OYSL

[Realityhurts]

Never give up. Parents have to speak up. It 's time and if not, only the dreams of the youth players get hurt. They start with so much passion and then some parent coaches destroy them. But, really, it starts at the Club level and the Head Club Technical Coaches have to make a statement. I can bring 20 players and I know they can replace many of the players brought along only because there Dad is carrying them.

[graham]

I really dont think that there is any real way to fix the OYSL, it is what it is. It is not that big of a deal any more because there are other leagues or academies in place that seem to take the talent away from the OYSL.

Years ago when there was only the OYSL and no academies or players leaving to sit on a reserve bench for a team in the CSL league, that was when all of the talent was concetrated in one league the OYSL and that was why it was so great because all of the talent was there but now there are other places to go and play and that is why the OYSL is now a shell of its former self.

I used to tell a lot of the parents of players that I coached that the difference in the OYSL and the L3 is not a big deal anymore, they didnt beleive me but I think alot of them may realize that now.

[Martin]

Realityhurts, in a previous notes you said:

Remember, the Club's are owned by Members Not Directors or Coaches. Technical Directors are paid by the members. So, parents MUST speak up and not be afraid. I've done it and guess what, the talent of players speaks louder.

and,

Who do you think controls soccer? It's the parents! The Clubs must answer to the parents! The Coaches must answer to the parents? The parents are the CLUB.

I am not disagreeing with you, but how many of your Club's AGM's have you attended? How many times have you stood up and attacked or supported the Directors with respect to how they are executing on your wishes? And, how many times have you actually told them what you want?

I suspect you have probably done all of the above, but the silent majority seldom do.

But, you you are not the Club. You represent the Club member; semantics perhaps but your son is a member of the club, and you merely represent him until 16 or whatever age your Club's constitution recognizes him as being a voting member. Members of the Club are registered with the OSA and right now the only name they have belongs to your son, not you.

I do wish you success in getting more parents to meet their obligations; beyond merely writing the cheque. Only then will those running the show make an attempt to meet all of the needs of their members.

[POLSKA]

Graham- did you ever coach the team to win L3 and qualify to OYSL. It is interesting that those who are not in OYSL have a lot to say about that league. I think what is important to understand -players at least those I know consider OYSL as the highest possible level to play and they enjoy. Adults can say whatever they want.
This leaugue is for kids not for people who thinks they know. The same point you can make Graham about L3- when the best team leaves to OYSL quality level at L3 goes down?

[graham]

Polska

Have you ever coached or played in the MLS. I am guessing you have not but I am sure you talk in these forums about that league.I am sure you have opinions of that league and are entitled to them, just as I am entitled to mine. I have not coached a OYSL team and I know of many coaches with far more knowledge then I who have not coached there either. I think that the OYSL is a great level to play at, I just made a comment that the league is not what is once was at this age group. Just because I do not or have not coached a team that is in the OYSL, it does not mean that I have no clue about the league, I have been coaching for 14 years beleive me I know all about the OYSL, in fact for a guy who has not coached in that I league I would safely say that I have watched over 100 OYSL games since I statred coaching.

I also think that the level has gone down in the L3 and the other levels as well. I think most people out here would agree with me, but maybe not.

[azzuri1]

Hello all why does everyone get so defensive on this topic I must agree that the level of soccer has gone down hill with some of the leagues. OYSL up to 5 years was much much more competitive and going back even further it was even a much stronger league there is no way that going back 10 to 20 years the chances of leagues below OYSL could win against the OYSL league, its the facts and the leagues need to do something about making it more competitive. My Suggestion would be to have two leagues in the OYSL made up of 10 teams per division the only difference is an A and B division top three from B move up and the bottom three from A move down and from the B division 4 teams move down to the lower level and four move up from the CSL, SRSL, the north and east.

[w.axl.rose]

what hurts the league is that too many players are always moving from one team to another or from one league to another, for example I see a lot of parents running around spending crazy money so there kid can be on a oysl team or in a certain academy or on the provincial team or whatever and what is so funny to me is that a lot of the time the parents are too stupid to see that they are just being told that their kid is decent enough because they are willing to spend a lot of money.
In the past I remember there being players on the provincial team that did not belong there but the parent kissed butt and spent money and until this type of stuff stops it will never be better, now that the players are leaving to go to academies or to play at other levels right now it is the oysl that is suffering. Maybe players should have to sigbn a contract to stay on teams for at least 2 years like they do in youth hockey, because i know players who have been on like 7 teams since u-9 and the reason is always the same the parents shop their kid around until they get what they want from the current team.too many parents are reliving their youth through their own kid

[Gerry]

Right on cue…you can almost set your watch to it. If you could access the archives of Onsoccer or go right to the beginning of the OYSL’s formation, you will see that year after year, once teams hit the U16 stage, parents and coaches begin to lament that the caliber of play within the OYSL has gone down compared to “years gone past”. In other words, there always seem to be 2 to 3 teams significantly better than all the rest, who when playing against the other weaker 7 to 8 teams, set off a debate about the level of competition, caliber of players, quality of coaching and of course all the short comings of the OYSL.

As someone who has coached teams in the OYSL for many years and who currently sits on its board, I have become a bit of a historian, an amateur anthropologist and an armchair economist when it comes to the OYSL. I love this league. I love what it stands for, (the top of the pyramid) I love the people who work hard to make it work…its board, players, coaches and clubs, and I love how its helped hundreds of kids leverage their skills for a university education that forever enhances their quality of life.

But because I love the OYSL so much, I can see its shortcomings, I can hear the complaints, and I can feel everyone’s frustrations. The questions being asked are both simple and clear…If the OYSL was launched by the OSA to be the province’s “top of the Pyramid of play” then why are the best players not always there? Why are the best coaches not always there? Why are the best teams not always there? Who’s to blame? Where should fingers be pointed? More importantly, can we fix the problems so that the OYSL is indeed the top of the pyramid-of-play?

There are 3 changes that can make the OYSL the great league we dream of for our youth players:
1 – Completely change the promotion/relegation format and adopt a play-off system to decide who should and should not be promoted or relegated.

2 – Erase all residency restrictions for the player composition of teams.

3 – Introduce a higher minimum proficiency requirement for coaching in the league.

Let’s look at each individually:
Promotion/Relegation – Because the league has a requirement to represent all parts of the province, (regardless of caliber of play) the OYSL is required to relegate up to 4 teams per year and accept teams automatically into the OYSL from the north, east and western parts of the province. It begins at U15 but becomes even more pronounced at U16…caliber of play weakens because promoted teams are usually weaker than the ones being relegated. The players on the relegated teams scamper to finds spots on the better of the remaining GTA teams, making them even stronger in the process.

Combine this with the painful statistic showing that between U14 and U18 we lose up to 73% of our athletes and you can see why people begin to recognize a significant disparity between teams at U16, whose continued erosion, leads to so many once promising teams completely disappearing before U18.
The solution is simple. Champion teams from the feeder leagues to the OYSL must compete in a play-off with the four bottom OYSL teams to determine who should go down and who should come up. Only the proven best would remain in the league that way.

2 – Residency Rule – All rules such as the one above and the residency rule come from good intentions. Unfortunately those intentions can also (unknowingly) corrupt the integrity of the principal which is supposed to drive the pyramid-of-play concept. If we have 10 teams in any division, then those 180 roster spots should be open to the best 180 players regardless of where they live. By restricting player movement then the concept of the best playing with the best is no longer true. Have residency rules for the development leagues, but allow the best players to compete for the 180 spots for any division of the league which is supposed to be the platform for showcasing our brightest talent.

3 – Coaching - Seems like a no brainer this one. If all coaches were required to have a “B” License or higher, the bar would be raised significantly for player development standards. The excuse is not enough B licensed coaches are available. We can fix that. First introduce the incentive. No B License coach, no team. Then make it easier to access these courses by increasing their frequency and availability. It’s very doable and very necessary.
Finally, we seem to always try and fix problems by inventing new leagues and therefore introducing more redundancies and bureaucracy to the system. Of course this sucks out even more precious dollars away from player development so we can pay for more staff, building leases, more photocopiers, fax machines, computers, software and telephone systems. We have this platform called the OYSL which was set up to be the top of the pyramid of play. Lets treat it that way rather than undermining it. If we want the semi-pro CSL to have a youth league then make it a division of the OYSL specifically for their program and leverage the existing infrastructure already paid for. Same for the academies.

If we can make these simple adjustments and resist the temptation to reinvent another wheel then player development will take a gigantic step forward in Ontario

[Broadway]

Gerry,

Please check your PM.

Broadway.

[gondor]

Thank you G. You put pen to paper and stated perhaps the most thoughtful, honest opinion and ideas of what exsits and is missing with the OYSL. I hope you are not attacked for it in this forum or with OYSL officials and I do not think you will be because of the professional manner in which you addressed some of the biggest issues and some ideas to correct them. I would add, and will be attacked, that I feel that there is great expectation for 12 and 13 year olds in soccer of the approaching OYSL. It is where the wheat will be separated from the chaff. Full 90 minute games. Positions begin to be solidified based on skill and proven results in game conditions. Fields are to be of quality. Referring is to be of quality, more profesional, always 3 to a field and a backup on call. It is to be what top 11, 12 and 13 year olds have been waiting for when they are disappointed at tournaments pre U14 where top team coaches will evade compettion with each other and or never see the quality matchups with poor conditions, inadequate officiating or short, keep it simple approach stretegies for short in time duration games.

The top pre-teen and 13 yr old players are expecting to see game in and out competiton where they will see how good they are, show some skill and see some skill and at a pace much higher than any practice session has provided. It is supposed to be a player's league. And then, it just does not seem to happen. Agreed 14 and 15 is pretty good and then the fizzle. But the trickle to the fizzle began almost immediatley at age 13 and 14.

The moment an OYSL coach keeps a player on his or her team as they are about to enter or to continue with another season of OYSL, and that player is not skilled enough, conditioned enough, passionate enough to be playing at OYSL level the integrity of the highest level of pyramid play is in question and the decline begins as fast as the incline began. The same can be true of the officiating. I am not sure why that is. You have Yonge St. west meeting Yonge St. east together in one league. The lower leagues remain structured and east stays east and west stays west into the later teens. But the OYSL with so much Ontario populace, evenly divided for the most part and yet the OYSL model fizzles. It does not do what hockey does in Ontario and across each province. And what you propose Gerry really is pretty darn close to that hockey model with just as many participants and volunteers and professionals in place.

So why hasn't there been the changes you listed made? Who is stopping the provisions, the ideas you and others put forward? Who is being stuborn? Who is saying we can't there from here and what is their reasoning?

[Realityhurts]

Some great information and making the time to share. The difficult solution is the "Next Step".

[Canada10]

agreed 100%^^

[Gerry]

Gondor, thanks for the kind words and input. No need to worry about attacks. Have received an overwhelming amount of responses through PM's and email and I'm happy to say it was all very positive and in many cases passionate. Seems this topic and my post has struck a cord...a senstive one.

The most common question was, "why if you are on the OYSL Board with these great ideas, can't you get them implemented?" Valid question. Being still relatively new to the board I'm still learning my way around and how the process of working through the OSA's competition committee to implement changes works. The board is filled with great people, all eager and working hard to make it an even better league than it is, so we will get there.

I'm confident we will get there through cooperation with the OSA not by fighting with them. One great suggestion that kept coming up over and over again was to merge the OISL with the OYSL and make it a year round provincial program. I really like that concept as I've seen it work in other parts of the world where they have severe winters like ours. Stay tuned.

[Marcel]

Gondor, thanks for the kind words and input. No need to worry about attacks. Have received an overwhelming amount of responses through PM's and email and I'm happy to say it was all very positive and in many cases passionate. Seems this topic and my post has struck a cord...a senstive one.

The most common question was, "why if you are on the OYSL Board with these great ideas, can't you get them implemented?" Valid question. Being still relatively new to the board I'm still learning my way around and how the process of working through the OSA's competition committee to implement changes works. The board is filled with great people, all eager and working hard to make it an even better league than it is, so we will get there.

I'm confident we will get there through cooperation with the OSA not by fighting with them. One great suggestion that kept coming up over and over again was to merge the OISL with the OYSL and make it a year round provincial program. I really like that concept as I've seen it work in other parts of the world where they have severe winters like ours. Stay tuned.

Excellent work my friend, it's about time someone who has some sort of say in the matter is actually trying to progress this league forward. Wish you the best of luck, maybe then this country will see some gradual youth development.

[athlete4forever]

Actually, I don't think there is a lack of interest in soccer, but rather things are changing. Creme of the crop have moved on to the next level of play, the CSL & CSL RESERVE. And, the good thing about it is there will be representation of many regions of each province. Where there was only Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec looked at in previous years from National team, they will be able to look at players from many regions across the provinces.
CSL will be across Canada. Although, the Reserves are U21, and the main teams are over that age, we have 16 year olds who have gone to these teams from the OYSL of last year. It gives a chance to the pool of current players in OYSL to step it up and have a place to go when they are ready to face the next level. It doesn't mean the OYSL is not good enough it served its purpose in preparing these players to the next level. OYSL is still a good league - however for those who would like the next challenge, they have a place to go rather than give up on Canadian soccer. Were these 16 year olds ready for this level of play, definitely yes, and the parents can not buy their way through this. It would definitely look silly...OYSL & CSL can work hand in hand with this. And, OYSL definitely has changed from last year, as in previous years in this age group, but, players are not quitting soccer as before but have avenues they did not know they had. OYSL-Some teams will drop down and others will rise as in previous years, etc. If you want to see where these players have gone just come out to some of the games, they are on the weekends, Saturdays at ST. Joan of Arc High School in Vaughan.