Kids Sports Program Info at a Glance

SportStars General Information

Our programs vary greatly depending on the age of the child. Regardless of child age, our coaches work on a 10-week rotating curriculum that focuses on key outcomes for that week. The program rotates so one missed week is not detrimental and children can join anytime. For example, they may have missed "left foot kicks" but no worries, that will come around again!

The nature of our programs and coaching is also such that novice children have the support they need to flourish, while advanced kids are adequately challenged.

The toddler soccer program is ideal for toddlers aged 18 months to 2 ½ years looking to try out soccer — or just extracurricular sports — for the first time. Regardless of whether the child is comfortable being separated from mom or dad, we welcome and encourage parent involvement. Our coaches guide children through various games designed to facilitate development of basic physical skills, such as agility, balance, and coordination. Equally important is mental development; sessions revolve around counting/numbers, shapes, colours, and animals. With lots of high fives and silly celebrations, this is an exciting opportunity for children to become independent, "learn how to be coached", and develop a passion for sport.

The preschool program is for children age 2 ½ to 3 ½ and builds on the fundamentals developed in the toddler program. While some games may be similar, the expectations are different. Most often, children will be fully independent from their parents by the 3rd class. At this point parents should expect that the program is 80% fun and 20% soccer, with many drills beginning to resemble the game of soccer.

Between the ages of 3 ½ and 5, girls and boys are slowly introduced to the concept of a soccer as an actual game where the purpose is to score on the opponent's net. At this age, passing and teamwork are non-existent, and that's to be expected. Young players are focused more on their own personal progress rather than cooperating with their teammates. This is a perfectly normal part of the developmental process.

Between the ages of 5 and 7, kids soccer starts to resemble what we would traditionally refer to as a "soccer game." Soccer drills from the OSA (Ontario Soccer Association) player development guidelines are introduced. With greater mental and physical capacity, come more fun and technical challenges. Scrimmages begin to take up increasingly more of sessions - an incredibly fun and rewarding opportunity for young players to experiment with, and experience, the beautiful game.

Youth players, aged 7-9 and 9-11, start to experience the final format of training sessions. Dynamic warm-ups, ball mastery, and tacitcal gameplay enter the picture. Compared to other soccer clubs and soccer academies, our focus remains on providing a fun, engaging, and rewarding experience for recreational-level players. The sessions are carefully structured to remain challenging enough to keep players engaged, but character development is key at this stage.