This past weekend, two former players from the Montreal Impact hosted their annual combine-showcase for Quebec based players. They hold their event over 2 weekends, a male and female version held over a two day period. The showcase consists of scrimmages where various coaches from different universities and colleges have the chance to evaluate them and if interested try and sell them on their school.
The Ribiero-Moojen combine has been been taking place for a few years now and each year the event has grown. This year, Quebec based coaches from the RSEQ were formally invited and you even had a few cegep coaches in attendance since there were some Gr 11 students participating. The showcase brought together about 60 players ranging in age from 15 to 19 years old, players still in high school, some in cegep and some having already finished cegep and looking for a final opportunity to be seen primarily by a US coach. Having attended various type of showcase over the years, you always arrive hoping to find that one magic player that will turn your soccer program around but the fact is that if the player is that good, she will attract interest from lots of schools, some of which, especially in the US are able to offer more that we can, or least that is the perception. The reality is that recruitment players in an ongoing process over time, Seeing a player in various games, in training, getting to know them, their academic ambitions, their motivations, their personalities and how they might fit in with the plans I as a coach have for my soccer program. The dream of a US scholarship is strong with many of our younger soccer players. This is not unique to Quebec but nationwide although the language barrier does come into play on occasion. I can understand the lure of US university sports and the perceived better quality of play, the idea of big scholarships providing for a free education etc. Unfortunately, the reality is that their is a wide range of experiences with attending school and being a varsity athlete in the US and many of factors that affect the quality of the experience having nothing to do with the soccer itself. Their are thousands of universities and colleges in the US when you take into account the 3 NCAA divisions and the various NIAI conferences. Players hear about top programs like UCLA, North Caroline, Florida, Portland etc and thing that every school is like that. Or they might think about using their soccer to receive a scholarship at a top academic school. The very truth of the matter is that soccer wise, the top 20 or 25 schools won't look outside of their borders unless the athlete is an established international level player. With respect to the top academic schools, the requirements to be admitted are such that the athletic component is a small consideration for admission. If academics are the primary driving force for choosing a school, why wouldn't a local student attend McGill or Montreal whose academic entry requirements are on par with any of the US top schools and the cost is at a fraction. The reality is that with so many schools fielding soccer programs in the US, the possibilities of playing varsity sport somewhere is fairly good if a player is of a decent caliber. In Quebec, we have only 8 universities with soccer on the female side and there are only 53 universities and perhaps 30 degree granting colleges across Canada so the possibilities are limited somewhat. Having worked with the provincial teams and National Training Center and now at a university for the last 15 years, my position has always been that each individual needs to make the decision that is best suited for them. If leaving home to study and play varsity soccer is their preferred path then by all means, they should make every effort to achieve it. The important thing however is for the student-athlete to do their research. What is the "real" cost of attending a US school on scholarship. Someone may receive a 75% scholarship with a value of $15,000 and but still have to cover an additional $5000 (or more ) is US money, not to mention soft or associated costs which can quickly become $10,000 CDN per year, when the same amount could over more than 2 full years at a local university. Are the degrees offered recognized and compatible in Canada, Is there academic support? Is the the scholarship guaranteed over the full course of study? There are as many stories of students going south and having a negative experience as those who return having gone through a fulfilling one. In terms of this weekend's showcase itself., it was well organized. It had a varying degree of talent but overall was hard to really judge because of the significant age range. As a coach, you tend to approach these showcase looking to find that one or two players that might address a need you have and then when you speaking to them, hope that your university is of interest to them. The showcase also serves to perhaps get younger players on our radar so that we can follow their progress over the next few years and start an early dialogue about what Concordia could offer them. I left the showcase with a few interesting candidates for the future, players I will monitor over the next couple of years and try and see about how they might fit in at Concordia and how Concordia might be able to attract them.
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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