Little Kickers set to kick off in Charleswood

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This article was published 06/04/2021 (1617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Youngsters will get a kick out of a preschool soccer program coming soon to Charleswood.

Little Kickers offers classes to wee ones from 18 months up to 7.5 years old. The classes are broken into four age groups: Little Kicks for those aged 18 months to 2.5 years; Junior Kickers for ages 2.5 to 3.5; Mighty Kickers for children from 3.5 up to their fifth s; and Mega Kickers for ages 5 to 7.5.

“Little Kickers is the home of preschool soccer,” said Rochelle Raitt, owner-operator of Little Kickers Winnipeg South.

“We give your children a positive introduction to sport by teaching high quality soccer skills in a friendly, pressure-free environment.”

Little Kickers currently offers indoor classes at Dakota Community Centre, Prendergast Centre in Windsor Park and the Corydon Community Centre. This summer, it will expand to offer classes in Charleswood, as well as Sage Creek, St. Vital Park, Island Lakes, Cherry Park in Windsor Park and Lindenwoods.

“We are so happy that we can finally offer classes in Charleswood. Since we opened Little Kickers Winnipeg South three years ago, we have been expanding as we grow our coaching team to offer our classes in different communities throughout Winnipeg South. I live in South St. Vital, so it was natural to start to offer classes there first,” Raitt said.

“Since this will be our first summer offering classes in Charleswood, we have not received confirmation of our venue yet. We have requested Assiniboine Park, but venues are usually not confirmed until April. Classes will be somewhere in Charleswood.”

There are two options for Charleswood summer sessions –  Saturday mornings from June 12 to Aug. 28 or Tuesday evenings from June 15 to Aug. 31.

“We run our classes year-round — indoors September to April and outdoors May to September,” Raitt said.

“We are currently running our classes indoors to finish up our fall 2020 courses that we put on hold when the October shutdown happened.”  

Little Kickers’ COVID-19 protocols worked well last summer, so they will continue this summer, Raitt added. Lesson plans have been adapted to encourage physical distancing. Hand sanitizer will be given to kids and adults before and after each class, and all equipment will be sanitized before, during and after class. In addition, parents and children will need to self-screen before coming to class.

Little Kickers helps children develop physical literacy from a young age, Raitt added.

“Physical literacy is the ability to move with confidence in a wide variety of physical activities,” she said.

“Even if you feel your child is not a ‘sporty child,’ developing their balance, co-ordination and gross motor skills will benefit them greatly throughout their lives, from feeling confident participating in their phys-ed classes at school to living a healthy, active life.”

For more information and to register for Little Kickers, visit www.littlekickers.ca.

“If your first choice of class is full, please add your child to the wait-list so we know how many children would like to attend that class and can plan accordingly,” Raitt said.

“We are hoping to double up the classes with the longest wait-lists to help as many children as possible get a space in their preferred class.”

Little Kickers is also hiring people who love soccer and want to inspire children to be active. Those interested can upload their resumés through Indeed.ca or email them to rraitt@littlekickers.ca