​Wellness to World Cup

Local Coaching Courses Available:

​Please visit Highland Soccer website for dates and locations of the courses offered each summer.

Soccer For Life – 14 hours

Stage 7 of Long Term Player Development, Wellness to World Cup, is called Soccer for Life it is designed for any age female and male players. It has also been called “Soccer for health and grass roots growth”.

At any stage in the LTPD model, regardless of their level of ability, players may decide to play soccer as a purely recreational sport so they can continue to enjoy the game and maintain lifelong wellness. They might be youth players who decide not to pursue high performance, or they might be top players from senior clubs, colleges, universities, and semi-professional teams who enjoy competition but do not intend to play at the international level. They might also be complete newcomers to the game who discover an interest in soccer in late adolescence or adult life. Players at all levels should have opportunities to become active in soccer coaching, officiating and administration. The recruitment and retention of players, coaches, referees and administrators is vital to the ongoing development of both grassroots and elite soccer in Canada.

Coaches working with players in this stage are strongly encouraged to take the Soccer for Life coaching course. Typically S4L courses have been hosted over a single weekend with some exceptions. Options enabling hosts flexibility to meet the needs of their coaches exist.

The course will provide information on the following:

• Information on Canadian Soccer Association’s Long Term Player Development model
• What is the game of Soccer?
• Information to help coaches understand the development stage of the players they are working with
• How to plan coaching sessions considering the development stage of the players
• FIFA Laws of the Game
• Technical/Tactical development
• Consider the safety factors involved in running a coaching session
• How to manage coaching sessions using appropriate content and methodology
• Provide coaches with an online resource that they can use to plan their sessions
• Provide coaches with advice they can use to work with players and parents in this stage
• Coaches will receive a coach’s workbook and a Certificate of Achievement

Active Start (U4-U6) – 4 hours

Stage 1 of Long Term Player Development, Wellness to World Cup, is called Active Start and it is designed for U4 to U6 Female and Male players. It has also been called “First Kicks”.

Soccer contributes to the well-being of children by engaging them in the sport while teaching them basic movements. At this introductory level, the objective is to get them moving and to keep active.

Coaches working with young players in this stage should enroll in an Active Start coaching course. The Active Start module can be held on a weekend or week night/s all year-round.

The course will provide information on the following:

• Information on Canadian Soccer Association’s Long Term Player Development model
• Develop a basic understanding of Physical Literacy
• Information to help coaches understand the development stage of the children they are working with.
• How to plan coaching sessions considering the development stage of the children coaches are working with.
• Consider the safety factors involved in running a coaching session
• How to manage coaching sessions using appropriate content and methodology.
• Provide coaches with an online resource that they can use to plan their sessions.
• Provide coaches with advice they can use to work with players and parents in this stage.
• Coaches will receive a coaches workbook and a Certificate of Achievement

FUNdamentals (U8) – 7 hours

Stage 2 of Long Term Player Development, Wellness to World Cup, is called FUNdamentals (FUN). FUN is designed for U6 to U8 Female and U6 to U9 Male players. It has also been called “Fun with the ball”.

At this stage, individual player development is paramount. Coaches and teachers should create a stimulating learning environment where the atmosphere is “Freedom and Fun.”

Coaches working with young players in this stage are strongly encouraged to take a Fundamentals course. Typically FUN courses have been hosted over a single weekend with some exceptions.

The course will provide information on the following:

• Information on Canadian Soccer Association’s Long Term Player Development model
• Develop a basic understanding of Physical Literacy.
• Information to help coaches understand the development stage of the children they are working with.
• How to plan coaching sessions considering the development stage of the children coaches are working with.
• Consider the safety factors involved in running a coaching session
• How to manage coaching sessions using appropriate content and methodology.
• Provide coaches with an online resource that they can use to plan their sessions.
• Provide coaches with advice they can use to work with players and parents in this stage.

• Coaches will receive a coach’s workbook and a Certificate of Achievement.

  Learning to Train (U10-U12) – 14 hours

  Stage 3 of Long Term Player Development, Wellness to World Cup, is called Learning to Train (L2T). L2T is designed for U8 to U11 Female and U9 to U12 Male players. It has also been called “The Golden Age of Learning”.

  Children begin to identify with famous players and successful teams, and they want to learn imaginative skills. Skill demonstration is very important, and the players learn best by “doing.” Players move from self-centered to self-critical, and they have a high stimulation level during basic skills training. This is also an important time to teach basic principles of play and to establish a training ethic and discipline. Repetitions are important to develop technical excellence, but creating a fun and challenging environment is still essential for stimulating learning.

  Coaches working with young players in this stage are strongly encouraged to enrol in the Learning to Train course. Typically L2T courses have been hosted over a single weekend with some exceptions. Options enabling hosts flexibility to meet the needs of their coaches exist.

  The course will provide information on the following:

  • Information on Canadian Soccer Association’s Long Term Player Development model
  • What is the game of Soccer?
  • Laws of the Game
  • Information to help coaches understand the development stage of the players they are working with.
  • How to plan coaching sessions considering the development stage of the players.
  • Consider the safety factors involved in running a coaching session
  • How to manage & plan coaching sessions using appropriate content and methodology.
  • Provide coaches with an online resource that they can use to plan their sessions.
  • Provide coaches with advice they can use to work with players and parents in this stage.
  • Coaches will receive a coach’s workbook and a Certificate of Achievement.

  Making Ethical Decisions Competition Introduction

  Soccer coaches must complete Make Ethical Decisions Competition Introduction (MED) module in order to complete the Soccer for Life program & gain “Trained” status in the NCCP database. Coaches are only required to complete MED once. Click here for more information about completing MED.
  
  These courses are the base coaching courses that one can aquire, however there are more advanced CSA courses that are available. The information for these courses can be found at the Soccer Nova Scotia website.