CanWNT's very weird year

The way forward to not look back

Photo by Pablo García Saldaña on Unsplash

It’s fair to say that it’s been a weird year for the Canadian Women’s National Team. 

Much of that wasn’t on the players, of course. Bev Preistman’s choice to direct her staff to spy on New Zealand had ramifications that are still playing out, but they do not reflect on the players of the program. They were victims of the the mess – the biggest victims, really.

Had they not been punished for the ethical failings of their coach, they would have won Group A and got the easier path to the Olympic final. In an alternative universe, Canada played the US for gold in Paris. 

If that had happened, who knows? Maybe we’d be talking about a repeat today. If there’s one thing we know about this program it’s that they show up when the five rings are there. It doesn’t always make sense — check that, it never makes sense – except that it’s exactly what always happens. 

So, yes, the players didn’t disappoint in Paris. It’s unclear what that means about the overall health of the program, however. A program that, as stated, had a weird year. 

It ended OK, with a 5-1 win over South Korea this week. It was nice to see the floodgates open up for once. Too often watching the women break down an opponent is like observing a woodpecker trying to chop down a redwood. Technically it’s possible, but it’s going to take a lot of effort and time. 

We also had evidence of that this week, when they huffed and puffed to a 0-0 draw against Iceland. Two results that when taken together don’t really tell us much that we didn’t know.

They can defend. They struggle to score. No one has truly stepped up to fill in part of the void that Christine Sinclair’s retirement creates. It’s a lot of the same and we have 3.5 years until the next Olympic tournament.

Oh, and no coach. Again with the weird year. That part of the equation made this recent window particularly hard to put into context. Without knowledge of what the direction is going to be it was hard to put much meaning to these results. 

Hopefully we are nearing the end of the drama. The two tiny Geordies (editor: Is Preistman a Geordie? Meh. Close enough) have flown the coop so there’s not much more blood to draw from that stone. The focus can be completely on finding a replacement.

Hopefully one that has absolutely no connection to the program’s past. No, none. I mean it. Zero. 

So, do not come at me with your Rhian Wilkinson suggestions. Yes, she just took Wales to its first major tournament. Good job. But, she just took Wales to its first major tournament – she is going to want to finish that job – and let’s not forget that there were some questionable ethical decisions made by her in Portland too.

I’m all for second chances and she’s made the best of hers in Wales, but Canada needs someone with an absolute clean slate and a completely fresh look at the program. So, Wilkinson is a non-starter.

That fresh look part is the big thing. After a decade under the influence of one man’s coaching philosophy, a break is needed. Someone that can come in and shake things up to take the team to another level. A level that is hopefully as strong at the grind of a World Cup as it has shown it can be in the sprint that is an Olympic tournament. 

Whoever the new coach ends up being they should be given a long rope in 2025 to experiment and look at as many players as possible. It's a long time until there is meaningful football again. Play the kids. Don’t be afraid to lose now to win later. 

There are lots of good pieces with the team. That they always show up for the Olympics is a good thing. It shows that they can gut their way through a short tournament. However, they do get found out in the World Cups and pointing that out is not being a “hater,” but rather wanting them to finally fulfill their full potential. 

Hire the right coach, make brave choices and set the right direction now and that might just be possible.