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Once again this year, our Ontario U15 and U16 boys and girls provincial teams carried themselves with distinction on and off the field at the recent Canadian “All Star” National championships
Our girls’ squads both earned top honours at the weeklong National championships in Thunder Bay, while the boys came away from their time in Laval, Quebec with championship medals in tow, as well.
We want to congratulate the players for their tremendous success, and acknowledge the fine work of the coaching staffs of all four provincial sides. Overall, it was an impressive performance and all involved should take great pride in their accomplishments.
We also want to recognize all the coaches at the District and local Club level who were so instrumental in guiding the members of our provincial teams on their current path. Our community Clubs are the backbone of the OSA and of youth soccer in Ontario. We applaud the excellent work done by so many of our coaches at the grassroots levels, whether in the recreational or ‘competitive’ streams. The Club level is where our players develop the character, commitment and skills required to succeed. The support staff from our Districts and Clubs—and the countless volunteers as well—are the reason for our success.
As important and notable as these achievements are, it’s important to recognize that success in National championships is only one measure or gauge of success. From a development perspective, what is most exciting for us on the ground was witnessing the individual growth our players demonstrated under pressure at these events. Many of these young boys and girls are striving for a future in the game and their individual progression, in conjunction with the success of their respective teams, was great to see. The OSA staff and executive leadership on hand for these events came away very impressed not only with the individual skill levels of our players and their commitment to team play, but the maturity displayed by our players off the field, as well.
We should note that many of our provincial team players, as a result of their efforts in Laval and Thunder Bay, have now been identified for future opportunities with the Canadian National team programs at U15, U17 and U20, another encouraging outcome. The Canadian Soccer Association continues to provide leadership around our ongoing player development initiative and has helped to build a player pathway that provides excellent opportunities for our emerging talent.
With the forthcoming modifications to our talented player pathway, 2013 was the final year of the current provincial team set-up in the current format. It is great to go out on a ‘high’ and we feel strongly that our planned high performance program is poised to take our players to even greater heights. With our renewed focus on player development, we will be in a position to develop and identify more players than ever before in every corner of the province. Ultimately, more players will have an opportunity to develop, represent Ontario and also to have a future in the game—whether at the collegiate, National team or professional level.
Congratulations again to our players, coaches, support staff and all those who have been part of the success our teams achieved.
Alex Chiet
Chief Technical Officer
Ron Smale
OSA President
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