Dear Members,

It is my pleasure to officially welcome both Ajax FC and Ajax United to our newly formed club, Ajax Soccer Club! Together we will be moving forward with a great vision for long-term player development, to not only improve the club, but the individual player and furthermore the game within Canada.

It is important for me to educate our member base on the plan going forward and the vision and values behind this plan as well. Effective immediately, there are 3 very important areas that we will continue to target in ways to be more efficient, effective, and player centred.

LTPD ModelCoach Education/DevelopmentPost Club Opportunities (scholarships/professional contracts)

As a Canada Soccer mandate, the LTPD plan involves the importance of working at the youngest ages of development in order to continuously improve the individuals of each organization in as many ways as possible. This matrix which stands for Long Term Player Development emphasizes the changes at the developmental stages of learning. These aspects can be measured in the 4-corner approach to learning, from the recreational, to the developmental, to the competitive, and high-performance player. These are implemented starting at the U8-U12 model however you will see implementation at as young as U7. The second target area would be Coach Education and Development. Coaching education has become an extremely important area of club development as we have begun to increase knowledge on working with specific age groups, skill levels, ability, experience, and emotional, mental, physical, technical, and tactical goals. This area is at the forefront of ensuring the programming and curriculum is being executed correctly, efficiently and by educated individuals working to their potentials.

As LTPD means long term these changes and development will take time to evolve and in some areas, will require time and patience to see the full developmental changes. It is at the LTPD ages and levels where with the application of these plans that players will see the greatest improvement. The process will take time however we are hoping you recognize the short-term effects on the individual as well as the Club as a whole. This can be measured by player assessments, self-reflection, and feedback from coaches and technical staff. The program at the younger ages will pave the way for the development of the youth player in the development at the competition stages of development.

Furthermore, it is important to understand that these two areas cannot exist without the other as both are imperative for the proper functioning of a club and both are required for continuous improvement and learning.

LTPD

• Increased retention• Increased involvement• Increased enjoyment• Increased development• Increased access to quality programming

• Increased access to quality coaches and facilities

• Increased access to quality sessions as developed by quality Technical staff

• Increased parent education

Coach Education Plan

• Increased education of coaches• Increased number of licensed coaching

• Increased assessment of Club coaches

• Increased retention of coaches• Increased access to Coach education resources

• Increased accessibility to feedback• Increased access to learning facilitators

Post Club Opportunities

• Attendance at high level showcase events• Opportunities for presentation in front of professional scouts

• HD cameras to compile clips for highlight videos

• Utilizing post secondary scouting contacts to have players evaluated

• Professional scouts attending high level sessions at ASC

Below you will find some of the areas we are looking to advance in 2020.

I would also like to take this opportunity to give some background on my coach education as it pertains to the long-term plan that is being implemented at the Club. My experience in the game has taken me around the world as both a player and coach at professional clubs, having spent time coaching with International and professional players at both youth and 1st team levels.

Over the years I have built up a network of contacts around the world. This network has allowed me to see what top teams, who develop world class players, are doing regularly in each stage of development. These are especially important to me in regard to best practice methods, club and academy organizations at the youth levels and understanding/implementing player development techniques to be player centered and focusing on improving the player in all areas of development. This also provides an opportunity for our U13+ players to be seen and evaluated at the top levels once they are ready for that next step.

I have been afforded the opportunity to observe, learn, and develop personally as a coach from various high-level coaches and managers at Professional Clubs and Associations including:

It is with these opportunities that I have been able to develop, from many platforms, my own coaching philosophy. This education is something I feel passionately about and now am able to develop the Club’s curriculum based on best practices at the youth level in Europe to be executed here at the Club. The identity, training style, expectations, resources, philosophies, and vision of the Club is important to me when it comes to developing the culture here at Ajax Soccer Club and we are looking forward to you all being a part of it.

This networking will also allow me to have key contacts for any player looking to be showcased in Europe at the Academy level if that is the path they are on. Not only that, but we will continue to pursue US scholarship opportunities for any college bound player in our high-performance program as well.

I am excited about the times ahead and I am confident to say that we will be able to provide your child with training practices that are closely aligned with training and development practices in Europe. These standards coincide with the top players, professionally, internationally and at the youth level in the modern game. We are enthusiastic about bringing these elements to our member base in the coming months.

I look forward to the challenge that I have set out for this club, and I am extremely excited with the plans we have moving forward, not just on the player development side but the coaching education side as well. We are thankful for the support we have had up to this point and look forward to your continued support as we move forward together as Ajax Soccer Club.

Yours in soccer,

Ian Cummins

Technical DirectorAjax Soccer Club

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SC Paderborn(Germany)

SM Cean(France)

C.D. Mafra(Portugal)

Le Harve(France)

Liverpool FC(England)

PSG(France)

ESTAC Troyes(France)

Millwall FC(England)

French FootballFederation(France’s

governing body)

FIFALicensedAgents

The FootballAssociation(England’s

Governing body)

AFC Ajax(Netherlands)

West Ham(England)

Rangers FC(Scotland)

Sporting Lisbon(Portugal)