Improving Soccer in PEI, Part 2: Two More Simple Rules with an Exponential Impact
Have you heard the story? The one about why hot dogs and hot dog buns don’t come in the same quantities. It’s always been more wieners in a package than buns in a bag. And have you heard the reason why it’s been that way for so many years?
Because that’s the way it’s always been done.
Arisa Valyear, writing for Reader’s Digest Canada in 2022 tells the story:
“Sandwich rolls, or hot dog buns, most often come eight to the pack because the buns are baked in clusters of four in pans designed to hold eight rolls.” On the other hand, 10 hot dogs (weighing roughly 1.6 ounces each) provides an optimal total package weight of an even pound.”
So you see, buns by the type of baking pan and wieners by weight. Today, that problem has been addressed and it is becoming easier now to make sure your bag of buns matches in number your package of hot dogs.
The question then is why did it take so long to solve something so simple?
Alignment
In Island soccer, we also have our own version of the buns to wieners imbalance. Like the makers of hot dog buns and hot dogs, Island soccer clubs operate in silos. One club packages buns in bags of eight. Another club puts 10 wieners to a package. And season after season, it goes on that way. Why?
Because that’s the way it’s always been done.
For the universal hot dog-bun crisis, the story goes that the Heinz Company started a petition in order to settle the issue once and for all. Says Valyear, “A couple negotiations and more than 30,000 petition signatures later and we never have to waste a single dog or bun ever again thanks to new 10-packs of Wonder buns.”
It took a condiment company to break down those silos and get things done differently. Back here on the Island, PEI Soccer is to clubs what Heinz was to buns and wieners. And it’s up to the provincial association to break down the silos and get things done differently.
Clubs will only change if PEI Soccer makes them change. We lack alignment and that’s been a major problem for Island soccer for many years. PEI Soccer has to bring that alignment about or it will be many more years of “this is the way it’s always been done.”
Standards
It was the Wonder brand who was the first company to make changes from within so as to get alignment between bun and wiener quantities. I don’t know if that was negotiated or if they simply took the initiative. The fact is, once the standard was set, the alignment came easily.
Island soccer clubs need standards for how they go about delivering their community’s soccer programming. And those standards need to be administered and monitored by PEI Soccer. Set up the standards for clubs to follow and the alignment will come.
But creating these standards would be a long and difficult process. What standards should there be? Who creates them? Sounds like a lot of work. Fortunately, soccer’s national governing body already has put together standards that all clubs across Canada can align themselves with.
Canada Soccer’s Club Licensing Program consists of a set of technical, administrative and financial good practices designed to raise the bar. Says Canada Soccer, “By raising the standards of member organizations, both the daily playing environment and participant experience are enhanced; thereby improving the overall soccer system in Canada.
The primary goals of the Canada Soccer Club Licensing Program are to:
- Set clearly defined standards and expectations for member organizations;
- Recognize excellence in the soccer community;
- Raise the level of all soccer organizations throughout Canada; and,
- Drive change in the soccer system.
Consisting of four tiers, or licenses, the ask of what clubs need to comply with at each tier goes from very simple at the lowest level license to incredibly demanding at the highest level license.
When I worked for Ontario Soccer, I got to work on the launch of what was Canada’s second standards-based youth league. Ontario soccer clubs that wanted to be part of the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) had to submit an extremely detailed document outlining how they could meet all of the standards that were required. Once accepted to the League, clubs would continue to be monitored to ensure that they were doing what they said they were going to do. At the end of each season, any club not maintaining the standards was removed from the League.
Over the last twelve years, I believe that the OPDL has significantly improved the game of soccer in Ontario. And even though the OPDL is a high performance league meant for the top players, clubs getting into the League have to show how they will develop not only their top players, but how they will take care of all of their players. Just because an OPDL club does well in the League isn’t reason enough for them to continue to be a member.
Not every Ontario club can be an OPDL club. Many just don’t have the resources — technical, administrative or financial — to apply and meet the standards. That’s what I like about Canada Soccer’s 4-tier licensing system — clubs of any size can find a level that they can achieve and maintain.
TL;DR
Alignment and standards. Two more simple rules with significant impacts. When a set of standards are designed and everyone involved joins on to follow those standards, we get alignment. And that’s where the magic happens. Next week, I’ll write about how Island soccer could be set up to make that magic happen. And that will be my last post for this blog indefinitely.
Now, with one hot dog dilemma solved, we can turn our focus to the other universally nagging question: is a hot dog a sandwich?
