Soccer program takes aim at new goal increasing Indigenous participation [Video]

Ottawa’s top men’s soccer team is looking to kick the footwork skills of Indigenous children into high gear by providing easier access to the sport, as well as high-level coaching.

Earlier this week at a field in the city’s east end, children dribbled around pylons and weaved through poles. They wore bright red jerseys stamped with the logo of Odawa Native Friendship Centre, which serves Ottawa’s urban Indigenous community and the surrounding region. 

Training them was Anthony Legendre, a former pro soccer player and current member of Atlético Ottawa’s affiliated semi-professional team, OSU Atlético.

“What we’re trying to do at the grassroots level is — you can see the kids are pretty young — we’re just trying to introduce them to the game of soccer,” said Sheridon Baptiste, the friendship centre’s healthy living co-ordinator.

“So what we’re trying to do here obviously is give everyone a chance to at least, …