The Maccabiah Games don’t take place until 2017, but the search is on for coaches looking to steer Canada’s soccer teams in the tournament.

The United States is hosting the women’s CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the 2016 Olympics. And Group B — which includes Canada — will be played at Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium, on a grass field that will be subjected to international rugby just days before the soccer tourney kicks off. Remember that in late January of 2013, the Canadian men’s national team played the United States in Houston. And, many of the Canadian players mentioned the poor quality of the pitch in Houston — which is really a multipurpose facility that is also the home of the MLS’s Houston Dynamo and the NWSL’s Houston Dash.

The FC Edmonton keeper already has a few things on his to-do list: He wants to be the team’s everyday starting goalkeeper; he wants to help the club push into the NASL playoffs, and he wants to impress Canadian national-team coach Benito Floro.

Yet, despite all of these edges, Canada could only manage a 2-2 draw in its CONCACAF Olympic qualifying group-stage finale. Canada had all the advantages, but the Cubans had the guts and, it has to be said, a far superior fitness level in the rarified air of the Denver suburbs.

But, in Friday night’s Pan Am Games bronze-medal match, we were reminded that she still has a lot to learn.

Before the Cyprus Cup kicked off, Canadian national women’s team coach John Herdman talked about how important it would be for his players to remain organized. He talked about how vital it was for the team to keep its shape.

Maybe it’s the new format — which makes it much more difficult for Canada to qualify for the U-17 World Cup than in he past. Maybe it’s the fact that the national U-20 team flamed out so spectacularly in its recent attempt to qualify for its age group’s World Cup. But there’s no denying that the Canadian sentiment towards this crop of U-17s is more muted than past years. There’s no chatter of who’s going to be the next Great Canadian Hope.

So, as the Canadians women’s national team gets set to face the World Cup champions from Japan twice in the coming week, you can’t expect there to be a war of words. Really, the series of friendlies sorta feels like we’re inviting a well-respected friend and the kids over for a playdate.

While neither Burt or Raudales, who both hold American passports, have been confirmed as FCE signings, both will continue to try and impress coach Colin Miller after joining the team last week in British Columbia.

For the Canadian women’s national team, Thursday’s friendly against the United States didn’t quite feel like a preparation for the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Coach John Herdman decided to populate three-quarters of his back four with teenagers — players who could very well be playing for Canada at the coming U-20 Women’s World Cup before they get shots to play …