hhink we learned our lesson there." The Blues have w
Sometime in the not too distant future... After a thorough 12-month development process, the Canadian Soccer Associations board of directors approves their new five-year strategic plan. The board gives the CSAs General Secretary the green light to begin the strategic activities laid out in the plan, setting in motion a flurry of activity. The CSAs Technical Director immediately convenes a video conference with the Technical Directors from each of the provincial branches of the CSA. (Provincial associations were deemed an unnecessary complication long ago, and were replaced by provincial branches of the CSA. These branches are staffed by CSA employees, and there is no provincial branch board of directors hindering operations). The provincial branch Technical Directors then conference in their regional Technical Directors. (Districts were also deemed an unnecessary complication long ago, and were replaced by regional branches of the CSA. Likewise, these branches are staffed by CSA employees, and there is no regional branch board of directors.) The CSA technical director informs his staff on the video conference that the latest instalment of the CSAs training curriculum is available for all members on the CSAs website. Grassroots coaches across the country need only to log onto the CSA website with their user name and password (which they receive when they register for a CSA coach education course) to download age and ability specific session plans and video demonstrations for their respective age groups. Online resources are freely available for coaches to continue their education through the CSA. On the CSA website, coaches can also book mentoring sessions with CSA coach educators, who are dispersed throughout the country working at the provincial and regional branches. There are three levels of play within the CSAs player development pathway: Recreational (formerly known as house league); Regional (formerly known as "rep" or "competitive" soccer, with travel occurring within a provincial region); and High Performance (the highest level of the development pathway, where training and competition takes place at high performance organizations that work in partnership with the CSAs network of coaches and coach educators across the country.) Each level of play is standards-based; if your club or academy (because the CSAs development pathway is open to ALL organizations) meets the standards set by the CSA for recreational, regional or high performance competition, your organization has the opportunity to participate at that level. Clubs and academies do not fight each other for players. Instead, they put the needs of the player ahead of their own. If a players ability exceeds the level at which his or her organization currently competes, the player is encouraged to move to the nearest organization that competes at the appropriate level for the player. Clubs and academies offer a variety of programs throughout the year, including futsal and technical skill development courses, all delivered by trained, professional coaches. Many of these coaches only coach part-time, as the program costs are kept to a minimum. But they all receive the same access to learning opportunities through the CSAs coach education program. This program is free of charge, as the CSA has signed a long-term sponsorship contract with one of Canadas major corporations to offset what the CSA considers to be the single biggest factor in developing better players - developing better coaches. When I register my daughter to play soccer for the Oakville Soccer Club, I simply navigate to the CSAs website where, through a series of drop-down menus, I choose Ontario (province), Peel Halton (region), Oakville SC (club), Girls (gender), Recreational (program). I pay the registration fee online, and the payment is instantly distributed from the CSA to the appropriate recipients. The largest portion goes to the club, who naturally bear most of the financial cost of delivering the program, but a percentage also goes to the regional and provincial branches of the CSA, who oversee player, coach and referee development in those areas. The CSA retains a portion of the fee itself, so that it may operate its national team programs accordingly. Within five days, I receive a laminated registration card for my daughter in the mail. It has her name, photo (because I uploaded her picture when I registered her online) and registration number displayed on the front of the card. This registration card serves as her player identification card for the upcoming season, which she brings with her to every game. On the back of the card is a list of all of the CSAs corporate partners. Presenting this card entitles me to a 20 per cent discount on any merchandise I purchase from any one of those partners. So, at the beginning of the year when I purchase my daughters new soccer shoes, I simply do my shopping at the preferred CSA partner, where I receive my discount... This sounds great, doesnt it. Its almost utopian, its so simple. It makes you wonder why it hasnt been this way all along. This isnt fiction, though - I didnt make this up off the top of my head, trying to build some crazy, idealistic vision of how soccer in Canada should function. This could very well be what soccer in Canada looks like in the not too distant future. I took some artistic license, yes. My frustration at the inane bureaucracy that has plagued our game for decades prompted me to eliminate provincial and district boards in the scenario I just described. That isnt going to happen. The best that we can hope for is that all provincial and district members of the CSA mirror the national bodys governance structure - something that is written into the new strategic plan. Some of the other ideas are not as far from becoming reality as one might think, though. The concept of a registration card for each and every one of the CSAs 850,000 members - including the idea of direct access to discounts through the CSAs network of corporate partners - is very real, and is also written into the strategic plan. It falls under the pillar of "professional governance of our sport" as "building a national database." Remarkably, despite having 850,000 members, the CSA has no database of information about its membership. There are no names on a list, no email addresses neatly filed away on a server somewhere - because the CSA has never had a mechanism to centralize its registration process. That is all going to change under the new strategic plan. Direct access to the CSAs membership is a goldmine for the CSA, for its corporate partners and for its members. What company doesnt want to have a direct relationship with their customers? And what customer (CSA member) doesnt want to get a discount on merchandise? The simple step of centralizing registration will give the CSA tremendous marketing power, its corporate partners real value for their investment in Canadian soccer, and most importantly, its members a tangible benefit for registering with the CSA. The success of the CSAs plan will depend on a number of factors, not least of which is you. Will you support the CSA, get behind their ideas and strategic priorities (which, I have to say, were developed in part through your consultation) and do whatever you can to make these initiatives a success? Or will you do what so many have chosen to do in the past - stand on the sidelines and criticize, never once offering to help turn ideas into reality? Not all of the objectives listed in the CSAs strategic plan will be met in the years ahead. But if the most important ones can be achieved, we can all start looking forward to a much brighter future for soccer in Canada. Wholesale Athletics Jerseys . Josh Bailey had a goal and an assist as the New York Islanders earned a 2-1 win over Ottawa Wednesday, leaving the Senators five points out of a playoff spot with just five games to play and four teams ahead of them. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . LOUIS -- When Braves second baseman Tyler Pastornicky backpedaled into shallow right field to catch the popup and Jason Heyward didnt arrive fast enough to take charge, Kolten Wong got the green light. http://www.cheapathleticsjerseys.com/?t ... yce-jersey. -- Jerry Rice Jr. Jose Canseco Jersey . - Young and old. Cheap Oakland Athletics Jerseys . Coverage on TSN is underway now while action resumes on TSN2 at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. TSN GO also offers TSN subscribers bonus online coverage, with live streams of all four venues.ST. LOUIS -- A week ago, Jaroslav Halak couldnt wait to get off the ice and find a place to hide. Hed been no relief at all after replacing Brian Elliott in net in New Jersey and was embarrassed along with the rest of St. Louis Blues. "I can speak for myself: I was hoping the game was over after the second period," Halak said. The bad taste is all gone now. Alexander Steen gave the Blues the early lead and Halak earned his fourth shutout of the season and was the games first star in a 3-0 victory over the Devils on Tuesday night. New Jersey had 23 shots, the same as it needed in a 7-1 rout at home last week, but, this time, had nothing to show for it. "It was weird, going to New York and getting back and playing Jersey again," Halak said. "It was a good thing we got it over with and we didnt have to wait." Brenden Morrow added a power-play goal midway through the third period and Maxim Lapierre scored into an empty net with 2:08 left. Patrik Berglund assisted on both third-period scores. "I think the more we learn from those types of games the better, because thats never a good recipe when youre chasing games," Morrow said. "Good teams stay with their structure, stay with their system and let that roll over and get back into the game that way, and I think we learned our lesson there." The Blues have won three straight and moved a point ahead of the Blackhawks, who played later at Calgary, for the Central Division lead. St. Louis cleaned up on defence a week after getting whipped in New Jersey when Halak allowed four goals in 14 shots after relieving Elliott. Halak has started all three games since that setback, allowing a total of four goals. Hes 7-1-1 in his last nine starts with a 1.77 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. The Devils mustered little offensively coming off a 7-3 loss to the Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. They were shut out for the sixth time, although this was the first time in 35 games. "Well, we didnt have many chances to score, but they played great tight defence and we had nothing," said forward Jaromir Jagr, held to two shots. "We had chances but not 100 per cent chances." The Devils have the NHLs second-best power play but were 0 for 5 against Halak.dddddddddddd. "Two totally different games," coach Peter DeBoer said. "Both goaltenders were very good. I dont think that was the case last week in New Jersey." The Blues are an NHL-best 17-3-1 against the Eastern Conference, and 9-0 at home. Steen was the NHLs second-leading goal scorer in late December before missing 11 games with a concussion. Hes been back six games and has a point in the last five with three goals and four assists. "He is a very dynamic player," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "For him to get to the elite level where he was before, I think he just has to learn to get back to the right balance between reward and risk. "He had an unbelievable balance of reward and risk going before he got hurt." Halak and Brian Elliott have combined for seven shutouts this season. Halak has won four straight starts with two shutouts this month, and holds the franchise mark with 20 shutouts in four seasons. Morrow deflected a waist-high shot past Cory Schneider for his eighth goal and first point in nine games, capitalizing on a tripping call against Bryce Salvador. St. Louis killed off Roman Polaks high-sticking penalty just nine seconds into the game, and then took the lead on Steens 27th goal at 3:25. Steen scored his 100th goal in six seasons with St. Louis scoring from the slot on an odd-man rush with assists by Jaden Schwartz and David Backes. Alex Pietrangelo took a holding call foiling a break-in by Stephen Gionta late in the period and, again, the St. Louis penalty killers came through. The Blues Vladimir Sobotka hit the goal post on an odd-man rush with just under five minutes to go. The Devils played in St. Louis for the first time since Nov. 20, 2010, a 3-2 Blues victory. NOTES: NFL Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf, who recently retired from broadcasting, wore a Blues jersey with his number 72 while watching from a private box. ... New Jersey is 5-16-3 when trailing after two periods. ... Jagr had totalled two goals and four assists the previous four games. ... Steen has seven game-winners in 41 games this season. The previous two seasons, he totalled six game-winners in 83 games. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Indians Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Astros Jerseys Cheap Royals Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys ' ' '