LEAGUE MANAGEMENT GUIDE - Ontario Soccer Association

When should we tier?Tiering is positively encouraged for the 2013 Outdoor Season. It will be mandatory for Clubs and leagues from 2014onwards. If you are preparing to run an LTPD aligned league in 2013 we would suggest the recommended timeline(Appendix TWO) provides appropriate time for tiering to be completed.Club Application for Slots:A Club must apply to the League using a standardized form (Appendix FOUR) that identifies each age group, genderand proposed tier of competition. Clubs must base this on historic registrations for those age groups over past years.The Club will apply for slots based on the number of teams at an age group, gender and ability. Where a Club hasnot entered a team at that age group before, they are able to apply at the tier they feel is appropriate and progressreviewed on an ongoing basis.Ongoing Identification and MonitoringOngoing Identification and Monitoring previously referred to as “tryouts” should not be a situation our playersexperience or get put through until U10. Up until then players play without unnecessary pressure and continue todevelop technical, tactical, physical and social/emotional skills. By the time players reach U12 Technical Directorsshould have an ongoing identification and evaluation process in place that Club coaches can be trained to use. Thisevaluation process should be as stress free as possible for players and crucially:a. Include identification in meaningful competition as well as in training environments.b. Offer open sessions for any player who has a desire to demonstrate their ability to participate within the proposedage group.c. Identify a maximum number of players at each session combined with an appropriate ratio of players to coach(16:1) to provide a more responsible evaluation process.d. Ongoing identification and monitoring should be conducted under the guidance of the Technical Director or ClubHead Coach.‘Our challenge as adults is simple – to help young people fall in love withthe game’The Football Association, 201210