“IF John Tavares was a soccer player in Ontario, his coach would have appealed any attempt by anyone to steal his player. He would not be concerned with stunting the player’s growth.”

    Dino Rossi often cites the 17-year-old hockey phenom when explaining the troubles of grassroots soccer in Canada. Tavares, of course, was drafted into the Ontario Hockey league as a 14-year-old. He has since blossomed into one of junior hockey’s premier players. Rather than hinder his development, the hastened promotion to the OHL only served to fast-track his progress and maturity.

    Tavares, according to Rossi, represents the sort of developmental foresight that is sorely lacking at the Canadian Soccer Association. And on Monday, Rossi and the Canadian Soccer Supporters United group had the opportunity to voice their concerns to the CSA in Toronto. Accountability, governance, and coaching issues dominated the agenda.

    “They acknowledged that not much good has taken place over the past 18-months,” stated Rossi, in reference to the sudden resignation of CSA president Colin Linford and the ongoing lawsuit surrounding the mysterious hiring and firing of Chief Executive Officer Fred Nykamp. “We’re still not singing from the same songbook.”

    Flynn Beharry agrees. On behalf of the North York Hearts Soccer club, he chaired the Soccer in Crisis public forum in Toronto on Tuesday.

    “I think we had a very invigorating discussion,” commented Beharry. “But we need to rebuild and have a new structure – from the grassroots level to what people think a club should be.”

    And he should know. Canada’s entry in the past summer’s Under-20 World Cup included six former North York Hearts players. Only one, however – Ipswich Town midfielder Jaime Peters – earned a consistent spot in the squad. Despite being launched by the soccer factory at Hearts, those players, claims Beharry, fell victim to the sub-par coaching and organizational structures which are commonplace in Canada. Thus their failure to crack the Under-20 squad.

    CSA spokesman Richard Scott takes a slightly more positive approach.

    “The goals haven’t changed,” he said. “Over the next six months we’ll be discussing where we want to be and where we want to go.”

    He continued, “Soccer exploded this year. People actually have interest now when we have these meetings. Everybody has been watching. Everybody has been caring.”

    But Rossi isn’t totally convinced.

    “At the end of the day,” he said, “you still have the CSA completely resistant to change.”

    Scott and the CSA, however, embrace the passion that the likes of Rossi and Beharry convey.