Wish I had better news.
The game is dwindling, and despite my continued efforts, interest for our national teams is too. We are more than OK for a couple seasons coming up, but after that there is a huge dropoff.
Out of 55 eighteen year olds I had pegged for future U21 consideration, only 18 have been reasonably trained. By that I mean at least 5 pops this year, and as for first season players and training speed, 5 pops is a very low bar. 7 players received 10 or more pops.
The recent worlds was an indicator of what Canada will soon do at Americas. Hope to win a game. Resort to crazy tactics to try and steal a win versus a stronger nation. Gone are days of fighting for a spot on the team. For a few years there we were gloriously back to it, but now again it's just taking whoever is half decent.
Either we stay on this path and become specks in the international BB game, or we do something about it.
On both my Canadian team and Utopian team, I make sure I have one trainee under 21. I will continue to do this. I beg more people to consider doing this.
Why do you play this game? Is Canada's placement in U21/NT standings important to you? Do you care if the game is only around for 5, 10, 15 more seasons and then disappears? Have you ever asked yourself these questions?
Maybe a little bleak, but that's where I see us going and I don't like it. I will run again for U21 coach and give it my all for another term, and hope to turn it around again and sustain it.