The Chair of the Hanover Soccer Club, has become Southeastern Manitoba's first qualified Learning Facilitator for the Manitoba Soccer Association's new Long Term Player Development coaching modules.

 

Norm Anderson was handed certification back in February. Eastman now has a coach educator right in their own back yard. This means the community has the ability to host group clinics during the week compared to what was primarily only available on the weekend.

 

Anderson says this will be a huge asset in helping develop the game at the grassroots level. “The old system of getting a coach qualified was very long winded and took up to much time for our local coaches. The fastest unit was an 8 to 16 hour course to coach children. The courses have now been broken down into a modular system. There is now a 3 hour course to coach mini-soccer.”

 

As a country where soccer continues to grow, Canada realizes that the fundamentals of the game aren't being taught at an earlier age, so the Manitoba Soccer Association has trained local individuals like Anderson to help educate the in-experienced on the basics of soccer so that kids young and old will have an opportunity to learn what is essential to play the game at a high level.

 

“The course teaches the soccer parent about the game and what we want to achieve. The game isn’t all about gathering a group of kids together just to win. We are trying to build the future of the game here in Canada so that kids who get involved will stay involved for their whole life,” says Anderson.

 

Many kids don't consider soccer as their primary sport. Kids will skip practices and games once they coincide with hockey. Anderson's solution is to help provide more knowledge to the coaches making it more fun for the parents and kids.

 

“We are hoping to get participation from our coaches who have no level of qualification. We hope that they will understand the game and what we are trying to teach the kids. The coaches will have more fun teaching and the kids will have more fun learning because they are getting better soccer knowledge.”

 

Anderson has been busy trying to book gymnasium space to start the coaching modules as soon as possible. The courses consist of a theory unit and a practical on field training unit. The program allows someone with absolutely no soccer experience to specialize with a certain age group, which allows them to advance through the courses with the ability to teach others the fundamentals for that particular age. On the flip side, for the person who wants to follow their child through out the years, there is an option to do that as well.

 

Soccer registration has wrapped up for those under 17. Try-outs and registration for the senior mens teams is this upcoming week. For more details about upcoming coaching clinics and senior mens registration check out the Hanover Soccer Club website.