For years, he patrolled Canada's flank. On the club front, soccer took him from Croatia to Russia before retiring in Tinseltown.

Today Ante Jazic is helping groom the next generation of Canadian soccer players. The 38-year-old Halifax native is one of several former Canadian internationals who have been enlisted by Canadian Soccer Association technical director Tony Fonseca to share their skills.

"I love it, I really enjoy it," Jazic, head coach of the Canadian under-15 team, said of his new duties. "I love all that's involved behind the scenes.

"As a player you don't realize how much planning goes into everything — planning a session, trying to feature the right players, getting the group together, the right squad, the mix, the balance. I've actually really enjoyed that and I'm learning on the job every day.

"It's something I'm passionate about, especially with Canadian soccer and identifying talent and building the youth teams. And hopefully identifying talent that will help our future men's national team."

Jazic, who won 35 caps for Canada from 1998 to 2012, assisted under-20 coach Rob Gale at the recent CONCACAF U-20 championship in Jamaica.

The former fullback has plenty to offer on and off the field. After a year playing at Dalhousie University, he began his pro career in Croatia in 1997 — securing a tryout while visiting relatives there. He played for Hrvatski Dragovoljac and Hajduk Split before moving to Rapid Vienna in Austria and then Kuban Kraznodar in Russia.

He signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2006, moving down the hall three years later to join Chivas USA. He retired after the 2012 season with Chivas — now defunct — facing an uncertain future and Canada having flamed out in World Cup qualifying.

"I had to battle through and make a career for myself against the odds," he said. "I've learned a lot from different coaches. I've been blessed to have coaches that have coached national teams in Croatia, Austria. There's the human element where I've experienced these things that these kids want to experience, so I can shed some light on that.

"For me just being on the pitch with these kids, identifying talent and honestly seeing the talent that we have in Canada, I'm really enjoying it. And the future looks bright."