U13 2012

Good news from Alex Chiet, from the OSA.

On February 26, The OSA hosted its annual Coaching Conference in Vaughan. It’s a temptation to always say that the most recent such event was “the best ever”.  Those on hand can make that determination for themselves.  But it was, at the very least, a great day, with over 400 coaches from all across the province on hand.  Rather than make the “best ever” claim—while it hopefully is true — I will focus instead on the excellence and the impact of the sessions delivered by our outstanding guest presenters.

These world-class speakers each delivered timely presentations on the most important opportunity in front of The OSA right now:  the effective implementation of Long-Term Player Development (LTPD), which we are in the process of phasing-in.

Dr. David Carr, National Staff Coach for the U.S. Soccer Federation and a renowned educator at Ohio University, conducted a Fundamentals session.  Ritchie Wilson, longtime Coach Educator with the Scottish Football Association, delivered a Learning to Train session.  Ray Clark, the Canadian Soccer Association’s Director of Coaching, worked with players in the Soccer for Life development stage.

Importantly, these experts, well-respected leaders in the field, re-affirmed that the direction we have embarked upon at The OSA is indeed the appropriate (and much needed) one for our young players across every part of the province.  So we are thrilled that the Conference was another key step in educating our membership—and so many of our influential coaches—around the attitude and culture shift we are in the midst of in Ontario soccer.

While, as I’ve remarked previously, we may not be moving quickly enough for some, we are already seeing positive “movement” as more and more Districts and Clubs embrace a player-centered, development stage-specific approach to working with our young players.  Importantly, this is being reinforced in our new Physical Literacy Coaching courses, starting with the Active Starts stage at U4, progressing through FUNdamentals, Learning to Train and Soccer for Life.  Our hope now is that, armed with the great information provided this past weekend, the hundreds of coaches who were on hand will become LTPD champions and influence and inspire fellow coaches all across the province to work closely with their players—with LTPD values always in mind.

I can add that, in the months to come, we will be sharing with you more information about our progress around the new player pathway and competitive structure.  These improvements will enhance the way we deliver the soccer experience, and ensure that, for both our recreational players and those striving for a future in the game, they—and their families—will soon be able to see and experience a clear, unified player pathway that will a) help identify more players for high-level play, and b) also provide a great soccer opportunity for all—for life.

On that note, it was great to see that the OSA Board voted this past weekend to affirm its ongoing support for staff’s efforts around LTPD implementation, with regard to continued progress in future competitive structure planning.

I should mention as well that on Saturday, February 25, our Club Head coaches’ workshop was extremely well received, with over 100 coaches and Technical Directors in attendance from across Ontario.

We also want to remind coaches at all of our Districts and Clubs, if you haven’t already done so, to register now for the new Active Start, FUNdamentals, Learn to Train and Soccer for Life workshops.  Information should be available at your local Club or District or on the OSA Website.

Thank you for your continued support.

Regards,


Alex Chiet                                                      Mark Marshall

Technical Director                                Manager of Coach Development

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