OT: Why does Canada suck at soccer?

[LiquidSnake]

I don't know how you can care more for the MLS if it's ****tier than it is now, and I don't see how youth will be inspired to play.

If I'm a kid, would I really be interested in Teibert and Froese playing more? Not unless they're better than Morales and Laba, which they aren't.

The average MLS player makes $120K. The selling point to a kid is "you can play the game you love and earn a living".

And perhaps have a shot at making the league if NA players only.

It's not like the soccer is high quality now anyways. But like I said, outside of the World Cup i rarely watch any soccer.

Just a casual, bandwagon or whatever fan that's stating what would make him more interested in watching the local team.

One other thing that could quite possibly help is hosting a world cup in Canada. Perhaps at that point the gov't would be forced to invest money like an "own the podium" type thing.

 

[putridgasbag]

This is such a copout, Canadian Soccer can be fixed and it can develop a decent program but it needs to start from the top down.

From the mid 80s to mid 90s the team was respectable, they made the World Cup and were ranked in the top 45 a couple times. Instead of getting better it got worse and then eventually fell off a cliff. The key is to form a cohesive youth development system, this is where other countries progressed years ago. The CSA was stagnant and incompetent for too many reasons to get into now.

The majority of South American countries also don't have the financial means that Canada has to establish comprehensive national sports programs. And yet, many countries still excel at more sports than Soccer. You'll find countries like Argentina, Venezula, Uruguay, Colombia etc... doing well in Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Auto Racing.

You can be good at more than just winter sports and hockey. How else do you explain Germany, Sweden, USA, Russia, Switzerland etc...

We are good at more than just winter sports. We produce a fair number players good at baseball, football and even basketball. Those with hockey do make up the big four in North American sports and get the majority of our top athletes. We also seem to have some tennis players doing well at the moment, a couple of golfers who are moving up the world rankings and at times we have had world class swimmers and of course some dude who ran fast.

Canada produces some exceptional athletes but most so far have preferred to play other sports than soccer. For a lot of kids growing up soccer is/was a secondary sport and I really do not see that changing in the near future.

I read the moaning and groaning about soccer here so let me ask a couple of questions. What do you do to make soccer more appealing to kids growing up and do you get out and help the kids by coaching or reffing? It seems to me the solution I keep hearing is throw more money at the game. Who's money?

The biggest problem I had with my kids growing up was the lack of people who gave a crap about the game. Signed my kids up for soccer and ticked off the box where it said I would help out. Since soccer is not a sport I played seriously, those would be hockey, football, baseball, tennis and now golf, I thought I could pitch in and assist someone who had a clue. Nope. Head coach here and my assistant had less experience in the game than me. Had parents giving us crap because we didn't have a clue about how to run a kids soccer practice, telling us what we were doing wrong, but no one was willing to put a whistle around their neck and do anything positive. We did the best we could but really none of those kids will get the love of the game from us. What they needed was some one who had passion, a love for the sport and who is willing to pass that along to the next generation. The best kid on that team ended up playing hockey on a scholarship in the states, with the right coach at that age you might have had a world class soccer player... who knows. My point being is that if you want to grow the game then get your butts out to the local pitch and volunteer with your local association. Money alone will not do it.

 

[bo2shink*]

Just Cheer for Spain its easier

Thanks a lot for this advice.

 

[*Injektilo]

The average MLS player makes $120K. The selling point to a kid is "you can play the game you love and earn a living".

And perhaps have a shot at making the league if NA players only.

$120K is not enough for a professional to sway many to make a living playing the sport, when you consider a career is no longer than 10 to 15 years. Moreover, you mentioned that's an average (and maybe that's the actual amount, I won't bother checking that), but the median would be a more relevant amount, and it would be lower than $120k.

The point is, MLS is where it's at in terms of talent because of the salary it pays out. Were the league be more lucrative to players, the quality of the game will raise. There are plenty of NA players who play in Europe because they earn more than what they would get here.

Just a casual, bandwagon or whatever fan that's stating what would make him more interested in watching the local team.

Most fans don't care where players are from, they care about their team winning.

 

[*Injektilo]

I read the moaning and groaning about soccer here so let me ask a couple of questions. What do you do to make soccer more appealing to kids growing up and do you get out and help the kids by coaching or reffing? It seems to me the solution I keep hearing is throw more money at the game. Who's money?

Nothing needs to be done to make soccer more appealing. It's plenty appealing as it is to be successful in.

Money, this is putridgasbag. Putridgasbag, this is money.

Head coach here and my assistant had less experience in the game than me. Had parents giving us crap because we didn't have a clue about how to run a kids soccer practice, telling us what we were doing wrong, but no one was willing to put a whistle around their neck and do anything positive. We did the best we could but really none of those kids will get the love of the game from us. What they needed was some one who had passion, a love for the sport and who is willing to pass that along to the next generation. The best kid on that team ended up playing hockey on a scholarship in the states, with the right coach at that age you might have had a world class soccer player... who knows. My point being is that if you want to grow the game then get your butts out to the local pitch and volunteer with your local association. Money alone will not do it.

The CSA has instituted the long-term player development program, which would help immensely, if it weren't for a couple of big obstacles: 1. This country has stupidly decided to not only have a federal association, but also a bunch of provincial associations, each with their own agenda that often go against the CSA's mandate (see Quebec's ban on turbans fiasco last year). 2. Parents and coaches that don't understand that it is more important to teach the fundamentals of the game than determining who wins or loses meaningless games (oh, and by the way, the LTPD program is nothing but an adaptation of the programs used in countries that have been quite successful in producing world class talent). The LTPD program requires buy-in from all parties in order to be successful, but there are too many obstacles for that to happen. The problem is institutional, not necessarily a lack of money.

 

[25Bieksa3]

Just Cheer for Spain its easier

Hmmm....

 

[MS]

Again, the biggest reason we suck is that our 3 or 4 best players don't play for us.

Our biggest problem is that any player we develop of any real quality will take advantage to tenuous links to European countries because a) the travel involved is much, much less and b) the glamour of playing in World Cups and Euro Championships is much higher than playing in Gold Cups.

If we have Begovic, de Rosario, Hoilett, and Bunbury on the squad our national team suddenly doesn't look terrible.

 

[*Injektilo]

Again, the biggest reason we suck is that our 3 or 4 best players don't play for us.

Our biggest problem is that any player we develop of any real quality will take advantage to tenuous links to European countries because a) the travel involved is much, much less and b) the glamour of playing in World Cups and Euro Championships is much higher than playing in Gold Cups.

If we have Begovic, de Rosario, Hoilett, and Bunbury on the squad our national team suddenly doesn't look terrible.

And De Guzman.

People here post about how Canada will never make it to the World Cup The truth is, getting 1 out of 3.5 spots out of CONCACAF is not all that difficult. Canada has the means to fall just behind the US and Mexico.

 

[bo2shink*]

Again, the biggest reason we suck is that our 3 or 4 best players don't play for us.

Our biggest problem is that any player we develop of any real quality will take advantage to tenuous links to European countries because a) the travel involved is much, much less and b) the glamour of playing in World Cups and Euro Championships is much higher than playing in Gold Cups.

If we have Begovic, de Rosario, Hoilett, and Bunbury on the squad our national team suddenly doesn't look terrible.

Throw in Owen Quisling Hargreaves.......

 

[MS]

And De Guzman.

People here post about how Canada will never make it to the World Cup The truth is, getting 1 out of 3.5 spots out of CONCACAF is not all that difficult. Canada has the means to fall just behind the US and Mexico.

Sorry, meant de Guzman of course.

Agree that qualifying shouldn't be impossible. Honduras aren't exactly a great team and they were able to do it. It's a shame that the US didn't get the 2022 World Cup because that would essentially have meant 5 CONCACAF spots for that tournament.

 

[Jyrki21]

The CSA has instituted the long-term player development program, which would help immensely, if it weren't for a couple of big obstacles: 1. This country has stupidly decided to not only have a federal association, but also a bunch of provincial associations, each with their own agenda that often go against the CSA's mandate (see Quebec's ban on turbans fiasco last year).

Speaking of which, the Quebec national team is now affiliated with the QSF and seeking separate CONCACAF membership, so Canada may be that much weaker in the near future. Be curious to see if anglos will be allowed on the team.

 

[*Injektilo]

Speaking of which, the Quebec national team is now affiliated with the QSF and seeking separate CONCACAF membership, so Canada may be that much weaker in the near future. Be curious to see if anglos will be allowed on the team.

Any link to this?

 

[Frank Garrett]

I don't know why more kids aren't into the world's beautiful game. It is a lot cheaper than hockey. You go to a beautiful game shop and buy a beautiful game ball for like $20. Beautiful game shin pads are like $20 as well? Decent the world's beautiful game cleats are around $100 and you can choose to double that if you want to be a pimp. The beautiful game.

 

[Wilch]

Soccer's actually pretty popular in Richmond.

There's always a bunch of kids playing soccer in the fields or lacrosse boxes.

In fact... I'd say among my friends, it's a 40/30/20/10 split between basketball/soccer/badminton/hockey.

There's even some amateur/drop-in league in Richmond too at the Minoru field.

The only issue is that watching the EPL/Euro league games might be a little bit difficult for most people who go to school or work.

 

[Lundface*]

We are good at more than just winter sports. We produce a fair number players good at baseball, football and even basketball. Those with hockey do make up the big four in North American sports and get the majority of our top athletes. We also seem to have some tennis players doing well at the moment, a couple of golfers who are moving up the world rankings and at times we have had world class swimmers and of course some dude who ran fast.

Canada produces some exceptional athletes but most so far have preferred to play other sports than soccer. For a lot of kids growing up soccer is/was a secondary sport and I really do not see that changing in the near future.

I read the moaning and groaning about soccer here so let me ask a couple of questions. What do you do to make soccer more appealing to kids growing up and do you get out and help the kids by coaching or reffing? It seems to me the solution I keep hearing is throw more money at the game. Who's money?

The biggest problem I had with my kids growing up was the lack of people who gave a crap about the game. Signed my kids up for soccer and ticked off the box where it said I would help out. Since soccer is not a sport I played seriously, those would be hockey, football, baseball, tennis and now golf, I thought I could pitch in and assist someone who had a clue. Nope. Head coach here and my assistant had less experience in the game than me. Had parents giving us crap because we didn't have a clue about how to run a kids soccer practice, telling us what we were doing wrong, but no one was willing to put a whistle around their neck and do anything positive. We did the best we could but really none of those kids will get the love of the game from us. What they needed was some one who had passion, a love for the sport and who is willing to pass that along to the next generation. The best kid on that team ended up playing hockey on a scholarship in the states, with the right coach at that age you might have had a world class soccer player... who knows. My point being is that if you want to grow the game then get your butts out to the local pitch and volunteer with your local association. Money alone will not do it.

This is completely false and quite frankly a weak excuse that's being thrown around by many.

People are throwing examples out of Canada's growth in basketball, tennis etc and then saying the reason Canada is not good at soccer is because kids don't care about it?

Soccer is the most played sport by youngsters in Canada...and one of the only sports where participation is rising
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2008001/t/10573/5214759-eng.htm

The real problem and you touched on it is training. The training and mentality in Canadian soccer is ****. It is finally starting to turn around and growing the MLS and its youth developmental feeder teams is changing it a lot, but even then the CSA needs a huge change in who's running it. Also keep in mind training in soccer as still much better than it is in say tennis or basketball, it's just soccer is a much tougher sport to excel in given how high the level is. Every country in the world basically plays soccer and have so for many years. They care about the game, have better training, domestic leagues.

And for people saying players don't play- look at who Canada has playing at the world cup right now. Jonathan De Guzman starts for the Netherlands and Asmir Begovic for Bosnia. Canada can produce star talent but they had no way of keeping it here in the past....with the continued growth of the MLS it will start to change this. There simply was no where to go once kids hit 18, it was just go play in a mens league locally or try to go somewhere else to play but by then you were way behind the 8 ball.

 

[Jyrki21]

Any link to this?

http://lesquebecois.org/fr/contents...la-selection-nationale-nira-pas-en-suede.html

I don't know how they'd be received by CONCACAF, but FIFA is very European in outlook and a lot of Europeans get a kick out of the Quebec nationalist movement.

 

[putridgasbag]

Nothing needs to be done to make soccer more appealing. It's plenty appealing as it is to be successful in.

Money, this is putridgasbag. Putridgasbag, this is money.



The CSA has instituted the long-term player development program, which would help immensely, if it weren't for a couple of big obstacles: 1. This country has stupidly decided to not only have a federal association, but also a bunch of provincial associations, each with their own agenda that often go against the CSA's mandate (see Quebec's ban on turbans fiasco last year). 2. Parents and coaches that don't understand that it is more important to teach the fundamentals of the game than determining who wins or loses meaningless games (oh, and by the way, the LTPD program is nothing but an adaptation of the programs used in countries that have been quite successful in producing world class talent). The LTPD program requires buy-in from all parties in order to be successful, but there are too many obstacles for that to happen. The problem is institutional, not necessarily a lack of money.

It is so appealing to kids that even though it has the highest participation rate very few of our top athletes choose to continue with the game. As for the money quip I have no idea what that is supposed to mean. Tell me where is the money for training coming from? Magic money that floats down from the heavens.

So we are going to blame the people up high for the lack of give a crap at the ol' grass roots level. The problem for the game here is still that kids would rather emulate Sid the Kid, Lebron James, Derek Jeter, Adrian Peterson, heck I bet Milos Raonic sells more posters than any soccer player does in Canada.

More story time. Have a buddy never had kids, doesn't particularly like kids, yet he volunteers as a coach for the local football association. Know why? Because of a passion for the game that he wants to pass on. I don't see as much passion for soccer in these parts.

AS for the parents and coaches not teaching fundamentals well duh! When the coach(es) are coaching because no one else will and are not soccer players themselves well what do you expect? Tell me how that improves with institutional changes? Again it comes down to why kids are in soccer and as it turns out more often than not it seems they are there because it is cheap. Not because the kid or the parents really care for the game. Crap I had parents who would have been far better suited to coaching, at least they know the game, stand on the sidelines and the only sport they participated in was *****ing and moaning. I have news for you to as far as games and winning goes, the kids are more aware of the score than any of the parents. We had a good team because we had a kid who was years ahead of the rest, best player in that age group around here by far. He plays hockey now in Uni, hasn't played soccer since not long after that year. Who knows how good he could have been if somebody who gave a crap about the game had been there to mentor him.

 

[putridgasbag]

This is completely false and quite frankly a weak excuse that's being thrown around by many.

People are throwing examples out of Canada's growth in basketball, tennis etc and then saying the reason Canada is not good at soccer is because kids don't care about it?

Soccer is the most played sport by youngsters in Canada...and one of the only sports where participation is rising
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2008001/t/10573/5214759-eng.htm

The real problem and you touched on it is training. The training and mentality in Canadian soccer is ****. It is finally starting to turn around and growing the MLS and its youth developmental feeder teams is changing it a lot, but even then the CSA needs a huge change in who's running it. Also keep in mind training in soccer as still much better than it is in say tennis or basketball, it's just soccer is a much tougher sport to excel in given how high the level is. Every country in the world basically plays soccer and have so for many years. They care about the game, have better training, domestic leagues.

And for people saying players don't play- look at who Canada has playing at the world cup right now. Jonathan De Guzman starts for the Netherlands and Asmir Begovic for Bosnia. Canada can produce star talent but they had no way of keeping it here in the past....with the continued growth of the MLS it will start to change this. There simply was no where to go once kids hit 18, it was just go play in a mens league locally or try to go somewhere else to play but by then you were way behind the 8 ball.

Ok tell me how that statement was false. Soccer's huge participation comes from the cost of the sport and parents looking to drop little Billy of 2 to 3 times a week for some cheap babysitting. Most if not all the kids I have come in contact with who play sports, do not have soccer as the first sport. Again for the most part the best athletes here go into hockey and the other big North American sports before soccer. As for the MLS I remember all the same rhetoric when the NASL was around and like last time I will believe it when I see it.

And for the World Cup last I checked I did not see a Canadian team there. Heck aren't we ranked closer to the bottom than the top in the world of soccer?

 

[*Injektilo]

http://lesquebecois.org/fr/contents...la-selection-nationale-nira-pas-en-suede.html

I don't know how they'd be received by CONCACAF, but FIFA is very European in outlook and a lot of Europeans get a kick out of the Quebec nationalist movement.

No they don't. Unless Quebec secedes, FIFA will not open that Pandora box in a million years. It opens the door for Catalonia and other regions to follow suit, and politically it would be disastrous for FIFA.

It won't get accepted by CONCACAF either. There's a world of difference between Quebec and places like Guadeloupe, Martinique, etc.

 

[*Injektilo]

It is so appealing to kids that even though it has the highest participation rate very few of our top athletes choose to continue with the game.

That's because it is much harder to play soccer at a professional level than other sports, both in North America and abroad. Regardless, we don't need thousands or even hundreds of kids to continue with the game professionally. A country like Uruguay has about the same population as the GTA, and is able to compete in the World Cup because they have 23 players that are good enough (including one who is the best in the world at his position, as he showed vs. England).

As for the money quip I have no idea what that is supposed to mean. Tell me where is the money for training coming from? Magic money that floats down from the heavens.

Whose money vs. Who's money... Anyway, I already answered this.

So we are going to blame the people up high for the lack of give a crap at the ol' grass roots level. The problem for the game here is still that kids would rather emulate Sid the Kid, Lebron James, Derek Jeter, Adrian Peterson, heck I bet Milos Raonic sells more posters than any soccer player does in Canada.

Really. You're telling me that kids are more likely to follow Raonic than Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. I find that hard to believe, but this is just conjecture.

AS for the parents and coaches not teaching fundamentals well duh! When the coach(es) are coaching because no one else will and are not soccer players themselves well what do you expect? Tell me how that improves with institutional changes?

A better curriculum that would improve the technical ability of the kids when the ball is at their feet, and their awareness of the game. And it doesn't matter if the parent doesn't care for the sport, it comes down to what the game means to the kid.

I have news for you to as far as games and winning goes, the kids are more aware of the score than any of the parents. We had a good team because we had a kid who was years ahead of the rest, best player in that age group around here by far. He plays hockey now in Uni, hasn't played soccer since not long after that year. Who knows how good he could have been if somebody who gave a crap about the game had been there to mentor him.

Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal.

 

[Lundface*]

Ok tell me how that statement was false. Soccer's huge participation comes from the cost of the sport and parents looking to drop little Billy of 2 to 3 times a week for some cheap babysitting. Most if not all the kids I have come in contact with who play sports, do not have soccer as the first sport. Again for the most part the best athletes here go into hockey and the other big North American sports before soccer. As for the MLS I remember all the same rhetoric when the NASL was around and like last time I will believe it when I see it.

And for the World Cup last I checked I did not see a Canadian team there. Heck aren't we ranked closer to the bottom than the top in the world of soccer?

Your views are skewed because you've only been a part of mediocre level soccer.

Yeah a lot of kids that play soccer are just there because their parents want them to do something. Newsflash- every minor sport is like this, including hockey. Yeah hockey's numbers are lower because it's expensive but don't fool yourself into thinking hockey has amazing coaching at every level. It's largely also pretty poor, and that's with Canada being the only country that really has hockey as their primary sport.

Soccer is no different than Basketball, Football or hockey for that matter. Canada produces some good talent (laughable saying Canada's good athletes don't play soccer ) but there are a couple of big differences.

1) Basketball/Hockey/Baseball have the major advantage of having the best league's in the world in Canada and in the states. You can add football to that since it's just across the border. The goal is to make it to one of these leagues...kid's don't have to dream of moving across the pond to play with the worlds best. How many North American kids grow up dreaming of playing Euro Basketball or Swedish elite league hockey? At this moment the MLS is about the same as a Swedish born player wanting to play in the SEL. It's not the best league but FINALLY there's an option to stay in this country.

2) Canadians think hockey is a big deal. Yeah it is in Canada but it's not the primary sport in any other country in the world. These aren't the best athletes in the world competing I hate to break that to you. Just as you think Canada only has it's weaker athletes compete in soccer, every other country in the world does this for hockey.

I played with Team BC in soccer growing up and competed nationally and internationally. I also went as far as the BCHL in hockey so I've played both sports competitively in Canada. You're absolutely kidding yourself if you think the kids don't put everything they have into soccer. The guys I played soccer with (some actually went professional in Europe) put far more effort in training and diet than any player I played hockey with (some play in the NHL). The NHLers now yeah they put effort in, but growing up soccer players have to put in ALOT more work. You're competing with the worlds best, hockey pales in comparison.

 

[putridgasbag]

That's because it is much harder to play soccer at a professional level than other sports, both in North America and abroad. Regardless, we don't need thousands or even hundreds of kids to continue with the game professionally. A country like Uruguay has about the same population as the GTA, and is able to compete in the World Cup because they have 23 players that are good enough (including one who is the best in the world at his position, as he showed vs. England).



Whose money vs. Who's money... Anyway, I already answered this.



Really. You're telling me that kids are more likely to follow Raonic than Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. I find that hard to believe, but this is just conjecture.



A better curriculum that would improve the technical ability of the kids when the ball is at their feet, and their awareness of the game. And it doesn't matter if the parent doesn't care for the sport, it comes down to what the game means to the kid.



Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal.

So really all you care about is growing the game for the pro level and the magic money will shake loose... Gotcha. These future pros are going to fall in love with the game because... they just want to.


I bet ya that more kids in this country Know who Milos is than Ronaldo.

So again who is going to teach these future pros the curriculum when people who don't know the skills and really do not care about said skills are teaching these skills. And you know what kids get interested because other people are interested and willing to pass on the passion for the sport or activity. You offer no tangible ideas or ways of improving the stature or the state of the game in Canada. Your solution so far seems to be based on magic money and not much else. Anecdotal as it may be at least I was out there coaching kids because all the real soccer lovers were doing...? Tell you this much when I coached football or hockey those kids knew I loved those sports. I would like to think that maybe a couple of those kids developed the same passion I have for the games and I might have had a small part in that. Maybe future stars or maybe the coach who inspires and encourages the next great player. Not one of the kids I coached for soccer got that. Ball skills you say? Yeah good luck with that.

 

[putridgasbag]

Your views are skewed because you've only been a part of mediocre level soccer.

Yeah a lot of kids that play soccer are just there because their parents want them to do something. Newsflash- every minor sport is like this, including hockey. Yeah hockey's numbers are lower because it's expensive but don't fool yourself into thinking hockey has amazing coaching at every level. It's largely also pretty poor, and that's with Canada being the only country that really has hockey as their primary sport.

Soccer is no different than Basketball, Football or hockey for that matter. Canada produces some good talent (laughable saying Canada's good athletes don't play soccer ) but there are a couple of big differences.

1) Basketball/Hockey/Baseball have the major advantage of having the best league's in the world in Canada and in the states. You can add football to that since it's just across the border. The goal is to make it to one of these leagues...kid's don't have to dream of moving across the pond to play with the worlds best. How many North American kids grow up dreaming of playing Euro Basketball or Swedish elite league hockey? At this moment the MLS is about the same as a Swedish born player wanting to play in the SEL. It's not the best league but FINALLY there's an option to stay in this country.

2) Canadians think hockey is a big deal. Yeah it is in Canada but it's not the primary sport in any other country in the world. These aren't the best athletes in the world competing I hate to break that to you. Just as you think Canada only has it's weaker athletes compete in soccer, every other country in the world does this for hockey.

I played with Team BC in soccer growing up and competed nationally and internationally. I also went as far as the BCHL in hockey so I've played both sports competitively in Canada. You're absolutely kidding yourself if you think the kids don't put everything they have into soccer. The guys I played soccer with (some actually went professional in Europe) put far more effort in training and diet than any player I played hockey with (some play in the NHL). The NHLers now yeah they put effort in, but growing up soccer players have to put in ALOT more work. You're competing with the worlds best, hockey pales in comparison.

Oh I believe that kids will put their everything into any endeavor as long as their is guidance and encouragement to go along with it. I wouldn't doubt that soccer in some areas is great and I bet a lot of that comes from the people who are putting in the time to coach and manage in these associations. They have a passion and are passing it on. To those people I tip my cap. Around here you get that passion for hockey and football. Soccer not so much. I probably am venting more than anything because of the frustration I felt trying to teach kids a sport I really don't have a passion for. I will watch it and I will play it but it is no different that say badminton in my care for the game. It wasn't really that fair to the kids but if the 2 of us didn't do it there was no team. So there you go, young kids potential life long fans and .... Then I hear the *****ing and moaning about our standing as a soccer nation. Do this, throw money at it, but until you have enough people prepared to actual give a crap enough to go to coaching clinics and pass on a love of the game all the other stuff is wasted.

 

[Lundface*]

Oh I believe that kids will put their everything into any endeavor as long as their is guidance and encouragement to go along with it. I wouldn't doubt that soccer in some areas is great and I bet a lot of that comes from the people who are putting in the time to coach and manage in these associations. They have a passion and are passing it on. To those people I tip my cap. Around here you get that passion for hockey and football. Soccer not so much. I probably am venting more than anything because of the frustration I felt trying to teach kids a sport I really don't have a passion for. I will watch it and I will play it but it is no different that say badminton in my care for the game. It wasn't really that fair to the kids but if the 2 of us didn't do it there was no team. So there you go, young kids potential life long fans and .... Then I hear the *****ing and moaning about our standing as a soccer nation. Do this, throw money at it, but until you have enough people prepared to actual give a crap enough to go to coaching clinics and pass on a love of the game all the other stuff is wasted.

Yeah It's understandable and as I mentioned your views are skewed because of your personal experience. I had so many clueless hockey coaches as well so this problem isn't unique to soccer but yes there are less qualified and knowledgeable coaches in comparison to the number of participants in soccer.

The problem is soccer is played a way too high a level for kids here to be just training once in a while. I've played in England a couple of times and those kids live and breath the game. I'm sure it's the same in other countries as well so how can we expect kids that play a couple times a week with poor coaching to compete?

The reason I'm somewhat optimistic is the spawn of Whitecaps residency programs and things like that. Kids that are serious can now play soccer and do school simultaneously..THAT's where money needs to go. To hiring people that know what they are doing and getting facilities and resources to allow the best kids to train year round and travel for competition.

 

[Kirikanoir]

Ultimately the reason Canada sucks at soccer is lack of interest and the willingness to accept mediocre results.

All the reasons we fail at soccer, be it funding, development, lack of our best athletes choosing soccer, boils down to the fact that the Canadian public does not care enough.

Sure we ***** and moan every 4 years or so when the men`s national team after yet another series of embarrassing performances fails to qualify for the World Cup or Olympics. And then quickly forget about it a week later.

Even the women`s national team, the one bright light in Canadian soccer, with arguable the greatest soccer player Canada has ever produced, and one of the top women players in the world Christine Sinclair, does not hold the media and or public attention much time beyond the major tournaments.

Now compare that to something Canadians do care about, hockey. Imagine if this were the Canadian national hockey teams having these kind of results. It would be considered a national disgrace, there would be constant hand wringing about what`s wrong with the game and how to fix it. The federal government would set up a royal commission to study the problem.

Can it change, for the answer to that we need only look at another sporting event that used to be a source of national embarrassment for Canada, the Olympics.

For years we complained about how we sucked at the Olympic games as well. For a winter country our performances, especially at the Olympic winter games was disgraceful Included in that having it in our own country in Calgary in 1988 and failing to win even one gold medal.
Only three other times have the host nation failed to win at least one gold France in 1924, Switzerland in 1928,and Yugoslavia in 1984.

Then of course there was our one lone Summer Olympic`s as host country Montreal where we also failed to win even one gold, giving us the distinction of being the only host country in the Summer Olympics to fail to win at least one gold medal.

Since that time with increased interest, more and smarter funding Canada has turned that around, culminating in a record 14 gold as host in Vancouver in 2010.

So it is possible to improve our ranking as a soccer nation, won`t happen overnight, and not to say we may ever win a World Cup or Olympic gold, but certainly there is no reason we should not be able to qualify for and be a regular participant at these tournaments.