Canada Soccer Children’s Licence

Taken from the Canada Soccer website:

Coaching Stream: Children’s Development Stream

Course Duration: 9 days of in-person workshops + online modules + video evaluation process

Course Objectives: The Children’s Licence has been built as an A Licence equivalent for coaches working with children between the ages of 5-12. The Licence aims to provide coaches with the tools they need to create the best development environments for as many players as possible at their club/academy.

The Children’s Licence content involves theoretical and practical components focusing on children’s development in soccer. The workshop covers content including:

Transformational Coaching

  • Practice Theory
  • Social/Emotional Development of Children
  • Challenging Players
  • Developing Creativity
  • Talent Identification and Development
  • The Role of Maturation in Youth Soccer
  • Small-Sided Games
  • Grouping Players
  • Appropriate Competition

Candidates will apply the knowledge gained on the course in their club or academy environments. Evaluations will be via video submission, which will allow coaches to work with their own players.

Evaluation Criteria: Candidates will be evaluated throughout the workshop on the following aspects:

  • Ongoing participation and contribution to the in-class and on-field experience
  • Completion of Modular Workbooks
  • Completion of Coaching Reflection Log
  • Completion of online workshops and associated tasks
  • Completion of all assigned topics and video evaluations

Target Candidate: Those coaches working actively within Children’s soccer, including full or part-time staff coaches.

Admission Criteria: Successful candidates are required to have the following certifications:

  • Canada Soccer ‘C’ Licence (or higher certification)
  • Active Start, Fundamentals and Learn to Train Community Stream Workshops (2019 – strongly recommended; 2020 – required)

Course Fee: $1,800

Cost includes: Access to online learning management system; Canada Soccer branded Nike kit (not including boots and trainers); access to Canada Soccer session planning software (1-year subscription); all course components and equipment, including notebooks and course material; lunch on each day of the in-person workshops.

To apply, please complete the Canada Soccer Coach Education Application.

For more information on the Canada Soccer Children’s Licence, click here