Canada Soccer’s Grassroots Coach Education Program has four workshops based on Stages 1, 2, 3, and 7 of the Long-Term Player Development Model. The first three workshops, Active Start, FUNdamentals, and Learn to Train, deal with soccer training and the importance of physical literacy for players up to 13 years of age. The fourth workshop is called Soccer for Life and focuses on working with players aged 14 and older through to “masters soccer”. The Soccer for Life stage includes a wide array of participants who play for fun and fitness, those who enjoy recreational soccer, and those who prefer to play competitively but not at a high-performance level.
Coaches wishing to gain training through the Grassroots Coach Education Program would do so in the following manner:
Designed for coaches of U4 to U6 players and consists of completing 1.5 hours of online training followed by a 2-hour Practical On-Field Workshop. No prerequisites required.
Designed for coaches of U7-U9 players. It consists of completing 1.5 hours of online training followed by a 3-hour Practical On-Field Workshop. Coaches are also expected to complete the NCCP Make Ethical Decisions Workshop and Online Evaluation; the NCCP Making Headway Concussion Awareness Workshop, the NCCP Online Emergency Action Plan Workshop and the Respect in Sport Activity Leader Course. No prerequisites required.
Designed for coaches of U10-U13 players. It consists of completing 2 hours of online training followed by a 4-hour Practical On-Field Workshop. Coaches are also expected to complete the NCCP Make Ethical Decisions Workshop and Online Evaluation; the NCCP Making Headway Concussion Awareness Workshop, the NCCP Online Emergency Action Plan Workshop and the Respect in Sport Activity Leader Course. No prerequisites required.
Designed for coaches of U14+. It consists of completing 2 hours of online training followed by a 4-hour Practical On-Field Workshop. Coaches are also expected to complete the NCCP Make Ethical Decisions Workshop and Online Evaluation; the NCCP Making Headway Concussion Awareness Workshop, the NCCP Online Emergency Action Plan Workshop and the Respect in Sport Activity Leader Course. No prerequisites required.
Note: There is no evaluation in the Grassroots Coach Education Program. Coaches completing all of the expectations noted above will be classified as Trained Coaches.