The Talented Pathway was created to provide opportunities for the top players in the province to develop and advance. The basis for the program is the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL) launched in 2014 at the U13 level. In each successive year, OPDL will add an age group. The licensing cycle for organizations wishing to operate an OPDL program is every two years. The OPDL is the primary avenue within the Talented Pathway model for players to be detected into future Provincial Screening Competitions which can then lead to Provincial Team opportunities. For those players who are not competing within the OPDL, they may enter into the Player Talented Pathway via Talent on Location Days by following the Player Recommendation Process outlined below.

It is also recommended that players, coaches, parents and guardians familiarize themselves with Information Bulletin I2017-028.

The Ontario Soccer High Performance Program has released the player recommendation process for ORA and Membership Club’s Technical Staff.

This is being done so that players within Ontario will have the opportunity to be recommended by a certified and qualified Membership Club Technical Director/Club Head Coach, District Technical Director or ORA Technical Director.

Before beginning the process, it is highly recommended the coach, player and parent read and understand the information bulletin on the Recommendation Process: I2017-028.

The 2018 player recommendation process is not yet open.  The opening date to provide player recommendations will appear once the field dates and locations have been fully confirmed.

The recommending coach can select the link below that pertains to the age and gender of the player(s) of whom they wish to recommend:

U14 Boys (Born 2005)
U14 Girls (Born 2005)
U15 Boys (Born 2004)
U15 Girls (Born 2004)
U16 Boys (Born 2003)
U16 Girls (Born 2003)

The recommending coach will then complete the Coach Information page and provide their NCCP number and and their Ontario Soccer registration number for to verify their coaching certification level and certification status. If no NCCP number (i.e. foreign license) is available please provide a scanned copy of the Coaching Certificate as outlined on the page.

The recommending coach will then be directed to watch 20 minutes of Provincial Teams’ game film. The Provincial Teams’ game films to be viewed are as follows:

• U14 game film is used when recommending players born in 2005
• U15 game film is used when recommending players born in 2004
• U16 game film is used when recommending players born in 2003

The recommending coach should note the jersey number of the Ontario Provincial Player whom they believe their recommended player(s) is the equivalent of or better than. The coach will then download and complete the appropriate player evaluation form for each individual player being recommended. Once completed the document will need to be uploaded as prompted on the page.

The Recommending coach should have the following available:

• Player’s name
• Player’s date of birth
• Player’s Ontario Soccer number
• Player’s email(s) contact

The recommending coach can submit, as an option, game video of the recommended player (up to 5 minutes). Be sure to provide the jersey colour and number of the recommended player in the video.

The Player recommendation package is to be signed by the recommending coach, the player being recommended and the parent of the player being recommended.

The recommending coach is to submit the completed package by or before the closing date of August 24, 2018 at 5:00pm

The Ontario Soccer High Performance Program will review the player recommendation packages and assess if the player should receive an invite. Incomplete or inaccurate packages will not be considered for review.

The High Performance Program will contact those players and the recommending coach if they have been invited to the upcoming Talent on Location Day Event:

The Talent on Location Day event for the players is yet to be confirmed; however, the unconfirmed dates are as follows:

Players born 2005 - September 22/23 weekend

Players born 2004 - September 29/30 weekend

Players born 2003 - September 29/30 weekend

Confirmed dates and details will appear on this website page once established.

The email to the invited players will contain additional details (i.e. report time) and any other paperwork that will need to be completed prior to the event. This paperwork will be submitted by the player at the event.

The Talent on Location Days will take place at the Ontario Soccer Centre, 7601 Martingrove Road, Vaughan L4L 9E4 on the full size indoor or outdoor turf field.

If you have any questions or challenges regarding the submission process, please contact Brandon Frith.

For all other questions please contact Bryan Rosenfeld.