A source with knowledge of the league said Toronto

On Tuesday, Canada Soccer unveiled its new technical development vision for soccer in Canada, entitled Canada Soccer Pathway. Martin Caceres Juventus Jersey. Your Goals. Our Game. The pathway consists of three streams of play: recreational, competitive and EXCEL (the high performance level of the game). On hand to discuss the pathway were Canada Soccer Technical Director, Tony Fonseca, womens national team head coach, John Herdman, and Canada Soccer Long-Term Player Development Manager, Sylvie Béliveau. According to Béliveau, the pathway is "built around the principles of long-term player development and encourages lifelong participation. At Canada Soccer, we believe all players deserve the best possible soccer experience, and our Canada Soccer Pathway is designed to place their needs front and centre at each and every stage." The creation of different streams in youth soccer is long overdue, and a move that is likely to be met with approval across the country. Clubs are the primary delivery agents of the recreational and competitive streams, and in the coming weeks, Canada Soccer will release a national curriculum that supports coaches working with players in the first three stages of LTPD. Canada Soccer hopes to have the curriculum for the rest of the stages ready for release by the end of the summer. The national curriculum will be a valuable resource for coaches – especially for the thousands of volunteer coaches across the country working with young players. The curriculum will contain a "Preferred Training Model" that incorporates "station work", so that clubs that are heavily reliant on volunteer coaches can maximize their resources in order to provide the best development environment possible. The preferred model allows for a four-parent collective approach to training, and frees up the volunteer parent-coach from trying to impart too much technical or tactical information in one session. There are many benefits of taking such an approach at the early stages of player development. It maximizes the availability of coaching and facility resources, it aids volunteer parent coaches by allowing them to pool their knowledge, and it places players into an environment that meets their learning needs, where shorter, diverse sessions are broken up into varying activities of different intensity. There are some questions that still need to be addressed with such an approach, though. Utilizing a "station work" approach to training requires guidance and oversight from a trained facilitator or coach educator. Do the majority of clubs across the country that are working with players between the ages of 4-12 have coach educators on staff? If not, how does Canada Soccer train coaches to be able to perform this role? Is the long-awaited "Childrens License" that has been in development finally going to be given the resources it needs to be completed? The Preferred Training Model suggests that an assessment-based coaching qualification such as this is required, so one would hope that its completion would be given top priority. More pressing questions arise when one looks further along the Canada Soccer Pathway. Given the significance of HP (high-performance) leagues in the Pathway, will Canada Soccer assume direct control of these leagues? If not, how will Canada Soccer ensure that such leagues will be open to both non-profit community clubs and for-profit private academies? If Canada Soccer is going to leave the operation of HP leagues to the respective provincial associations, how will Canada Soccer ensure that political forces do not undermine technical decisions – like the inclusion of private academies? If we are serious about creating the best possible environments for player development in Canada, then politics have no place in our technical decision-making process. Among the documents released on Tuesday was a community guide for long-term player development, as well as a womens EXCEL program guide for players and parents. Both documents provide some valuable insight into the direction of the game in Canada. Those expecting Tuesdays announcement to contain the answers for all of our developmental woes will feel very underwhelmed. Our problems run deep, and require a series of detailed, long-term solutions. While this is just the first step, it is important to remember that every long journey starts with a single step. I, for one, am hopeful that this step will take us in the right direction. Simone Pepe Jersey. The Lions traded their fifth overall pick in the 2014 CFL Draft to the Ottawa Redblacks for QB Kevin Glenn. Kingsley Coman Juventus Jersey. Mata had already been dropped from Spains squad once this season and with the country blessed with so many playmakers, he was in real danger of being overlooked for the trip to Brazil to defend their title.TORONTO -- England striker Jermain Defoe has come to terms with Toronto FC and will join the MLS team at the end of February. Toronto said the 31-year-old Tottenham star will be introduced on Monday, when U.S. international midfielder Michael Bradley is also expected to be unveiled. "We are thrilled, for our club and for our fans, with the opportunity to bring a global football superstar like Jermain Defoe to Toronto FC," Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, said in a statement Friday. "We promised our fans in October that building a winning club was our top priority and we scoured the globe to find the right players to fulfil that promise. Right from the beginning of this process, Jermain Defoe was the top player on our list and we got our man. "We would like to thank Tottenham as well as MLSE ownership for this very clear demonstration of our commitment to winning. Most importantly, we want to thank Toronto FC fans for their patience and support getting to this day." Defoe has scored 142 goals during two spells at Tottenham and is the clubs top scorer in European competitions. Bradley will be the next piece of the puzzle to officially fall. AS Roma announced Thursday that it had sold the 26-year-old American to MLS for US$10 million. A source with knowledge of the league said Toronto was the lone MLS suitor. Tottenham has at least nine matches to play before Defoe leaves for MLS. Toronto opens its 2014 season March 15 in Seattle. The late February departure seems to be a compromise. Defoe will miss almost all of Torontos pre-season but should arrive game-ready. Spurs strike force avoids being depleted. "Everybody knows how much this club means to me and I will play my heart out for the team and the fans until my last kick for the club," Defoe said in a statement on Spurs website. "I have had a fantastic time here and the fans have always been amazing to me. "I am grateful for the opportunity for myself and my family to experience living overseas and for me to play in the MLS with a contract that will take me to the age of 35. Alvaro Morata Jersey I have no doubt I shall be coming back as a fan supporting the team in the years to come too." Tottenham also announced an advertising and marketing deal with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and a July 23 friendly in Toronto as part of the transfer. "This is a great opportunity for Jermain and he feels it is one that he wishes to pursue," said Spurs head coach Tim Sherwood. "He has played a big part in the club for many years and we all know he will give his best until his last minute in a Spurs shirt. "We have several attacking options within our squad for the remaining dozen or so games of the season after Jermain departs and we shall keep our options under review. We also have a goal threat from players in other areas of the pitch including having wide players and attacking midfielders who will enable us to vary our shape when required." "Everybody at the club wishes Jermain every success for the future and he will always be welcome at (White Hart) Lane." Defoe first joined the London club in February 2004 from West Ham, making 177 appearances and scoring 64 goals before leaving to join Portsmouth in January 2008. The England international was re-signed a year later and has since made 185 appearances, scoring 78 goals. "Jermain brings the complete package to Toronto FC," said Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko. "He is an accomplished scorer and I know that his skill and infectious personality will make him a popular star both in Toronto and around the League." The advertising deal between the two clubs includes promotional, branding, experiential activities, advertising, broadcasting, social media and digital rights across the four-year agreement and at all MLSE properties and media sites. Tottenham and Toronto FC said MLSE will stock, promote and sell official Spurs merchandise at all its retail outlets and support the THFC Official Canadian Supporters Club. The Spurs exhibition game against Toronto will come between matches against the Seattle Sounders on July 19 and Chicago Fire on July 26. wholesale jerseys  ' ' '