By Dan Plouffe
The wait is winding down for the Ottawa Fury boys’ teams as they prepare for their USL Super-Y League finals Dec. 7-11 in Florida. All four of the club’s boys’ academy teams from the under-13 to U16 levels secured their spots in the North American championships by finishing in the top-2 of their divisions in the summertime regular season.
“All the teams have done very well, so we’re very proud of them all,” notes Fury youth development academy boys’ technical director Steve Hill. “It’s certainly a credit to the boys in the program and the coaches that have coached those particular teams.”
Hill was particularly impressed by the feat given the hot temperatures they faced this summer – a particular disadvantage to the Fury since they spend more time on the road that their U.S. opponents in the New England area, which means getting fatigued from long drives, staying in hotels and eating at restaurants.
“It’s never an easy accomplishment when you have to factor in the amount of travel we have to do,” Hill explains. “To me, it starts with the level of coaching. You can have great players, but if they’re poorly coached, chances are they’re not going to be successful.”
The U13 group Hill coached earned a 9-3-1 record, with Abdullah Juma scoring at a goal-per-game pace. Winning the Nordic Cup tournament in Vermont was a big season highlight, but it doesn’t quite match the experience of going to France for the Plomelin tournament back in May – an event Hill raves about, where Fury players were billeted by host French families.
“It’s a very unique tournament in that you get to play against the best of the best in that age group,” adds the England-born former semi-pro player, noting his squad held its own on the pitch in France. “It got us off to a real positive start. Any time you travel together, it brings the team closer together as well.”
3 division titles for Fury boys’ teams
The 10-1-2 U14s, the 9-2-1 U15s and the 5-1 U16s all finished atop their division standings, collectively outscoring their opponents by 89 goals.
The Fury girls’ youth teams did not reach the league finals, earning pairs of third- and fourth-place finishes. The teams’ regular seasons wrapped up back in mid-August.
The long gap before the finals – due to conflicts with U.S. high school schedules and college recruiters’ availability – is a challenge for the northern teams in particular, especially when the snow flies early, Hill notes.
“We try to build towards the end of November and early December so we’re as ready as we can be,” says Hill, noting they’ll build fitness by running in the sand and up hills at Mooney’s Bay in the fall.
At the Super-Y finals, the top squad from each of the four four-team groups moves ahead into the semi-final round.
“You generally don’t get any easy passes, so to get out of the group stage is a major accomplishment,” explains Hill, whose boys’ program is ranked #1 overall in the Super-Y League. “The goal would be to get as many teams as we could through the group stage, and then you never know.”
The Fury team that carries the highest hopes is Jimmy Zito’s U14 group, who received a remarkable 21 goals from Zachary El Shafei in 13 games. Last year, the squad won its group in Florida to reach the knockout round before falling in the semi-finals.
“They’ve got a good chance,” Hill says. “Having gone last year certainly prepares them. And not getting to what they want certainly motivates them.”