I have just about been in Holland now for 2 months, time is cruising right along; training sessions at the club are far and few in between, tournaments are coming to close; yet, I am still finding myself in situations I could only dream of having.

Don’t you ever wonder why things happen when you they do? Or haven’t you heard the cliché, “That was ironic?” We hear it all the time, even in songs, we all remember Alanis Morisette’s one CD wonder with her hit, “Isn’t it Ironic, Don’t you think?.” True or not, we all have moments we will never forget….

For example, Last year I was struggling if I should follow my passion in becoming a soccer trainer or head into real estate as I know I would be very successful in that line of work. I bumped into a man as I was heading out of  Staples on a warm sunny day to do my weekly business run; he asked me “Ezra what going on, How are you?” Usually, I just say the line, “O busy as usual” Again another cliché “How are you”, is just a superficial way of being polite; we both know most do not really care. I had not seen this man for a long time, but I respected his opinion, for some reason I quickly told him my dilemma.  Then all of a sudden I caught myself rambling, he said he had to go, ( I would have been bored too to hear myself ramble) as we walked our separate ways, I went on with my day. Except from about 20 yards away, he turned and yelled at me, “Ezra! Lifestyle, remember lifestyle!” I started to yell back but he had already turned away and out of sight. Lifestyle, remember lifestyle I kept repeating to myself. It then hit me with a ton of bricks, so simple yet so difficult, happiness or money? It became very clear, I would dedicate the best hours of my day (9-5 Monday to Friday) to following my passion of becoming the best soccer trainer I could…

In saying that,

I went to a coaching clinic in Tillburg, where I saw coaches from Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV put on sample practices sessions. I took lots of video, and learned many new drills. However; what hit me the most, was lunch…..

Over the last cpl of weeks, I had been brainstorming what path to take in my career as a soccer trainer. I think about all areas of soccer while ensuring I am happy in my personal life. I weigh out all the pros and cons and move forward with confidence from there.  At times, I am on the brink of being shy and not believing in my thoughts to being confident and excited about moving forward. That last statement could also be portrayed as needing an “ironic” moment to occur to reiterate my shy thoughts as sometimes I dream too big…. As I know I want to be a soccer trainer; I felt I was not sure where my clear thesis lies, until I had lunch that day!

During lunch I had bread, Dutch people love there bread! As I was finishing up we had some time to kill before out next presentation so we walked around and looked at various soccer exhibits. Marco van Lochem introduced me to a man name Dwight, we ended up talking for few minutes.

In that few minutes, I found out Dwight had played soccer in Edmonton in the 80’s, after checking some archives I believe it was the Edmonton Drillers.  We threw around names such as Dale Mitchell (National Coach of Canada), Bruce Wilson to name a couple.  Dwight gave me some advice that struck a chord, it was like putting in that last piece in a 1000 piece puzzle, the picture became clear.

I did not know who Dwight was until after, he is currently the Asst. Coach of PSV, and former coach Grampus Eight (Japan), El Jazihara (United Emirates) and FC Groningen.

And NO, I will not tell you what he told me. J

 I am feeling more enlightened then ever, my thesis is clear, my desire strong…..the rest is best unsaid, as actions speak louder then words, I guess we all,  myself included, will have to wait and find out….

              Last weekend, I went with the U19 Excelsior group to Dourges, France for a tournament.  We traveled for more then 3 hours to get to our location.  The preparation was unbelievable; we had a cargo van loaded with gear and equipment. We brought 5 different kit, one for each game, and at least 3 different kit for after the game.  Heading to the tournament we were all full of optimism and positive energy….

               The Dourges tournament had 10 teams from 8 different countries; England, Sweden, Romania, France, Croatia, Denmark, and Russia to name a few.  It was very interesting to see the different styles based on where they came from. I can see how Canada has been heavily influenced by English football. There was 2 pools of 5, game’s were 40 minutes in length.

             Excelsior’s first game was against Denmark, Excelsior has a chance to score the first goal. They ended up losing the first game. Games are so quick and in most cases the team who scores the first goal usually wins. Having shorter games keeps the tempo of the game high and enjoyable to watch.                                    Excelsior’s second was ended up having the same result as the first game, another loss. Excelsior just did not really seem like they wanted to play, it was interesting to witness. They were the most technical, the field was not that good at all, but the desire to beat the other team was just not present. The other teams were more powerful with a style that was not as technical, but they had a desire to win.                            I suddenly started questioning why? what, how? I do not understand,,, except during the trip I was reading a book called “Brilliant Orange” the neurotic genius of dutch football by David Winner.  When I finished I hit an epiphany, I went back to all the pages I put an “ear”on to look back and read again.  I found a really interesting paragraph and it goes like this…. 

We are small and we lack power, but we think the whole world will adopt us as a model of enlightenment.  We have such a strong sense of moral superiority that it’s not so important to us if we win or lose.  It’s like the self-legitimation of a small country which says it’s no scandal to lose against superior military force when outnumbered. When we lose, it’s always because of “brutal force”.  We never think we lose of the elegance or creativity of another team.  No, it’s because they used brutal force, which is simply not relevant to us because we are playing a different, better, higher game, which the referee also happens not to understand.  We won’t lower ourselves to your level, but if it makes you happy to destroy our elegance, then go ahead![1]

 To elaborate more, I suggest reading the book; moreover, another great book to read is: “How soccer explains the world”  Auther: Franklin Foer             Coach Marco van Lochem was not pleased at all. You have the most skilled team in the tournament yet they are not performing like one.  Marco had a meeting with the team, I was present and I wish I could have told you what he said, but it was all in Dutch; however, Marco did tell me after the meeting the captain talked to the team, they concluded that the next day they would get 6 points in two games….                                An old neighbor I used to have who witnessed when Canada helped liberate Holland used to always tell me “A Dutchmen is very nice, but do not make him mad”                                 This was very true on the second day of the tournament, the first game was against a young Russian squad, victory came at ease. The second game was against a team that if they beat Excelsior they would win the pool and head into the final.  Hmmm another loss playing against one of the toughest teams in the tournament? One would think so but let’s not forget the Dutch are pissed….                         Now, I have read books and heard so much of the Dutch style of play “Total Voetball” but I had never really seen it in person in such a dominating force until that afternoon. Excelsior came out flying, ping, ping, ping; passing right to the feet. Excelsior player’s made triangles around every opposing player, they played as if the opposing team were just standing their looking dazed and confused. Excelsior was moving all around the pitch, position-switching looked fluid and chaotic and gave the opposing defenders a blizzard of movement and hostility to deal with.[2] Excelsior only won the game 1-0 but the other team barely even touched the ball.  I clearly remember looking at the opposing coach, his look was perplexed, as if he had no idea what to tell his players, he shrugged his shoulder, as if waving a the white flag of defeat… a moment, a game I will always remember….                            I have now witnessed the wrath of the Dutch Total Voetball, just beautiful.  Imagine if Excelsior played like this every game, they would have easily won the tournament, but they can say they were the most technical team in the tournament, as well, I would like to add that they had 6 players who were U17.                          In the end though, they did not come close to winning the tournament, maybe they just need a shot of Canadian Grit?  Imagine combining Canadian Grit with Dutch technical soccer?  Lethal. 

[1] Brillant Orange, David Winner pg 203

[2] Brillant Orange, David Winner Pg 36

The Art of Scouting

I have been rather quiet on the blog front over the past few weeks as I have been able to have a little vacation, visting Paris, France for 3 days, 2 days roaming the streets of Amsterdam also where I witnessed my first Ajax game. Those stories I will not post, one will have to call me and meet me for a beverage. Back to point; soccer education.

May is time when leagues are wrapping up and tournaments are happening every weekend at every age and level. I witnessed one tournament at the U-17 level, professional clubs and good amateur clubs were in attendance. Each game only lasted 25 minutes, each game had a fast pace, and every team played against 5 teams. It was like playing chess but with a speed clock and after every stop of the clock you were playing a different opponent. Different yet effective, it kept the game pace quick, also gave the trainers opportunities to try different players in different positions and most importantly gave the trainers more time educating their players off the field. What I find most interesting at these tournaments is the “art of scouting.”

In a country the size of Vancouver Island but the population of 16 million, everywhere one goes one sees faces, it very easy to fit into the blur of Dutch society.  The soccer community is very big yet very small, it is like anywhere else, if you’re in the circle your in, if you are out, you are really out. I can say Marco van Lochem is in Dutch youth soccer circle. Where ever we go, Marco stops and talks, sometimes cracks a joke, sometimes gets free coffee, sometimes talks in closed off boardroom to discuss “soccer business.” One would think that each scout would be wearing their clubs colors with pride yet that is not the case at all.

My definition of a “soccer scout” is a person who is watching others teams play in hope to find a player that could one day join their team to make them better. Everyone who is a scout dresses in there street cloths, looking like an ordinary person, I do not know the complete answer to why, but if parents are the same in Holland as they are Canada, I can sure guess…

Every game we watch, every tournament I go to, Marco points out to me, “he is the youth coach U13 FC Trente, or “that is the youth technical director of Utrecht” to me they all looked like dads or opas watching there son play soccer. One time I saw a dad talking on his cell phone, it was not a dad at all, it was a sports agent looking for players, an agent I will be having a meeting with to pick his brain. Keep you posted.

Being on the “outside” of the scouting circle and getting a glimpse of the “inside” fascinates me. I have been able to witness a little about how scouting works here in Holland and realized how important scouting really is.

Scouting is the most important aspects of professional football at a youth level other then actual training. Scouting gives the trainer something to work with. The competition to find a hidden gem is tremendous.

For a smaller club, one usually can not look at the best player as in most cases that player will go to one of the bigger clubs like Ajax, PSV, or Feyenoord.  One most look for a hidden gem, maybe one that was overlooked because that player had a growth spurt or just plays on a really bad team. Excelsior for example has 6 scouts watching local games every weekend all over Rotterdam, to see if they can improve there youth system. 

I have many thoughts on how British Columbia scouts for their BC teams and National teams, as I do not know the full entire process I will not make any bold statements on issues that I do not know the entire true; however, I do know  there are some great players out there that need and should be recognized for their talent and hard work.

 I pose this rhetorical question: 

How many times have you heard of a great player not picked for the BC or National team due to lack of scouting or lack funding by the player?

We as a collective group in Canada must nurture these talented players and do whatever it takes to keep them playing the game they love at the highest level. Due to the enormous size of our country, scouting becomes even more important. We all know Canada has some great talent; it is time to nurture these players and expose them through the art of scouting….