How Atlético Ottawa and CAA are bringing free soccer to underserved neighbourhoods
4 Minute Read
Summary
- Atlético Ottawa's Equal Access program offers free week-long soccer camps to kids in underserved Ottawa neighbourhoods.
- CAA's sponsorship funds full-time staff, coaches, jerseys, food, equipment and free Atlético Ottawa tickets.
- What started as 50 kids in one neighbourhood has doubled in size and expanded to a second community this year.
On a warm July morning, the soccer field at the Alexander Community Centre was full of red jerseys, kids and a few soccer balls in play. On the sideline, a coach crouched down to read a hand-drawn sign held up by a group of camp-goers: "Thank you! Gracias!” Two of the sign-holders wore blue and red cones as hats.
Thomas Stockting oversees the soccer while sorting out the pizza lunch order; he, along with his colleagues at Atlético Ottawa, is behind this free-to-play kids' soccer camp.
The camp grew out of an idea from Atlético Ottawa's community development department five years ago. Today, the soccer summer camp bursts with energy. "It's been four years since I woke up and didn't want to go to work, and that's a real privilege," Thomas said.
How Equal Access reaches underserved neighbourhoods
Parents can sign their kids up for a week of free soccer at the Atleti Equal Access camp, enhanced each summer by professional coaching from Atlético de Madrid academy coaches.
To Stockting, equal access to soccer is fundamental to the spirit of the game. Historically, he says, soccer has been the sport of the working class. That access shouldnflow through level, from a kid on a community field to a professional watching from the top of the Canadian Premier League.
That commitment to equal access drove Atlético’s choice of location for the camp. "That's what got us into the Carlington neighbourhood," Stockting said. "From there, we grew to the Carlington Recreation Centre, where we put on our first week of free-to-play soccer camps for 50 youth in the neighbourhood, and that was such a roaring success that we managed to double it this year."
The program's main goal is to provide access to underserved communities by offering parents a free week of soccer and activities. The camp helps provide better access to the game by removing cultural, financial and physical barriers.
For many kids, it's the small things that stand out. Every camper gets a co-branded Atlético Ottawa and CAA jersey to keep. Stockting says that surprises some of them at first: kids who aren't used to organizations giving them something and asking for nothing in return.
What CAA's support makes possible.
None of it happens, Stockting said, without support from partners like CAA.
CAA's financial contribution, alongside other partners like Intega IT and Régimbal, helps fund Equal Access as a free program by paying for full-time staff, bringing in coaches who can both teach the game and connect with kids in underserved communities, and covering the cost of jerseys, food and equipment. Corporate support also means every camper will get a touchline experience at an Atlético Ottawa match later this year, watching the professional team warm up from the sidelines.
"Without stakeholders like CAA, it's impossible to bring this programming to this many youth here in the Carlington neighbourhood," Stockting said. "We hope it's just the beginning."
This camp is one of the many initiatives that CAA supports in the city. As a proud sponsor of Atlético Ottawa, CAA hopes to increase the Atlético gameday experience for CAA Members and provide greater resources to the team’s community programs.
Building toward Canada's soccer future
As he stands on the side of the soccer field where the kids are playing a game the coaches call "champions league," played with mini nets, Stockting can't help but imagine what could come out of further investment in Ottawa soccer.
"So many of our Canadian national team players come from Brampton, or they come from Montreal, which has a very inclusive approach to its to its minor soccer [...] and you never know, maybe when we talk about this in five to 10 years, we will talk about the Carlington neighbourhood in Ottawa as being a place that started producing some top talent at the Canadian Premier League level or even at the national team level," Stockting said.
While daydreaming of what the future of Canadian soccer can be, Stockting rests assured that we're already seeing great results today.
"What it is right now is 50 kids that walk away knowing that there's someone that cares about them, that's willing to put on some programming. We've seen 50-odd smiles... [and] a number of parents that have come out over the course of the week... just to ask what's going on," Stockting said.
By lunchtime, the supplied pizza lunch arrived and famished kids rushed over, plates in hand. As the kids settled into the grass, there was still work ahead for the Atletico crew to prep for the next camp. For CAA North & East Ontario, support continues for community programs across eastern and northern Ontario, aiming to create meaningful change alongside partners like Atlético Ottawa.
Learn more about how members can save on Atlético Ottawa tickets.
