Joel MacDonald says there's no place for elitism in youth soccer.
As technical director of the Prince George Youth Soccer Association, he sees no reason why the best players in the city can't share the practice field with players who share the same ambition to play for a travelling team. He believes segregation closes the doors of opportunity for aspiring select team players and that's prompted changes in how select teams will be picked for the under-12 age categories.
Now five months into his job, MacDonald has helped spearhead growth of the PGYSA's Future Stars program, which began in March as a replacement for the development program.
"We're just taking what was already in place and giving it a few new looks," MacDonald said. "I think the intent was always there from the people who originally created it, but I don't know if it was executed with that intent -- to make sure it was a development program.
"Before, there were stories of how certain groups of players seemed to get more favourable treatment than others and what I'm trying to make certain of is that everybody gets the same training opportunity. A development program needs to be inclusive, because you can't call it development and be exclusive, that's elite. We're making it open to any nine- to 12-year-old in our house league program who can come up with the money to enter."
As in previous years, the best players will still be chosen for select teams, but MacDonald wants all Junior Stars players to believe they have a chance to represent their city on a team. To earn that perk, they have to be prepared to put in the time to develop their skills.
"There are more competition opportunities that are exclusive, mainly away trips that are select-team based, and this is the carrot," said MacDonald. "If we give you absolutely everything, then there's not competition, no need for self-discipline to get there to that group. Excellence is not talent, it's practice and hard work, it's not what you're born with.
"I don't look at a 12-year-old as either a rec player or a select player. To me, they're developmental and they don't know how good they can be and what they want to be, so why start to pigeonhole them. By giving one the opportunity and not the other, you start to shape their future."
MacDonald, 40, replaced Sipho Sibiya as the PGYSA's technical coach. Originally from Kanata, Ont., where he held a similar position in youth soccer, MacDonald is a sports science graduate of the University of New Brunswick who went on to earn a masters degree at UBC in coaching effectiveness, specializing in long-term athlete development.
Future Stars is an addition to the house league program which will run through the summer months, except the first two weeks of August, when the Rotary Field complex is closed for maintenance. The development program it replaced was open only to 11- and 12-year-olds. Now nine-and 10-year-olds are eligible.
In the 9-10 age category, 32 girls and 31 boys have signed up for Future Stars, while the 11-12 age class has attracted 35 girls and 64 boys. Players who missed the start of the program in March will have another chance to sign up this week, and again in July, once the house league shuts down.
Future Stars players are grouped according to ability, based on their scores in various skill tests, their ability to follow instructions, and how they react to game-type situations in scrimmages.
The indoor program just ended and two select teams from Future Stars played at an indoor tournament two weekends ago in Quesnel. At a gold-level outdoor tournament in Kelowna two weekends ago, the Prince George U-12 boys team finished second, losing 7-0 in the final to Pitt Meadows, a high-ranking team from the Metro Vancouver League.
"The gold-medal winning coach said [the Prince George team] was the best team they played all weekend and he said his team enjoyed playing against them because they actually tried to play soccer instead of just trying to get he ball down the field and score," said MacDonald. "To me, that's far more important than the score, because the trophy just gathers dust and goes in the closet. It's far more valuable to play the game properly."
