The Waterloo region offers plenty of opportunities to play sports, and soccer is no exception. There are winter and summer training camps, soccer tryouts, team building activities, and a lot more. The Soccer Club Waterloo Region is the professional club in Waterloo, Ontario.
SC Waterloo Region
This is a professional soccer team which is part of the First Division as of 2017. The team was founded in 2007 and currently plays for the CSL (Canadian Soccer League). In 2016, the team made it to the semi-finals and in 2017 – to the quarter-finals. It was in 2013 when SC Waterloo Region became league champions. The head coach of the team is Vojislav Brisevac, and the current president is Tony Kocis. There are also amateur and high school soccer teams to help young people learn the basics while having fun. The Listowel United Men’s Soccer Team, for example, is a competitive team that is holding practice each week at the Westfield public school. The team plays in the Kitchener District Soccer League (KDSL). Other teams at the Premier Mens Division include the Aurora Lodge, Owen Sound, Banat SFC, and Polish Eagles SC. Clubs that make the Premier Womens Division include Guelph Gryphons – Black, Guelph Gryphons – Red, Rangers FC, and others.
Kitchener District Soccer League
Founded back in 1975, the Kitchener District Soccer League is a soccer and football league for amateur teams. Women’s and men’s teams come from different cities such as Guelph, Cambridge, Stratford, and Kitchener. The list of top 10 Cup players in the Premier Men’s Division include Cory Aarons, Niko Mikovic, Andrew Forbes, and Victor Salajan. Top 10 Cup players in the Premier Women’s Division are Samantha Fowles, Courtney Swann, Kiana Endresz, and Katie Kendall. The oldest teams in the league are Banat and Hrvat, founded in 1969 and 1971 respectively. There are defunct clubs as well, some of which folded, merged, or moved to the Ontario Soccer League. Such clubs are, for example, Waterloo Athletics, Kitchener United, Galt Eagles, and others. Some of these clubs were organized along ethnic lines (having ethnic identity) such as Central American, German, Turkish, and Croatian. Other clubs were non-ethnic. Notable formal players include names such as Brad Cherevaty, Dean Carey, Alija Solak, and many others.
Waterloo Soccer Camps, Programs, and Recreational Activities
Different camps and sports activities are organized in the Waterloo region, including outdoor goalkeeper trainings and classic training and skills camps. The goal is to offer young players development opportunities to master basic skills such as angles, positioning, distribution by feet and hand, and shot stopping. The emphasis is on coordination development and foot coordination. March break, spring, summer, and winter soccer camps are also offered. The goal is to develop key skills such as catching, throwing, kicking, jumping, and running. Young players also master basic skills such as speed, coordination, balance, and agility. Camps and programs combine games, movement exercises, and technical instruction with a focus on passing, dribbling, receiving passes, shooting a goal, and kicking the ball forward. In addition, recreational activities are also offered to teach young players the fundamentals. Recreational activities are available for different age groups, including U8 girls and boys and U7 girls and boys. The focus is on developing key skills, decision making, and game intelligence. Many camps and programs feature volunteer coach-directed sessions. There are programs for U9 and U10 girls and boys to learn the principles of play, including ball mastery, improvisation, depth, and width. Players are taught technical and tactical skills such as individual transitions, support play, spatial awareness, and change of direction and space.
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