In the wake of the FIFA World Cup, the eyes of the soccer world are starting to focus on Canada, and that means more opportunities for Montreal’s top youth soccer talent.
“At the end of the day, we want to get as many kids as we can to the next level,” said Noah Eisenberg, a former professional player who now focuses on connecting young players with coaches at the professional and university levels.
More than 40 coaches from professional and university soccer teams traveled from across North America to Montreal this weekend for a talent showcase, where 140 of the city’s best young players were given the chance to prove what they’ve got.
“We’re just getting so much attention now,” said Daniele Mastroianni, a U-17 player for SC Saint-Laurent. “It’s not only going to help me, but it’s going to help everybody else here, as well with younger generations. So it’s great to see.”
Mastroianni says he received an offer to play at the University of Massachusetts Lowell next year, after his youth team won the national championships this season. His future coach, Kyle Zenoni, was back in Montreal this weekend searching for more players like him.
“What an opportunity for the kids to have,” he said. “You have a bunch of college coaches here, and a lot of these kids will find homes. I think the level’s pretty good, and when you’re creating opportunities for kids, you can’t go wrong.”
While most players will not come away with a professional contract, the event proves soccer can still open doors.
“The more educated you are, the more opportunities in life you might have, the more keys to open doors you might have,” said Tony Guinn, head coach of the men’s soccer program at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. “Soccer is an entranceway, a gateway to getting that education.”
Guinn has attended talent showcases all over the United States and believes very few are as well run as the one put on by Eisenberg and his team at FMS Pro.
“These guys are following up with coaches,” he said. “They know all the kids that are here, and they’re really invested, and they’re really trying to help the kids move forward. That doesn’t happen in America.”
FMS Pro held a similar showcase last weekend for girls.
For Eisenberg, it’s a way to give back and share the tricks he learned to get ahead.
“Nobody talks about, ‘what do you do before the event,'” he said. “I called each kid and wrote them and told them you should be writing emails, and I showed them how to write an email to a college coach or to a prep school coach or to an academy coach.”
“I think that’s such an important step that people don’t understand because we’re not the most educated here about that process.”
He and his team are building an infrastructure around soccer that is desperately needed in Canada, helping take these kids and the sport to the next level.
Canada will be one of three nations to host the World Cup in 2026, alongside Mexico and the U.S.
