Welcome to Aspire Soccer Development
My name is Richard Fehr, and I will be your soccer Instructor. I’ve had the privilege of coaching and instructing soccer for nearly two decades here in Ontario, Canada. My specialty coaching and instructing has been on Futsal. A style of indoor soccer that has significantly shaped my coaching philosophy and approach to the game.
My Journey
My soccer instructor journey began back in 2004 with the Scarborough YMCA. I was hired as a soccer instructor during my university years, and at first, I found it challenging because we didn’t have a set curriculum in place for the program and I didn’t know too much about coaching soccer at the time. I had soccer coaches from when I played soccer but teaching and instructing it is very different. Taking this opportunity was one of the best decisions I made in my life, and was the start to my journey.
Moving On
Through the support of the players and families I was able to create multiple soccer leagues, and multiple days of registered soccer classes for over 16 years. I realized over time the end goal was not to just build a soccer program but to establish a community of soccer players and families that promoted a positive sport culture, and one that can be passed along generation to generation.
Futsal Revolution
Since the soccer program was played on an indoor gym surface I quickly noticed a challenge that many of my students faced: the size 5 soccer balls were bouncing uncontrollably on the gym floor, making it difficult for them to develop the skills needed to control the ball. I saw their frustration and realized that traditional soccer training methods weren’t working in this setting. That’s when I discovered Futsal.
This discovery set me on a journey of learning, trial, and error to develop a Futsal program that not only helped new players fast track their development but also provided advanced players with fresh challenges. I became deeply passionate about coaching, not just for the game itself, but for the joy I saw in my players as they grew and improved. There’s something incredibly rewarding about seeing a new player learn the fundamentals and begin to love the sport.
I took a risk which turned out to be one of my greatest learning experiences and that was introducing Futsal into the program. When we transitioned to using low bounce balls and a small-sided game, our players technical development drastically improved. It was very noticeable how fast new players were developing the ability to control and maneuver the ball even after a few weeks of learning. It was a game changer.
A New Opportunity
Now that I have moved out to Lindsay, I found a wonderful soccer community here who share the same common goals as I do, and that is to create a soccer development program that offers that same community support for player growth and a system to keep them learning and growing in it.
A big thank you to all the wonderful families who have supported this journey, lets create something wonderful!
Thank you for reading, and look forward to meeting you!