The Ontario Soccer Association announced the hiring of York Region Soccer Association (YRSA) Technical Director Mirco Schroff to the newly created position of Technical Director, Talented Pathway. Schroff will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of the provinces high performance programs, including the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) and the new Regional Talent Centre program.

We are excited to have Mirco join our technical team because of the wealth of knowledge he possesses around player and coach development, OSA Chief Technical Officer Alex Chiet said. He has excelled in his roles as technical director at the club and district levels and demonstrated his commitment to building soccer in Ontario.

Schroff has a proven track record for program development and implementation. He will be leading and supporting OPDL license holders in providing the appropriate environment to nurture and develop Ontario's most talented players.

"I look forward to working with all OPDL license holders to provide the most supportive environment to nurture and progress Ontario’s most talented players, Schroff said. This is an exciting time for soccer in Ontario and Canada as the new Talented Pathway will ensure a systematic approach to both player and coach development based on strategically defined performance principles and standards. With excellence in mind, we will succeed in creating a distinct soccer culture that allows for both talented players and coaches to thrive."

Schroff began his career in his native Germany where he played on several youth provincial and regional teams. He played at the semi-professional level for five years with Ludwigsburg while concurrently serving as the Head Coach of the Senior Team and Technical Director of Player Development for TSV Asperg Soccer Club and then GSV Hoepfigheim Soccer Club.

Schroff received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from The Open University, Milton Keynes United Kingdom and has completed several Canadian Securities Institute courses. Schroff holds several coaching qualifications including a Canadian National A License (Part I) as well as a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Advanced National Diploma and is an OSA Learning Facilitator.

We are pleased to have had Mirco progress through the Ontario system from coaching at our clubs, to leading York Regionals technical programming, to now working for the OSA in this critical leadership position, YRSA President Lucille Abate said. We wish Mirco the very best as he moves onto our provincial association in this senior capacity and know he will bring his creative and innovative initiatives forward to influence improvement of our game.

The OSA recently announced the hiring of Talented Pathway Managers Alex McNutt and Patrick Tobo and Technical Performance Manager Joey Lombardi who will join High Performance Manager Bryan Rosenfeld and Technical Coordinator Kevin Small in supporting Schroff.

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Ben Rycroft 
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brycroft@soccer.on.ca 
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