During these unprecedented times, one thing remains constant: The desire to get on the field and kick the ball. Like other soccer leagues and clubs around the world, London TFC Academy and FC LONDON continue to keep players on the field as much as possible – in a safe and healthy environment.
After wrapping up the indoor season with a false start at BMO, the club has all teams back to training on their new Tricar field. Tricar field is an outdoor training facility including a full-sized state-of-the-art turf field, fenced and with energy-efficient lighting. The field also has a clubhouse used for strategy and lecture sessions, storage, a club office, concession area, and change rooms. Adhering to provincial guidelines, the field and clubhouse are already in heavy use for the 2021 season.
To kick-start things this spring, the club had a Tuesday night snow shoveling party attended by about 75 players, parents, and coaches, who shoveled for three hours while Mother Nature did the rest.
Starting the new season, Londoner Chris Loucks has taken on the role of Technical Director, bringing his Ontario Soccer experience to the club. Chris is a seasoned National level coach who will now keep the club focused on Ontario and Canadian youth club soccer standards.
“It is great to be involved with such a dedicated group of individuals, with one common goal,” says Loucks. “Every player and coach is focused, and we want to make sure there is alignment from the youngest players to the top of the club. With my experience at Ontario soccer, we will be continuing training and expanding our coaching staff as we focus on the player pathway.”
As the club looks over the horizon, they are optimistic that competitive play will be reinstituted at some point in 2021. “It will probably start out regionally and expand from there,” says David Debenedictis, GM of the club. “In the interim, we will be focusing on training, which is already actually 4/5 (80 percent) of the curriculum when you think about it. Practice makes perfect.”
Provincial guidelines, in tandem with Ontario Soccer, allow the program to run full training at levels Orange, Yellow or Green.
League One and League One Reserves for both Men and Women are also looking toward a competitive summer. Head Coach of League One teams, Michael Marcoccia, explains that “They hope to have the league up and running by mid-June at the latest. If it’s much later than that, it may be tough with players going back to college and university. Fingers crossed that we’ll see everyone in the stands soon. We’re training hard in anticipation of a full season ahead.”
Several London-based clubs have recently announced they will not be running programming in 2021.
“We can certainly understand the hesitation for some recreational clubs in the region to run programming this summer,” says Ian Campbell, FC LONDON CEO. “It’s a big undertaking and a lot of responsibility, especially with the volunteer staff. We are hoping that by continuing to run, players and parents will still have an avenue to pursue their passion for the game.”
Keep checking the website for further details (www.fclondonacademy.ca and www.fclondon.ca).
Submitted by London TFC Academy
