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CARLO RIVAS JR PAVES WAY FOR ACADEMY GROUP

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866-Carlos Rivas 2014York Region Shooters plan UK visit this summer

TORONTO – Wednesday, March 5 – Carlo Rivas Jr keeps the best of company and it’s not all in the family.

Carlo is the son of Carlos Rivas, one of the best midfielders to come out of South America and known for his outstanding play when Chile qualified for the 1982 World Cup finals. Today he operates the longstanding, highly successful Carlos Rivas Soccer School in southern Ontario.

Canadian-born Carlo, also a midfielder who started his career with Cruz Azul in Mexico followed by a several seasons in the Chilean first division and has in more recent times played for York Region Shooters in the CSL, is also the grandson of Adan Godoy, the goalkeeper for Chile in the 1966 World Cup in England. Carlo’s full name includes Godoy – it’s on his mother’s side.

Outside of the family, Carlo Rivas Jr met recently with Manuel Pellegrini, manager of English Premier League side Manchester City who played for Chile alongside Carlos Rivas, and from that meeting a visit to Manchester by York Region Shooters’ academy group of players is in the works for this coming summer.

Such visits provides exposure for the academy players to be seen by local coaches in a different soccer environment and the notable successes of about 100 Canadians playing in Europe at any given time over the years gives testimony to what exposure can achieve, either by an arranged trial or a scouting mission while players are at a young age.

One of the most notable examples would be Atiba Hutchinson who played for the Shooters and went on to represent Canada, was twice chosen Canada’s Player of the Year – in 2010 and 2012 – and has played for several top level clubs in Europe.

Keep an eye open for further details coming from York Region Shooters in the weeks ahead.

APS AND CSL AGREE TO A WORKING RELATIONSHIP

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ASL Logo 2014

PHILADELPHIA, PA – December 17, 2013 – American Professional Soccer (APS) has reached an agreement to forge a working relationship with the Canadian Soccer League (CSL). The historic agreement provides many opportunities for growth and development on both sides of the border, allowing the beautiful game to prosper in a suitable environment. The desire to launch APS was driven by the fact that the U.S. needs to develop a deeper professional soccer system to accommodate the increasing number of young, talented players. The lack of an adequate professional soccer structure relative to the number of players throughout the U.S. was expressed.

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KINGSTON PRESS CONFERENCE LAUNCHES 2014

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kingston-fc-web-0032Kingston FC were quick off the mark to jump into a lead last season and judging by the early press conference on January 28 while surrounded by the worst winter weather seen in the region for many years, the First Division title winner looks well positioned again to bid for even more honours in the Canadian Soccer League.

Kingston attracted plenty of attention in 2013 with a well-earned large fan support and the team responded again to be the finalist in the CSL Championship, losing 3-1 to SC Waterloo, another recent team in Canada’s top professional league.

“This time around, we’d like to repeat the top division win and add the championship trophy as well,” said Lorne Abugov, the club chairman, at the gathering  at Queen’s University, the world-renowned teaching institution which has reinforced a successful partnership struck with their local pro soccer club in 2013.  Abugov does not rule out the possibility of a strengthened reserve team winning the CSL Second Division.

On January 24 Kingston FC coaches and management took a close look at 30 players invited to bid for place on one of the teams and the club expects to sign six or seven during February. Kingston aims to retain the core of last year’s player pool for the coming season, including French striker Guillaume Surot, the CSL top scorer. While the roster is expected to be finalized by mid-March, there will be one more opportunity for some local players to tryout for any spots still available, and this will lead to the club’s training camp opening on April 24.

The club sports a new-look logo and new minority shareholders were announced as Shawn Geary (McCoy Bus Service & Tours), Catherine MacLeod (Physiotherapy Kingston), and Belleville businessman Jim Allore.
Abugov explained the present position of the CSL which is operating as a private league similar to MLB, the NBA and the NHL while in membership with the new Soccer Federation of Canada.

But what  struck a chord most with the media was an announcement that Queen’s Varsity Men’s captain Joe Zupo will be on trial with Exeter City FC in England’s League Two and that Mike Smith and Hugo Delmaire were attending the USL Pro Combine in Florida in January, and that Edgar Soglo, Guillaume Surot, and Jason Massie trialed with Ottawa Fury FC, the newest Canadian member in the U.S.-based North American Soccer League with 11 teams, two of which, Ottawa and Edmonton are Canadian.

The Kingston FC season opener will be during the May 24 weekend and the home opener May 31.