Coaching Education

Coach Education Program Overview

Manitoba Soccer is committed to the growth and development of all coaches in Manitoba through the Canada Soccer Coach Education Program. As the governing body for soccer in Canada, Canada Soccer is responsible for training coaches from grassroots to national team level and has developed the Canada Soccer Pathway (LTPD) and tailored the Coach Education Program to this model.

Working with the NCCP and provincial/territorial partners, including Manitoba Soccer, a two-stream education program has been created to meet the needs of both developing coaches and the sport itself.

Coaches may enter and/or advance through:

• Canada Soccer Grassroots Coach Education Program
• Canada Soccer Advanced Coach Education Program

Each of these programs includes several workshops designed to prepare coaches to work with players in specific development stages, as outlined in the LTPD Model and Coach Pathway. All course registration is done online. The course schedule and registration links can be found here.

The Canada Soccer Coach Education Program (Grassroots)

The Canada Soccer Grassroots Coach Education Program has four workshops based on Stages 1, 2, 3, and 7 of the Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) Model. The first three workshops — Active Start, FUNdamentals, and Learn to Train — focus on soccer training and physical literacy for players up to 12 years of age.

The fourth workshop, Soccer for Life, focuses on players aged 13 and older, including “masters soccer” participants who play for fun and fitness, recreational players, and those in competitive environments outside of high performance.

Coaches wishing to gain training through the Grassroots Coach Education Program can follow this pathway:

• Active Start Workshop : 1-2 hours online plus 2 hours on-field. (Active Start Stage of Development — Players U4-U6). No prerequisites.
• FUNdamentals Workshop : 1-2 hours online plus 3 hours on-field. (Fundamentals Stage of Development — Players U6-U8). No prerequisites.
• Learn to Train Workshop : 1-2 hours online plus 4 hours on-field. (Learning to Train Stage of Development — Players U9-U12). No prerequisites.
• Soccer for Life Workshop : 1-2 hours online plus 4 hours on-field. (Soccer for Life Stage of Development — Players U13 and older). No prerequisites.

Note: Coaches do not undergo an official evaluation process in the Grassroots Coach Education Program, so they are not designated as a Certified Coach on their NCCP transcript. These workshops provide stage-specific training. Coaches who complete these workshops receive the status of Trained Coach (or are considered In Training if a module is still in progress).

The Canada Soccer Advanced Coach Education Program

The Canada Soccer Advanced Coach Education Program is aimed at coaches who are serious about their development and are working in more competitive environments. Coaches are formally evaluated and graded by staff evaluators at each stage of the process.

The pathway begins with the C Licence, which involves 32 hours of facilitated learning plus time for formal assessments (typically 12-18 months of work). From there, coaches may move into the B Licence (Performance Stream), the A Licence, or specialized streams such as the Children’s Licence and Youth Licence (including the Youth GK Licence). All Advanced Coach Education streams following the C Licence are run and administered by Canada Soccer.

Coaches wishing to gain training and certification in the Advanced Coach Education Program can follow this pathway:

• C Licence Workshop : The entry-level course for the Advanced Program, preparing coaches to progress to the Development Stream (Children), Development Stream (Youth), or Performance Stream (Senior). Focuses on understanding the coaching process through facilitated learning.
• Children’s Licence Workshop : An A Licence-equivalent for coaches working with players aged 5-12. Provides tools to create the best development environments for young players at the club or academy level. Includes theoretical and practical components. Delivered by Canada Soccer.
• Youth Licence Workshop : The Development Stream for coaches working with players aged 13-18. Focuses on holistic, effective coaching of youth players. Delivered by Canada Soccer.
• B Licence Workshop : The first step on the Performance Stream pathway, preparing coaches to progress to the Canada Soccer A Licence. Focuses on coaching senior players in a performance environment. Delivered by Canada Soccer.
• A Licence Workshop : The second step on the Performance Stream pathway, preparing coaches to progress to the Canada Soccer Pro Licence. Delivered by Canada Soccer.
• Youth Licence - Goalkeeping : The first step on the Goalkeeping Pathway (following a C Licence and, where applicable, a provincial goalkeeper course). Focuses on theoretical and practical aspects of coaching goalkeepers in the Youth Development Stream. Delivered by Canada Soccer.

Note: All licences in the Advanced Coach Education Program are valid for three (3) years. At the end of the validity period, licences may be renewed by following the Canada Soccer Maintenance and Renewal process.

More information on the workshops following the C Licence can be found at canadasoccer.com.

To register for an upcoming coach workshop in either the Grassroots or Advanced Coach Education Programs, please visit the Manitoba Soccer Association registration page.