Going back to my Grassroots

By IAIN KING, Toronto, October 6, 2018

THE smile on the face of a kid you've coached as he signs for Toronto FC.

That's why we do this job.

The look of quiet satisfaction from a 12-year-old girl as she makes an out to in run from right wing and arrows a shot in off the post, the move you have been working on together.

That's why we do this job.

The feeling that you are making a difference in the lives of so many young soccer players.

That's why do this job.

Over the last 18 months of my Canadian adventure with North Toronto Nitros I have worked with every age group in a club that has 5,200 players.

From the kids at U8 to the men of League One it has been a journey of learning.

Yet it's in that Golden Age from 8-12 years where I have done the work that has changed my thinking on the game most.

Going back to my Grassroots.

I came to Canada on the back of spells in charge at East Kilbride FC and BSC Glasgow in the Scottish Lowland League that I had relished.

Winning the SFA Challenge Cup with both those clubs in their rookie seasons with my best mate Craig Young and Ally Graham alongside me in the technical area will live with me forever.

Yet after what became a harrowing year as CEO at Scottish League One side Airdrieonians I was drained.

The near death of my close friend Eddie Wolecki Black when he was ravaged by a stroke in the locker-room at Cowdenbeath was life-altering.

In the wake of that awful day and the acrimony that followed it at the Diamonds I felt I needed distance from my homeland. A new challenge, a time to heal.

I found that and at the age of 49 I left Scotland to work full-time as a coach in one of my favourite cities in the world.

SAVING GRACE...Nitros keeper Ryan Tiltack settles into life at Toronto FC's Academy

It took courage to make the career change from sports journalism at that stage of my life and there have been a lot of family sacrifices made to chase this dream.

Yet I wouldn't change it now for the world and as I embark on a new chapter coaching two sides in the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) it is the perfect time to take stock after what has been a hectic summer.

I started out as a coach with East Kilbride Burgh United, working with a team that included my own son Bruce.

For many back home returning to grassroots after coaching in the Lowland League and with two professional Academy teams would be regarded as a step down.

I would never see it that way. I have learned so much, from different coaching methodologies to how to break down technique and teach it more effectively.

I am a far better coach than the one who landed here in March 2017 simply because of the hours I now spend on the field.

That can be up to 20 hours coaching time a week, then there is session preparation, tournament planning, games.

My 06s Girls and 07s Boys sides trained three times a week and played a game.

The job of fashioning a curriculum for them and keeping it fresh and interesting over what is an 11-month soccer year here has been a fascinating one.

I leave the Grassroots arena so much richer in knowledge than the day I walked in and I have learned one key lesson.

They are not MY players, it's THEIR journey.

That's why this week when our keeper Ryan Tiltack won that move to the Academy of Major League Soccer side TFC I asked his father Kurt for permission to put out a tweet congratulating him.

Every coach involved in guiding Ryan should be happy, we all played a part in helping him make the first step in what could be a glittering career.

Yet you can't puff your chest out and think it is some ringing endorsement of YOU, it's not. You simply did your job, take the humble reward from that, get out on the field. Do it again.

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN...working with the 06s Girls squad has been a privilege

Being told that I would move on from the Grassroots division of our club to becoming part of a new coaching structure in Ontario's Provincial Player Development League was a bittersweet moment in some respects.

When you land a promotion in any job there is a sense of pride, of a job well done. Yet I also know of no other way to coach than to emotionally invest in players.

I will miss the 07s Boys and Girls I have worked with since Day One very much, any coach from home would be hugely impressed by the depth of talent and dedication in these Canadian youngsters.

One of the toughest weeks of my time here has been telling the 06s girls squad which players would make the move into OPDL.

It was easier telling hardened professionals at Airdrieonians they were not getting a contract than it was telling 12-year-old girls they hadn't made that squad.

Yet a sign of the growing structure in this country that will co-host the World Cup in 2026 is the fact that they now have CSL Regional League football to continue their growth in.

Standing at the start of another coaching journey is exciting and it has fuelled my passion further to stay put here in Canada and keep improving and learning as a coach.

For any coach who might be getting tired of all the backbiting and the politics of football at the sharp end in Scotland I'd recommend my pathway.

Going back to my Grassroots worked for me.

I'm now engrossed in the planning for two OPDL campaigns in 2019 with two squads of ambitious and focused boys and girls who will train four times a week and play their game.

They will have the best of tools from strength and conditioning to video analysis as we try to build them into players who can dream of following Ryan's path to TFC or winning a free ride university scholarship to play in America or Canada.

I'm poring over sessions, planning our trip to Maryland, USA, next month for the prestigious Bethesda Premier Cup with the 06s Girls.

The blood is pumping for the next challenge, to see how far we can take these players.

And that's why we do this job.