“Owen's first love was soccer. He was 6, maybe 7.” 😂 Evelyn still remembers it that clearly because that's just how Owen was about sport.

Canada's Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden drops by our Boys & Girls Jr. Wolves games, dropping some advice that takes him from a free program — not unlike Free Play for Kids — all the way to the Olympics. 🐺

Show up. Listen. Be positive.

Suprabha didn't know how to dribble a soccer ball when she first walked through her schools gym doors. She wasn't looking for a soccer career. She was looking for a safe place to go after school. That's exactly the kind of kid our Soccer Pathway — powered by Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.

Every kid at Ermineskin Elementary School deserves a better start. Building trust, teaching healthy relationships, and giving kids experiences many of them have never had before. That's what Coach Tiffany and the Free to Play team show up to do every day in Maskwacís.

In two minutes, this video will show you exactly what long term funding does for a school. Not in theory. In real life. In a hallway. On the faces of kids who now know someone believed in them enough to make it permanent.

As we get fired up for the World Cup, and the Canada VS Uzbekistan friendly in less than two weeks. we asked some of our Canadian Tire Jumpstart Champions who they are cheering for, and what they love about soccer. ⚽️

Principal Doris Auger and Vice-Principal Melanie Nanaquawetung share what they've seen firsthand: improved behaviour, stronger attendance, kids developing leadership skills, and children participating in organized sport for the very first time — because the program comes to them.

Leading a recent coach training day, Lucas Alves gets to flex his soccer skills helping other coaches become a little more familiar with a sport that may not come naturally.

Coach Jacob isn’t just coaching hockey, he is coaching people, and February's Free Play Coach of the Month! Jacob does an exceptional job delivering the Sport to Life curriculum throughout the season, and kids who could barely skate last year are now suiting up for a Wolves ice hockey team with a positive attitude. That's the Jacob effect ✨

Meet Derek Hemsley, our Coach Education & Curriculum Development Lead. When Derek talks about coaching at Free Play, he doesn't talk about wins and losses, he talks about being a cheerleader for every kid who walks through our doors.

Live footage from St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School in Edmonton Alberta Canada shows Darnell Nurse being grilled by grade 3 to 6 students before, during, and after a game of ball hockey that ends in a disputed 4-4 draw.

The U17 Wolves soccer team are ready to begin their season — and it all starts here in Episode 1 of More Than a Game: Daytona Homes Wolves. Free Play for Kids and Daytona Homes Edmonton come together to launch a new chapter of teamwork, mentorship, and community.

Adam van Koeverden and a host of other MPs join the Free Play for Kids Wolves U17 Boys soccer team for some training drills and a scrimmage at the East Soccer Centre in Edmonton, AB Canada.

Ilya discovers basketball, gets better at soccer, and makes new friends in his first year of the Free to Play program. He even plays with kids that bullied him last year, all while building confidence in the after school program that exposes him to a bunch of new sports.

When Catherine’s family arrives in Canada from Colombia, everything feels different. A new language, new systems, new routines — everything. But there is one place her son Johan instantly feels at home, and that is our Free to Play after school program.

Before Free to Play, Le-Sean was a polite and quiet kid. Today, his dad watches him "chat up a storm", try new things, and come home eager to share stories and challenges from his day!

Ryan is a teacher, coach, and parent with two kids in their very first season of Free Play for Kids—and the impact is already clear!

Change is hard for most of us — guilty! But changing schools at a young age can be quite dramatic as Laura finds out for both her young ones. However, after joining the Free to Play after school program, a shift is evident in Grayden. 👀

La-Sean not only gets access to play with kids his own age, he is learning and exploring more off-screen sports, leading to more activity! 🏃🏽‍♂️‍➡️

When caring coaches create safe spaces for young people to grow and learn through sport — magic happens. Iranzi's soccer journey with the Wolves has empowered this young man not only in athletic pursuits, but in life.