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On Wednesday, Canadas womens national team coach, John Herdman, announced his 18-player roster for Canadas upcoming friendly on June 2 against the United States at BMO Field in Toronto. The squad contains a few surprises (like the inclusion of American-born 21-year old defender Rachel Quon) but also some familiar faces; 14 players named were part of Canadas bronze-medal-winning team at last years Olympic Summer Games in London. One of those faces was Melissa Tancredi. If you watched Canada play in London last year, youd expect Tancredi to be one of the first names on Herdmans list for a game against the number one ranked team in womens soccer. The problem is, Tancredi is currently finishing chiropractic school in St. Louis and hasnt played soccer since the Olympics. This is not a criticism of Tancredis abilities; in my opinion, she was one of the star players in Canadas miraculous bronze-medal run last summer. But how can a player whose club affiliation is listed as "unattached" be deemed ready to play international football against the best team in womens football? That Herdman has called up Tancredi is neither a criticism of the coach nor of the player. It is an indictment on a broken, dysfunctional youth development system that does little, if anything, to produce a stream of talented players capable of playing at the elite level. Herdman has included Tancredi – despite the fact that she has not played a competitive match since the bronze medal game against France in August last year – because there is no one else that he can call. Thats right. No one else. "Id love to be able to say that in the experience weve had over the last three months that theres a whole barrel of young players that are able to step in at this point and grab senior shirts, but the barrel is pretty empty," said Herdman to the media via conference call when the squad was announced on Wednesday. In fact, such is the paucity of players coming through Canadas youth ranks that Herdman has had to turn to 21-year old Quon as an alternative. To compete at the international level, players must be technically skilled, tactically intelligent, physically dynamic and mentally strong. And the brutally honest truth is that the system of youth soccer in Canada does not produce these players. The win-at-all-costs system that is currently in place in most provinces allows youth coaches to recruit players to win trophies – as false a measure of success as is imaginable – rather than encouraging them to teach players the fundamentals they need to one day become the type of player coveted by coaches like Herdman. The result is a pool of players who are ill-equipped to compete at the international level. "The challenges at this stage are creating a youth system and a whole structure that can produce a conveyor belt of Canadian players that, when a player starts hitting the age of 30, weve already identified, tracked a Canadian player from as young as 13 through our system, prepared them with the right tools and skills to be the best that they can be. I think that its a major challenge for us all. Whether its a parent, whether its the provinces, whether its the national body, to be able to align that system. Until that system is in place, we get a 30-year old that is starting to come to the twilight years of her career, and you actually have to start looking in the U.S. for a player, because there isnt a Canadian, either with a left foot or that skill set that can maintain the pace of the modern game; tactically, physically, technically, and I think thats the challenge were facing," said Herdman. That is as realistic and accurate an assessment of the state of youth soccer in Canada as one is likely to come across. It is also a brutal wakeup call that reform is urgently needed. "In five, six years time, we should never have to do this, we shouldnt have to go and recruit players from other countries because our talent pool – our population base – is bigger than the majority of countries we play against. For me, its a no-brainer that long-term, we should be measuring ourselves on not having to go and pluck players out of the USA, and that is a reality for ourselves at this stage," said Herdman.Wholesale Custom Jerseys . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Custom Basketball Jerseys Outlet . 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But this time, he has called for the world body of cycling to introduce a law change that would allow for less congested and dangerous finales.Sagan (Tinkoff), who kept the yellow leaders jersey by finishing fourth in Mondays 223.5km Stage 3 from Granville to Angers in Brittany behind winner British sprinter Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), believes the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) should look at neutralising stages that are settled in bunch sprints several kilometres before the finish.He believes if the times for overall classification were taken before the race neared the finish, it would stop those vying for overall victory from getting involved in the sprints as they have been to avoid the crashes or splits that can happen and lead to costly time losses.It very dangerous. That is how I see things, Sagan said after the stage. Sagan is still first overall, eight seconds ahead of second-placed Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (FDJ) and 10 seconds up on Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in third.At 14 seconds are all but four overall favourites, led by Briton Chris Froome (Sky) in fourth. Further back are Italys Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) in 28th overall at 25 seconds, Frenchman Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) in 31st at the same time, Spaniard Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) in 57th at 1:02 and Australian Richie Porte (BMC), who is 77th at 1:59.Sagans call to the UCI follows his outburst on Sunday, when he won Stage 2 and took the leaders yellow jersey. He spoke of the safety hazards that come with riders in the peloton not respecting each other.Its very hard to enjoy racing on the bike, Sagan said Sunday. When I did my first Tour de France, it was a different race. Now everyone rides as if they dont care about life. Last year, it was very bad, and this year is very bad, but its the riders decision how they ride.You never know if youll be able to continue in the race. Today, Im in yellow, but maybe tomorrow I go home; this is the Tour de France, he added. In this moment, Im not an important rider in peloton [to change things]. Nobody cares. Its as if they lost their brains. I dont know what has happened. There are stupid crashes.Before there was respect: When someone did something, they threw bottles at him or beat him with a pump, but cycling has lost this.The stakes are now so high in cyclingSagans argument earned much agreement from Cavendish. The Manx Missile, whose Tour stage win took his tally to 28 overall in the Tour and tied him with the second-best all-time mark with French icon Bernard Hinault, also believes there has been a change in mindset among riders.The mentality has a changed a little bit. Some guys -- not all GC guys -- in the past, they used to all go to the back and roll in in a gentlemans kind of agreement, Cavendish said Sunday. Now, there are some riders who actively want to be ahead of the split. Its not just that they dont want to get caught out, so they dont want to be behind the split. They try to be up there hoping there is a split so they can get a few seconds. This is nothing to do with the course really, you know. Its more the riders.He has got a point, but the problem is that the stakes are now so high in cycling. There is more money going, Cavendish added about SSagans comments.dddddddddddd He earns so much money that guys want to do so well to emulate how much money he earns. So they are going to try and take risks to do that.The difference between guys who win and lose is evident. The guys who win understand it. They have respect for each other. They are the first to congratulate the other guys who win. Its the ones who never win anything ... not all of them, its not fair to bracket every rider, but generically a lot of guys dont win, and they kind of feel bitterness toward the guys who win. Instead of appreciating what they have done, they kind of resent it.Its getting more dangerous in the bunchAdam Hansen, an Australian delegate of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associé, said the organization has asked the UCI to consider timing general classification in sprint stages with three kilometres to go.Hansen, 35, who is racing in a record 15th-consecutive three-week grand tour here, said Sagans remarks on Sunday were correct, but he added that the issue of respect among the riders was a responsibility for the riders to resolve and not the CPA.Hansen, who is not the CPA delegate at the Tour (those delegates are ex-French cyclists Jan Xavier and Pascal Chanteur), said the CPA believes it would be a bit safer if the times were taken at three kilometres to go [in a stage], not up until the final sprint.That way the sprinters can sprint and do their messy stuff, Hansen explained, and GC guys can relax and get out of the sprinters teams way.Hansen added that the CPAs proposed rule change on timing overall classification times in sprint stages would reduce stress leading up to and during a sprint finish. The proposed change is part of a CPA security plan that has been submitted to the UCI that also includes proposed measures for better security overall in races.Asked of Sagans concerns about rider behaviour, Hansen told ESPN: It is true what he says, thats for sure. Its getting more dangerous in the bunch. On the other side, there is more pressure from sponsors, the teams are getting stronger, teams are getting smarter. I think the level between the riders is becoming closer, so this doesnt help, either.Hansen also cited the last stage of this years Giro dItalia that he raced in. The race jury took times at the end of the second last eight-kilometre finishing circuit due to wet conditions.A lot of guys sat up and said, We dont want to be in that fight. We dont want to risk our lives just to get the same time. Hansen said. We got the same time, so we were out of the race and let the sprinters race [for the stage win] and that was a spectacular finish.That is one of the things riders are pushing for -- to have the rules changed so it is safe for the riders. Otherwise, we sort of get forced to race like idiots.Hansen said the race jurys call for the Giro final was backed by the majority of riders there from a poll taken through a new online communication system from the CPA. He said results have been used to bolster the CPAs UCI submission on race safety.I think 96 percent of the Giro riders agreed [neutralising the stage] was the right decision, Hansen said. Its definitely what the riders want, but trying to get the UCI to change the rules is something different. ' ' '