I guess it's not a surprise. Declining enrollment is a thing, and the reasons for it are unfortunate. We have professionalized youth soccer to the point that players in U10-U12 drop like flies if they don't make the "development" leagues. We pay way too much attention to the top 10% of...
You heard right. The club's BCSPL license was suspended and they were ordered to contact players, issue refunds, and turn their existing SPL teams over to LUSA. Looks like they folded up the shop instead. The Preston GM website, facebook, and twitter are all deleted. Kinda shitty the way...
And we now have the Metro league redux. Watering down the BCSPL won't help player development. There are now two teams in Langley, two in Surrey, two in Richmond, and if you live in Vancouver you can go to any one of 5 teams within easy driving distance. I don't see how this is going to end...
The BC Soccer website says they are reworking their liability waiver. Their insurance won't cover illness, and it really shouldn't. It looks like they thought that the government was going to evaluate and green light return to play plans, and found out they weren't going to get that. There's...
where are the funds going to come from? Will clubs need to lower fees w/o competitive games?
How many recreational players are going to bother if they don't get to play games? One game 11-a-side likely breaks the 50 person limit on gatherings, especially if a second game is scheduled right...
The BC government has tasked viaSport to come up with guidelines for a return to sports in BC. Their recommendations include continued social distancing, not sharing equipment like soccer balls, and "practicing personal skills"
Low risk activities that can occur with the following public...
Funny how Langley now has two BCSPL clubs, Richmond has two, Vancouver two, and if you live North of the Fraser and East of Port Coquitlam you have nothing. Abbotsford and Chilliwack players still have to travel to Langley, too. The announcement makes it sound like achieving certain levels of...
I hope so. Professional teams are the best place for long term development. I have some worries, though, considering how deeply the Whitecaps are integrated with the BC Soccer development pathway.
Reading this thread highlights almost everything that is wrong with Soccer in BC. We are trying to run development programs, with dreams of national teams and pro careers, in what are essentially community-based recreational clubs. The vast majority of youth players in BC are playing for fun...
And I'm as guilty of it as many parents. Especially with my own daughter.
Many years ago when I was coaching because I loved coaching, before I had my own children, I had a 'keeper who was pretty good. At U13 she made a Metro team in tandem with another 'keeper. My 'keeper sat a lot. 2...
Well, yeah, I knew that, but it is ridiculous to be running a league at U8 for development. It is especially ridiculous to be running a league at that age where anyone actually cares about winning. Benching a 7 year old? WTF! As I have said elsewhere, player development in Canada is just...
Why on earth is a club running a separate development program at U8? At most promising players should be offered an extra program in addition to playing on a regular team. 7 year old girls don't give a crap about development, they just want to play, and play with their friends.
I have to disagree with that. Maybe strict boundaries work in larger districts but as a parent with children in the Alouette District I have to say strict boundaries would be a nightmare. When Golden Ears and Pitt Meadows merged to form West Coast it was sold as being better for the kids, it...
Yeah, I was wondering why there was no Division 4. Hopefully they have properly tiered the Bronze division but I bet the first few weeks are going to be really unpleasant for some teams.
In Maple Ridge they aren't starting the U10 and under group until the weekend of the 23rd. That's two good weekends lost in a club that is doing internal scheduling. It's like they forgot how many games/practices they lost last year to snow. With clubs paying everybody now (I'm that old I...