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New Year's Wish... From all volunteer coaches and administrators across Canada
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Everywhere I go and whenever I talk to coaches and administrators across the country I always seem to hear the same complaints about the state of soccer in this country and for some strange reason, the brunt of the complaints are directed at both the National and Provincial Associations. The complaints vary based on where the individual I talk to fits into the picture. Not being totally involved in the administration of the game it's not always fair to make comments when you really do not know the inside and out of an issue.
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I always point out that both the National and Provincial Associations have grown in members by over 50% in the last decade while their staff has not grown by the same number. Administering any game that has grown so quickly will have its bumps. Imagine if Canada grew from 30 million people to 60 million in 10 years. That would cause some administrative problems for the government. The same can be argued for the bodies currently running our sport.
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But when you get right down to it and look deeply into the complaints, the fundamental problem is that most people want a thank you and a pat on the back once in a while for their hard work. This is especially true when most volunteer their time while not feeling appreciated by those who get paid to do a job. Speaking from a coaching point of view, this seems to be a clear problem. Coaches don't feel they are getting acknowledged.
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In a NSCAC video conference, Even Pellurud, our Women's National coach, stated that he believes that some coaches who coach players are purposely trying to hide their best players from the National and Provincial programs. To Pellurud, this concept is impossible to grasp and he is still trying to find out why. This problem does seem incomprehensible. So let me give you my answer to solving this image problem that our Associations tend to have so that coaches and administrators get back in your court.
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A Pat on the Back or a Thank You once in a while would be nice.
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In the past, whenever the National Team plays and a player is featured or focused, most of the credit for the players development does not include the local clubs, coaches, and administrators. When this situation exists, everyone will look to find a way to complain about your programs. This is human nature. For example, I have re-watched the U19 Canadian World Cup games paying particular attention to the commentary. Most of the time the credit for a players past development goes to the following groups. It's a toss up between a US University, The Provincial or National Youth programs and their great coaching staff, or the former High School that the player attended. Rarely is credit given to the local club, or the local coach that the player played for during most of their minor career.
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A simple little thing like that has everyone upset from coast to coast. Why do the clubs who fund the CSA and the Provincial Associations never get the mention that they deserve? Why should a US university who may have contributed 40 games of experience replace 400 games of experience that the club has provided?
That's not to say that they haven't had a hand in player development. They certainly have but the clubs have too.
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Where are the clubs and their hard working volunteers in the list of credits? Maybe it's there in the media guide but it's not highlighted enough if it is there at all. The local clubs and coaches should be given credit first because everyone knows that along the way each player will have played at a higher Provincial or National level. That's a given.
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When you watch Hockey Night in Canada, the minor clubs are always included in a player's bio along with names of some of their minor coaches. The coach of the Maple Leafs' farm team is rarely mentioned because everyone knows that they are hired to develop players and the position itself is a testament to their skill in developing the players. In hockey, it seems that they go out of their way to give credit to the many volunteers at the minor level. Hockey in Canada day televised each year from small rinks across Canada is just an example. It feels good to hear your clubs name on TV. It makes you feel like continuing to support the program and work harder to get more players up to the next level rather than hiding players because you feel like you are betrayed when it comes to handing out an odd pat on the back.
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In Ontario some clubs are considering withdrawing from the Provincial body. To solve the problem, when a player has come through their system, even if it's a house league club, give them a big thank you and let everyone in the country know about it. Over time each club across the Province or Country will be mentioned. And imagine when that young house league kid hears the name of his/her club on National TV and connects it to that logo on his/her chest, he/she will feel a mile high and the clubs will see their dollars at work and never even consider leaving.
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When a young child hears his/her club's name on National TV and connects it to that logo on his/her chest, it makes him/her feel a mile high.
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So to the CSA and the Provincial Associations, on behalf of the NSCAC and coaches and administrators across Canada, for this New Year's we ask one thing. When you work to prepare media guides for any upcoming Women's or Men's National team games, spend some extra time to research where the players in your program played their minor soccer and state the clubs they played for. Then do some extra work and find out and list who some of those minor coaches were and include their names in your media guide. It will take some extra effort from both organisations because the Provincial Associations will need to do most of the research to feed the CSA.
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The result will be that coaches will tell everyone to watch your games and follow our players. And they will feel left out if they hear a fellow coach's name instead of theirs so they will stop hiding their players.
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A simple request that will solve all of Even's and Yallop's problems and even your own. All we ask is a pat on the back or a thank you once in a while. We want it loud and clear to the millions that watch on TV, not a whisper at some banquet. And finally, don't forget we do pay your salaries.
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Thanks for reading,
John DeBenedictis
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