Pierrefonds soccer combine puts local talent in spotlight
Two former Montreal Impact players are trying to help local soccer talent get noticed south of the border.
Freddy Moojen and Antoinio Ribeiro came up with the idea to hold a combine soccer camp in 2012 to help give local players exposure to U.S. colleges.
After a modest start, the Ribeirio-Moojen Scouting Combine has grown in size each year. This year’s edition will welcome 80 players over two weekends in May.
The male edition will take place May 20-21 at Grier Park in Pierrefonds, while the female edition takes place there the following weekend, May 27-28.
Scouts and coaches from more than a dozen U.S and Canadian colleges and universities will be on hand to scout the talent, mostly players from local AAA soccer leagues.
The camp is open to players between the ages of 16 and 21.
Registration for the two-day camp is $300, although some sponsorship money is put aside to help defray the costs for players who can’t afford to pay the full fare, Moojen said.
Although 26 participants from previous camps have received an accepted scholarship to U.S. colleges, Moojen said players are not given guarantees of obtaining a scholarship.
“We don’t sell dreams,” he said. “We don’t promise kids that if they come they’re going to receive a scholarship. And we don’t promise them they’ll become professionals after that. These things are not up to us. It’s up to them.”
He said many other players have received partial scholarships that were not accepted for a variety of reasons.
Moojen said the combine fills a void because local soccer players receive very little exposure to U.S. colleges. Moojen, a Brazilian, spent three years playing U.S. college soccer before he was recruited by the Impact in 2007.
He said the American college ranks offer an excellent calibre of soccer compared to most Canadian universities.
“I’m sorry to say you cannot compare the level of the facilities of universities in Quebec to any top university in the U.S.,” Moojen said. “Having said that, I know we have good universities here academically. They’re good universities, don’t get me wrong. But if you want the total the package, the experience, if you want to get better as a player, to have doors open for you to play professionally, you cannot compare. Sorry, there is a big difference. Even (NCAA) Division II soccer is good.”
“I’m very passionate about this because I went through it,” added Moojen, who studied economics and political science and led the Clemson Tigers soccer team in goals in 2006.
“I know the value of getting an education and playing college soccer for a U.S. university for three or four years. The value it brings to you as a person, as a human being, you cannot pay for that or find it somewhere else.”
Moojen said the combine fills a void because local soccer players receive very little exposure to U.S. colleges. As for the calibre of competitive senior leagues in Quebec, Moojen called it “a joke.”
Ribeiro, who was born in Portugal and grew up in St-Michel, took a different route to the pros. He rose through the local and provincial soccer ranks before joining the Impact. He did three stints with the club from 2000 to 2011.
As a player, Ribeiro said he was not even aware of the scholarship opportunities that existed south of the border. He hopes the soccer combine will continue to grow.
“It’s getting bigger and bigger, and people start to know us. We’ve really worked on our name and we make sure we follow up on the kids, even after they go to the States.”
Ribeiro he has encountered some resistance from local coaches and technical directors who fear losing their top players to U.S. colleges.
“The coaches don’t want to lose their best players because they’re going to lose three points (in the standings) the next weekend.
“They don’t think about the future and it’s dumb. It’s dumb. In the future, we hope the Quebec Soccer Federation will approve and push this event because it’s a good event.”
For more information, visit antonioribeiro.ca.