Episode 10 -Prep for Summer Season

Sanford Carabin

Welcome back. It’s been a few months since our last podcast, and a lot has happened since then. There’s been plenty to reflect on, plenty to talk about, and this feels like the perfect time to reconnect. In this episode, I want to bring you up to date on what’s been happening, share a few key thoughts, and look ahead to what’s coming next.

Sanford Carabin

Jumping right in, there has been a few announcements from Ontario Soccer that are making the rounds with key leaders in the game as they will materially impact the operations of most organizations.. The first one is the grassroots playing up limit. As of late January, clubs are now limited to a maximum of three players playing up per age group at the grassroots ages. And look, the issue for most clubs isn’t even the existence of the rule. It’s the timing. A lot of clubs had already gone through player selection work for the 2026 outdoor season before this was introduced, so now technical and executive directors are stuck cleaning up decisions that may have been made in good faith under a different assumption.

Sanford Carabin

Practically, that creates three headaches right away: roster imbalance, tough conversations with families, and then a real need to re-check your player pathway logic. Ontario Soccer’s process, from what’s been shared, is fairly simple on paper—you submit a fast-tracking form, it routes through the district for approval. Fine. But if you’re already over the limit, now you’re relying on special dispensations for this summer, and I would not build future planning around exceptions.

Sanford Carabin

The second item is the OPDL and CPL academy exhibition format. Ontario Soccer has announced that CPL academies—Forge, TFC, and Inter Toronto—will play exhibition matches against OPDL Boys teams this season. And just to be clear, the concept itself is interesting. Exposure to more professional environments earlier in the pathway? Sure, there’s potential value there. But the concern I’m hearing—and honestly, I share it—is around execution. There appears to have been little or no prior consultation with clubs, there’s limited clarity on logistics, and participation is reportedly mandatory.

Sanford Carabin

That matters because directors don’t manage ideas, they manage calendars, staffing, fields, budgets, recovery, and parent expectations. So when something drops into an already congested season, it’s not just a nice strategic headline. It affects player load management. It affects staffing allocations. It affects budgets and facility planning. And maybe most importantly, it affects trust in the system if clubs feel they’re being told rather than engaged. I’ve been around enough club environments to know this: even good ideas can become bad operations if governance lags behind implementation.

Sanford Carabin

Now, a more useful and immediate opportunity for clubs to add some revenue — the Circle K Celebration Festival Grants are back for 2026. This is the type of thing that busy clubs sometimes overlook because everybody is putting out fires. Don’t overlook it. The deadline is April 3, 2026. If your club is running grassroots festivals in the spring or summer, this is real financial support. It can help offset hosting costs, improve the player experience, and support community engagement. That’s real value.

Sanford Carabin

And for directors, I’d frame this as low-hanging fruit. You’re not reinventing your club. You’re applying for available support that can reduce operational pressure and improve visibility in your community. If you have somebody on staff or a strong administrator who can own grants and partnerships, this should be on their desk now, not next week. Because next week in a soccer club usually becomes next month

Sanford Carabin

The next cluster of updates tells us something bigger about where the game is going in Ontario. At the recent Soccer Summit, OPDL club leaders were consulted on the development of a new Executive Director Diploma Course, and I think that’s worth paying very close attention to. We already understand technical leadership pathways. Like the Technical Director's Diploma. But this suggests Ontario Soccer is moving toward formalizing club management education in a similar way.

Sanford Carabin

In plain terms, that means Ontario Soccer is attempting to standardize the qualifications for club leadership within organizations. Governance, operations, organizational planning—those areas are no longer sitting in the background while all the attention goes to coaches and players. And honestly, that’s overdue. Clubs have become more complex. Expectations are higher. Compliance is tighter. Parent communication is constant. Revenue pressure is real. So the old model of “good volunteer plus experience equals enough” is probably not going to be enough much longer.

Sanford Carabin

I might be wrong on the exact timing, because these things can move slower than expected, but I would not be surprised if this course gets launched before the end of the year with a steep price tag. My guess is that Ontario Soccer makes this a mandatory requirement for all National Licensed Clubs and eventually rolls it out to become mandatory for all Provincial Level clubs in two years.

Sanford Carabin

So what does this mean. ....... Clubs currently without qualified people running the day to day leadership will need to upskill in several areas and if your someone in an executive director or general manager role already, start asking where your own gaps are—governance, HR, budgeting, risk management, strategic planning, whatever it is.

Sanford Carabin

On the coaching education side, Ontario Soccer has launched the new Goal player Coach Certificate and Diploma, in collaboration with Frans Hoek. The naming of the course reflects a shift in language and, more importantly, in philosophy—from goalkeeper to goalplayer. Registration opened for this pilot course, held at the Ontario Soccer Centre, the cost listed is 800 dollars, and the registration deadline is June 8. So there’s still time.

Sanford Carabin

Finally, there’s the recent AFC Toronto Academy launch, which is another significant structural marker in the girls’ pathway. AFC academy will now replace the current NDC program and begin operating at the end of this summer season. They will be targeting players in the 2013 to 2012 age bands and the 2011 to 2009 age bands, with year-round programming. The player identification window for the AFC Academy will commence immediately till end of June. Players currently involved with the NDC, OPDL players and club recommendations. will form the scouting network. To me, this is a very clear sign that the female pathway in Ontario is becoming more layered, more formalized, and frankly more competitive.

Sanford Carabin

For clubs, that means two things. First, all clubs with high performance female programs are now directly part of a feeder ecosystem into the professional women's game. You can directly recommend players to AFC's Academy Director for consideration at any time and their staff will assess. Second, your internal player tracking and reporting for high potetial players will need to improve. If your club is interested in recommendations, then vague impressions aren’t enough. You need accurate evaluation processes, a strong understanding of player profiling and qualified staff to oversee player development.

Sanford Carabin

OK, let’s shift into a practical discussion to improve club operations.

Sanford Carabin

Question? How many clubs out their are struggling at the moment to keep up with daily phone enquiries in their office? Whether its from current families enquiring about the accounts, potential new customers calling to find out our your programs, camps, or registration deadlines or your ditrict association trying to contact you about rosters, league fees, etc. The fact is many clubs do not have the staffing capacity to keep up.

Sanford Carabin

Well now there is an credible solution. A few weeks ago I came across a company that fits very well within the Youth soccer environment. its is called Fonoi . ai

Sanford Carabin

At its core, this Ai platform handles four things:

Sanford Carabin

First it can act as your virtual Front Desk. Its AI assistant handles incoming calls and seamlessly transfers them to the right club members when needed. Second, it can transcribe all customer inquiries via voice message, transcribe them, log them and send them straight to your office managers inbox. Thirdly, act as a customer service agent after hours, handling customer inquiries 24/7 and finally, most importantly process orders, think registration sign ups for your camps, house league program, providing fast service with automated 24/7 request processing.

Sanford Carabin

Now, why does this matter? Because if we’re honest, most clubs are still missing calls during peak periods—whether that’s registration windows or the start of the season. And when calls are missed, those are often lost registrations.

Sanford Carabin

So the impact here is pretty straightforward. Clubs that start integrating tools like this will begin to operate more like professional service organizations—structured, responsive, and data-driven—rather than relying on reactive, volunteer-based systems.

Sanford Carabin

Before we wrap up, I want to touch on some recent competition results and the broader calendar, because directors should always be scanning both development and visibility. Ontario Soccer’s Futsal Cup wrapped up, and there are a few winners worth recognizing. In youth divisions, FC Toronto won the U16 boys, Mississauga won the U16 girls, Waterloo FC took the U18 boys, and Unionville won the U18 girls. In the senior divisions, 9 De Octubre won the men’s title, and Windsor Caboto won the women’s title.

Sanford Carabin

Ontario Soccer’s reporting also noted that 9 De Octubre beat GS Toronto Idolo 5–3 in the men’s final for a fourth straight championship, and Windsor Caboto beat GS United 5–3 in the women’s final to complete a third straight title. Those aren’t just results on a page. That consistency matters. It tells you there are environments taking futsal seriously, and there’s a lesson in that for outdoor clubs too.

Sanford Carabin

I still think futsal is under-leveraged in Ontario. And I’ve believed that for a long time. Not because it’s trendy—because it works. It sharpens technical speed, decision-making in tight spaces, and ball mastery under pressure. Those are transferable qualities. If your players struggle in crowded moments, if first touch breaks down under pressure, if the speed of play jumps and they can’t solve it quickly, futsal can help address that. Not as a magic fix, but as a real development tool.

Sanford Carabin

I want to finish this months podcast on a personal note. This past month—Ontario Soccer recently recognized a good friend of mine Elvis Thomas with a feature on their website. It’s a well-deserved acknowledgment for someone who has contributed to the game across multiple levels. Elvis has a background that reflects the full spectrum of football—from amateur through a professional career that allowed him to represent Canada to playing NCAA Division 1, to a long-standing career as a youth coach and high school teacher, shaping players and students for decades. On a personal note, when I first entered the coaching pathway, Elvis and I completed the Ontario B License together. What stood out to me during that time was his resilience. Despite facing a very challenging learning environment, he stayed committed, completed the course, and continued to progress in the game.

Sanford Carabin

Congrats Elvis....your recognition was long overdue.

Sanford Carabin

Ok that wraps up this edition of the Directors Corner. Hope your enjoyed it. Moving forward, we aim to be more regular in our podcasting and are currently working on building an Ai program for both Executive Directors and Technical Directors. Thanks again for listening in.