ASA-and-Whitecaps(March 30, 2017) Last week proved to be a fantastic experience for several Alberta players, with the Alberta Provincial teams participating in the Vancouver Whitecaps FC U13-U14 Combine in Richmond, BC. In addition to offering up quality competition and developmental opportunities for the players, the combine provided the boys and girls a glimpse into what training is like for players in a professional environment.

Throughout the week, instructors and coaches from the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy educated and evaluated the Alberta players – all in alignment with the LTPD Stage – Training to Train. And as the week wrapped up, the Alberta coaches were proud to note the growth of the teams over just a few days. Here are the highlights from the last day at the combine:

  • The Alberta South U13 Boys continued in their way of exciting, smart, quick and technical footy, beating BC 3-1 with three unbelievable team goals. The depth and maturity of this group was amazing – both effective and fun to watch. We are excited to see how this group will mature over the course of the next twelve months as they build towards the U14 program in 2017/18.
  • The Alberta North U13 Boys spent their last day of the camp working with the Whitecaps FC Academy coaching staff. The session focused on developing speed of thought and understanding the correct timing of movement off the ball. It was a challenging and enjoyable experience for all the boys.
  • The Alberta South U14 Boys found the first half difficult up against a Nova Scotia team who showed a new and improved side since the match three days earlier. Alberta found it difficult to find attacking spaces and created few chances. Some quality saves by the Alberta keeper kept the score level at half time. Two tidy finishes in the second half carried Alberta to 2-0 victory to end a fantastic week.
  • The Alberta North U14 Boys ended their week with a strong performance against a BC squad that on the day had a stronger performance. Falling 3-1 to the BC side, the game was highlighted by a couple outstanding goals, great combination play, individual skills and sound collective defending. Congratulations to the boys following a solid tour and four quality performances.
  • The Alberta North U13 Girls dropped their last game 2-0 to a strong Nova Scotia team. Nova Scotia was very well organized in defence and showed some outstanding quality in attack. This was the Alberta Girl’s best game of the week where they showed great resiliency following goals and created several quality scoring chances.
  • The Alberta South U13 Girls ended their week with a 2-0 loss to an outstanding team from BC. To their credit, the girls worked hard to play the game at a high technical and tactical standard. There were many spells where multiple passes were strung together and individual moments of quality dribbling and shooting occurred. While their success wasn’t evident in the win column, the girls showed great progress from the start of the week.
  • The Alberta South U14 Girls ended their week with a strong performance against BC. On tired legs, they fell 3-0 in a game where the score wasn’t indicative of their performance. The girls represented themselves and the province well with quality performances in all aspects of the game.
  • The Alberta South U14 Girls played their final game against Nova Scotia and started well, yet found themselves down 1-0. They battled back hard to level the game at half time 1-1. They began the second half with more purpose, great heart and desire. The game was end to end and they had the better chances in the second half. Each team scored once in the second half and the game ended 2-2. The girls were magnificent all week, worked hard and managed to remain undefeated.