Episode 7 - April 21, 2025 - Summer Season Kickoff Time!

Sanford Carabin

Welcome everyone to the latest version of the Directors Corner Podcast for the week of April 21st 2025.

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In every episode we bring you the latest news important to EDs and TDs across Ontario as well as offer workplace tools to improve your the day to day productivity.

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Coming up on this week's episode we look at whats hot in terms of news around Ontario from a player and coach development point of view, new elearning modules launched by Canada soccer, the long awaited kickoff of the NSL and what some of the teams in Ontario are doing to engage female players, a review of a new video software program out of Poland that is in my opinion, the most affordable and robust tool on the market, and finally a quick round-up of the events on the horizon that you should be aware of.

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Alright, let’s dive into some exciting updates from Canada Soccer.

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This week, Canada Soccer plans to launch a series of new eLearning modules designed to support members in fostering inclusivity, cultural awareness, and accessibility within communities across Canada. These modules reinforce a commitment to creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all participants.

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The Four modules being released include: a Cultural Awareness module designed to help sport leaders understand the concept of culture and its impact on interactions within diverse communities. An Inclusion module focused on creating an inclusive environment for individuals in soccer including practical strategies to promote acceptance, reduce barriers, and ensure that everyone can participate in soccer without fear of discrimination or exclusion.

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A New Residents to Canada Module which addresses the barriers newcomers to Canada may face when participating in soccer and finally an Adapted Soccer workshop to equip soccer leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to develop successful disability soccer programs.

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All these modules are available on Canada's Soccer eLearning Platform – SmarterU. Contact community@canadasoccer.com for more details.

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Staying with Canada Soccer, I wanted to bring you up to speed on the latest offering for coaching development. More specifically the Accelerate Her female coaching program.

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As we all know, the program was created to attract, educate, mentor and support more female coaches and provide a more equitable landscape for women in coaching roles. Now into its second year, the program will once again be offering a fully-funded, all-women Concacaf B Diploma for 36 coaching candidates.

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The Application Window is currently open and closes on May 30, 2025. If you have coaches that meet the requirements and are interested, please have them visit the canada soccer website and search for accelerate her.

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The selection process includes a screening between May and June, with responses to all applicants no later than June 30th. Selected candidates will have thirty days to accept their place on the course.

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This is massive because as we all know ...female coaching initiatives have been making steady progress over the past few years but speaking to many Clubs in Ontario .....they continue to be challenged to secure coaches for their respective High Performance programs. And with clubs now require to ensure a female coach is present on the bench for all high-performance female teams, the gap between demand and available qualified coaches continues to strain the system. Offering another fully funded B License will go a long way to addressing this gap and building the female coaching pool.

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Switching now to a provincial focus.

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The Ontario Provincial Xcel Team Trial program conducted its annual age group trials over the past 4 weeks for players identified by scouts from the Ontario Player Development League, League1 Ontario, and the Talent on Location program. This year, over 600 athletes showcased their skills at the Provincial Screening Competitions, making the final selections truly competitive.

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The trials are now officially complete, and the Ontario Provincial Xcel Teams for 2025 have officially been selected. These age group teams will now represent the province in competitions in the next few weeks against various opponents including the province of Quebec. If your interested in the full list of players selected, Visit the Ontario Soccer instagram account as well as their website.

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Staying with Ontario, I want to acknowledge the 17 Ontario Clubs that have receive National Club licensing status recently. Among the Ontario Soccer club recipients, shout out to Newmarket, Bryst and North York Academy for being awarded the Member Association Level 2 designation, and 14 other Clubs around Ontario earning their Quality Soccer Provider status.

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Why is this important?

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Well if your thinking of applying for funding for any Canada soccer programs, for instance: small grants Canada Soccer offers from time to time......you will only be considered if you have a Club license designation. Otherwise you willnot be eligible to apply.

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Well this past week history was made in Canada.

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The inaugural games in the NSL were played with Vancouver and Calgary and AFC toronto and montreal. There was nothing better than seeing a Ontario home grown player.....Quinn .....scoring the first ever goal in the league. Both games drew over fourteen thousand fans which is very positive start to the league.

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According to Casey Stoney, who attended the games, she is quoted as saying "You have to be patient. You have to give it time to grow. And we have to put money and investment in to make sure it grows in the right direction — at the right speed."

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And speaking of leadership, let’s talk about what both AFC Toronto and Ottawa Rapid have done to engage players. Both have launched outreach programs geared toward young girls. These initiatives—like mentorship clinics and reduced barriers to entry—are, you know, setting a benchmark. Imagine if every club across the province adopted even some of these measures.

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Let’s shift gears now and talk about something a little closer to operation, workplace effectiveness. Honestly, in our line of work, whether you’re running a club or managing programs, staying organized can feel like a full-time job sometimes. So, what tools can you use to make life easier and work, you know, a bit more streamlined?

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Well, this week I wanted to highlight a tool specifically on the technical side for coaches and TDs. It is called Live tag pro by Pro Train up.

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Its an all inclusive video tagging, telestration and video sharing software program, based out of Poland, that has entered the market the past year and has already garnered a great response at both the pro and amateur club levels.

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Designed for soccer coaches to conduct meaningful and robust analysis for their teams. It also has a live code feature. From tagging key moments, to reviewing post match to telestration drawing tools to export and share features, the software is soup to nuts. IN fact, its the most inclusive video analysis software on the market.

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Think of generating playlists and exporting clips for sharing with your coaching staff or players. It’s especially useful for speeding up the review process, turning hours of game video into digestible clips that focus on what matters most for player development or tactical adjustments.

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I spoke with the owner of the software last month to understand its core features and tested it for 30 days....it not only does everything a club needs but is very affordable at an annual subscription rate of $400 US.

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Check it out at live tag pro .com

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If anyone is interested in testing it out, please reach out to me at psg soccer .com and I will can arrange a 30 day trial.

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If more than 10 clubs are interested, I will work with the owner to look at a discount.

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Alright, let’s look ahead at what’s on the horizon for Ontario Soccer. First up, if your looking for an outdoor kickoff event to prep for the summer, check out the following events due to start in late April and May.

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For those looking for 11v11 games, the Oshawa Kicks Frank Sobil tournament has two weekends in May and the entry deadline is next week, spaces are very limited. Reach out to Jeremy at the Club for details. Alternatively, the Barrie spiritfest is scheduled for May 24th and 25th and would be a good event for teams playing at both the district and regional levels.

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If your looking for a grassroots festival for your U8 to U12 teams, the Milton Magic Spring Classic festival scheduled for Saturday, May 10, 2025 would be a very good option. Reach out to David at the Club for more details.

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Next, a quick note on the 2025 MilkUP Ontario Outdoor Cup. The draw results are out, and it’s, honestly, one of the most exciting tournaments on the calendar. Dates for each round and each division are posted and the competition officially kicks off in late may.

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Special offers are also coming in strong. The Canada Men’s National Team will be facing Ukraine and Côte d’Ivoire in June at BMO Field.... single-day tickets are now on sale.

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And that about wraps things up for today’s episode. Thank you for tuning in to "Directors Corner - Ontario Soccer Weekly." Until next time, take care, and let’s keep building the game we love.