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The Development Gap: Why Canada Produces Stars Despite the System, Not Because of It

6/3/2025

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In the last decade, Canadian soccer fans have watched with pride as players like Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Jessie Fleming, and Cloe Lacasse have risen to the global stage. These aren’t just fringe players either. They’re Champions League winners, goal-scorers in Ligue 1, Olympic gold medalists.

But ask anyone closely involved in Canadian soccer, and they’ll tell you a hard truth: most of our top talent didn’t rise because of the system. We produced them despite it.
Having played and coached across multiple levels in Canada and abroad, it’s a pattern I’ve seen up close. Talented players often succeed not through a unified development pipeline, but by finding their own way through a patchwork of disconnected clubs, private training, and, often, a well-timed leap to Europe.

A Fractured Pathway
Canada does not lack for talent. What it lacks is alignment.

Unlike Germany’s DFB Talentförderprogramm or the Netherlands’ KNVB structure, where players as young as eight are tracked, supported, and developed under a national lens, Canada’s system is far more decentralized. Clubs vary wildly in philosophy, coaching quality, and developmental goals. In many cases, the business of winning youth tournaments or keeping parents happy outweighs long-term player growth.
Consider this: Jonathan David never even played for a Canadian professional academy. He was overlooked in Ontario, quietly developed through local clubs, and then moved to Belgium at 18. That leap, so common among our top prospects, often feels less like graduation and more like escape.

The Price Tag of Progress
There’s also the economic barrier. The average elite youth player in Canada can easily rack up $3,000 to $5,000 a year in fees. While clubs and academies often do their best to support families, the pay-to-play model remains a gatekeeper. This is especially true in communities where passion for the game runs deep but resources may not.

Many of the players I work with have the hunger, the attitude, and even the technical base. What they lack is access: access to high-level coaching, consistent field time, or a system that recognizes their growth outside of sanctioned leagues.

It’s telling that many parents seek out one-on-one training because they sense their child isn’t getting what they need in team environments. That instinct isn’t wrong. Most team training isn’t designed for individual player growth. It’s designed to win on Saturday.

The Bright Spots and Blind Spots
Of course, there have been improvements. The launch of the Canadian Premier League (CPL) has given domestic players a new pathway. League1 Ontario and its equivalents across the country have raised the floor. Canada Soccer’s Youth License program is also beginning to encourage better coaching practices.

But it’s not enough to have leagues. You need a philosophy.

In countries like Spain, club identity is tied to methodology. Ajax players can slot seamlessly into the Dutch national team because they’ve been playing within the same tactical framework since age 12. In Canada, a player might play three different formations in three years under three very different coaches.

Until we unify our development approach, with room for creative variation but shared principles, we’ll continue to rely on outlier stories rather than system-wide success.

Lessons from Abroad
When I trained in Europe, what stood out wasn’t the drills. It was the environment. Coaches weren’t chasing wins. They were shaping thinkers. Everything was done with purpose, scanning before the pass, disguising the first touch, understanding how to create space in tight pockets.

Clubs like Sporting CP in Portugal, Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, and La Masia in Spain all operate with clear progression paths. There’s a system of scaffolding that dictates what players are taught, when, and why. It makes development predictable, repeatable, and professionalized.

In Canada, private trainers and top clubs are trying to fill this gap. Some, like our own system at CANXL, have begun integrating multi-stage development checklists, role-specific training, and structured growth tracking. But these efforts, while valuable, shouldn’t be the exception. They should be the baseline.

A Call for Collaboration
None of this is meant as critique for the sake of critique. It’s a call for unity.

We need club coaches, private trainers, provincial bodies, and national leadership to align around a shared purpose: to develop complete players, not just good teams.

That means better coach education, more collaboration between clubs and private programs, and development frameworks that serve the player, not the system.
Canada will continue to produce talent. It always has. But imagine what we could do if we weren’t relying on outliers. Imagine if every talented 10-year-old had a clear path, regardless of postal code, background, or financial status.

That’s the Canada we need to build. And it starts by acknowledging that we’re not quite there yet.
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