Its strange, eh. Ottawa has always felt so safe, like a second home, really. I couldnt tell you how many times Ive stayed at the Westin Hotel there, how many times Ive frequented? the Rideau Centre mall attached to it; how many times Ive strolled from the Westin to past the Chateau Laurier on the way to Parliament Hill, or maybe a walk over to the Byward Market, where my sons condo was located in the months he lived in our nations capital. Is it 40 times? Fifty? One hundred? Ive never thought to count them up, to be honest, from the time I started covering junior hockey games there in 1979 to last Thursday, when I was there for the Senators home opener. But its been a lot. And as I sat on a plane today in Toronto, waiting to take off for New York, reading the horrific Twitter updates of possible shooters on the loose, a brave reservist of the Canadian Forces killed at the National War Memorial, of possible shootings elsewhere in the area, including the mall? I was casually strolling through last week, well, its almost incomprehensible. In this world we live in, it shouldnt be incomprehensible but it still is. I arrived in Ottawa from New York late Thursday morning last week, checked into the Westin though my room wasnt going to be ready for another hour. So I did what Ive done countless times before, take the elevator up to the third floor and into the Rideau Centre. I guess it had been almost a year since I was there last -- Daniel Alfredssons return as a member of the Detroit Red Wings last November-- so I was surprised to discover the malls street level food court and my long-time Tim Hortons was gone, under construction apparently, so I searched out the new food court at the opposite end of the mall. No Tims, apparently, but it was teeming with people and as I sat down at a table with my lunch, I happened to be seated close to a large group of teenagers, obviously on lunch break from their school. Its funny to watch kids interact with each other sometimes. You never know what youre going to get but this group of kids, spread out over two or three tables, struck me as maybe the nicest, happiest kids you could possibly imagine. They came in all shapes and sizes, all colours and nationalities, but what struck me was how incredibly kind and considerate and caring they were to each other. They couldnt have been happier, sharing each others company?, smiling, laughing, seemingly no boundaries or walls between them or the different tables they were sitting at. I watched them, was maybe even awed by them, for a good 15 minutes. In fact, it so made an impression on me I briefly thought about tweeting that I just saw a group of high school kids in Ottawa who made me feel really good about the world, about our community, how uplifting it was to see such inherently good or nice kids, or so it seemed to me. I thought of their parents and how pleased they must be at how well, at face value anyway, their kids looked to be turning out. I thought better of tweeting something, though, not feeling like opening a door to Twitter trolls, but as I went about my business in the mall -- going over to Hudsons Bay Co. to get a new watch battery; stopping by Chapters to see if my book was on display; dropping into Starbucks for a tea before going back to the hotel to get my room -- I thought about how much I enjoy Ottawa, how safe and comfortable it always is there, how maybe more than any Canadian city I visit, it feels like home. It was a good day and it ended as it started: happily, relaxing with friends and work colleagues in the hote?l bar after broadcasting the Sens home opener, a victory that sent everyone in Ottawa home happy that night. And then came today and the horrifying news from the Canadian capital. Of course, my thoughts are, first and foremost, with ?Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was killed standing guard at the War Memorial, and his family and friends. I thought about the brave first responders who put themselves in harms way when everyone else is running to safety. But I also thought of my friends and colleagues who were today at the Westin for tonights (now postponed) Toronto-Ottawa game, the same as I was last Thursday for the Senators and Colorado Avalanche game, and how something like affects everyone. And amid the reports of the mall and the hotels and the schools and the office buildings downtown being locked down with reports of gun fire ringing out, I thought of those high school kids and I wondered how they must be feeling, how different it would have been from when I saw them last week. None of us are naive enough to deny the existence of evil. Its all around us and it doesnt discriminate, not by country or city or town or village, so we shouldnt be surprised when it violently appears out of nowhere. When it does, theres no immunity. Which is what makes today such a difficult one for everyone everywhere. But? Im sure it wont be long before Im in Ottawa again and Im going to go the mall and I hope I see those kids, still happy and smiling, doing their part to make sure good triumphs over evil. Stay safe, Ottawa. Stay strong. Cesar Azpilicueta Jersey . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. Danny Drinkwater Chelsea Jersey . Austin does not believe the game-time temperature is going to be an advantage for either side heading into the Grey Cup. "We dont think about (the cold)," said Austin. "Im not even sure how you would determine an advantage. http://www.chelseasoccerjerseysonline.co...chelsea-jersey/. Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. David Luiz Chelsea Jersey . -- Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale searched more than three quarters for five guys who would play well together. Willy Caballero Jersey . - First-timer Chris Harris Jr.On Tuesday, Canada Soccer unveiled its new technical development vision for soccer in Canada, entitled Canada Soccer Pathway. Your Goals. Our Game. The pathway consists of three streams of play: recreational, competitive and EXCEL (the high performance level of the game). On hand to discuss the pathway were Canada Soccer Technical Director, Tony Fonseca, womens national team head coach, John Herdman, and Canada Soccer Long-Term Player Development Manager, Sylvie Béliveau. According to Béliveau, the pathway is "built around the principles of long-term player development and encourages lifelong participation. At Canada Soccer, we believe all players deserve the best possible soccer experience, and our Canada Soccer Pathway is designed to place their needs front and centre at each and every stage." The creation of different streams in youth soccer is long overdue, and a move that is likely to be met with approval across the country. Clubs are the primary delivery agents of the recreational and competitive streams, and in the coming weeks, Canada Soccer will release a national curriculum that supports coaches working with players in the first three stages of LTPD. Canada Soccer hopes to have the curriculum for the rest of the stages ready for release by the end of the summer. The national curriculum will be a valuable resource for coaches – especially for the thousands of volunteer coaches across the country working with young players. The curriculum will contain a "Preferred Training Model" that incorporates "station work", so that clubs that are heavily reliant on volunteer coaches can maximize their resources in order to provide the best development environment possible. The preferred model allows for a four-parent collective approach to training, and frees up the volunteer parent-coach from trying to impart too much technical or tactical information in one session. There are many benefits of taking such an approach at the early stages of player development. It maximizes the availability of coaching and facility resources, it aids volunteer parent coaches by allowing them to pool their knowledge, and it places players into an environment that meets their learning needs, where shorter, diverse sessions are broken up into varying activities of different intensity.dddddddddddd There are some questions that still need to be addressed with such an approach, though. Utilizing a "station work" approach to training requires guidance and oversight from a trained facilitator or coach educator. Do the majority of clubs across the country that are working with players between the ages of 4-12 have coach educators on staff? If not, how does Canada Soccer train coaches to be able to perform this role? Is the long-awaited "Childrens License" that has been in development finally going to be given the resources it needs to be completed? The Preferred Training Model suggests that an assessment-based coaching qualification such as this is required, so one would hope that its completion would be given top priority. More pressing questions arise when one looks further along the Canada Soccer Pathway. Given the significance of HP (high-performance) leagues in the Pathway, will Canada Soccer assume direct control of these leagues? If not, how will Canada Soccer ensure that such leagues will be open to both non-profit community clubs and for-profit private academies? If Canada Soccer is going to leave the operation of HP leagues to the respective provincial associations, how will Canada Soccer ensure that political forces do not undermine technical decisions – like the inclusion of private academies? If we are serious about creating the best possible environments for player development in Canada, then politics have no place in our technical decision-making process. Among the documents released on Tuesday was a community guide for long-term player development, as well as a womens EXCEL program guide for players and parents. Both documents provide some valuable insight into the direction of the game in Canada. Those expecting Tuesdays announcement to contain the answers for all of our developmental woes will feel very underwhelmed. Our problems run deep, and require a series of detailed, long-term solutions. While this is just the first step, it is important to remember that every long journey starts with a single step. I, for one, am hopeful that this step will take us in the right direction. ' ' '