Grassroots Soccer Resources: Building the Future of the Sport
Explore tools, guidelines, and initiatives designed to foster player development, enjoyment, and inclusion at all levels.
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Indoor 2025-26 Mandated Canada Soccer Grassroots Standards
Ontario Soccer collaborates closely with Canada Soccer to ensure our grassroots programs reflect national standards, promoting consistency and quality across the province.
Currently Recommended Grassroots Standards
Ontario Soccer’s grassroots standards centres on creating positive, engaging experiences for players of all ages and abilities. Guided by the Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) model, our programs prioritize skill acquisition, enjoyment, and inclusion over competition, ensuring every player has the opportunity to thrive.
key elements of the Grassroots standards
Inclusivity: Programs are designed to accommodate players of all skill levels, ensuring everyone has equal opportunities to participate and succeed.
Fun and Enjoyment: Focusing on creating enjoyable experiences fosters a lifelong love for the game.
Player-Centred Development: Activities and match formats are tailored to the developmental needs of players at each age and stage.
Skill Acquisition Over Competition: Emphasis is placed on technical and tactical growth rather than win-loss records.
Ontario Soccer's Grassroots Webinar Series
Reframing Player-Centred Development
Presentation by Matt Young.
How to Accelerate Your Coaching Performance
Presentation by Cody Royle.
Futsal: Enhancing Player Development
Presentation by Mauricio Marques & Rodrigo G. Lima.
The Long-Term Player Development Model (LTPD)
LTPD is a model of athlete development and a crucial framework for Ontario Soccer and Canada Soccer, designed to nurture and enhance the growth of soccer players from a young age through to adulthood. It entails a player-centered pathway that aligns with developmental stages and focuses on the holistic development of players.
For Ontario Soccer, LTPD caters to players' developmental needs at various ages, promoting not just technical skills but also physical, psychological, and social growth. The model advocates for age-appropriate training and competition, ensuring that young players are engaged and motivated while developing a strong foundation in soccer fundamentals. By prioritizing enjoyment and skill development over early specialization, Ontario Soccer aims to create a positive environment where players can thrive and a lifelong passion for the game can be fostered.
Additional Resources
Player Development and Grassroots Resources
The Player Development Department travels across the Province to deliver workshops and training for Clubs and Districts on making soccer age-appropriate and FUN for players U4-U12.
In 2014, the group engaged in an ambitious project to ask kids what they thought of soccer in Ontario. Their responses were compiled as part of the Grassroots Survey.
You can read the results below:
Coaches Guides
These documents are currently being updated and will be shared at a later date.
retreat line - what you need to know
Information on the retreat line can be found on the retreat line page linked below: