January 15, 2012--The CSL Brightest - First of a Series (from CSL website)
THE CSL's BRIGHTEST - First of a Series Canada has more than 400,000 registered youth male soccer players and like everywhere else in the world, the number of talented players is directly proportional - as this number increases, so does the talent. And the Canadian Soccer League has more than its fair share. In fact, never in the long history of the CSL have so many of its players been called up to various national teams or signed by professional clubs at a higher level in North America and abroad. Take Adam Janssen, 20, for example. He’s a standout goalkeeper who attended Michael Power St. Joseph High School, just across the street from Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke where in the years 2006 to 2008 he was a three-time MVP, winning two city championships and with his club side, Dixie Dominators, he recorded five shutouts while winning a Canadian national championship Janssen was signed by the CSL’s Brampton City Utd, playing for the reserve side while also playing for Long Island University and has since been selected for Canada’s U-23 national team making his debut against the U.S. men’s national team in 2011. Odaine Demar, 19, of Capital City FC is another player worth watching. Jamaica-born and spending some time in England before moving to Canada where he attended All Saints Catholic High School in Ottawa to score the second highest number of goals ever recorded by the school team in the four years he played there. He was a standout defender during the Capital City FC inaugural year in the CSL and at the end of the season was selected for the Jamaican U-20 national team for the CONCACAF championship. Demar has attracted attention from clubs in Europe and has been of interest to Toronto FC. He’s not sure if he wants to play for Jamaica or Canada. These, and many other CSL players called to their national teams, as well as CSL players moving to higher level professional soccer here and overseas, will be the subject of a regular feature of Canadian Soccer League.com. We’ll tell you about more players from Brampton City Utd and Capital City FC, as well as Danny Dragoi, a midfielder with Windsor Stars now playing for Kastrioti Krujë of the Albania Superliga, Stefan Vukovic, the CSL’s leading scorer in 2011 with TFC Academy who started his professional career with the Serbian White Eagles reserve team and who appears on the verge of a contract with Toronto FC. There’s Andrew Ornoch, the Mississauga Eagles FC midfielder having signed for Telstar, of Holland and several other players from that club now playing in Europe. There’s Adrian Butters and Jordan Webb from York Region Shooters, now playing in Singapore. Montreal Impact Academy and TFC Academy each have a string of their CSL players selected for one or more of Canada’s national teams, but the recognition is right across the board, throughout the league. Most of these players are youth players on there way up, so we’ll make you aware also of those in the twilight years of an impressive soccer career, players who give the CSL balance and who mentor the young players constantly. Sasa Viciknez of Serbian White Eagles, who played with top club FK Obilic when they won the 1997-98 FR Yugoslavian national league and played in the European Championships is the best example, but there are others having played at a high level in other parts of the world. Some CSL coaches are interesting also, like English-born Danny Dichio who played in the English Premier League and Serie A in Italy. Stay posted as we tell you about the CSL’s brightest during the coming weeks. 2011 Canadian Soccer League
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