Ben Knight
writes and publishes Onward!
The Canadian coaching investigation: Part II – House-league nation
As small as professional soccer in Canada is, the amateur game is vast.
Local clubs are everywhere – a sprawling, competitive business which makes money in tiny towns and mega-metropolises alike.
Where professional coaches struggle to find any jobs at all, pretty much any parent of any young player can find himself prowling the sidelines, coaching his or her local youth team.
It leads to inconsistency. Experts say it’s undermining all of Canada’s national teams.
Hundreds of thousands of players, most lacking the interest or ability to play competitively – all funding a huge share of the Canadian Soccer Association and all its programs with their annual fees.
We are – and have always been – a house-league nation.
