But, when a teenage amateur player — on the field because of national pride and the chance to develop her young career — lays on the ground, it's a lot harder to watch.

This was the weekend when the four CIS athletic conferences crowned their soccer champs. We saw some upsets; will some of the darkhorses that emerged continue to surprise at the upcoming national men's and women's championships?

FC Edmonton veteran midfielder Chris Nurse has confirmed he won't be back with club in 2014. Nurse, who was named the team's MVP by his teammates and captured an NASL Player of the Month award this season, issued a statement to his followers and FCE supporters on Sunday.

“It was an absolute circus,” Miller said of the pre-game festivities in Fort Lauderdale. “We go off the field at 20 minutes past to get ready for the game, we’re ready to go at 7:30 and we’re waiting for almost half an hour. Anyone involved in professional football knows that’s too much time to wait.”

This isn’t the first time the Impact have been censured for the team’s behaviour in a playoff ouster. After a 2010 USSF-Div. 2 playoff loss to Carolina, in which an Impact goal was disallowed — and Montreal also claimed one of Carolina’s goals was offside — the team charged the match officials.

First, there was the 8-0 win over Guatemala. And, on Saturday, an 11-0 thrashing of Trinidad and Tobago. And, so, Canada has clinched a spot in the semifinals of the CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship with two blowout triumphs in the group stage. A final group stage match against the United States will be all about group positioning.

Nurse was named the FC Edmonton player of the year by his teammates. He was named the NASL player of the month for August. He scored three times for the Eddies in the fall season and also had a marker in the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal against the Whitecaps.

Canada gave us an indication of just how much of a walk in the park its CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship opener against Guatemala was going to be just 10 minutes into the match.

Miller said the club is already in advanced negotiations with one or two players, but he wouldn’t reveal the identity of either of them. But he said deals with the two new players in question could be close.

Now that Yallop is back in the realm of the employed, he join San Jose coach Mark Watson (and Yallop’s former assistant) as Canadian coaches in MLS. Now add to that the fact there are three Canadian coaches currently employed in NASL: FC Edmonton’s Colin Miller, San Antonio Scorpions interim boss Alen Marcina and Ottawa Fury head man Marc Dos Santos. Yes, we include Dos Santos because, even though the Fury won’t begin NASL play till 2014, Dos Santos is already working to identify players and hire his staff.