The Greater North Soccer Association, in partnership with Sault Youth Soccer Club are proud to announce that Ontario Soccer has approved Sault Youth Soccer Club’s (SYSC) participation in Michigan soccer leagues for the 2025 season.

“It has been 8 months in the making through open communication with Ontario Soccer and going through the proper channels to Canada Soccer and then to U.S. Soccer that we can make this exciting announcement today” said Clive Wilkinson, chair of GNSA. “After pitching our case that being a border city in northern Ontario, our ability to travel to Traverse City Michigan, to play league games would be equivalent to southern Ontario teams travelling from Toronto to London” continued Wilkinson.

“Soo United teams under the old restrictions, were allowed to play in a few tournaments in the United States,” Steve Mazzuca, chair of Sault Youth Soccer stated. “This unique opportunity allows our players to showcase their talents on both sides of the border. Grassroots players (under the age of 13) did not have a league to play in until this announcement. In our opinion, league play is essential to the growth of players who wish to pursue soccer competitively in the future. Currently there are approximately 210 Soo Junior United players (U8 – U12) in the pre- competitive stream and 125 players (U13 – U18).”

“The expanded competitive player pathway will get a lot of eyes scouting our players for different opportunities on both sides of the border. These opportunities for players to participate in Ontario Collegiate and Varsity showcase tournaments and the provincial qualifying tournaments such as the Ontario Indoor and Outdoor Cup can only be achieved as an Ontario Soccer registered player" said Luis Lima, technical director for SYSC.

SYSC teams will now have the opportunity to join the Mid-Michigan Youth Soccer League, the Director's Academy League, as well as the Michigan Youth Soccer League. This will add exposure to our very talented players in U.S. player recruitment offering more opportunities.

“Stay tuned for more information as we continue to make new partnerships and enhance our current ones. We wish to thank Canada Soccer and Ontario Soccer, as well as all of volunteers at Sault Youth Soccer, as we hope to make 2025 a very special year for soccer in Sault Ste. Marie,” said Wilkinson.

Ask and you shall receive.

Greater North Soccer Association is pleased to announce its new social media links.

Give us a like and follow our pages!

Be informed with the most up to date information by joining our socials.

By providing you with this service, Ontario Soccer is reaffirming its commitment to protect its members by providing a safe and positive environment within the programs, business, activities and events of the Organization.

ALIAS Reporting Service aims to help you report wrongdoing and situations that may be deemed inappropriate. This application allows you to make a report anonymously.

https://app.alias-solution.com/contact/en/osa21

On Saturday Sept 21st, Giuliano Celebre was honoured for his 40+ years of involvement in North Bay’s soccer community. He played a pivotal role in the amalgamation of three local clubs into the Nipissing District Soccer Club in 2019 and continues to serve as a consultant and mentor to the organization. His efforts were recognized in 2023 with the club’s first Excellence Life Member Award.

Way to go Giuliano!

GNSA wishes to thank all of the coaches that are helping shape the next generation of soccer players. We appreciate everything you do! Thank a coach today.

#thankyoucoaches #soccer #ontariosoccer

Congratulations to Giuliano Celebre of the Nipissing District Soccer Club on being awarded the Meritorious Award by Ontario Soccer.

Reflecting the momentous contribution of an individual to Ontario Soccer, and most importantly, to soccer in Ontario, the Meritorious Awards showcase our greatest sport leaders. These individuals have elevated the meaning of commitment to the community, dedicating themselves to the assistance of others and the promotion and leadership in multiple facets of the game in the province.

Way to go Giuliano!

My experience in the beautiful game dates back to a junior player in Portugal playing in the youth system of the Portuguese 1st division. My playing experience spanned over 30 years. 
During my post-playing years, I have been committed to promoting the sport in Sault Ste Marie as a youth coach, starting in 2009 with the Sault Civics program. Over the years I have coached different age groups and mentored young coaches by developing training sessions for reference, training schedules, player performance review forms and process, tournament participation process, among others. During my initial coaching years, I achieved all required certifications to be a qualified provincial coach. This led me to a Pre-B certification in 2012. Over the following years I became a regional level referee and continued my involvement in local soccer with a local academy leading to a technical director role with SUFA for a short period. More recently, I have completed my Soccer for Life Certification en-route to a C license. 
I am excited to start in this new role and will work to elevate the sport of soccer in the Sault providing great value to our youth.

Luis Lima - Qualifications

* C-License Youth - in progress
* Soccer for Life
* "Respect In Soccer" - OSA
* "Making Ethical Decisions" - NCCP
* "Making Headway in Sport" - NCCP
* Rule of Two
* Emergency Action Plan
* Regional Level Referee
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* SYSC Youth coach - Multiple age groups over the years
* SYSL Civics Coach - 2010-2014
* SYSL Senior Girls Coach
* SUFA Academy Coach & Technical Director
* Provincial Pre-B (2012) - OSA
* Portuguese 1st Division Youth System player with Varzim S.C.
* Over 30 years playing experience

Attention all coaches! 

Soccer for Life certification is available on February 22, 2025 in Sault Ste. Marie. Registration is open for this event.

Location: Sault College             Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm

https://www.coachesontario.ca/events/nccp-super-clinic/

The CAO is proud to partner with the City of Sault Ste. Marie and Tourism Sault Ste. Marie to bring this event back to the North! Discounted travel and accommodations are also available!

The Super Clinic affords coaches—from high performance to grassroots—with an opportunity to gain sport-specific technical abilities, plus leadership and decision-making skills, opening doors to new opportunities in both coaching and life.

The NEW Greater North Tour League is coming to Sault Ste. Marie!

Sault Youth Soccer Club is proud to announce that, for the first time ever, we will be hosting and participating in a grassroots tour across Northern Ontario. This is a brand new evolving district-league in it's first year.

From December until March, teams from Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and North Bay will come together to gain valuable skills on the field, compete with each other, and finally have the opportunity to travel throughout the Indoor season.

18 teams across four divisions from 3 of the largest clubs of the North will take turns travelling each weekend.

The goal of our part in this tour is to bring our younger pre-development players up to a higher level of play, and foster a pure soccer culture here in the Soo.

This is a valuable opportunity for us to travel where we normally don't, and get some friendly competition in where we can.

All games hosted in SSM will take place at the Northern Community Centre. This new league has appointed a league administrator - our own Club Administrator, Dawn Kippax, has taken on this position along with her own duties.

#saultyouthsoccer #saultstemarie #ontariosoccer

Play. Inspire. Unite.

In this special Ontario Soccer Spotlight, we feature two exceptional athletes from Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay who made their mark on the 2024 Provincial Xcel Teams. Now, these Northern Stars are lighting the way for other athletes in their communities.

Join us as we hear from Sophia Fata of Soo City United and Nathan Miller of Thunder Bay Chill. These standout players share their experiences in the prestigious Provincial Xcel program, discuss their personal growth and recount their travel adventures to and from the Zanchin Automotive Soccer Centre in Vaughan. 

Get inspired by their stories and celebrate their journey with us! 

Ontario Soccer is thrilled to announce the selection of 50 deserving soccer organizations as recipients of the Circle K Celebration Festival Grant program, aimed at supporting grassroots soccer initiatives across the province. This initiative, made possible through the generous support of our Premier Partner Circle K, aims to bolster local soccer communities and enhance the development of young athletes.

Overview: The C Diploma develops the coach’s capacity to meet the demands of coaching grassroots soccer and is the entry-course to the Advanced Coach Education Pathway.

Target Coach: The C Diploma is a requirement for OPDL and League1 Ontario Assistant Coaches but is open to all coaches looking to advance their careers and understanding of the game.

Course Duration: 75 hours

Learning Environment:

• 6 days, in person (classroom & on-field)
• Independent Online Learning (asynchronous)
• Collaborative Online Learning (synchronous)
• Assessment of Competency

Pre-requisite:

• Learn to Train or Soccer for Life (Trained) or Ontario Soccer Grassroots Diploma (Certified)
• NCCP Make Ethical Decision (MED) Workshop + Online Evaluation
• Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders (Soccer)
• NCCP Making Head Way in Sport (Soccer)
• NCCP Emergency Action Plan
• NCCP Understanding the Rule of Two

Course Fee: $1,650

Licence Validity: Upon successful completion of the C Diploma the coach will receive a coaching licence valid for three (3) years. The licence may be maintained by following the Canada Soccer Maintenance and Renewal Process.

Application and Registration: Application window is open until August 9, 2024. Coaches must provide proof of pre-requisites. Successful candidates will be notified by August 16, 2024 and will need to confirm their placement through payment by August 23, 2024.

Log on to ontariosoccer.com to register