British Columbia's four teams return home tonight from the 2005 National Soccer Championships after one of BC's strongest ever performances. Despite the tremeandous differences in population base and total player registrations, British Columbia continues to out perform the other big provinces. Ontario and BC leave the National Championships with four medals each while Quebec and Alberta will each return home with two.

Gold, Double Silver and Bronze....
After a convincing qualification round that saw BC outscore its opponents 11-1, the U16 Boys team prepared themselves to play the "hometown" Quebec team in the final. The Under 16 Boys won the 2005 National Championship in convincing style with a 4-1 win. The Under 14 Boys faced a tough Quebec team in the Semi-Finals which BC eventually win on penalty shots. The BC team faced Ontario in the Championship Final with BC loosing 2-0 and collecting Silver medals.
The Under 16 Girls had to settle for Silver and a very dominating performance in the first four matches of the championship. The Under 16 Girls outscored their opponents 10-1 on the way to the Championship Final. The final saw the U16 Girls loose to a dominant Ontario team 5-0. The U14 Girls rebounded to win bronze after a semi-final loss against eventual champions Ontario. The bronze medal match saw the BC girls win 5-0 against Alberta to pick up Bronze medals.

About the National Championships
The CSA National Championships are held in the U14 and U16 age ranges for both boys and girls. Nine provinces are prepresented and seeded based on the previous years results.

Website: http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/index.asp


Coaching Staff

This years teams were coached by:Under 14 Boys Mark Parker - Head Coach/ Roy Tufnail - Asst Coach Under 14 Girls David Irvine - Head Coach / Chris Murphy - Asst Coach Under 16 Boys Michael Findlay - Head Coach / Darren Rath - Asst Coach Under 16 Girls Dave Molinari- Head Coach / Kim Bull – Asst Coach

Summer is finally here, Provincial Cup play is finished and yet soccer continues....

While our coastal leagues and districts are in the midst of registration, much of the province are continuing play in various tournaments. There are also numerous coaching and referee clinics available to our members through to the fall.

Thanks to all those who attended the 2005 International Pacific Soccer Series. Hosting a high calibre international event is not only a reflection of the globalization of soccer, but also a reminder of where the path of development can lead.

Enjoy the summer, and congratulations to all Provincial Cup participants and players within our developmental leagues!


Sunderland T-shirts

A limited number of Sunderland Tour T-shirts are now available for sale to the general public for $20 each.

Call our office at 604-299-6401 to find out more information


BCSA Referee Annual Registration Reminder

Please remember to remind all affiliated referees in the Coastal Region that it is that time of year again to attend a referee refresher clinic and re-register with the Association.

Please pass along this information to all affiliated referees residing in the Coastal Region.

Follow this link for a daily updated list of all refreshers offered

Coastal Youth Registration

Just a reminder that the registration deadline for Coastal Youth Districts is October 15th 2005.

Registration will ONLY be accepted in electronic format. If you require any assistance please contact our office.



BCSA Provincial Game Structure

In an effort to provide a consistent model for player development across the province, the Technical Department of the British Columbia Soccer Association has adopted the Canadian Soccer Association's list of recommended game structures based on the developmental age of players 18 years and under. These game structures take into consideration such things as the ideal number of players on a team, game duration, ball size, field size, goal size, and the rulings on off sides.

To read more on this, follow this link


Employment Opportunities

The British Columbia Soccer Association is currently accepting applications for three new positions.

We are presently seeking two Staff Coaches in addition to a Coordinator of Officials Development.

To apply for these positions, please follow this link


Congratulations to the Vancouver Whitecaps

BC's sole professional team, the Vancouver Whitecaps F.C. put on a dominant performance against Sunderland AFC with a 3-0 victory July 16th, in front of a crowd of 6,857.

While Sunderland is just beginning to find their preseason form, the win by Vancouver was no doubt an impressive feat.

For more on the Vancouver Whitecaps read here

"We are very happy to be entering into our first agreement with a Provincial Association and initiating our support of grassroots soccer in Canada, stated Tim Gill, CEO of Tekk Athletic, Inc. Frank Yallop, Coach Canada's National Team, said, "I've been involved with Tekk for a long time. It's nice to see we have entered into the Canadian Market and can begin to help the development of the game in Canada." I'm excited to be a part of a company whose foundation is based on giving back to the game, said Martin Nash, Tekk representative for B.C.
Keith Ryan, Executive Director of BCSA said, "This agreement represents a great support to soccer at the local and provincial level from Tekk Athletic and further demonstrates the British Columbia Soccer Association's commitment to supporting soccer at the grass roots level."

Visit the Tekk Website

Associations and Clubs will be able to view the goals on June 10th at the BCSA AGM at the Sheraton Wall Centre. For more information email mnash@tekk.com or call 1- 888-510-8355 Ext 85. Visit www.tekk.com to see the goals in action.

Sincerely,

Keith Ryan
British Columbia Soccer Association

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email: keithryan@bcsoccer.net
phone: (604) 299-6401
web: http://www.bcsoccer.net