Metro - Skill Centres

What is the Metro League?

The Metro League is for club teams in the Metro region (Feildians, St. John's, Mt. Pearl, Paradise, CBS, PC-SP, CBN, Southern Shore and Burin). Metro League games are scheduled during the outdoor season and teams train during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. 

Summer 2025 Jamboree and Mega Dates are now posted on the NLSA website. 

Summer Training Schedule

Club Training Philosophy

During the Winter 2025 season, under the guidance and supervision of our Club Head Coach, FAA further aligned our training with Canada Soccer’s Club Development Centre (CDC) philosophies. A CDC is the pillar of the new Canada Soccer Grassroot Standards that Soccer Canada and its Provinces/Territories are adopting, to help develop young players. As the only club in Newfoundland and Labrador to hold a Member Association Level 1 designation from Canada Soccer, FAA is dedicated to the implementation of this philosophy and strongly believes in the structure of the youth program.  

Using guidelines from Canada Soccer’s Skill Centre Program training guidelines, our Club Head Coach designed and led the winter training program under these principles, and all our young players received the same quality of programming, regardless of their level of play. 

Still wondering how the CDC model will work? FAQs on the model can be found here.

Tiering of Players U11 and Younger 

As we have encouraged for several seasons, winter training for Metro teams focuses on the skill development of each individual player. At the U7 - U11 age groups, selecting a firm number of players for a roster is not conducive to long term development and talent identification. Selecting tiered teams often turns away inexperienced players who may have high-skill potential. At these ages, the goal is to develop all interested players, not discourage those who need to work on their technical skills.  

While tiering of players after U10 is permitted in the Grassroots Standards, FAA will endeavor to have multiple Tier 1 teams when possible. Since Metro League rules do not currently allow for the “Open Rosters” standard suggested by Canada Soccer, having multiple Tier 1 teams allows for the continued development of a larger group of players. Full-sided rosters (18-20 players) are not adopted until the U15 age group, so whittling down players to the top 10-14 players in the younger age groups is not what is best for the long-term development of the players or for the club. The FAA philosophy is to have Open Rosters where possible, and as many players as possible availing of the Tier 1 opportunity in the U10 and U11 age groups.  

While FAA is committed to the philosophy of equitable opportunities for all Metro players from U7 - U11, we also recognize there is a strong desire from some players to advance their skill and play in a more competitive environment. Based on Canada Soccer’s Dedicated Player Program philosophy, FAA will begin offering a Prospects Program in late Spring for 2025.  

Please visit the Prospect Program Page for further information on this exciting new approach to training with FAA.

How do I know my child is a “Metro Ready Player”?  
 
Teams are not set for Metro weekends until late Spring. At each age group, we consider players to be “Metro Ready” if:  

• U7 and U8: All players are put on Metro teams, unless a player is not actively engaged in practices and games or is consistently disruptive. Players are registered in the program on a first come, first served basis.  

• U9and U10: Players must be actively engaged in practices and games and have at least basic technical skills & physical literacy to help their team during games. New players are evaluated and assessed for their level of readiness before being permitted to register full time to the program.   

• U11 and U13: Players must be actively engaged in practices and games and have good technical skills & physical literacy to help their team during games. New players are evaluated with the strongest players joining the rosters.   

Summer 2025

** based on the capacity for our club, returning players from the winter season will be given advance registration opportunities before new players are invited to register. 

 Summer Training Schedule

Schedule begins June 1st (unless Feildian Grounds dries out earlier in May)