The Club will place one or more Development teams in the Toronto Soccer League (TOSL) in the spring & summer 2024, with training to commerce in the fall of 2023.  The term “Development” is part of a pathway that leads to Competitive.  

We are currently looking for female & male players born in 2016 & 2015, which translate into U8 & U9 for the outdoor 2024 season.  

2024 Outdoor expected to include a combination of:

• League Play (Toronto Soccer League, “TOSL”), known as Festivals
• Recreational Program at West Rouge SC

For the 2024 outdoor season, we expect to have one 2016 team and two 2015 teams. Training sessions may be mixed ages (2016-2015) as necessary. Games will not be mixed; each team will be one age group only. Training nights May-August will be mostly Tuesdays and Thursdays at local fields.

TOSL Format will be the same in 2024 for both U8 and U9

• U8 (2016): 5v5, GK, Max 10 on Game Day; Saturday Festivals Only
• U9 (2015): 5v5, GK, Max 10 on Game Day; Saturday Festivals Only

We would select which Festival Saturdays to participate in about 1 month in advance

• First Festival would be last weekend of May
• Festivals available over 3 weekends in June
• No festivals during The Robbie or the July long weekend
• Festivals available 3 weekends in July
• 2024 TOSL League Wide Break- July 27-August 11
• Two Festivals in August
• One or two Festivals in September after Labour Day

Game Fields would be at participating soccer clubs’ home fields in Scarborough, North York and Toronto. TOSL Schedule expected to be available mid-April, 2024.

Players would also participate in the WRSC Recreational Program from time to time. The regular recreational program is one game and/or group training session every other week.

On average, for all Dev team players there would be:

• 1 game per week, either Rec. program or Saturday Festival
• 2 training sessions per week, sometimes 1 depending on game workload

Training fields & Rec. game fields would be local West Rouge SC fields (Exact fields TBD).

Complete schedule (Training, Rec. Program, TOSL) for each team expected to be available early May, 2024

Typical parent questions and answers are listed below:

Q1:  Will the Club be holding more Development Team Open Practices?

A1: Yes we expect to hold one or more Open Practices for target age groups in the winter and spring of 2024.

Q2: What if there are a lot of players for a specific birth year, such as 2015, would the Club consider making two teams?

A2: The decision to field teams will be based on the availability of sufficient numbers of talented and committed players at each of the proposed age divisions, which may include multiple teams in the same age division. If we do run more than one team in a specific age division, players would train together for indoor as one large group.  Splitting players into two teams for would occur closer to the spring.

Q3: When and where does indoor training begin?

A3: We have booked turf time Metro Golf Sportsplex (125 Milner Avenue), for Tuesday evening 7pm-8pm starting Tuesday Oct 10, 2023. We also have booked the gym at Mowat (5400 Lawrence Ave East), from 1pm-2pm on Sundays starting Sunday Oct. 15, 2023. Between October 2023 and March 2024, we expect to have approximately 40 training sessions in total. Note that additional training dates and/or facilities may be incorporated into the program as required.

Q4: My child plays other sports in the winter and is unavailable for 1 or both training days. Can they still participate in the Development teams indoor training?

A4: We are looking to launch Development programs with a core group of players and parents that can commit to both training dates most of the time (e.g. 90% or more).

Q5: We cannot commit to indoor training. Would there be Open Practices in the spring of 2024?

A5: It is not uncommon to have spring Open Practices for Development and Competitive teams, depending on the needs of the team and the availability of players. Any decision on whether to hold spring Opens Practice would not be made until the end of indoor training, sometime in March 2024.

Q6: My child is waiting to see if they make the team at another club. How long can we wait before responding on an offer to be part of the West Rouge SC Development program?

A6: For players that are offered a spot on one of our teams, the parents will have 48 hours to respond and either accept or reject the offer.

Q7: What does it cost to training on the Development teams this fall and winter?

A7: Fees will be discussed with families of players who will be part of the Development teams, which includes a commitment to the fall and winter training schedule and the 2024 outdoor season.

Q8: Who are the coaches for the teams?

A8: The primary coaches for the 2016 and 2015 teams are Nithilan Suresh and Anjali Saini respectively. Both coaches have completed all certifications for youth soccer. 

Additional coaches will contribute to the programs as required, such as our Goalkeeper Coach Kelsa O'Donoghue. From time to time we may also leverage senior coaches for technical sessions, including John Owoh, Sean McManus and Scott Owen, and others as required.

Coaches for other programs we may offer will be announced at the time programs are announced.

Q9: My child is a girl, what are the Development team options?

A9: If we have enough female players that are talented and committed to playing for a Development team, we will form girls-only teams. If there is not a girls-only team available for a specific birth year, then we may offer a spot on a boys team, as female players are allowed to play on boys teams. This is common in younger age divisions.

If you have additional questions, please contact the Club Office via email (info@westrougesoccer.ca). Thanks!

Email us at info@westrougesoccer.ca if you have any questions.