Nuke Soccer

By Ben Knight Onward Soccer

Let the fella do his work
Let’s assume that the rumour is correct. If it isn’t, it should be.

Stephen Hart – any minute now – will be officially confirmed as the non-interim head coach of Canada’s national men’s soccer team, which still faces a very long wait before the next round of World Cup qualifying kicks off in 2012.

This useful, competent and warmly optimistic and enthusiastic man has been gallantly wearing two hats for the Canadian Soccer Association of late, interim coach and technical director.

Effectively, he’s been responsible for the future of the game at both the grassroots and international levels. In reality, coaching is the only one of those jobs where he has a tangible chance of succeeding.

As each month passes, it becomes more and more clear that the CSA is in full spectator mode when it comes to player development. Hart is a fine man to oversee the job, but Canada’s pro teams, private soccer academies, local clubs and provincial programs are not sitting around waiting for bureaucratic bafflegab like “Wellness to World Cup” to become the law of the land.

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