By Dan Plouffe
It began to look a lot like Christmas as snow descended plentifully during afternoon Ontario Player Development League soccer games on Nov. 8 at Carleton University.
With three more weekends still left, season length was one concern cited by local OPDL participants, but by and large, the reviews were positive from all involved in the inaugural season of the provincial league that will eventually fully phase out the promotion/relegation system in favour of admitting only clubs that meet stringent standards for facilities, coaching, administration and organizational financial stability.
The May 3-Nov. 30 season demanded a high level of commitment from the under-13 players as well, which left several of them with mixed feelings.
“It’s starting to get dark early, so I often feel pretty tired in the car on the way to practice,” says Carina Vincelli, who travels from Cornwall to train with her Ottawa Fury team three times per week.
But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I like the long season. It’s a lot of fun,” indicates Vincelli, who gave up dance to focus on soccer. “The other leagues aren’t as challenging. Our seasons were only like two months. They’d come and go really fast.”
Nepean Hotspurs player Sophie Burt concurs.
“It’s long, but it’s good. It’s what you want to do, so you do it,” explains Burt, whose lone organized sport activity is soccer as well. “It’s been fun. We’ve learned a lot.”
Ottawa South United’s Antonio Carlini has played a ton of soccer this season, including a recent appearance for Toronto FC’s youth academy.
“(OPDL) is alright. I mean, it’s a long season,” signals Carlini, who’s also not involved in any other sports. “I like it better since you get a lot more soccer in, but at the same time, it’s a lot. It’s pretty much a practice every single day.”
A season that ends before November is part of the plans for year 2, and eliminating instances where Ottawa teams travel to Toronto to play one another at the league’s central weekend site.
“It didn’t happen too many times, but it still doesn’t make a lot of sense,” says West Ottawa Soccer Club technical director Kristina Kiss.
A major challenge pinpointed by many at the outset was the cost, which remains an issue, Kiss adds.
“It is a pricy program,” underlines the former women’s national team player. “If the cost could come down, if the league could find some sponsors, that would be really important.”
Another worry expressed was related to level of competition. In order to reinforce the league’s focus on player development, no scores or standings were kept, which was perhaps a positive for many local teams that felt the talent squeeze of four OPDL clubs in small geographic area locally.
“What is it about – getting the best team or developing players?” states Fury coach Kwame Telemaque. “You can see the development, even though everyone knows that the player pool was a bit diluted.”
There will be a bit less of a talent squeeze on the girls’ side next season with the Fury out of the mix since their club has refocused its academy on U16 and older players.
A number of this year’s Fury players will move to West Ottawa next season along with Telemaque, who was recently chosen to lead the Warriors’ OPDL girls’ U13 and U14 teams in 2015.
Former Fury general manager Chris Roth will coach the Warriors’ U13 and U14 OPDL sides next year, marking WOSC’s third recent hire with deep local roots after two coaches from overseas had stints lasting a few months and less than a year.
“It’s fantastic. I couldn’t be happier,” indicates Kiss, who was coached by Roth in her youth. “They’ll bring a modern style, a lot of patience, and they believe in development first. That’s the most important thing – developing the whole athlete and the whole person. That’s what this is all about.”
Nepean big OPDL fans
It was a trying introduction to the OPDL for the Hotspurs girls’ team, which struggled initially to recruit enough bodies to compete, but eventually brought on several first-time competitive players to complete their lineup.
“They all bought in and they’re all coming back next year,” signals coach Adam Knight. “That’s a huge testament that they’re having fun. Every game we’ve seen improvements.”
A past coach of eight years in the Ontario Youth Soccer League, Knight says that removing the win-at-all-costs mentality from the game has been a huge breath of fresh air, and that “I can’t spread the word enough that this is absolutely the best thing for Ontario.”
Knight’s approach has proven exceptionally popular with his players, who experienced their share of goals against this season.
“He gives us feedback, and he encourages us to try new things in practice, and then what we do in practice, we try to do it in the game,” highlights Burt. “He doesn’t say negative things. He says things to motivate us and help us.”
OSU sees bright future
OSU club head coach Paul Harris felt the first year of OPDL was “OK”, although he sees room to improve. The Force boys’ team certainly craved higher-quality opponents fairly frequently, although it was no worse than the regional level U13s previously played at, which offered only two or three meaningful games a year, he notes.
“I think what’s happened is there were a lot of people looking from the side to see how the league went,” indicates Harris, who especially pleased to see a clear pathway established alongside the OPDL to link players to provincial and national programs. “I think it’s going to be stronger and stronger every year, and I think it’s going to be the only place for elite-level players to play.”
OSU & Gloucester form latest pact
In hopes of strengthening the quality of players involved in OPDL, several local clubs have made formal pledges to work together. On the heels of FC Capital United and WOSC earlier this summer, the Ottawa Gloucester Hornets and OSU recently announced their alliance.
The advent of OPDL is a “major” factor in pushing partnerships of that nature forward, says OSU general manager Jim Lianos.
“But for us, it’s not just about OPDL,” he emphasizes, highlighting joint opportunities for guest appearances at major events and combined coach education as examples of planned collaborations. “It’s about two clubs working together for coaching development, player development and opportunities for club development.”
Although tryouts are open to all and players aren’t obligated to choose a specific club, the alliances are nonetheless important to send a message that the clubs are supportive of the top talent going to OPDL, and establishing a solid path, Lianos maintains.
“Every year, everybody would go to meetings and talk about cooperation and pushing the best players forward. The reality is very few clubs have ever done that,” he adds. “This alliance maybe opens up the door for other clubs to see that this is a way everyone can work together. Sometimes breaking down the walls is the hardest thing to do. We’re hoping this will wake some others up.”