Ontario Soccer’s Play ON! eLearning Series presented by Respect in Sport continues on Thursday, April 22 with an insightful presentation by a panel of community soccer leaders featuring Melanie Bradley (General Manager, Brams United SC), Bill Coleman (Chair, Gloucester Dragons SC), Katryna Indewey (Acting Senior Director, Oakville SC) and Abbi Lezizidis (President, Whitecaps London SC).

Representing a geographically diverse spectrum of Ontario Soccer member organizations ranging from purely recreational grassroots soccer to full-service Clubs and Ontario Player Development League License Holders, the panelists are all united in their battle to overcome the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic through innovative, resilient and adaptable ways of servicing their stakeholders to prepare for a safe Return to Play this summer.

At a time, when Ontario Soccer member organizations everywhere are navigating the current stay-at-home order restrictions, while keeping their focus on getting ready for the Outdoor season, these soccer leaders will share their tried, tested and true stories from the soccer frontlines to showcase Return to Play best practices they have developed and deployed over the last 12+ months.

The panelists will explore tips and techniques to ensure positive community engagement with your stakeholders in both digital and live environments. The need for empathy and kindness and the unique opportunities to give back to the community at-large will form part of the conversation, as will the importance of timely and transparent membership communication to restore and protect consumer confidence.

In addition, panelists will share their experience with the nimble and creative adoption and implementation of Ontario Soccer’s RTP plan, including a candid review of what measures worked well and which ones may have fallen short. Information on being able to flexibly pivot with program design and delivery and some tangible advice on how to deal with difficult stakeholder responses will round out the conversation.

At the end of all the presentations the panel will respond to audience questions to provide peer-to-peer support and also learn from other soccer leaders’ success stories.

Throughout the series from March 10 to April 29, Ontario Soccer will offer a weekly online session with succinct and relevant insights and practical take-aways designed to appeal to a diverse cross-section of Ontario Soccer members and stakeholders (Clubs, Academies, Districts, Leagues, administrators, coaches, managers, volunteers, parents, players, officials, etc.).