By Ottawa Sports Pages, for Ottawa TFC Soccer Club
With his team having lost the championship in the most heartbreaking manner – a penalty-kicks shootout that went a full eight rounds deep – coach Pavel Cancura knew better than to rave to his players about the great learning opportunity they’d just experienced, or else they may well have tackled him on the sidelines.
He let his U17 Ontario Player Development League girls’ team feel the sting of defeat in the Charity Shield final, but inside, and in the days and weeks after, Cancura has had a feeling of excitement bubbling for his players’ futures, and Ottawa TFC Soccer Club more globally.
“There’s no shame in just living in that emotion for a second and being disappointed,” reflects Cancura, whose squad reached the first all-Ottawa OPDL Charity Shield final on Oct. 26. “But I think they’re going to be so much greater for it. Getting to be in those moments at such a young age – there’s plenty of the population that never stands in such a moment ever, let alone getting to do it at a young age and have more of those potentially ahead of you.
“Going into the final, we said it’s not everybody who has the privilege of experiencing the pressure of a final. So embrace that, which can sometimes feel a little counter-intuitive, because, man, you’re nervous, you’ve got all this anxiety, all this pressure, and you want to chase it away, rather than realizing this is what comes with being in big moments and big opportunities.
“It’s actually a huge blessing to get to do that and to shoot meaningful penalties and to play meaningful minutes.”
Cancura, who has half his squad eligible to return to play U17 next year, couldn’t have been more impressed with the way his team played in the final, and throughout their careers at Ottawa TFC.
In their three previous OPDL campaigns, the team finished on the edge but just outside of the four-team postseason competition. They sometimes struggled against opponents that punted the ball downfield to their strongest players in those earlier years, but they stayed committed to learning and practicing the signature Ottawa TFC style of play.
“We play in a system that asks all our players to play, asks them all to be brave with the ball, asks them to take risks,” Cancura outlines. “We always want to build. We always want to try to be constructive.”
This season, the U17 girls won three big matches in a row at the end of their regular season campaign to setup a semi-final on the road against Markham City, the league champs that had not lost a game this year or last.
Cancura believed his team had a chance at winning, but he wasn’t expecting a dominant 7-1 scoreline for Ottawa TFC.
“That was just crazy,” he smiles. “I think everybody was shocked. Our girls were floating on cloud nine.”
Despite their eventual defeat in the shootout, the final was also heavily titled in Ottawa TFC’s favour, with 12 corner kicks earned to their opponents’ three, and a large advantage in possession as well.
“The players showed the quality that’s in them,” Cancura underlines. “Truthfully, at our club, we’re trying to develop players. I say it so often that it’s not about the results that I think the players just roll their eyes about it.
“It’s not to say that we don’t work very, very hard to try to win and to try to be successful, but there is a greater purpose than today’s result.”
Although the team’s great build didn’t quite culminate in a provincial championship as its masterpiece, it’s ultimately what the players go on to achieve at the next level that will be best remembered, he adds.
Several 2007-born players have already committed to university soccer programs, with several more in the works.
“The ’07 group that’s graduating has got some really special people and leaders that we’re definitely gonna miss,” Cancura signals. “They’ve left their mark, for sure. They’ve raised the level.”
Championship & new ground broken
Ottawa TFC’s top female teams excelled at both older and younger age groups as well.
Cancura says the Women’s Premier team showed the program “is ready for its next step” with “a talented group and a huge pool of players” that won the Ottawa-Carleton Soccer League’s top division this summer.
The deep U14 girls’ team went 12-2-3 to place second in the OPDL East and were disappointed to lose by a goal in the semi-finals.
“It’s such a tough league, 24 or sometimes 26 teams per division, and they’re only looking for four to make the playoffs. It leaves a very small margin of error across a very long season, so it’s a lot of credit to them to play that well for that long and get that many results,” notes Cancura, while saluting the great coaching the group received from Caleb Malette and Jordan Lundin in their earlier years and Pat Boyle this season.
The U14 boys also felt the sting of a shootout defeat to end their season, but they nevertheless earned the distinction of becoming the first male Ottawa TFC to make the OPDL playoffs.
Last year, Ottawa TFC came close to winning it all at the U17 boys’ level, but ended up missing the playoffs by one point in an exceptionally tight race.
Alongside Kousha Aminian, past TFC II player Brogan Engbers has helped fuel a change in mentality in Ottawa TFC’s boys’ program.
“Three years ago, our boys’ program was not in the best place overall. We had players leaving and entire teams faltering, and it’s now in this really cool, healthy place that people want to be a part of,” Cancura highlights. “It’s not just about the results, but I see it on a day-to-day basis – the work that’s done, and the change in the culture that’s been made there, and the effort those guys put in.
“And that’s when that gets rewarded with results on the field. It’s a huge, huge credit to the boys and to the coaches that they’re doing the right things and the right things are paying off.”
Fertile fields at TFC
On top of the on-field success of Ottawa TFC teams at the highest levels, there were many other successes to celebrate for the club this season, starting with the first Ottawa TFC Academy boys’ product to wear the maple leaf.
Last summer, Elijah Roche was recruited to join affiliate Toronto FC’s Academy, and now the homegrown talent is set to debut for the Canadian U17 men’s national program this week for friendlies in Costa Rica.
Mohamed Diaby has also embarked on the same pathway with TFC Academy. One of four siblings from his family at Ottawa TFC, Diaby played OPDL at the U13 level last year and part of this season with the U14 squad before moving to Toronto.
“He’s a good player, and he has a good family. You love seeing really good people get rewarded,” states Cancura. “He’s super, super dedicated, a very talented athlete. And we’re proud and excited for him to hopefully take that next step.”
Cancura is especially excited about the next generation coming up as well, fuelled by strong coaches and “thriving” programs that continue to grow at the U9-12 level.
“Success breed success, and players want to be part of it,” indicates Ottawa TFC’s General Manager. “I feel so blessed with the staff we have here.
“They’re young, and they’re experienced. They’ve been at it for a long time, but they’re still at these awesome ages to be working with kids, and they’ve got magnetic personalities. And they know how to coach, so it’s no surprise that the programs are thriving.”
Ottawa TFC’s coaches turn heads frequently since many of them are in their 20s, while opposing coaches are often twice their age.
“We’ve got a lot of good young coaches here, and a lot of them are homegrown now too, which allows you to build consistency over years, and it builds a culture and a chemistry and abilities,” Cancura says. “They’re doing really good work with these teams and these kids, right from a young age.
“I think sometimes they don’t get enough credit. They may be younger, but watch what they do. Listen to what they’re saying. It’s awesome.”
Dome home & soccer school at Garneau
Alongside École secondaire catholique Garneau, Ottawa TFC celebrated the official opening of the Orléans Dome this season – a huge asset for the club and Ottawa’s east end.
Ottawa TFC, which manages community bookings for the school board, has been able to expand many of its programs, give its after-school Academy and the club as a whole a wintertime home, and establish a daytime Sports-Études program in partnership with Garneau.
Now in its second season, the program is managed by Boyle and has more than doubled to close to 50 players across age groups.
“That’s fantastic, and we’re seeing a lot of quality there too,” Cancura signals. “It’s already on its way to what we want it to be, but it’s a program that I think, in the next couple of years, is really going to establish itself as a special, special place for soccer in Ottawa.”
There were many more highlights this season, including Ottawa TFC hosting upwards of 20 tournaments or festivals plus summer camps, eight players on Team Ontario in the preseason, superb support from partners and sponsors, the launch of a revamped website, as well as player recognition and social media initiatives such as a goal of the week feature.
“Loads and loads of positives,” Cancura underlines. “Between the players putting in the work, the coaches putting in the work, everyone working together, and the culture we have here, it’s really healthy, and we just want to keep doing better and better.”
Learn more about Ottawa TFC Soccer Club at OttawaTFC.com and follow them on Instagram.