The notion of year-round training for young local hockey talent, in these parts, is now a given, with the advent of facilities like RHP Training Centre added to the existence of spring hockey sessions, and summer off-ice conditioning programs.

The benefit of same continues to be debated ad nauseum.

But in the eyes of former professional soccer player and St Charles College graduate Brian Ashton, there is no good reason for the sport of soccer to sit idly on the sidelines.

Ashton, who spent six years as a member of the Toronto Lynx, before tackling the role of Regional Head Coach in the North for the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA) upon his return to Sudbury, launched the Northern Soccer Academy (NSA) a few years back.

Now, the Academy prepares to take its game to the next level, receiving the OSA's blessing as a sanctioned academy. The decision provides some very tangible benefits for Ashton and his crew, who strived to meet the stringent accreditation criteria, including coaches who possess a minimum of Provincial "B" license or higher.

You can count the number of locals on that list on just one hand. "We're educating the coaches, having the best players playing together, and it's growing," said Ashton. In fact, much like the RHP experience, Northern Soccer Academy looks to draw from across Northern Ontario in accessing talent.

"In my experience with the regional program as a coach, when we get the best players playing together from across the north, we can compete with the rest of the province," stated Ashton. "Sudbury alone, Sault alone, North Bay alone, we can't."

"It's a good opportunity for our players to get exposed," Ashton continued. "Coaches at the provincial and national level are not looking at Huronia District Soccer League for players."

It's clear that the overwhelming majority of youngsters who play soccer in the Sudbury area do so with no realistic aspirations of cracking a Team Ontario roster. Yet for those who target that goal, and there have been several over the past decade or more, the answer was travelling to Vaughan at least a couple of times a month, accessing the type of training and competition required to realistically pursue that dream into their teenage years.

Ashton sees the NSA as a chance to keep those athletes closer to home. "As far as the Center of Excellence goes, now we have something at U13 and beyond, that the better players can go to," he said. "Now they can play all year round. We're training two to three times a week in each district."

"Players get to train in their own backyard, they don't have to always travel." While the likes of Cloe Lacasse, Jenna Hellstrom, Michael Marcantognini and a few others have moved on and excelled, most local talent have hit a wall, regardless of their ability to dominate in the Sudbury region.

"There's a combination of things," said Ashton. "The willingness to compete is a big one. It's not just about the skill level, it's about the attitude, the commitment. And I just don't think a lot of our players are used to playing at a high tempo, and moving the ball fast."

"If you have a bad touch, in Sudbury, you get a second touch, maybe a third touch on the ball," Ashton added. "That doesn't happen in a high level environment. You have a bad touch, you've lost it."

With this in mind, Ashton is looking to the "sanctioned academy" designation as opening another set of doors, introducing Northern Ontario elite soccer talent to a quality of opponent that will better prepare them in their pursuit to play at the highest level they can.

"There's a league, right now, called SAAC (Soccer Academy Alliance Canada), with 16 or so teams," explained Ashton. "We're likely going to apply to play in that league in 2017. But the word on the street is that the OSA will create an academy league that they run."

"If so, we will probably head in that direction, basically one level below OPDL (Ontario Player Development League)." For more information, contact Brian Ashton at "northernsocceracademy1@gmail.com".