Ottawa South United provides player to TFC academy

[Mark in Ottawa]

Not sure if we have an academy thread but I thought this was kinda neat.
Not only is Ottawa providing TFC supporters, like yours truly, but now they are delivering academy prospects.

http://www.osu.ca/news_article.php?aid=348&nc=1

"Much like the club feels reciprocally, Ndzemdzela “Zoom” Langwa is sad to be leaving Ottawa South United, but can’t help but feel excited for what the future holds.

The OSU Force player of eight years will be moving to Toronto over the winter break, where he’ll join the Toronto FC youth academy.

“I’m excited. It’s a great opportunity and I hope I get a lot from it,” smiles Langwa, who admits he was surprised the pro club selected him after attending a trial this past summer. “I didn’t think they’d actually ask me.”

One man who isn’t the slightest bit surprised is Abe Osman, his coach this past season with the Force U14 boys’ Ontario Youth Soccer League team.

“He’s an outstanding player – one of the best I’ve seen in a long time,” Osman says. “We showed him a little bit, but he’s got a lot of natural talent. He’s blessed with a lot of skill.”

Langwa sticks out on the pitch compared to others immediately simply due to his physique, and it surely only takes a moment longer before he makes a big impact on the game. The left-footed striker co-led the OYSL in scoring this season with 22 goals in 16 games. It didn’t hurt that four of those markers came in a game against Brampton East – who allowed more than one goal on just four other occasions all season – when a TFC scout was watching."

[mowe]

Good for him. As long as most of the top youth players in Ontario join TFC Academy we'll have by far the best talent pool in MLS.

[[NBF]]

There's still quite a few players from the CSL that manage to get tryouts with European contracts and have made the move. Its great that this kid is getting a chance to develop with the academy, but who are the canadian scouts for TFC? Is it just Dichio?

[Toronto]

Good for him. As long as most of the top youth players in Ontario join TFC Academy we'll have by far the best talent pool in MLS.

How so? Why we would be better than say Dallas or L.A?

[Yohan]

How so? Why we would be better than say Dallas or L.A?

I think potential is there, even though LA signed a player that would have been taken as #1 in this year's draft as HG

[mowe]

How so? Why we would be better than say Dallas or L.A?

Those clubs have more competition for talent. TFC can position itself as THE place to be for youth soccer players all over Ontario. Also helps to have the best facilities.

[Oldtimer]

There's still quite a few players from the CSL that manage to get tryouts with European contracts and have made the move. Its great that this kid is getting a chance to develop with the academy, but who are the canadian scouts for TFC? Is it just Dichio?

Pat Onsted was just hired as a scout... there's a thread on that.

[ag futbol]

TFCA has something like 5 or 6 scouts that cover different regions on behalf of the academy. From what I gather, these guys all had existing reputations and were reasonably well known within Ontario Soccer. The issue I saw with it was that the people we are asking to scout might of still have connections to their existing clubs and could be splitting their time between activities. Personally, I think TFC should model their youth scouting after Ajax. They have a lot of people who work on behalf of the club for free, who go out and dig for talent. Given the passion of the fan base here, that's a dynamic they could tap into. Obviously the responsibility isn't given to just anybody, but it is mass volunteerism.

As far as the players we get right now who play for TFCA, we are basically getting a lot of low-hanging fruit. Players who are identified as being high potential by the OSA, who have gone through the provincial program, or are reasonably visible in some other way. That's a decent first move, but there's still a lot to be uncovered. Nobody should assume that we're running at 10/10 right now, there's still a ton of room for improvement.

Mowe is right when he says we could have the best talent pool in MLS at our fingertips. From what I've heard, the density of the elite player pool here is basically unmatched in North America, with the exception of Southern California. Combine that with TFCA's infrastructure and in theory you could have something really special.

[Red CB Toronto]

Pat Onsted was just hired as a scout... there's a thread on that.

Pat Onstad has been hired as a first team coach according to reports.

[Oldtimer]

Pat Onstad has been hired as a first team coach according to reports.

That was the first story, later refuted by TFC.

[Red CB Toronto]

That was the first story, later refuted by TFC.

When was it refuted by TFC, have not read that anywhere?

[notthesun]

That was the first story, later refuted by TFC.

Gerry Dobson said Payne told him Onstad has a key role in "player evaluation" with TFC. He's a scout for us.

[Greatest Ripoff]

I did notice on twitter today that a player from the Power Academy (a private academy similar to Sigma) will joining the TFCA.

Victor Satei ‏@VictorSatei
After six years with us, Power FC's Stefan Dusciuc cracks the #TFCU16 Roster http://www.torontofc.ca/academy/teams/roster-u16 well done Stefan, we're proud of you

[Soccerpro]

Ottawa South United had the former head of the Dallas Texans youth soccer club join them a few years ago. That club is one of the premier clubs in the U.S. He's really changed the club around. They are a good example of how a club can be run with people who have drive and ambition.

[Toronto]

Ottawa South United had the former head of the Dallas Texans youth soccer club join them a few years ago. That club is one of the premier clubs in the U.S. He's really changed the club around. They are a good example of how a club can be run with people who have drive and ambition.

Having family in that part of Ottawa. That club is nothing more than a way for some adults to earn a living off the backs of working parents. I costs about 400 bucks to play house league. The travel teams you're looking a 5K a year. I heard the technical director and president earn about 100,000 each.

Sorry- but that a scam.

[spark]

Having family in that part of Ottawa. That club is nothing more than a way for some adults to earn a living off the backs of working parents. I costs about 400 bucks to play house league. The travel teams you're looking a 5K a year. I heard the technical director and president earn about 100,000 each.

Sorry- but that a scam.

I don't have any kids so maybe someone can confirm/verify - but my impression is every academy/program costs big $$$. So how is this more of a scam than Sigma, Winstars, TFCA, etc .. ?

[Brooker]

Luca Dichio is in our academy?

[Initial B]

Having family in that part of Ottawa. That club is nothing more than a way for some adults to earn a living off the backs of working parents. I costs about 400 bucks to play house league. The travel teams you're looking a 5K a year. I heard the technical director and president earn about 100,000 each.

Sorry- but that a scam.

Scam is a bit of a strong word, but the overall they run the club with a business-like philosophy, with a number of teams at different tiers within each age level. Their expectation is for each team to place first in their tier each year. If the team doesn't achieve this, then the coach is put under review and often let go. This puts pressure on the coaches to adopt a winning over sportsmanship mentality, which is passed on to the players. It also puts pressure on them to only play the best players, to the detriment of the development of other players on the team. The lower tier teams pretty much exist to support the costs incurred by the top tier teams. All this is fine for a professional team, but can be really harmful for 11-year-olds and is not in line with the philosophy espoused in the CSA's LTDP.

There are a number of kids at my son's current club (Captial United) who left OSU for that reason. Capital United's philosophy is that every player develops at a different rate and has equal value. Winning, although nice, should not trump the goal of player development. The parents note that their kids seem a lot happier playing at CapU than OSU. What's the point of playing if the joy is sucked out of the game?

[Greatest Ripoff]

I don't have any kids so maybe someone can confirm/verify - but my impression is every academy/program costs big $$$. So how is this more of a scam than Sigma, Winstars, TFCA, etc .. ?

I always thought TFCA was free, do kids really have to pay to play for the Academy?

[spark]

I always thought TFCA was free, do kids really have to pay to play for the Academy?

I actually don't know that, I just assumed considering I can't imagine MLSE giving up an opportunity to make some $$$. Anyone feel free to set it straight!

[Jpexxx]

Does anyone remember a year or so ago there was an article posted on here, about a kid from the east coast (i think it was Nova Scotia or Newfoundland) who was joining TFCA??

If so, is he still with us?

[spark]

Luca Dichio is in our academy?

Yeah he's a defender with the U16 team.

[Oldtimer]

I actually don't know that, I just assumed considering I can't imagine MLSE giving up an opportunity to make some $$$. Anyone feel free to set it straight!

Incorrect, TFCA has always been free.

http://www.torontofc.ca/academy/teams/structure

What does Full Time Team mean in the KIA TFC Academy?

• NO PAY FOR PLAY - There are no costs to being a KIA Toronto FC Academy Athlete. This is a professional academy.
• Train from January until November.
• Follow a weekly schedule involving both on the field and gym sessions.
• Based out of the new state of the art training facility KIA Training Ground.
• Include some form of monthly travel subsidy for certain players/teams.
• If you make a KIA Toronto FC Academy you donot play for a club association team or the provincial program.
• Competition Structure:
  
  1. League Play
  2. Travel for some of the teams include: Dallas Cup, American MLS Club Tours, Generation Adidas MLS Youth Cup. (There are no fees attached to competition travel. TFC covers all transportation, accomodation, meals and registration costs for our athletes.)
  
  

That took me less than a minute to find on the TFC website.

Note that ML$E is still making bucks, it's just from Kia instead of the kids' parents.

[spark]

Incorrect, TFCA has always been free.

http://www.torontofc.ca/academy/teams/structure



That took me less than a minute to find on the TFC website.

Note that ML$E is still making bucks, it's just from Kia instead of the kids' parents.

HAHAHA you got me.

Although it now took me ZERO minutes to find that info out

[Oldtimer]

HAHAHA you got me.

Although it now took me ZERO minutes to find that info out

hmmmm... I guess "laziness" has it's benefits!

[ag futbol]

Scam is a bit of a strong word, but the overall they run the club with a business-like philosophy, with a number of teams at different tiers within each age level. Their expectation is for each team to place first in their tier each year. If the team doesn't achieve this, then the coach is put under review and often let go. This puts pressure on the coaches to adopt a winning over sportsmanship mentality, which is passed on to the players. It also puts pressure on them to only play the best players, to the detriment of the development of other players on the team. The lower tier teams pretty much exist to support the costs incurred by the top tier teams. All this is fine for a professional team, but can be really harmful for 11-year-olds and is not in line with the philosophy espoused in the CSA's LTDP.

I agree, there’s some stuff wrong with that system. At the same time, they are exposing certain realities about the shortcomings of traditional clubs in the way they’ve structured OSU. While they are undoubtedly taking a healthy profit, I would suspect that as an academy a lot of that extra money is plowed back into giving the players extra field time. It’s kind of sad, but a lot of “competitive” clubs out there simply aren’t keeping their players on the field enough to properly facilitate an elite level of youth development. The part you mentioned about the results is perverse and totally wrong, but a side effect of that is they’re actually taking responsibility for the level of service their coaches provide. Again, I think sadly, most of the clubs out there aren’t doing this on any level.

Anyway, overall I disagree with what they are doing but I think the flexibility of the Academy system is a positive for the Canadian Soccer scene as a whole. Personally, I consider the community club model that’s prevalent throughout Canada right now to be broken. People often wax poetic about the work of volunteers and the strength of enrollment numbers, but from my experience things have been terribly mismanaged for a long time and are in need of reform.

[maxpower]

Sigma, along with the rest of SAAC, cost 4k a year.

OSU play in a division where the average cost is about 800 bucks plus additional costs for travelling and tournaments.

[Soccerpro]

Sigma, along with the rest of SAAC, cost 4k a year.

OSU play in a division where the average cost is about 800 bucks plus additional costs for travelling and tournaments.

Unfortunately, good coaching, facilities and field time aren't cheap. Canadian parents want a cheap sport for their kids in the summer. They're more than willing to pay a few thousand for hockey in the winter, but not soccer.

[maxpower]

Unfortunately, good coaching, facilities and field time aren't cheap. Canadian parents want a cheap sport for their kids in the summer. They're more than willing to pay a few thousand for hockey in the winter, but not soccer.

I think you'll find that kids playing at the level you would need to pay that amount of money are playing full year soccer and no Hockey. Soccer is meant to be a cheaper sport and is generally played by kids from poorer backgrounds.

Nonetheless, OSU continually lose to GTA teams with much smaller budgets. I get that we have a larger talent pool, but not by THAT much. I wouldn't say great coaching is behind there moderate success.

[maxpower]

I did notice on twitter today that a player from the Power Academy (a private academy similar to Sigma) will joining the TFCA.

Victor Satei ‏@VictorSatei
After six years with us, Power FC's Stefan Dusciuc cracks the #TFCU16 Roster http://www.torontofc.ca/academy/teams/roster-u16 well done Stefan, we're proud of you

My son played at Power as his backup(hes a goalie). He's a great player and i suspect will be the first of many joining the academy from Power Soccer. Had my kids play at a many of the top clubs around Toronto and Sigma is probably the only one run better.