Opportunities for young soccer players in Sault Ste. Marie have taken a step forward this summer.
Long known as a hockey city, the Sault's quality of youth soccer has grown in recent years, so much so that a training program that includes coaches from overseas is being hosted locally to give players a chance to make contacts and improve their game.
Dubbed "Premiership Academy," the program is currently in its second two-week stint in the past month.
The program was initially slated to spend two weeks in the Sault earlier this month, but local interest was so high that the group planned a second tour through the city, wrapping up this week.
The program, which is suitable for players anywhere between the ages of 6 and 18, features training that improves ball control and skills while also helping players increase their stamina and fitness levels.
Neil Ovey is the head coach of Algoma University’s women’s soccer team and has also been involved in youth soccer in the Sault during his time locally.
The veteran coach connected with Premiership Academy's Gary O’Hare after the latter had met Sault College coach Chris Perri while the school was competing in southern Ontario.
Ovey said the discussions led to the potential for opportunities for young players in the Sault.
“When we sit and look at it, the kids up here don’t get a lot of opportunity for this type of thing to come in,” Ovey said. “For some reason, it seems to happen all over southern Ontario, but never up here in the north. It was basically along the lines of: 'Hey, we’ve got kids up here that it will be good for them to experience different types of coaching, a different perspective on coaching and have that experience of working with qualified coaches from the U.K. that have coached at the highest level.'”
Coaches involved in the program have experience coaching in England’s Premier League.
When it comes to soccer talent locally, Ovey spoke of the growth of talent in Sault Ste. Marie during his time in the city.
“It’s an opportunity,” Ovey said. “There are some good young players in this city and it’s an opportunity for them, if they’re going to the camp, to showcase to these guys because they’re very well connected back in the U.K.”
“Just for them to be able to showcase [themselves] because we’re still in that point of where we’re northern Ontario and we’re still classed, especially in the Sault, as a hockey town,” Ovey added. “We’ve produced good hockey players, but we’ve also produced good soccer players that just don’t seem to have that pathway, so hopefully doing things like this and getting to know people like Gary and having these contacts with the pro clubs in England, we can also create a little bit of a pathway.”