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Imagine if the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup included the likes of Steven Stamkos, Drew Doughty, Rick Nash, Alex Pietrangelo, Jeff Carter, Matt Duchene, Corey Perry, Mike Smith and John Tavares. Do you think the Leafs would be perennial Stanley Cup contenders? Now imagine if that team also contained the likes of Patrick Kane, Eric Staal, Mike Richards, Bobby Ryan, Marc Staal, James Neal, Jordan Staal, Logan Couture, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Jeff Skinner, Gabriel Landeskog and Alex Galchenyuk. How do you like their chances now? Before anyone jumps in and shouts, "But theyd never get those guys under the salary cap!" let me explain. Every single one of those players is a product of the Ontario Hockey League. What if the Toronto Maple Leafs had actually created the Ontario Hockey League. What if they had started the league from scratch and picked up the cost through its early years of development? And what if, because they created the OHL, they now have the first option on every player in the league? You see where Im going with this? What if Toronto FC did the same thing for youth soccer in Ontario. What if they created a high performance development league that harnessed the bottomless pit of potential that currently exists among the 300,000-plus soccer players in the province? Even better: What if they created an entire development system for kids as young as eight, ensuring that they got the best football education imaginable? What do you think that would do for their long-term success as a professional club? What if Toronto FC turned its Club Affiliate Program into such a development system? Its goal would be to produce a continual stream of talented young players for its academy, and ultimately, for its first team. Do you think they would be perennial MLS Cup contenders? Here is how I would set it up: • Expand the Club Affiliate Program to 20 clubs, ensuring that there is geographical representation across the major areas of the province. • Hire qualified, professional coaches to work with players between the ages of eight to 16, implementing a periodized training curriculum to ensure that the focus is on mastering technical skills. Allow players to come into the program at any age, focusing resources on the most promising young players (20 per age group per club). • Remove the 20 clubs from the current competitive system in Ontario, ensuring that they play regularly scheduled games against other CAP organizations. • At the top of the development system, create the equivalent of the OHL - a high performance league for players between the ages of 15-20 - where the best players from the 20 clubs would compete against each other on a weekly basis. • Pick up the entire cost for every player at every club. The last point is especially important. One of the major challenges that is faced when developing young soccer players in Canada is that our system of player development is pay-for-play. What that means is that the end user (the player) carries the full cost of their development. This system often sees players participating in sub-optimal development programs, and also restricts talented players whose parents cannot afford the cost of the best development programs - which can cost anywhere from $2,000-$5,000 per year. So what would it actually cost Toronto FC to make soccer free for every participant in its CAP program? If TFC had 20 clubs in its Club Affiliate Program, with 20 players per club, that would be 400 players per age group. If such a program ran from U8 - U15 (with the OHL-equivalent league sitting on top of those age groups), there would be nine age categories. That is 3,600 players, from the age of eight onwards. Conservatively, a program such as this one could be run for as little as $3,000 per player, annually. That is just over $10 million per year. Not very much for a club that just spent close to $100 million to sign two players, is it? Im not arguing against the signings that TFC just made - in fact, I think that the club needed to sign Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley, not least of which to give the fans a reason to care again. But while the club will be hoping that their off-season moves will quickly turn them into an MLS contender, their long-term success can come through developing the countless talented youngsters currently playing the game across the province, rather than through hiring expensive foreign professionals. Josh McRoberts Jersey .com) - Colorado forward P. Dwight Powell Jersey . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. http://www.officialmavericksfanstore.com...ricks-jersey/.J. -- Pete Carroll said it was the suspension of linebacker Bruce Irvin last spring that finally got the attention of the rest of the Seattle Seahawks that they needed to be taking their commitment to the team more seriously. Dennis Smith Jr. Jersey . Hes still nowhere close to throwing yet. The four-time MVP was in good spirits when he made his first public appearance on the field since having neck surgery Sept. Wesley Matthews Jersey . -- Michael Frazier II scored 21 points, Dorian Finney-Smith added 11 and No.Former Tottenham captain Ledley King believes the Premier League title will be decided on which team can best handle the pressure. Leicester extended their lead over Spurs at the top to seven points at the weekend, following their 1-0 win over Southampton on Sunday and Tottenhams 1-1 draw at Liverpool 24 hours earlier.Sky Sports Graeme Souness said on Super Sunday that he feels Spurs have the best run-in of fixtures to see out the season. Former Tottenham captain Ledley King is expecting a close battle for the title They start with a home match against Manchester United this Sunday, shortly after Leicester visit Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.But King, who played over 250 Premier League games for Spurs, insists there are no easy games at this stage of the season, and believes it will come down to more than just who the teams are facing.They are all difficult games. Leicester have Sunderland, which will be a tough test for them, he said. It might look good on paper, but they are fighting for their lives. So Im hoping they or someone else can help the Tottenham fans out. I think its about who handles the pressure from now until the end of the season. Thats who will pick up the Premier League title. Ledley King Spurs are playing against Manchester United, so they are both very tough games. I think its about who handles the pressure from now until the end of the season. Thats who will pick up the Premier League title.King, who played for Totttenham between 1999 and 2012 before retiring through injury, has been delighted with the team spirit shown by his old side this season, and believes their energy and togetherness could be key in getting to the top of the table.dddddddddddd.You can see its a team enjoying playing together. Its a young group of players, who enjoy being around each other which goes a long way on the pitch.They seem to enjoy playing without fear and pressure, which is great to see, especially at this stage of the season. Theyre trying to win the league, but still playing without fear. The Liverpool performance was a very good one - to be able to bounce back so quickly from the setback of going 1-0 down shows the mental strength of the team. It stands us in good stead for the rest of the season.While former England international King is expecting Spurs to give themselves a real chance, he has been impressed with how title rivals Leicester have been handling the pressure. I dont want to downplay their quality, but for me the thing that stands out is the work ethic and desire to work for each other and to keep clean sheets, added King.For a team thats never been in this position to be able to grind out 1-0 wins like theyve been doing shows incredible strength. Claudio Ranieris done an incredible job too, and they seem to be handling the pressure.Barclays are giving one fan the chance to present the Barclays Premier League trophy to the Champions. Could you be the one? Visit www.spiritofthegame.barclays.com to enter. 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