Guide to Skill Centre Program for Parents
Introduction:
Every player in Canada is entitled to an enjoyable experience within the game of soccer, regardless of their age, level of experience or ability. For young players between the ages of 8- 12, an enjoyable experience means that they can have fun with their friends and learn new skills that they can then apply in a game context. This is this essence of the Canada Soccer Skill Centre: To provide an accessible development program for young players between the ages of 8-12 that caters specifically to their developmental needs.
Canada Soccer Skill Centres will take a nationally coordinated approach to developing young soccer players between the ages of 8-12. Skill Centres will provide a challenging, enjoyable environment for players to develop and nurture the skills required to succeed in the game of soccer.
Why Skill Centres:
The traditional model of team selection in Canadian youth soccer revolves around choosing a select number of players at a specific moment in time based on their current performance level, then having them compete against other teams to determine who is better. Unfortunately, this method of talent identification and development is flawed in several ways:
- It does not accurately predict potential or future performance
- It can often turn away players who might have high potential but who are simply inexperienced at that moment relative to their peer group
- Early selection prior to physical maturation implies early exclusion of the majority and can discourage players who might otherwise have become as good, or better, a little later if given the chance to develop
- The characteristics that define “talented” athletes in early age are not the characteristics that define elite athletes later in their career.
Skill Centres will address these challenges by taking a holistic, player-centred approach to selection, development and curriculum design.
Skill Centre Principles:
To ensure that a holistic development environment exists for players and coaches, the Canada Soccer Skill Centres will be guided by the following principles
- Contact time with a ball is high
- Training will resemble the game
- Training will be fun for everyone
- Skill Centres will be accessible
- All players & parents will receive meaningful feedback
SNS Skill Centre Guidelines:
Age Groups:
U8; U9 / U10; U11 / U12
Players loosely grouped by age
Players can move between groups as required
Playing Format:
U8: 5v5
U9 / U10: 7v7
U11 / U12: 9v9
Coaching Requirements:
Lead coach (two per club, one for each gender or individual lead must be present at sessions) will have Canada Soccer Children’s License (2019 - in training; 2020 - certified)
Assistant Coach (as per player to coach ratio) Learn to Train (2019 - trained)
Number of Players Skill Centre Program:
Guided by the player to coach ratio and field availability
Player Registration:
No tryouts are permitted
Game Day Roster Guidelines:
Open rosters: Any player registered at a club can play for any of the clubs programs
Competitions Days Per Week:
One competition day per week
Competition Format:
Competition may be festival format (two games in one day) or single-game format Minimum / maximum rest between festival games - 20 minutes minimum / 120 minutes maximum
Training Session Frequency:
2-3 training sessions per week (not including competition day)
Training Session Duration:
U8: 45-60 minutes
U9-U12: 50-60 minutes
Program Duration:
Training block duration: 10-22 weeks
Annual duration: 30-44 weeks
Minimum time between training blocks: 2 weeks
Field Regulations:
See SNS Best Practice Resource
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