Ottawa’s top men’s soccer team is looking to kick the footwork skills of Indigenous children into high gear by providing easier access to the sport, as well as high-level coaching.
Earlier this week at a field in the city’s east end, children dribbled around pylons and weaved through poles. They wore bright red jerseys stamped with the logo of Odawa Native Friendship Centre, which serves Ottawa’s urban Indigenous community and the surrounding region.
Training them was Anthony Legendre, a former pro soccer player and current member of Atlético Ottawa’s affiliated semi-professional team, OSU Atlético.
“What we’re trying to do at the grassroots level is — you can see the kids are pretty young — we’re just trying to introduce them to the game of soccer,” said Sheridon Baptiste, the friendship centre’s healthy living co-ordinator.
“So what we’re trying to do here obviously is give everyone a chance to at least, at a very young age, develop the necessary skills.”
This new program is run in conjunction with Atlético Ottawa, St. Anthony’s Soccer Club and SAF Performance. It’s targeted at kids between the ages of nine and 14.
Soccer a ‘sport of the people’
Training began last winter and the first summer sessions took place in June, according to Thomas Stockting, head of community development for Atlético Ottawa.
“If soccer is really going to grow in this country, we really have to tap into that grassroots work,” he said.
Calling it the “sport of the people” due to its working-class roots and how little equipment is required, Stockting said that philosophy drives the program.
The training sessions are part of the pro soccer team’s broader Atleti Equal Access program, which seeks to bring the sport to more people.
“If we find an athlete who in five to 10 years time takes to the field at TD Place, I think that’s fantastic,” Stockting said.
“But the essence of it is bringing it to the community and just ensuring they have fun, and that participation in the sport is there for everyone, not just for people who can afford it.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Atlético Ottawa goaltender Nathan Ingham, who dropped by the practice. He said soccer might be inexpensive compared to other sports, but joining a competitive club can still add up to thousands of dollars over the years.
Ottawa Morning6:16Atletico Ottawa aim at striking-back in the 2024 season
Ottawa’s Canadian Premier League team, the Athletico, were at the top of the league in 2022. Then in 2023, they didn’t make the playoffs. This year, CEO Fernando Lopez tells host Hallie Cotnam how he’s built a team that can climb back to the top of the standings, after the “Winter of Fernando”.
“When we’re young, we take what we have for granted,” Ingham said.
Kory Goulais, whose youngest son plays competitive soccer, agreed.
“He doesn’t always have access or we can’t drop them off for the camps throughout the week, and they’re quite expensive,” Goulais said. “This is a free option.”
Between drills, Louis Phillipe, 11, said he wants to play soccer every day, just like the professional players who stopped by to watch the kids train.
“I feel happy because I know that one day I might be like some of them,” Phillipe said.