Soccer in Halifax

For many years now, soccer has continued to be one of the fastest growing sports in Canada in terms of registration.
In Nova Scotia we are now beginning to see more and more development of soccer infrastructure, especially with the new Harbour East turf fields in Burnside Industrial Park that are still under construction but are scheduled to be ready in August 2006. These fields will prove to be an excellent venue for soccer in Dartmouth to go along with the other artificial grass fields in metro at Saint Mary's University, Mainland North Commons, Wier Field, and Dalhousie University which is expected to do an overhaul of the field there as it is now 10 years old and is beginning to come apart in places making it possibly the least desirable turf field in metro with maybe the exception of Weir Field depending on the mosquito population.

I watched a Premier division game in the NSSL recently between a struggling Valley Kings Arms team and the defending provincial champions, City Coldwell Banker. The game was definitely a disappointment with the Valley team surprising with a 2-0 win. The game was sloppy and seemingly lacked skill, determination, and entertainment value compared to first division games of past years. Granted, City Coldwell Banker has had a number of injuries to some key players and that may have played a part, but still it was disappointing. The fan turnout for the game was fairly sparse as well and maybe they knew what the game was going to be like and stayed away. There are many clubs in our province that have teams at all age levels and divisions...where are these supporters? Where are the young players striving to improve and appreciate the premier teams of their clubs. Why are they not at games cheering, acting as ball boys or girls? Is this even promoted within the clubs? If not, it should be.

A couple of years ago after finishing university and being tired of the ultra-competitive play in the CIS, being tired of the many practices of a premier division team, which ironically was Halifax Celtics, the team now known as City Coldwell Banker, I decided to take a break from it and have some fun playing down in the third division with old friends in the MSMSL. This was a good time and the goals were easy to score. The MSMSL is a great place to play if you want to have fun, not practice, and just enjoy playing the game with little pressure. The league has many quality players in it but it is also home to those who certainly not blessed with much skill. The year was enjoyable but by the end of the year , I knew that the MSMSL was not for me, not yet.

The following year, still unmotivated to get back in to premier soccer, I decided to play in the Halifax Soccer League, one step down from premier in the men's second division. The quality of soccer is quite high and many of the top teams in the league would easily provide a good test to teams in the premiership. The league is competitive with a mix of high quality players, wily veterans, workhorses, and many who just want to play some decent soccer without all the practicing. That's not to say the league does not have its share of lower-skilled players which tends to be more so with the younger players who are fit but not skilled enough for first division, believe me it does and it can be frustrating at times.

Another bonus of the Halifax Soccer League and the MSMSL are the websites that are maintained, very interactive and easy to navigate. It provides schedules, rosters, statistics, game reports, and pretty much everything you need to be informed. These sites were developed by Nellum Technologies and do a superb service to the league.

All in all, there is much quality soccer to be watched and played in Halifax and hopefully the sport will continue to develop in quality and exposure in the area.