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THE HERALD Wednesday Jane lWtPagelt Emphasis on teaching needed in Canadian Soccer Soccer By ALEX TOUGH Reading newspaper reports and columns can be conflicting and confusing Former player and cur rent soccer commentator Graham often says well that how I see it you may see it How correct this is may have been seen by those who were for enough to have read Scotland Sunday newspapers reports of the Scottish Cup final Both agreed that the result was Celtic Rangers Both agreed that certain players had a good or a poor game Both agreed that a mistake in judge ment by a Rangers defender let in a Celtic player to slot home the on ly goal of the game Both agreed that a last minute effort by Rangers was disallowed by the referee However other aspects of the reports of the game are entirely different One reporter stated that the game was one of the best seen in a long tune The other stated that this was not one of the better games seen in a long tune Few of us were fortunate enough to have seen the game havmg been broad cast by satellite TV at the same time as the English Cup Final bet ween Liverpool and Everton Most reports on the latter game have been the same a great game in the end The whole point is I suppose that the writer mainly states his or her opinion of how it looks to them and you have to pick out the bones of the matter and judge for yourself bow factual or how So there I am sadly beginning to believe that soccer will never become big in this country for several reasons The nature of the climate is the mam reason Whereas in B C it is possible to play for around 10 months or more in the year outdoors we may only play around months In most countries the game Is played for eight mon ths or more and players may learn the game in the surroundings in which they play The game is structu around the country pro vinces have differing club or team organizations Recreational league and competitive repselect are not known in some areas as It is here and not in all parts of Ontario We are out of step with the rest of the soccer world in setting our age groups even the USA WE organize age groups from January l to December 31 The rest of the world from August 1 o July This distinction often causes confu sion and is detrimental to our in with international com petition There are too many differe tionalittes pulling in different directions in the organization of the game It is surprising bow much this is a factor at the playing level and has to be experienced to be believed This is also the opinion of a former colleague who was also a sports reporter for the Montreal Gazette All games are by nature com and the attempt to remove the competitive element is a mistake The force should be the o her way around Players soon find their com slot They strive to the best of their ability and usually play better against more talented op ponents It is entirely possible to fully enjoy a sound thrashing when playing against a superior oppo nent one learns In learning comes a final point teaching is the proper name of the game We should be teaching and not coaching Too much emphasis is placed upon positiomng tactics or and so on Teaching the skills of the game of any game should be the priority Mini soccer smaller teams and smaller fields is an ideal way in which to teach players They see more of the ball and have more game time Should we concentrate in winning games at the early age or should we he teaching how to control the ball After all it is to Jack the ball that the young are mainly attempting I took in part of a house league game and watched the results of mini training Only two players who have come through the system showed talent on the ball Several players tried to set up their team mates with passing Very few managed to head the ball at all Striking of the ball was average some could and some could not Yet all looked as though they were enjoying themselves but is this the only be all and end all In spite of my seemingly negative prediction I do believe there is a chanct for soccer to suc ceed The current Canadian and Provincial leagues offer upcoming players an opportunity to bring the game up to world standards It would be a great pity to lose the possibility after the great showings in the last World Cup and Olympics tournaments The Inter County league last Wednesday suffered from the weather with the late games fail ing to reach completion In the first division Crown defeated Eagles 2 1 Meteor were leading Villa 10 when the game was stopped due to the weather and Marhn and An cients did not take the field due to Ancients shortage of players any game may have been abandoned anyway In the second division Trexcon defeated O Shanter United defeated Stingers and with Ajax rounds up the results Today Wednesday has Eagles Manners Christian Villa vs Crown 7 McKenzie and Martin vs Meteor 8 30 Memorial in the first divisi n In the second we have United vs Meadowglen or Milton vs Trexcon Brian Best 7pm 0 Shanter vs Stingers Memorial and Team vs at Syntex MORE AND MORE CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS AGREE RETAIL POSTAL OUTLETS OFFER BETTER SERVICE FOR YOU ITS A DEFINITE ADVANTAGE FOR US Jeff Scott businessman Alma Ontario Retail Postal Outlets across the country offer Canada Post customers more access to postal products and services On average hours of postal service operation have more than doubled in communities where service has changed from a post office to a Retail Postal Outlet operated by local business Thousands of rural Canadians can now purchase stamps or pick up mail in the evening or on weekends WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH THE SERVICE HERE Margaret Rickert Area Councillor Alma Ontario Councillor Margaret Rickert says the Retail Postal Outlet established m her town when postal services were converted to a local business has had a positive unpad on the community We needJbe service here and I think its very well used Canada Post Corporation is delivering on Us promise Were in rural Canada to stay 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