Toronto FC’s home was a hive of activity last week as the Canadian Men’s National Team held a training hub ahead of the Conacaf Nations League quarter finals.
Canada will face Suriname with the first leg in Paramaribo tomorrow and the home leg at BMO Field on November 19.
MLS Canada Men’s National Team Head Coach Jesse Marsch assembled a group of 19 North American-based players out of season for training sessions before the official squad was announced on November 8.
The participants included six players from TFC: Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Deandre Kerr, Kobe Franklin, Adam Pearlman, and 16-year-old TFC Academy defender Richard Chukwu.
A pair of TFC Academy goalkeepers, Nathaniel Abraham and Dominic Kantorowicz, who was recently called up to the Canada U-20 side for a pair of friendlies in Costa Rica this month, were involved as well.
Marsch had several aims in mind.
“An opportunity to keep guys that will be in the roster for Suriname fit and keep them going and then to introduce some new players and expose them and give them the chance to develop into our idea of what we want this to be,” he laid out on Wednesday. “I haven't inundated them with information and video sessions.”
“I've more just challenged them to adapt to what we're doing and introduce them to how we do things and the intensity and the level and the speed at which we play, giving them the opportunity to experience it,” Marsch continued. “Ingest it and see what they can put into practice.”
Those getting their first taste of life with Marsch’s Canada have enjoyed the challenge.
“It's been really good,” said Franklin. “I've had the opportunity to see some faces that I grew up watching, see some faces that I played with in the youth ranks, and some new faces as well.”
“It's been great,” echoed Kerr. “I’m happy to be involved with these guys for the first time and just see the level of training, the intensity. It's all been good.”
Added Pearlman: “It's everything a young Canadian player wants to be a part of.”
“And it's been intense,” he continued. “It's been hard, but it's been a really great experience for me as a young player, coming into the atmosphere to learn and to understand the new way that the coach is implementing.”
The players were sent messages earlier this month inviting them to take part.
“I was a little surprised,” admitted Franklin. “It was just a message asking if I wanted to be a part of this camp. I was really honoured and said, ‘Of course’ and now here we are.”
“It was a little bit of a shocker, but I was excited for the opportunity,” said Kerr. “I wasn't expecting it, so definitely a good surprise.
Pearlman was in the car with his father.
“Driving with my dad and I got a message from Jesse,” said the 19-year-old defender. “It was a great moment, me and my dad in the car just driving.”
Spots are limited on official rosters, so it was a masterstroke to use last week to widen the player pool, providing an opportunity for the coaching staff to see new players and for players to show themselves.
Striking the balance between getting results now and planning for the future is part of the job.
“Being the national team coach, you have to get the balance right of doing both all the time,” laid out Marsch. “I’m always going to be tasked with pushing the team to get results, even in friendlies.”
“That gives the team confidence and belief that we're moving in the right direction, but in the process, I need to continue to identify new, talented young players so that we can broaden our player pools, so that we can continue to invest in the potential of what players can become and know that there will be benefits down the road,” he continued speaking on Thursday. “It’s for 2026 and it’s for beyond.”
The camp included a pair of 16-year-olds, Chukwu and Shola Jimoh, former TFC Academy attacker, now making waves with York United FC in the Canadian Premier League.
“There’s a lot of them,” quipped Franklin when asked about the young talent on display. “We have a promising young group of guys coming up that want to compete and want to win and be a part of this national team. A bright future ahead.”
The more the merrier.
“We’ve got to find more of these kinds of players that are talented at young ages and challenge them at the higher levels,” urged TFC captain Osorio. “It's amazing to see the potential in a lot of these young players.”
With eyes focused on the field as the players went through the session it was worthwhile to take a moment to savour the gathering of large slices of the professional soccer community in one location.
Marsch’s national team staff, the TFC first team and TFC Academy coaching staffs, the community coaches – TFC and national team legend Dwayne De Rosario and HFX Wanderers FC head coach, Patrice Gheisar, formerly of Vaughan Azzurri, representing the CPL. There were several generations of the national team on hand.
“It's an amazing dynamic to have past legends helping out with training, giving their insights from their experiences, and then having so many young guys taking information from them. It's a really good mix here,” reflected Osorio. “It feels like the right mix of old and new and present, it makes for a really good environment.”
And judging from the enthusiasm – and the occasional howl of protest during a small-sided contest – this was no half-speed kickabout. There were expectations.
“I’m fortunate enough to share a locker room with Richie and Oso,” recounted Franklin. “They passed on the word, said ‘This is the standard when you come up to play at the national team.’”
“I really got to experience that over the past two days,” he continued. “I’m excited to continue on with that intensity and raise my level.”
“There's a bit of pressure, but it's a good pressure,” Franklin added. “It's something that you, as an individual, want. You see the guys out on the pitch being able to play at those high intensity levels, wanting to do that for yourself collectively brings the group to a higher place.”
The word ‘intense’ was on everyone’s lips – both of the desired style of play and of working with Marsch.
“Everything we do has to be 100%,” remarked Kerr. “It’s good to try to adjust to that and to the speed that he wants us to play at, defending and attacking.”
“Intense, very intense,” said Pearlman. “A style of football that I haven't really been a part of, so it's been a change, but a good change. The coach is really enthusiastic and really pushes the young guys, which is good. It's been great working with him.”
“Really intense coach, really humble and a nice guy as well,” added Franklin. “My experience has been great and I'm just ready to learn more and submerge myself in the identity.”
Marsch had a different word for it.
“I said to them, I'm a pretty friendly and approachable guy, but I'm a little bit crazy when it comes to the demand of what it is to work, train,” he explained. “They've all learned that.”
“After day one, I said, ‘If you guys thought this was going to be a pass around then you had a misconception’ – it's one thing to be told that, it's another thing to actually experience it,” Marsch concluded. “What we've seen is from day one to day two, they've taken it with them and they've been able to put it to practice at a better level on the second day. We'll be looking to see it advanced every time we see them.”
