According the Rally Report published in 2020 one in three girls drop out of sports in late adolescence, for boys it’s one in ten. According to Canada soccer, there over 1,000,000 participants now playing the beautiful game, depending on where you find the latest stats and it’s said that 16% of girls between the age of 15 and 19 play organized soccer in Canada, a very healthy percentage. 

Soccer in Canada has seen success at the national level by the Canadian Women’s Team for many years, so it’s no surprise that soccer has grown so exponentially for girls. 16% is amazing, statistics are as high as 20%, but for the sake of keeping things in proportion, lets keep the number at a rational 16%. In Canada 16% of girls between the age of 15 and 19 play organized soccer.

Census Canada states that there are approximately 25,000 females between 15 and 19 living in the Greater Edmonton area, so, following the aforementioned logic, there should be around 4000 young women, in that age bracket, playing soccer in the Edmonton area.

There are less than 300 15-19 year-old-girls playing organized, league soccer in the Edmonton area.

The National percentage is 16% in Edmonton it is 1.2%. 

Why?

There are, of course, mitigating factors which contribute to females in their late teens to drop out of sports, compared with males in the same situation, but those factors affect all girls, in all areas of Canada and indeed the world. That said, there are certainly issues on the boys side of organized soccer in Edmonton too, but I'm the father of a soccer playing, 16 year-old girl, in Edmonton. So here we are. 

The main reason for girls of that certain age to stop wanting to play soccer is because they 'become interested in other things'. One has to assume then that, said, 'other things' are more interesting than playing soccer. Negative self image certainly plays a big part for girls, and that is not uniquely how they physically appear, it can also be how they are perceived by their peers. 

In recent years Edmonton (and possibly other cities) have been overwhelmed by 'Elite' soccer camps, leagues and organizations. The word 'Elite' is thrown around with one aim in mind, to have parents believe their kids are joining the 'Elite', in turn parting with their hard earned cash to enable a life of rock-star status among Edmonton's 'Elite' 12-year-old soccer stars. The Player Development Program (PDP) was peddled in exactly this manner, with promises of a 'fast track' to MLS, 'unique' training programs and buzzwords in the sales pitch such as 'recognized by FIFA'. 

In actual fact, the coaches are the same coaches who were coaching before the term PDP was ever even heard of, the clubs are the same, the facilities are the same, the investment in time is the same, the only aspect which has changed are the fees charged to parents, and the children get to play against less teams. More money, less games. 

PDP has failed so spectacularly that it has undergone a rebrand in it's first year to The ‘Edmonton Youth Soccer League’. This is an additional 'league' to an infamously fragmented 'system', adding to the Edmonton Interdistrict Youth Soccer Association (EIYSA) and Edmonton Minor Soccer Association (EMSA). Both of these associations have been battling for the loyalty of families for years, so to add another 'league' only serves to sour an already less-than-adequate place for children to enjoy the beautiful game. 

And that is what has been completely forgotten about, enjoying the beautiful game. Soccer is a beautiful game, it is a wonderfully thoughtful, exciting, exhilaratingly powerful game, but in the end, it is a game and games exist to be enjoyed, and should certainly be loved by kids. 

So what's not to enjoy? 

Let's focus on the biggest problem, the above mentioned elitist leagues have caused the largest problem in kids soccer, parents are being sold on the idea that to play the kids need to be in the highest level and that there is no other level, it's soccer four times per week or don't play at all and that is certainly a contributing factor to a miserable 1.2%. Further to this, if a girl does decide to step away from an alleged 'elite' team, what are her options? That's almost rhetorical, because there are so few options, and the stigma attached to 'going down to community' is a stigma no teenage girl, or in fact boy, is going to want attached them. 

Of course, there should be no stigma attached to playing a game, but the greed, narcissism and stubbornness by the men in charge of the clubs and leagues has created an 'all or nothing' environment for our children to play within.

This is beyond any doubt, I know first hand of very good players who simply got too busy with teenage life to give it their all, their options to play elsewhere are nearly zero, and are literally zero if they are not to be seen to be 'quitting and playing community'. It should be ok to want to just be a kid and kick a ball around with your friends, it's ok to play once a week, and train once a week, it's ok to not want a scholarship or visions of joining 'The Whitecaps', an accolade which is also peddled like a currency in itself. 

Before we get to a remedy for this, of course there are other factors which cause soccer to become 'unenjoyable' for late teen girls. Lack of playing time is a phrase which rarely appears in any other part of the world, so why here? Why is 'playing time' even a thing? 

Hockey, Football (the one you play with your hands) and Basketball, these are sports with massive squads, massive amounts of people waiting to go on the field, court or ice. There are no 'line changes' in soccer, it isn't a thing. 

I have played and coached soccer all over the world, 'line changes' and 'shifts' 'first lines' and 'second lines', 'starting' - not terms used anywhere else. Children's teams do not need two goalies to play half a game each, you do not need four midfield players to play 15 minutes each, that's not how it's done, anywhere else. 

It is often said that girls drop out of soccer because they 'find other interests', the classics include boys, learning to drive and working, among others. These could be categorized as 'things more fun than soccer'. So logically, remedies should be found to ensure soccer remains to be something they look forward to when presented with other options. Kids don't quit through fear of not getting a scholarship, they quit because they're sitting on the bench or forced to train five or six times a week. 

Back on point, when you take a squad of 18 girls indoors to play in the off season, to play one hour games, of course boredom will ensue, of course parents will complain, coaches are under pressure to win meaningless accolades, so they play their 'strongest team' from a squad of 18, nine play and nine sit and watch. Of course they're going to quit. 

On that subject, squads should be limited to 18, still too many in my opinion, but not a hill I'm willing to die on, and it does solve the indoor season issue. So a squad of 18 for outdoor soccer, 11 plus 7 subs, also allows nine v nine in training. But, most importantly,  during the winter, all games should be limited to 7v7. Squads of 18 can be split down the middle, full squads can train together but register as two sets of 9, 7 on the field and 2 subs, assistant coaches can gain experience as a head coach for one of the nines, playing time will be almost the whole game, if two goal keepers are insisted upon, they too will get full games. Fitness levels will stay flat or improve with players not having to ride the bench for four months, there is NO DOWNSIDE to this, this is an absolute no brainer, facilities can cater to 7v7 far more efficiently, kids play more, coaches coach more, parents pay the same, more games, more competition, more teams, bigger leagues, more players playing! 

Finally, one league. It has to happen. It has to be mandated at the highest level, it has to be. Currently the tail is most definitely wagging the dog, EMSA and their involvement in PDP/EYSL is calling the shots and playing Alberta Soccer for fools, it's an embarrassing situation. EMSA and the clubs who support this current regime should be ashamed of themselves and what they have caused children's soccer to become in Edmonton and the surrounding area. No important decisions are being made with kids and families in mind, and it's happening in plain site. 

The men in charge are forcing a self-serving agenda that they say will improve the state of the game. That has not, and will not happen, they are systematically destroying the game for thousands of children. 

This is not how it's done, soccer is tiered sport, at all levels, everywhere, you cannot and should not create your own league because you have the most money. Should coaching be standardized? Absolutely it should. Should health and safety of the kids be paramount? Absolutely it should. Should there be more facilities? Without any doubt there should be. But those issues are not solved in anyway by the bigotry and selfishness which is currently being exhibited by Edmonton's youth soccer 'big wigs'. 

One league has to exist, for all age groups, one league with several tiers or 'divisions', as they are known everywhere else on Earth.

Currently there could be 16 x U15 girls teams in the Edmonton Area to make up one league, one single division. However the clubs who have girls who wish to play soccer are being dictated as to where, when, who and how they play by countless organizations. 

JUST LET THEM PLAY. Let them play one-another, they will win, they may lose, they will draw, there will be grudge matches, close matches, run away victories, broken hearts, questionable offsides and missed penalties in the last minute. Coaches can learn from one another (secretly of course), players can learn from one another, girls can see what it's possible to become, parents can see how much they've improved, but this has to happen, for the love of the game, just let them play.

There are 16 clubs below, that means 15 different teams to play! It’s perfect.

Battles at the top middle and foot of the table, no forgone conclusions, no ‘easy’ games. 

Maybe the top three could go to Provincials, because they deserve to go, because they earned the most points and not because they are from a certain post code, because what on earth is that all about? 

Imagine how fantastic it would be for the 16 clubs below to be able to play one another. 

For goodness sake, some one take charge and fix this mess. 

1. St Albert Impact
2. Scottish
3. Sherwood Park
4. Juventus 
5. Strikers
6. Inter
7. Grand Prairie
8. South West United 
9. Ardrossan FC
10. Swan City 
11. Drillers
12. Fort St John
13. Spruce Grove Saints
14. Warriors 
15. SW Sting
16. MW Selects 

Please, just let them play.