Likely no sport in Greater Sudbury can boast the rich
tradition of long-standing historical competition that soccer
enjoys. Fans of the world's most popular sport will point to
trophies that date back a century or more, and to a time when
the influx of European immigrants allowed soccer to dominate
the summer sporting landscape in the Nickel City.
In fact, a quick scan of any edition of the city's daily
newspaper through the 1940s, 1950s or 1960s will provide quick
evidence of just how important the soccer scene was at the
time. Still to this day, with some 5,000 athletes of all ages
participating, soccer resides as the largest number of local
participants.
So why then does the City of Greater Sudbury struggle quite so
much with trying to maintain a youth competitive soccer
structure that can be described as anything other than
dysfunctional? The answer, it seems, is somewhat multi-faceted.
For starters, while soccer boasts the largest number of
participants, it also features by far the largest differential
in the relative weighting of recreational versus competitive
soccer players. For a whole host of reasons, the vast majority
of youngsters and their parents prefer to see the children
enjoying the primary sport of summer on a solely house league
level.
Some of this is no doubt due to an increased desire to enjoy
the shortened summers that northern Ontario provides, spending
weekends at camps, parks, near the barbecue - most anywhere
other than a soccer field.
Many will suggest the drain on players and parents alike of the
competitiveness of the minor hockey systems, even at the house
league levels, leaves all involved looking forward to a more
relaxed environment for their summer pastime.
It goes without saying these sweeping comments are not meant,
by any stretch of the imagination, to cover the individual case
of every single youngster that laces up their cleats. Soccer,
like essentially every other sport in Sudbury, can also lay
claim to a large base of passionate followers, for whom nothing
stands in the way of a wonderful match on the pitch.
Over and above the challenge of trying to attract young soccer
players to the more competitive side of the sport lies the fact
the current basic infrastructure of competitive soccer locally
is not well suited at all to allow an easy flow-through of
young soccer talent.
In the eyes of most soccer organizers, athlete development
tends to occur in spite of the system in place locally. This is
not a slight at the large number of club volunteer
administrators and coaches who work diligently for the youth of
this city.
But it is a fair reflection of the challenge that currently
exists. The good news, at least in my opinion, is that there is
now some initial discussion looking at ways to try and deal
with the concerns that most everyone seems to agree exist.
A sub-committee of the Sudbury Regional Soccer Association
(SRSA), under the stewardship of Andy Charsley, convened
meetings beginning almost a year ago, looking to develop
potential model templates that could offer a better path for
athlete development and growth of competitive soccer in
Sudbury.
Involving representatives from virtually every soccer club in
the area, the group met on several occasions, discussing what
the parameters of their mandate should be, looking to identify
tangible goals the new structure should target, finding ways to
reconcile the many positives that currently are in place with
progressive ideas aimed to move the sport forward.
Make no mistake - there are no lack of challenges facing the
group. For starters, many in the area will suggest, for the
most part, the house league soccer system across the boundaries
of Sudbury operates in a reasonable fashion. The Sudburnia
Soccer Club, Valley East, Walden, Rayside and Nickel Centre
groups are not without day to day issues they must address.
But there is, in the opinion of most, little need for any kind
of drastic change to a recreational soccer system that
satisfies much of the needs of the 85 per cent of the players
who remain outside the realm of recreational soccer.
Others, still, may point to various elements of success from
within the local competitive soccer scene as evidence that no
tampering with the system is required. Truth be told, Sudbury
is still producing young soccer talent that is moving on to
compete at a post-secondary level both in Canada and south of
the border.
Sudbury will, from time to time, produce a team that is able to
remain reasonably competitive against some of the upper echelon
of soccer talent in Ontario. Provincial calibre athletes, while
numbering in the small handful on an annual basis, are still
making the drive from Sudbury to the Ontario Soccer Centre in
Vaughan to showcase their talents.
It would be naïve to think that a system that offers little, if
any, kind of co-operative structure between clubs that run the
recreational soccer system and those that run competitive
soccer is an ideal structure for youth soccer.
Likewise, a system that sees competitive teams struggle on an
annual basis trying to determine the exact nature of their
divisional grouping, an exercise that usually involves grouping
teams of various ages and sex together into a virtual potpourri
of soccer talent is certainly not what most would like to see
in place.
It's there by necessity - at least, for the time being. But
hope exists, as long as people continue to talk, that a better
system may yet see the light of day in Greater Sudbury. And
that can only help all those who support soccer.
Randy Pascal is the voice of Persona 10 Sports and founder of SudburySports.com.
