Initiation Program FAQs

The Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club Under 4 - Under 7 Initiation Program is a beginner to intermediate program focussed on providing a fun, safe, and structured environment for our most excited players! For some, this will be a child's first introduction to Club soccer while others will use this time to strengthen skills learned at home or school. Each session will will engage players (and parents in Under 4) in skill-building activities like running, jumping, starting, kicking and stopping using soccer balls and imagination!.

Upon leaving the Initiation Program at the end of their 4-year experience our goal is that children possess more developed skills than other players in the Under 8 division and have a sense that soccer is the most enjoyable sport there is! We believe that the Initiation Program provides players with the skills necessary to take their own steps to success.

No, not at all. The focus of the program is to introduce players to the game of soccer through the Initiation Program. It is a "steps to success" philosophy that works with youth players in the U4, U5, U6, and U7 age levels and gently and properly introduces the complex world of soccer to both girls and boys in a fun yet educational environment.

Teams will be organized based on player registration. We also do our best to keep teams from previous years together. If you'd like your child placed with a friend or put on a certain team, please make note of this during your registration in the comments section of the player questionnaire - we will do our best to accommodate any requests. Of course due to team sizes, not all requests can be granted. 

The Under 4 & Under 5 FALL registration fee includes one session per week with a CMFSC Staff Coach, a complete team uniform (shorts, socks, jersey), player insurance, and association fees. Players that return for the WINTER program will not be charged the uniform, insurance, or association fees.

The Under 6 & Under 7 Fall/Winter registration fee includes two sessions per week with volunteer coaches supported by CMFSC Staff Coach, a complete team uniform (shorts, socks, jersey), player insurance, and association fees.

To achieve a high level of development and enjoyment, the Initiation Program believes in a low coach-to-child ratio, an approach that enables the staff to work with children individually to meet their developmental needs. The maximum number of players per team will be kept at a maximum of 18 (ideally 16) with one Coquitlam Staff Coach as well as at least two Parent Coaches per team.

The Initiation Program only employs the best coaches who have experience, outstanding coaching credentials and the right level of sensitivity to work with this valuable and impressionable age level. These coaches must demonstrate professionalism as well as a desire and a willingness to study and learn new techniques of development that fall within the vision of the Initiation Program and the Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC.

The club will hire coaches to work with each team as the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Staff Coach but will ask that parents that are interested in coaching also take part in this program as Parent Coaches, Parent Team Managers as well as Age Group Co-ordinators. 

Yes, yes, yes! We are extremely fortunate for our outdoor sessions to practice on turf fields which hold up very well in the wet weather, therefore we will practice in the rain. Besides we live in Vancouver and if we cancelled sessions due to rain, we may miss the majority of the season (smile). The only time sessions will be cancelled will be in the event of extreme weather conditions and we will always email you of any practice cancellation. 

Players should wear athletic clothing to sessions (shorts/trackpants, tshirts or team jerseys, sweatshirts/light jackets). During indoor sessions, players can wear running shoes and for outdoor sessions, players can wear cleats. Shin pads are recommended for all sessions.  Please ensure that your child's dress meets the weather conditions as we will be training rain or shine (please wear layers). During colder months, toques (without brims) and gloves are also recommended. 

For our U4 Parent & Player program, we recommend that Parents wear athletic attire and running shoes/cleats are recommended. 

The boys and girls in the U6 and U7 age groups will be separated and formed into teams (groups). The U4 and U5 age groups are co-ed so boys and girls may be mixed in a group together. 

We will do our best to accommodate such requests however depending on player numbers, gym scheduling, and coach availability, no requests can be guaranteed.

Players can only register for one U4 - U7 team.

BC Soccer also prohibits players from participating with more than one Club league program in a season. Players that register in multiple Club league programs will be contacted to cancel their registration.

Players have access to receive extra training through additional training programs and camps hosted by CMFSC.

Boys & Girls Player Training Program is open to all players and focuses on individual technical development and small-sided games. Please find more information on our website HERE. 

BC Soccer prohibits players from participating in more than one Club league program. Players that register in another Club league program will be contacted to cancel their registration. 

The success of this program is determined largely through the help of parent volunteers in roles such as Parent Head Coach, Parent Assistant Coach, Parent Team Manager and Age Group Coordinators. If you are able to help out in any of the mentioned roles, we truly appreciate your help and please make a note on your child's registration that you are able to assist.

Team Rosters are available for Team Officials to view in their Powerup account. Please keep your Team Roster information confidential as some parents do not wish their contact information to be shared. Most communication will come directly from the club regarding any Initiation Program season updates. However, Team Managers, please feel free to resend emails to your teams to ensure all team members receive it.

To view your Team Roster and/or send an email to your team, please follow the steps below:

1. Log into your Power Up account
2. Select your Role as: 'Team Official:HL' (brown tab at the top of the screen)
3. Select your Active Team. The Active Team will be green, while the inactive team will be blue. You will see both if you are a team official for multiple teams.
4. Select the Roster tab to view your roster information

To send an email to your team roster: 

1. Click on Mass Emailer
2. Choose your desired team Select who you’d like to send the email to (Parents/players) and click Add Email Addresses
3. Click Compose Message Enter in your message subject and content
4. Click Review
5. If everything is to your liking, click Send Email.

We ask that prior to emailing with questions, please refer to the Initiation Program Calendar which lists important season dates and the Initiation Program FAQs which will answer your questions. In the event that you are unable to find the answer to your question, please contact our Initiation Program Administrator or Head Coach. Please click HERE for Club Contact. 

Although each team within the Initiation Program will have a Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC Staff Coach, Parent Coach and Assistant Coach, we encourage all parents to become involved with their child's development by taking an active part in continuing with the soccer development at home. It has been found that the most successful players are those with parents who encourage their child (positive feedback only please) and play with them on an ongoing basis. It really doesn't matter whether or not you have a background in soccer or currently play the game of soccer, as you and your son or daughter can learn the game together.

We highly encourage that each player have their own soccer ball so the soccer does not have to stop when the training sessions are finished for the day. In the event, that your child does not have a soccer ball at home and you wish to purchase a ball, Initiation Program Soccer Balls can be purchased through our Club Sponsor Store, Soccer Express (www.soccerx.com), please mention that you are with the Initiation Program for an excellent rate.

If a day and time is sold out then we highly recommend registering for one of our other program days/times. 

If a session is cancelled, we will notify all parents as soon as possible via email. We will do our best to offer a make up session however with the short season timeline, we may not be able to offer make up sessions

If you son or daughter cannot make a session, please simply notify your Parent Head Coach.

Picture Day weekend will be held in the Fall. Once Picture Day weekend is confirmed, we will send out team schedules closer to the actual weekend. If you are unable to make picture day or you miss picture day, we will have options for picture make up. 

There is no Picture Day for the Under 4 & Under 5 Winter Season. 

Initiation Program Team Information will be emailed to all registered Under 4 - Under 7 families. Your program day/time was confirmed upon registration and additional U4&U5 Fall and U6&U7 Fall/Winter team details will be sent to the email address used to register by the end of August/early September. Please check your spam folder!!!

U4&U5 Winter Program day/time was confirmed upon registration and additional U4&U5 Winter Program Team Information will be sent out during the first week of January. Your U4&U5 Winter Program Team Information will be sent to the email address used to register. Please check your spam folder!!!