Entrepreneurs score goals, the Brazilian Way

With nearly three million players nationwide, soccer is one of Canada’s most popular and fastest growing sports. But Canada’s world soccer ranking – 83rd as of this year according to FIFA – shows the Great White North has a long way to go before joining world superpowers England, Germany, Spain and Brazil.

Ancaster resident Ian McClurg hopes to change that.

Using the world renowned Brazilian Soccer Schools program, McClurg is helping young players raise their game by improving individual ball handling skills, speed and endurance. First in Burlington and now in Ancaster, the BSS system is forming a solid foundation in Southern Ontario. McClurg plans to expand the program across Canada while helping thousands of youth players compete for a chance at professional stardom.

Brazilian Soccer Schools is a concept developed by British soccer enthusiast Simon Clifford. After visiting Brazil and watching children play a game called Futebol de Salao, Clifford noticed the young Brazilians had extraordinary ball handling skills. Their game, a variation of what most of the world calls football, is played with a smaller, size two ball. The Futebol de Salao ball is much weightier than a conventional ball. It has very little bounce. Instead of kicking the ball long distances and chasing it back and forth, Clifford noticed the Brazilian players used their superior ball handling skills to challenge the defenders.

Founded in 1996, Brazilian Soccer Schools uses the same method to improve individual skills. Clifford’s first school was launched in Leeds, England. Today there are BSS schools across the U. K., offering cutting edge training techniques to a football crazed nation. Franchises have also appeared in 64 countries worldwide, including Canada.

McClurg is the first to offer BSS instruction in Canada. The program began last year in Burlington and has recently expanded at Ancaster’s Jewish Community Centre.

McClurg, a native of Northern Ireland, is a firm believer in the BSS system.

“The kids have got to master the ball handling first,” he said.

Brazilian Soccer Schools focuses on youth aged five to 16. It uses a grading system designed by Clifford that measures a player’s individual ball handling skills. Players earn badges for achieving skills, such as juggling a ball with their feet.

Many of the skills are named after professional players, such as the Pele sprint, which involves rolling the ball back and forth with the top of your foot as many times as you can in 30 seconds. McClurg has already seen seven and eight-year-old players who can tally 150 Pele sprints in half a minute. Another Ancaster youth player recently amazed McClurg by executing 460 consecutive juggles.

The BSS method includes 10 core moves such as juggling, plus dribbling and passing exercises.

Level four is considered the standard required to play professionally in England, McClurg said.

While he’s not a professional player himself, Clifford has already used his Brazilian teaching method with positive results in England. He owns a semi-professional team, Garforth Town AFC. The club currently plays in the eighth division of British Football after earning two promotions in the last four years.

Clifford has also developed the Socatots program, the world’s first soccer specific physical play program for preschool aged children. The program is geared towards students aged six months to five years.

Susan Woods leads the Canadian division of Socatots. Like Brazilian Soccer Schools, the program is also based in Burlington and Ancaster.

Featuring parent participation and small class sizes, Socatots uses music, words and activities that strengthen balance, coordination, and body awareness. The program is often used as an introduction to BSS, but it also strives to develop communication skills, language and literacy.

McClurg hopes to establish a technical centre in Ancaster and a Canadian head office for Brazilian Soccer Schools. A technical centre helps to identify and develop players who have the potential to pursue a professional career. The best athletes could be recommended for admission to the British academy system. Teams in the Barclay’s Premier League, the top flight of English football, recruit and develop players using their own football academies.

McClurg currently instructs about 100 students in Burlington and Ancaster. He dreams about someday making the BSS system as prevalent in Canada as the U. K. where programs exist in virtually every community.

“That’s our goal for Canada,” said McClurg, who retains the Canadian rights for Brazilian Soccer Schools. New eight-week sessions for BSS and Socatots are slated to begin in Ancaster next month. Although no long-term commitment is required, McClurg encourages players to stay with the program, especially if they exhibit the potential to perform at a high level.

Registration information for Brazilian Soccer Schools Canada and Socatots is available at www.icfds.com/canada .

SOCATOTS graduate impressed professional clubs

Having taught the Socatots program in Canada for the past year, it's amazing to see how well the children are developing their skills. Children in the Socatots program are indeed much further ahead with their skills. The children are learning to be two-footed through the program, as we emphasize the use of both left and right foot to perform all skills.

Below is a story from our main website about 5 year old Luke Gallacher from England who has been in the Socatots program since the age of 1. We are looking forward to our children making the same type of progress in Canada.

SOCATOTS Paisley and Renfrewshire North will watch recent graduate Luke Gallacher’s progress with interest after the 5-year old was invited down to training camps by both Glasgow Rangers and St Mirren.

The youngster, whose sessions were led by head coach Carol Heaton, worked on key aspects of his development such as hand-eye coordination and numeracy using the organisation’s ground-breaking syllabus.

SOCATOTS began in 2002 when Brazilian Soccer Schools founder Simon Clifford devised a programme for children from six months to five years to hone their skills using football as a medium.

Since then, the organisation has grown into the largest of its kind in the world, with centres operating around the world in locations such as the UK, America, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Norway and Dubai.

The success of her work with Luke has inspired Carol to look to expand her own SOCATOTS franchise, and she is delighted with the budding footballer’s progress.

“Luke has been with us since he was 14 months old and joined us at our second-ever session,” Carol said. “At Luke's last session I received gifts from both Fiona (Luke's Mum) and Luke's Gran who then proceeded to give me full credit for Luke's successes.

“As I've said to Fiona, I feel he always had natural ability and we were able to give him a place to go which no-one else could offer for his age and as a result we have helped, but all the rest has been down to him and I really can't take credit for that.

“I've never come across a child at such a young age with such a single minded desire to play football.”

Luke’s mother, Fiona, echoed Carol’s comments, citing the benefits SOCATOTS has brought to her son as a reason why all parents should take their children to the programme.

"Luke has loved coming to SOCATOTS over the last four years. It is such a good idea for kids,” she said.

“He as you know has always wanted to kick a ball even before he could walk. I really have found that it has benefited Luke, especially with his co ordination. The Nursery have always commented on this and I am quite sure that has come from SOCATOTS.”

Congratulations to Carol, Luke, Fiona and the family for Luke’s success, and we wish them all the very best of luck for the future.

Socatots - the world's 1st and #1 soccer specific play program for toddlers

What is Socatots?

Socatots is the world's first soccer specific physical play program for pre-school aged children, from the time they begin to crawl to age 5.

The ethos of Socatots is to help develop a child physically, emotionally and socially. We at Socatots are able to promote this in a fun and safe environment, creating the best learning surroundings for the children to get the best out of every session.

Socatots is part of an international program that operates in 64 countries and teaches millions of children each year.

Furthermore, we feel is is vital to get as many children involved in physical activity as possible to ensure they lead a healthy lifestyle.


Why parents choose Socatots

• improvement of balance, co-ordination, and posture
• development of cognitive skills, attention and concentration
• increased self confidence
• improved social skills
• communication skills, language and literacy
• enhanced muscle and bone development
• body awareness and understanding of the benefits of exercise
• personal, social and creative development

How is Socatots different from other activity programs?

• aims to develop the 'whole child'
• features parent participation
• features small class sizes
• emphasis on fun and structured play
• specially designed equipment
• emphasis on educational development
• emphasis on social development
• progression onto the Brazilian Soccer Schools program for ages 5 to 18

You can learn more about our program by visiting our main website at www.socatots.com, our local website at www.socatots.com/burlingtonhamilton and our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/SOCATOTS.