one thing; moving every year or two to play in a different league doesn't benefit the player. But this could be fixed by tying pro/rel to a club's aggregate results - so even if a club has a team that finishes bottom, they could continue at that same level, provided the club's teams at other age groups did well enough. Players could then stick with the same development model. If a club has a number of teams that do poorly and is relegated, it probably means they aren't doing a great job overall anyway.
The current system has far too many drawbacks, and I've always felt that the only thing it has accomplished is to reduce player movement among a handful of teams across the province.
The only way your son's team beat OPDL teams is if your son plays for Futuro, which I classify more as an academy. Yes, Futuro 04s and 05s are great teams that can rival top OPDL teams. I don't believe any other regional team could possibly beat any average/top OPDL teams. It simply won't, the level is much higher at OPDL.
DeleteIn the end there's other pathways, I don't agree with pro/rel in any way.
Regional youth Teams or individual players could certainly at a certain point play in adult leagues (OCSL MC1 and Premier). That's what Jonathan David did, he never played in professional academies or OPDL, he played mens Premier with the Internationals at age 16/17 I believe, got an opportunity to go to Ghent, and look at him now.
OPDL is a good idea, an elite league, with imperfections, but certainly there's other ways to climb up.
I like the idea of an elite league (OPDL) where the best play against the best, competition is a key part of development, if you're just playing regional league, you're missing on that.
Anyways, it's up to each family to decide what's best for their kids. There are multiple pathways, certainly.
Regional soccer in Ottawa is hilariously bad. It was good before the OPDL when OSU, WOSC, Cap U. and Cumberland were there. Now their best players play in the OPDL.
DeleteI agree that OPDL is stronger than ERSL, and maybe marginally stronger than CSL/GHSL. But the stronger regional teams around Ontario are generally up there with the strongest OPDL/OASL teams. The issue with the ERSL is that there might be one of those teams, every couple of age groups. My kid's played against many teams from many different leagues/streams, and I can honestly say that the biggest difference in the quality of competition is that in OPDL you might get a handful of games against strong teams (but not always, depending on how your schedule works out). The average teams in OPDL really aren't as good as you think, and the result from friendly games against regional teams around the GTA would support that.
DeleteOASL is an odd one - you'll usually have 2 or 3 really strong teams (I would say maybe top in Ontario), but there are some unbelievably bad teams there as well. They have started tiering OASL and it has helped a bit, but it's still not there.
I still think an aggregate-based pro/rel solves most of our problems. Most countries do have some form of pro/rel (Ontario Soccer's line about other countries not having pro/rel is BS - if you really look into it, you'll find many countries that do).
The issue with trying to force kids to OPDL is that you'll never get anywhere near most of the top kids willing to play there, for various reasons. The reason other countries are able to concentrate the top players in one league is generally a combination of having pro clubs operate academies (more incentive to join a pro academy, where there is an opportunity to work your way through the ranks), and pro/rel.
There are alternatives out there as well, and the number of U16/U17 players (some U15's as well) playing men's has been an interesting development, provided they continue with their training at their club/academy (and not simply join some random men's team). I think we'll continue to see more of this, as well as teams from younger age groups playing up a year. These options, combined with a bit of legwork to find additional competitive games can allow kids to stay in a training environment where they're thriving, while also play a competitive schedule.
It shouldn't have to be this complicated though.
"This was an “outplayed and outfought by a side whose near-term ambition is to be better than El Salvador” kind of night."
ReplyDeletehttps://bit.ly/2nVZtW0
Someone mentioned a new Academy called EXUVIA to me the other day. Anybody have any first hand experience with them.
ReplyDeleteAre they still operating? I know they had an older team (kids maybe U18 - U20) at one point, but were mostly made up of kids who were poached from KNSA and played one season in CAF. I thought that team disbanded after one season though, and I'm not sure they were ever been able to put together any younger teams. It's spelled XUVIA.
DeleteI was told they were. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to the EDL?
ReplyDeleteAre either of the ORA's in eastern Ontario going to be joining ERSL district division this coming season? BCN and KBFC I think are the only two, and apparently they can either continue in OASL, or join a district league. But sounds like 2021 academies will be fully integrated into the districts.
ReplyDeleteHeard there are a couple of clubs that are very much opposed to this and are doing whatever they can to make it difficult for them.
DeleteHmmm...I wonder who that would be?
Deleteyup ... I wonder ... where are we ranked in FIFA standing for men? ... oh yeah I wonder why ... its all about development LOL
DeleteWhat is the Barca school like? Any good?
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be decent. No where near on par with Futuro. They seem to attract a lot of kids whose parents think they were done wrong by the other big three. Parents are worse than the kids, trust me. Kids actually will take the news that they are not top tier material better than most of these parents. It is hilarious and sad at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI've heard mixed reviews, depending on where they were before going there. So probably consistent with your description.
DeleteThe same BS with certain clubs not wanting to look bad just keeps going on. OTFC's U15's were willing to play against Hotspurs - U16 district team! Seriously. They could have arranged a much more competitive game against Hotspurs U15 regional team, which is stronger that their U16's, but I guess there's a risk OTFC wouldn't look as good as against a weaker team. Congrats on the win.
ReplyDeleteThe Hotspurs are irrelevant and one of the clubs who didn't take the ball and run with it. Meanwhile, WOSC and OSU took their best talent because of that.
ReplyDeleteI know both teams, although the Hotspurs u15 team is probably their best in a long time, there is no way they could compete against an OPDL team.
ReplyDeleteFuturo U15 could compete with local OPDL teams, but not the Hotspurs.
I think the point of the original rant is that otfc could have played a more competitive game against Hotspurs U15's, but instead chose to play against a weaker U16 team. The question is why? A couple of the opdl clubs will never play against local teams their own age, in case the game doesn't go well; playing against an older team provides a ready-made excuse, just in case.
DeleteAs for Hotspurs U15's, they're a decent team. Not quite as good as the local opdl teams, but they really aren't that far off. Avoiding games against teams like that perpetuates the misconception of the level of play in opdl.
Funny that you say that. My son's schoolmate, who plays on an OPDL team, told our son that a number of kids on his team have been asking their coach if they could set up a game against our son's team. Apparently the coach told them that they have tried to arrange a game, but that our son's coaches refused. I know their team manager and know for a fact that our son's coaches have not been contacted by anyone from that team.
DeleteOur guy's team has played against Hotspurs U15's and against a number of OPDL teams and I can tell you that they wouldn't be out of place in OPDL. They would be a below-average team for sure, but they are definitely better than a number of OPDL teams in that age group.
DeleteFuturo basically are OPDL level teams and sometimes/often better.
ReplyDeleteI hear 4 members of the 05's are having trials at TFC in the next few weeks.
DeleteI think it's 3 that are going on trial, but yes.
Deleteand the EODSA numbers continue to slide downwards....
ReplyDeleteNot surprised. Fact checking, how, where do you see this? Did they actually make a point of this on their latest AGM?
DeleteThey did not make a point of it, have not in any of the previous 5 years, but the data is from the latest AGM. Total registration down 9k since 2015, just under 2k since 2018.
DeleteThe same uninterested membership that is "forced/threatened" with fines for not attending important informational meetings is the same membership that ultimately we turn to for direction of the organization. Eventually it will be a membership of 8 clubs. The long game. Everyone else in completely private ad-hoc leagues.
DeleteDevil's advocate: Could it be that kids today are lazier and more out of shape?
ReplyDeleteAdult soccer is declining too. Hockey is down, basketball is up, baseball is up, even football and rugby are growing again at the youth level. People are fed up with paying the freight for expensive, top-down governance.
DeleteNever thought of it that way. I know numbers are way down all over Ontario, but I wonder what the trend has been in other sports (hockey and basketball in particular)?
ReplyDeletePlenty of politics in basketball, baseball, rugby and football. Plenty of idiots involved in the governance as well. I am surprised football and rugby is up considering how people are more educated on concussions these days.
ReplyDeleteI think those two sports got hit hard around 10 years ago due to concussions, and are seeing some bounce back. Growing, but football is not where it was 20 years ago - HS football is dead in a lot of places.
DeleteWOSC asked for some FUTURO players to help them out at a showcase.
ReplyDeleteCould this be a breakthrough?
WOS is the only one of the three local opdl clubs that is willing to play against Futuro, so there doesn't seem to be animosity and neither seems to be terrified of losing registration revenue to the other by playing one another. Players come and go and we're all still here.
ReplyDeletePlayers and parents at the clubs who are refusing to play should be asking questions. I really scratch my head about the comment above where the club is lying to kids about why they aren't arranging games. A real shame.
OCSL has their division groupings out, and once again, they're making a mockery of things. How does Gloucester's U18 (2002) team get a spot in MC2 without the club gaining the spot through promotion? Remember that if all 2002 teams played at their own age last year, this Gloucester team would have finished 7th out of 10 (at their own age!). A handful of teams slated to play MC 2 didn't even exist last year - they're just give spots there because of what? And why won't the league relegate teams from big clubs if they constantly finish at the bottom of the division - look at MC1 as a pathetic example. Is it any wonder registration numbers are declining?
ReplyDeleteLooks like ERSL is combining the boys U17 and U18 divisions into one. Does that mean no east region representative for the Ontario regional champions tournament at U17? The top U17 teams/players are all playing in the OCSL at this point anyway, but it will be interesting to see how OS handles it - maybe give the extra spot to another region, which would at least make the tournament more competitive.
ReplyDeleteWhen do you guys see each other back on the pitch, boys?
ReplyDeleteAlso, are Barca going to play in ERSL this year?
Anyone's guess, but at least it looks like they've put quite a bit of thought into their options, depending on when it might be able to start. If I had to guess, I would say some time in July, but I really don't know enough to comment. Maybe just being hopeful.
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether BCN is switching from OASL - I would have expected them to because it gives their younger teams a league to play in, which they didn't have before. I did notice that the OCSL just gave them a spot in MC2 - such BS that OCSL continues to hand out spots on an arbitrary basis to teams that have in no way earned them. Makes you wonder what actually goes on behind the scenes at that place.
Yeah, a July start would be nice. What are clubs doing right now to stay in shape?
ReplyDeleteOttawa TFC is running a virtual training and opened it up to all interested in the city.
ReplyDeleteDevil's advocate, if the team and the league feel that a team can be competitive even if they weren't around last year, does it really matter that much? RE: OGH and BCN in the OCSL.
ReplyDeleteYes, because there are other teams within the OCSL who are being denied spots in higher divisions, despite narrowly missing out on promotion based on the published "rules". I would also be careful about taking a team's or a club's word for it. Knowing one of the teams that was simply handed a spot fairly well, I can tell you flat out that they will not be able to compete at that level.
DeleteHeard BCN Sports Canada is insolvent and filing for bankruptcy. Assuming the Ottawa program was operating under the same corporate entity, I assume they're done?
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how other academies or clubs are doing? Surprising about BCN, given how much they were charging, but the company was also operating in a number of cities, so who knows what their overhead costs might have been. I wonder if any local clubs/academies are struggling right now.
DeleteApparently this has happened at all of their locations (Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton & Calgary). They refused to give refunds for the money they collected for March break camps that that had to be canceled, but also collected money for trips they organize to Europe, as well as fees for this spring/summer. Some people are out of pocket for pretty significant amounts, with probably no chance of getting any back.
DeleteThey are folding. Word is a lot of people lost their money for camp, spring/summer registration and the trip to Spain. Getting money from someone goes bankrupt can be getting blood from a stone. In short, some families probably lost between 8 to 15-20K. Go to the Barca Academy FB page and see the comments regarding the company folding here in Canada. It's a cash grab. Extremely high registration fees for in my opinion, slightly above mediocre coaching.
ReplyDeleteGood riddance.