Moving On and Melting Snow

The weather has turned here in K-Town, six degrees and a hint of rain, a welcome relief from what I've started calling an "old-fashioned" winter here on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Today's warmer, if not brighter day, as always raise people's spirits this time of year with hopes of better things to come and I'm no different. As I stepped over, around and sometimes in, the many puddles forming on the sidewalks during my daily lunch time walk in my mind closure finally came to my recent release as a club technical director.

Not sure what it was, conversations with friends over the past couple of days, this weekend's coaching symposium, more self analysis, a good night's sleep or just the hinted passing of the season that did it but whatever it was I came to the realization that this too shall pass and as always the pieces can be picked up and reassembled for the future.

Reflections on this matter two months later are much clearer than they were a week after and I've come to the conclusion although I was basically learning on the job the plan I put forward was perhaps a good one technically but was not acceptable politically and had some weaknesses that needed improvement.

If the much talked about 10,000 hours to become expert thesis is correct - I'm about 20% of the way there after two years of working part time for the club. They were 2,000 hours well spent learning about people, politics and the presentation and packaging of ideas. The club gave me a welcomed opportunity to do one of the few things I had not done in soccer in this country - be the technical director of a community based club and for that I will always be thankful despite the disappointing ending.

Signing on as a TD the challenges were immediate and many but personally the one that was the most difficult for me was transferring my strengths as a coach on the field (which I still feel confident about) to the board room where the decisions and ultimately my fate was decided.

Ultimately this inability to keep a foot in both places and operate well in both led to a build up of frustration on both sides that led to our parting of ways.

My intention here is to present the plan that I put forward and that was ultimately rejected by the board to garner feedback and to improve and modify as need be for the next time. Because I now believe, finally, like the changing of the seasons, there will be a next time.

Note: I've presented my speaking notes along with the slides to give as much context as possible - the missing handouts do not effect the general plan but provided operational details not pertinent to the discussion.

Thanks in advance for feedback and constructive criticism.

Bill Ault
bill@canadakicks.com

Frustration and Shifting Snows

According to some reports Randy Ragan has resigned as Technical Officer of the Ontario Soccer Association after just seven months in the position to return to the legal profession.

Sad but really not unanticipated as at the OSA's coaching conference earlier this month Ragan had a very low profile which seemed a little strange at the time since it was a technically oriented event and he was the OSA's technical face.

That a very intelligent man, a member of Canada's only World Cup team and a general all round good person has left the governing body of the sport in Canada's largest soccer province after just seven months shows, once again, the sad state of the governance of the game here in this country.

While no official reasons have yet leaked or been given out one can guess that sheer frustration sits right at the top of the list. One can plot, design and plan ways forward but if you are constantly stone-walled and don't see even small amounts of progress or hope it leads to frustration on both the personal and board side of things.

This issue strikes close to home personally as well because after two years as the Technical Director of a club here in Ontario I was told last week my contract would not be renewed at year's end and led to my resignation from the position. As I reflect a week later on my decision and a job left unfinished I have come to the conclusion that one of the major contributors to the decision was frustration on both sides.

Frustration with communication (both ways), frustration with change and the pace of change (too fast for some, too slow for others, too much for some, not enough for others) and frustration with differences in philosophy (player oriented or team oriented development) and finally frustration that both sides were both basically making it up as we went along.

In both Mr. Ragan's case and mine (if I can be so bold to compare them) it's not a question of being right or wrong on either side - it's the result in my opinion of not having specific developmental targets and defined pathways of development for players and coaches laid out so there are targets to strive for and goals to be measured.

The much talked about Long Term Athlete Development plan is a step in the right direction but if the governing bodies (from the CSA on down) do not provide developmental plans, guidelines to work to and expectations to measure and then reinforce them everyone is left basically doing their own thing and trying to find their own way forward.

The end result is everyone, players, parents, coaches, technical staff and clubs are left stumbling in the dark and more time, energy, effort and resources get wasted as everyone is left spinning their wheels in the shifting snows that are Canadian soccer.

Bill Ault
bill@canadakicks.com

PS - After a long hiatus from writing due my duties as Technical Director I'll be searching for a new approach for CanadaKicks as the blogosphere has more than enough sources for Canadian soccer news unlike 1995 when we started this thing. Thanks for your patience while we reorient ourselves.