Story and photo submitted by St. Thomas Soccer Club
When the OSA established the Long Term Player Development (LTPD) model over the last few years, the St. Thomas Soccer Club (STSC) was quick to adopt it throughout all of their programs. As Ontario, and the rest of Canada, made the move more toward this new model of player development, the STSC quickly reformatted its House League program to better prepare the players for a future in soccer.
The STSC Council, with the guidance of Technical Director Sam Buragina, established new formats for the U4-U12 House League divisions. These new programs followed the LTPD model for player development, which meant a significant change to the early-stage development of players within the club.
The 2014 season marks the second year of the two-year transition originally planned by STSC Council, led by President Robin Granger, to successfully implement the OSA’s recommendations. Key members of the STSC Council are excited about what the future will bring for the Club now that the House League program has a stronger base for player development.
“Our House League program is the most important part of our Club’s future,” said Robert Meth, STSC Youth Competitive Director. “Today’s U4-U8 players are the players who will be representing our Club over the next 10+ years, so it is very important that we do everything in our power today to ensure their long-term growth within this game. The OSA provided us the roadmap for these players, and as a Council we felt strongly that implementing these programs as quickly as possible would show rapid improvement for our Club’s competitive program in the near future.”
Part of the 2014 plan involved the purchase of new 5’x8’ goals for the U7/8 divisions. With a tremendous assist from the Green Lane Community Trust Fund, the STSC added the new recommended nets for this key age group.
Noted STSC Technical Director, Sam Buragina: “The U7/8 Division is key for us, as it is the year before players begin play within the Competitive Program. That means that it is an important time for us to identify and develop our future competitive players.”
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