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SportsOakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 201038 OSCs new technical director will focus on fun, not results By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Last September, in a blog for CBCSports where he worked as a soccercommentator, Jason de Vos wrote about the Canadian Soccer Associations plan for long-term player development. While he supported the initiative, de Vos posed one important question about its implementation: How are we going to get the vast majority of youth clubs around the country to adopt this strategy of player development and abandon the win-at-all-costs mentality that currently exists? There are no worries about the countrys largest communi- ty soccer organization being on board with the plan, now that de Vos has been named technical director for the Oakville Soccer Club. In his new role, the former Canadian national team captain will oversee the development for 10,000 players and 900 coaches. One thing you wont see him doing is building trophy cases. De Vos said too many people use trophies as a measure of success. He said it is far more important to ensure players enjoy the game and learn the required skills, particularly at a young age. Kids are like sponges, they take every- thing in, he said. Thats where they really learn the game and if you teach them the fun- damentals, theyll be in good stead when they reach the 15-, 16-, 17-year-old age groups. Although he was encouraged at times to open his own soccer academy, de Vos said he resisted because academies are expensive and often restrict opportunities to high-level players. Instead, he believes in everyone hav- ing the opportunity to play and teaching the fundamentals at a young age, which makes the Oakville Soccer Club a better fit for him. De Vos was also impressed with the clubs facilities and its staff, which includes former Canadian teammates Dino Lopez and Eddy Berdusco. Its a fantastic setup and there is already so much being done properly, he said. They have already created an environ- ment where guys who have played at the highest level want to come here. We dont need sweeping changes. Well keep whats working and make subtle changes where theyre needed. Paul Varian, the Oakville Soccer Clubs chief administra- tive officer, said the club received more than 100 applications for the position: I think the only continent we did- nt have an applicant from was Antarctica. Part of the challenge in bringing in a technical director for a club as large as ours, Varian said, is you have to know how to develop a recreational kid who is four (years old) picking daisies on the pitch (as well as) a player who has the ability to play at the national level. Where de Vos emerged as a front runner from a very strong short list was his familiar- ity with the provincial and national soccer bodies as well as first-hand knowledge of the TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: Former Canadian national mens soc- cer team captain Jason de Vos is the new technical direc- tor of the Oakville Soccer Club. The 36- year-old says ensur- ing young players enjoy the game is the most important thing in developing elite talent. KAREN NEWMAN / OAKVILLE BEAVER We dont need sweeping changes. Well keep whats working and make subtle changes where theyre needed. Oakville Soccer Club technical director Jason de Vos See De Vos page 39