Cambridge Youth Soccer 2019 OPDL Program Overview
What is the OPDL? The OPDL is a standard-based, high performance youth league that combines top level competition with performance development and training standards. The OPDL is the mechanism for inclusion into the Provincial Program. Players begin to be monitored by Ontario Soccer staff at the U13 level. Organizations that enter into OPDL must meet a significant number of standards in areas such as Technical, Administration, Facilities and Finance. The OPDL operates on a year round periodized training calendar with a minimum 3:1 training to game ratio. Licence Holders incorporate Strength and Conditioning, and Nutrition and Lifestyle management components. The league competition format is a 20 game schedule that runs from early May until the end of October. There are up to 6 Central Venue games where players are exposed to Ontario Soccer High Performance staff for evaluation.
2019 OPDL Program Timeline September 2018 OPDL Trials Players offered OPDL Agreement Letters for 2019 Season November/December 2018 Training sessions begin Saturday and Sunday at CYS Dome (7 weeks) January 2019 March 2019 Teams begin training 4 times per week 2 Sessions per week in CYS Dome (1 Full Field, 1 Development Field) 1 Fitness session per week at NLPT 1 Brazilian Futebol School session in school gym March 2019 Teams begin playing a series of exhibition games leading up to the start of the season in May Full Field training sessions on outdoor turf are introduced during March/April May 2019 Oct 2019 The first Nutrition session of the season is conducted Teams move into the outdoor phase with 3 training sessions per week (Full Field on Grass) Fitness moves to a bi-weekly session with alternating weeks of at-home fitness Regeneration/Game Video Analysis session once per week The season schedule begins with the first of 20 regular season games (7 home/7 away/6 central venue)
2019 OPDL Program Timeline May 2019 Oct 2019 (Continued) Player s progress is measured by the TD/OPDL Performance Manager/Coach and this information is relayed to parents in one of two mandated meetings (July/Oct) The league takes a mandatory two week break during the latter half of July and early August Player rubrics are sent to Ontario Soccer to be uploaded in a central database October 2019 Players/Parents have the opportunity to sign a Player Agreement Letter for the 2020 season if they wish to continue with the program. Existing OPDL players do not have to attend Trials November 2019 The program finishes up with training sessions and exhibition games as the Licence Holders begin ramping up for the 2020 season including newly signed players from (non-opdl Licence Holders) September trials into the sessions.
Cambridge OPDL Staff Darren Tilley Technical Director CSA A Licence, UEFA A, USSF A, USSF Youth Licence, FA Advanced Miranda Wiley OPDL Performance Manager National B Licence (Fall 2018) Jon Morgan CYS Grassroots Club Head Coach Andrew Hopf MSc, CSCS Strength and Conditioning Coach Next Level Performance Training CYS OPDL Team Head/ Assistant Coaches Minimum National B (Head Coach) Minimum Ontario Soccer C (Assistant Coaches) Cara Kasdorf RD, BSc, Registered Dietitian, Sports Nutritionist Grand River Sports Medicine Brooke Davidson Goalkeeper Coach Ontario Soccer GK Diploma Guelph Gryphons OUA Rick Clayford Head Coach Brazilian Futebol School, Ontario/CYS Staff Coach
OPDL Player Fee Options $3,600 Payable in one lump sum upon signing 2019 agreement (November 2018) $3,700 Payable in 4 installments of $925 (November 1 / February 1/June 1/September 1) $3,750 Payable in 6 installments of $625 (November 1/ January 1/March 1/May 1/July 1/September 1) $3,900 Payable in 12 installments of $325 (First day of each Month from Nov. 1 2018 October 1, 2019 (October 1 payment will be charged on September 30 th to keep within CYS fiscal year) The program is fully funded by Player Fees. It is not subsidized by any other entity
What s Included All OPDL players receive the following: Training Kit (2 t-shirts, 2 pairs shorts, 2 pairs socks) Game Uniforms Home and Away Kit (shirt/shorts/socks) Tracksuit, Backpack, Polo Shirt CYS has attempted to make player fees all-inclusive to meet the needs of the program. Fees will cover all training sessions, field rentals, referee fees, league fees, uniforms, game analysis software, coach wages and travel
Game Analysis CYS is very excited to partner with HUDL starting in Fall 2018 HUDL is the premier Game Video Analysis tool used by professional and amateur teams in many sports Games will be filmed using a Hi-Pod Camera at a height of 21 feet Statistics and video will be shared with players/parents via email
Brazilian Futebol School Brazilian Futebol is a technical and tactical skills development program OPDL athletes complete a 13 week Brazilian Futebol School program from January to April using futebol de salao balls in school gyms All athletes are provided with a detailed report card from the program facilitators at the conclusion of the program
Next Level Performance Training Next Level Performance Training is the official Strength and Conditioning Partner of Cambridge OPDL Teams attend NLPT training centre for 75 minute sessions weekly from January May Sessions move to bi-weekly from mid-may to November A detailed home fitness program is prepared for players during the League Play phase on the weeks they do not attend NLPT Standardized fitness testing is performed (3x per year) and results are published for all athletes and parents
Goalkeeper Training OPDL Goalkeepers attend GK specific training sessions twice weekly during winter with certified staff. Goalkeeper sessions are once weekly during the season. Dedicated Goalkeeper coaches work with players on game day with a specific standardized warm-up and sit on the bench during games to allow for instruction during the quarterly breaks.
Standardized Warm-up/Cool Down The warm-up is a key component to Training Session and Game Day preparation for all OPDL athletes. CYS is pleased to partner with NLPT and the University of Waterloo to provide undergraduate and graduate students trained in muscle physiology and kinesiology to conduct warm-up sessions at a multitude of outdoor training sessions and Game Days. CYS is applying for a federal grant in 2019 to bring on one or two staff members for the summer of 2019 (May-Sept) to work exclusively with OPDL athletes in this capacity.
Nutrition and Lifestyle Management Nutrition and Lifestyle Management courses are run by Cara Kasdorf of Grand River Sports Medicine. Cara has worked with many high performance athletes during her career and holds a Master s Degree in Nutrition Cara teaches our OPDL athletes how to properly fuel their bodies for each phase of the season and well as how to fuel for practices and games Proper hydration is also discussed with athletes Nutrition sessions are held 3 times during the year for both players and parents.
Opponents and Travel The OPDL is divided into 3 conferences: West, Central and East Cambridge is currently in the West Conference with the following licence holders: Waterloo, Tecumseh, London TFC, London Whitecaps, Hamilton United, Burlington and Oakville Each team plays home and away with the other teams in their division and then up to 6 Central Venue games where they will most likely face opposition from one of the other conferences. Games are played on Saturdays (U13) and Sundays (u14) at the following times 9:00am, 11:15am, 1:30pm, 3:45pm. Cambridge home games are played at Portuguese Club of Cambridge with Jacob Hespeler Turf as a backup The Central Scouting Venues in 2018 were Western University (London), Ontario Soccer Centre (Vaughan, Pine Glen (Oakville), and Kinsmen Centre (Pickering).
Bursaries and Assistance Ontario Soccer has developed the Athlete Scholarship Program for OPDL athletes in need of financial assistance. Families must apply for the bursary between February 1 st and April 15 th with successful candidates being notified by May 30 th In 2018 Ontario Soccer awarded $122,000 in scholarships from this program. This program meets all NCAA requirements. Athletes residing in Cambridge in need of financial assistance may qualify for subsidies from a number of CYS partners including Kids Can Play Cambridge, Jumpstart, Region of Waterloo and various Neighbourhood Associations. Please see CYS staff for more information on how to apply for assistance.
Affiliated Organizations/Players Ontario Soccer allows OPDL Licence Holders to form affiliations with non-opdl clubs to allow players within that club to be placed on the OPDL sub-roster and participate in a number of practices and possibly some games during the season. During 2018 Cambridge Youth Soccer was able to sign an affiliation agreement with Puslinch Soccer Club. CYS looks forward to signing on again with Puslinch for 2019. We are hoping to be able to provide coaching sessions from our OPDL staff to Puslinch Grassroots teams (u11 and U12 specifically) as part of this agreement to help advance their coaches and players alike.
For More Information For more information on the OPDL Program please contact any of the following Cambridge Youth Soccer Staff: Technical/Programming Questions Darren Tilley, Technical Director darren@cambridgesoccer.ca Jon Morgan, Grassroots Club Head Coach grassroots@cambridgesoccer.ca Miranda Wiley, OPDL High Performance Manage miranda@cambridgesoccer.ca Financial/Administrative Questions Derek Bridgman, General Manager derek@cambridgesoccer.ca