A clear vision for TFC

For the first time in its history Toronto FC seems to have a clear vision.

It is a vision that permeates throughout the club, from top to bottom, as both management and players all agree that there is a patent way forward. That direction is focused squarely on Toronto's academy.

The fact that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has invested well over $20 million in their new training facility and hired an academy director with a wealth of experience in Thomas Rongen just goes to show their complete commitment to developing their own players.

The importance of the new and improved academy was a recurring theme when Toronto held its annual media day earlier this week. From Tom Anselmi and Paul Bierne, to Aron Winter, Bob de Klerk and Paul Mariner, all the way down to players like Doniel Henry and Ashtone Morgan, the excitement for the academy is obvious.

Now this commitment to the academy is nothing new, as the plan for the new training centre has been around for a while and the club has always invested in bringing in good coaches to develop young talent. But with Winter in charge it seems to have an even greater significance in the club’s direction.

De Klerk put it best when he said it is about more than just having the best facility in North America when it comes to youth development. You also need to have good coaches and you need to work to develop those coaches. To do that he feels you need to “have a vision, an idea of the way you want to play and that is important because now it is much easier to have a competition.”

That competition is important in the team setup since it allows management to “start training with those guys in each position” so that when a positional need does arise you have the option of bringing in a player from the youth academy or trading for one.

Danny Dichio, an academy coach and former TFC player, even went as far as to comment that “one day we are going to have a full team of kids from Toronto playing which would be a dream not only for the boys but for the fans as well to see a lot of Canadians on the team.” Now that is a dream that is a long way from becoming a reality but with another nine academy talents in training camp this season their presence will continue to grow.

Earl Cochrane remarked that of the nine academy players in camp there are two that he considers to be standouts. Now if either of both of them impress they could join a senior team that already includes home grown talents in Henry, Morgan, Matt Stinson, Keith Makabuya and Oscar Cordon. That is a lot of players already coming through the academy and looking to contribute to the first team so maybe that dream of Dichio's is not all that unrealistic as Toronto continues to look to the academy to provide all the best talent that the Greater Toronto area has to offer.

Regardless of whether a day where Toronto FC is filled with Toronto based players it is refreshing to see that the club has finally found a vision.

After dealing with Mo Johnston's five year plan that never really provided a clear direction for the club, fans should be happy to know that the team now has this air of being more focused on a set of objectives. In the short term the product on the field continues to improve as management makes trades and signings to try and bring in the best group of players. But in the long term the focus is on using the new facility and a talented coaching staff to try and create the best academy in North America.

The ground work is already there for that to take place but the club will have to continue its commitment to the youth of Toronto for many years before that can really take place.

A continued investment in the development of Toronto's talented youth will in the long run make Toronto FC a better team but will also serve to help develop the national program as more and more players will be given the chance to play at a high level in their own country. It is a day that many who care about soccer in Canada have long dreamed of that is now just one step closer thanks to TFC committing to investing in youth.

David Rowaan is a Toronto-based writer and key contributor to Waking the Red, a blog about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. Follow Waking the Red on Twitter.