A new Ontario Soccer Association mandate will guarantee that more soccer games end in a nil-nil draw.
The OSA announced changes for youth soccer that introduces no-score matches. The long-term player development strategy, which is being directed by Sports Canada, focuses on skill development instead of winning and losing.
The mandate will take effect this year for all children younger than 12.
The Canadian Soccer Association and its provincial counterparts have been working on this strategy for a couple of years and based the idea on a United Kingdom strategy.
Dave Colistro, regional coach for the Ontario Soccer Association, said they’ve seen substantial drop off of players near the ages of 15 and 17 years old. The primary reason for players leaving the sport is a lack of success.
Colistro hopes the new strategy will keep players interested in the game longer.
“They move onto other things and we have attract them to stay with our game,” Colistro said. “Our goal is to give them the tool to be successful at later stages of life so they stay with the game. We’re not reinventing the wheel here. They looked at Germany, Holland and they’ve all implemented the long-term development plan. They just named it differently.”
He said they aren’t looking at eliminating the competitive streams for youth under 12 years old; they’re simply not keeping score anymore.
Colistro believes Thunder Bay will adopt the no-scoring concept much better than other parts of the province. He said southern Ontario clubs are more focused on winning and only pick the best athletes in their group to play and neglect children who aren’t as strong or able to compete yet.
Those players are losing the opportunity to develop and eventually lose interest in the game.
“We have to take that winning mentality away and focus on the entire group instead of one or two or three individuals,” he said. “I think Thunder Bay is ahead of the curb but areas in southern Ontario I’ve seen are just cutthroat and coaches just want to win.
“I think there’s a difference between winning and being better. Trying to explain that to a parent sometime is difficult but in Thunder Bay we haven’t had a lot of push back.”
He added the philosophy will be beneficial for every sport that follows it.
Trevor Hosanna, general manager for Hockey Northwestern Ontario, said he’s interested in seeing how this new strategy plays out with soccer. He pointed out that HNO doesn’t keep score for children’s hockey between the ages of four and six because the emphasis is more on having fun.
It’s not until the players reach the nine or 10 year old category that it becomes more competitive, he said.
“There’s definitely some children and some parents that are very competitive,” he said. “That is a challenge sometimes. It’ll be interesting to watch with this new strategy. I’m intrigued by the idea that’s for sure.”
