BY MICHAEL GARDNER – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
Last week brought about the announcement by Toronto FC that its new Academy home was nearly complete. What a facility it will be. It will host supplemental training programs for a wide variety of players as well as offering “team” programs for kids aged 12 to 18, with plans to expand that to even younger ages in the years ahead. In the papers and in the stands there is a lot of hype around the new development and in this blog I hope to help you sort out what this could mean for both our team and our kids.
From a TFC MLS team perspective, the new facility is welcomed. Gone will be the days of finding available fields to practice. Of driving back to BMO for off-field work outs or delays in receiving needed stretching and other “maintenance.” From a developmental perspective, here’s where it gets murky. A stated aim of TFC is to change the way soccer is played in this country. Can it really accomplish this through the Academy? More importantly, as a parent is this something you should look at when it comes to your own aspiring young players?
Considering that the bulk of the players will not come through its Teams Program and instead will come through its summer camps ($525/week) and one day clinics ($100/day), the claim of revolutionizing the game is doubtful. One week per year isn’t enough to make a marked difference in a player’s development. Further, the idea of attending summer camps dedicated to soccer is not unique. Many former players and experienced coaches offer similar opportunities, at much less cost. While one might argue that TFC Academy coaches will be more qualified, this simply is not so.
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From their Team Program’s perspective, I have high praise for the direction the Academy is taking. TFC Academy adopts the philosophy of a number of successful programs worldwide which place an emphasis on development over competition. They stress a high ratio of training to games and focus on skills over tactics at young ages. In this regard, the Academy is received with high hopes and two big thumbs up.
But is it unique to Canada? The Soccer Academy Alliance of Canada (SAAC) has member clubs that have been offering this model for years. Recently, the Ontario Soccer Association also adopted a similar philosophy in rolling out its Long Term Player Development Model. From a development perspective, TFC Academy is not unique. Returning to the coaching qualification point, it is worth noting that some SAAC members have coaches who hold both Canadian “A” Licenses and UEFA qualification, the top levels in this country.
Confused yet? Let’s take some specific examples of two differently aged players, a U11 player and a U17 player and compare their development options.
TFC Academy’s current Teams program starts at the U12 age group. Both that program and the U13 program run as once a week supplemental training to club training. Players still play with their club or SAAC team for their season. In the case of SAAC clubs, that season runs from January through October.
Let’s take our U11 player and assume he is currently playing on a team in SAAC. This fall, if the player is seeking supplemental development opportunities, this player will have an option to go out for both an OSA District team (assuming registration politics go away) and TFC Academy. Both are supplemental development programs at this point meaning that they offer 1 additional night of training per week. Who is more qualified? Well, here you have to do a little homework but I can offer that at least one District coach holds his UEFA license.
Is this U11 player better suited to join TFC Academy once a week or go with District and the UEFA coach that one night? Based on qualifications, I might lean to staying with SAAC and supplementing with District. Let’s also not forget geography as the catchment area for TFC Academy stretches out from London to Ottawa. What is going to be so unique about TFC Academy that gets the player’s parents to drive from Peterborough or Guelph once a week into Toronto?
Let’s explore the older guys now. There are two questions worth asking, development and future paths.
Take the first question, where will the player learn more? As recently as last month, the U17 players were coached by Jim Brennan, a former International and MLS player who also recently completed his coaching certification. SAAC teams offer the same or better. Both programs have a higher ratio of training to games, both offer 10 month training and off-field support. Here, the question of where would the most development occur is a bit of a toss-up. It really depends on your circumstances, who the coaches are of the respective programs and the environment that the player becomes a part of.
As to the second question, future paths, note that some SAAC teams might offer scholarship assistance, and/or international identification camps. Some might also offer pathways to provincial or national teams. However, TFC Academy will offer a direct line to be identified by TFC Coaches for MLS play, a distinct advantage if that is an aspiration.
While that is true, does a non-TFC Academy player actually have a disadvantage if they too have a MLS dream? He arguably may have more MLS options (Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto) than an Academy player whose rights are tied to Toronto and available roster openings. He might also have NCAA routes which may or may not be made available to an Academy player.
One important area where TFC Academy is different is that the program is free. As we all can attest, that is a significant advantage. That said, since nothing is ever free, one has to weigh the trade off with player “rights.”
Overall, the free aspect to TFC Academy is certainly eye catching. The direction of the Academy and its impact on other programs that wish to stay competitive can be seen as an extremely positive development. But if they can’t offer development better than SAAC (and the upcoming Ontario Player Development League run by the Ontario Soccer Association), I’m not ready to call it an advantage at this stage.
As always, do your homework before making a decision.
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