The BMO Soccer Centre in Halifax will be buzzing in March.
Soccer Nova Scotia has a couple of major events planned, with a under-15 boys Atlantic youth national integration camp scheduled for March 10-13 and Canada Games hopefuls from the Atlantic provinces meeting for a series of games March 13-16, with boys and girls teams taking to the pitch.
Canada Soccer will be sending representation from its under-17 program to the integration camp to gauge the talent level on display.
“This is the third year we’ve been doing these camps,” said Soccer Nova Scotia director of development Matt Holton. “We hosted in 2023 and Moncton hosted in 2024.
“The goal is to identify 25 or so of the top players in Atlantic Canada and to give them some exposure as to what national programs are looking for in terms of player development, and hopefully we’ll get maybe two or three of those players involved in that next level of being involved with a national team.”
Mike Vitulano, head coach of the Canadian under-17 boys team, will be at the camp, and other coaches with national and international experience are expected to attend. Vitulano guided Canada to a berth in this year’s FIFA World Cup, to be held in November in Qatar, by winning all four of its matches at a CONCACAF regional qualifier in February in Bermuda, outscoring opponents 28-2.
“The camp will involve of classroom discussion, skill and fitness testing, and they’ll probably have a couple of scrimmages,” said Holton. “These camps are held all across the country and the biggest thing that the coaches will be looking for is whether or not a player is coachable, willing to listen and learn. You can have all the skill in the world, but if you’re not coachable, you will not have that opportunity on a national level.”
The Canada Games teams will meet in a round-robin tournament, followed by placement games on the final day. Holton said it will be the final opportunity for Nova Scotia hopefuls to make an impression before the final roster is chosen for the Summer Games in St. John’s, N.L., in August. There are 25 players in the running for spots on the Nova Scotia boys team and 26 for the girls team.
Holton said the Nova Scotia rosters should be finalized by the end of March, with the teams scheduled to compete in the senior division of the Nova Scotia Soccer League. There is also a 10-day tour planned for the United Kingdom in April, with the Nova Scotia sides based in Leicester, home to the Foxes of the men’s Premier League and the FA Women’s Super League.
“It’ll be a combination of training and games,” said Holton. “We’re still working on finalizing some of the details, but we’re hoping for four games, likely against a combination of English academy and club level teams, and we hope to get to see a couple of the professional games. It’ll be a great experience for the group and a good way for them to bond as a unit.”
