Skip to content

Local soccer players kick COVID to the curb in return to play (8 photos)

The Innisfil Soccer Club offers both competitive and recreational soccer programs

The Innisfil Soccer Club has approached the return to play in the same way a coach prepares for a game: planning for every possible scenario.

When the province entered Stage 1 of reopening, Innisfil Soccer was ready with a program of no-contact training, allowing no more than five players at a time to participate.

Now that Ontario is in Stage 3, there has been a return to the fields, with larger groups and contact play, while still following provincial COVID protocols.

And while most clubs in Huronia District have focused on their competitive and elite players, Innisfil Soccer has also reopened its recreational/house league program, starting July 21 at the four fields at the Innisfil Recreation Complex on Innisfil Beach Road.

The large open space and a reduction in the number of players allowed at any one time have made it easier for the club to modify its training, reducing contact.

“We’re following strict protocols,” said General Manager and Technical Director David Thorburn.

Players are given a “two-metre box” in which to practise their moves. Skills development is largely contact-free; it’s only during team practice and actual games that the players get close.

“We try to minimize the contact between games. Everyone goes to their box,” said Thorburn, following a ‘G.A.G.’ (Game/Activity/Game) model.

The fields are divided, with no more than 16 players per field. Kids have been told to bring only their own water bottle, and parents are asked to keep away from the area of play, watching from behind a fence.

As the players enter the fields, they are screened for symptoms of COVID-19, and offered hand-sanitizer.

“The feedback has been great,” said Thorburn, with support for both the return to play, and the health and safety protocols -  although he noted that it’s easier to enforce social distancing and ‘no contact’ with the younger players.

"It's a job to police the older guys,” Thorburn admitted; 16 and 17-year-olds tend to have a teen sense of invincibility.

Thorburn, who has over 30 years experience as a professional soccer player with teams like the Glasgow Rangers and Aberdeen, and as a professional coach, agent, scout and manager, emphasized the importance of activity for children, not just for exercise but for emotional development.

He called it the “No. 1 prescription” to fight depression, pointing out that this has been a stressful year for kids, suddenly out of school and kept away from their friends. Even now, most outdoor and sports activities in Innisfil are shut down.

Innisfil Soccer has taken a cautious approach to the return to play, and is offering 10 to 12 sessions during the season, for a reduced cost of $185-$200.

“We’ve cut our costs to try to make it affordable,” said Thorburn, who worked with the Aurora Youth Soccer Club for several years, and brought free soccer programs into the schools. “Trying to give them something back” is the goal, he said, while promoting an active lifestyle.

Coach Jennifer Neal, directing a group of U12 girls through a practice routine “in the box,” agreed that getting back to play is important for her players. It makes a difference “just to get out, instead of being inside four walls all day long,” she said. 

Parents expressed cautious optimism. Asked how he felt about the return to play, soccer dad Mauricio said he had “mixed reviews. It’s good for them because they’re doing something, but – but worried. We’re parents. We worry.”

“The boys, they have their ‘group of ten’,” said friend Anthony. “They play soccer together, they go to school together, the parents are together.” Soccer, he said, was an extension of their “bubble.”

“Just trying to get back to a normal,” added Mauricio.

For more information on the programs, play and development camps offered by Innisfil Soccer, click here – or call 705-431-4516, or contact David Thorburn at [email protected]


Reader Feedback

Miriam King

About the Author: Miriam King

Miriam King is a journalist and photographer with Bradford Today, covering news and events in Bradford West Gwillimbury and Innisfil.
Read more