[Vaughan, Ontario, November 1, 2023] – Ontario Soccer today announced its partnership with Alberta-based Castle Rock Research Corp. to support student-athlete academic achievement. Ontario Soccer is dedicated to providing youth with a holistic approach to success, not only on the field of play, but also in the classroom. This collaboration aims to equip student-athletes with support to excel academically while pursuing their soccer dreams.
Ontario Soccer, through its participating membership organizations, will offer interested student-athletes member-discounted access to Castle Rock’s digital study guide platform, SOLARO, which is a complement to classroom learning and helps students sharpen their academic skills in Mathematics, English language arts and Science. The substantial discount offer makes supportive learning more accessible to students and their families.
SOLARO offers student-athletes in grades 3-12 academic lessons and hundreds of practice questions tailored to provincial grade-level curricula. Whether an elementary school student learning critical study skills or a high school student preparing for final course exams, SOLARO can be individualized to support specific learning goals.
Many student-athletes face extensive travel demands to practices and games to hone their skills, which makes SOLARO an ideal resource while on the move. The comprehensive digital tool is easy to use and available on all digital platforms 24/7 to reinforce classroom learning conveniently from home or on the go. Its targeted educational materials help student-athletes better balance the demands of competitions, training and travel with academic demands.
“Being a good athlete means being a good student,” said Johnny Misley, CEO of Ontario Soccer. “This collaboration with Castle Rock is testament to our continued commitment to helping young athletes gain the academic skills they need for future success as well-rounded adults.”
“Castle Rock is honoured to support Ontario Soccer in their mission to help players succeed academically in addition to excelling on the field of play,” said Gautam RAO, CEO of Castle Rock Research Corp. “We admire Ontario Soccer’s commitment to education and are pleased to be a partner in their effort to help student-athletes unlock their full academic potential.”
About Ontario Soccer
Founded in 1901, Ontario Soccer is currently comprised of more than 500 Clubs servicing over 24,000 teams with 380,000 registered players, 70,000 coaches and managers, and 6,000 match officials, as well as countless volunteers, parents and supporters encompassing a direct, multi-cultural community of over 1,000,000 Ontarians.
Ontario Soccer develops and delivers exceptional and sustainable programs and services throughout Ontario with the mission of providing leadership and support for the advancement of soccer in collaboration and cooperation with our member District Associations, partners and other stakeholders. Ontario Soccer also operates the Ontario Player Development League (OPDL); the province’s premier standards based youth development program, as well as “Team Ontario”, Ontario Soccer’s provincial Xcel program. Ontario Soccer proudly supports Canada Soccer’s National Teams, the Canadian Premier League and Toronto FC.
The overall objective of Ontario Soccer is to be innovators and leaders in sport and to assist with the equitable development of soccer as a healthy lifestyle choice, provide a talented pathway for participants to excel and encourage inclusive community involvement at all levels.
Castle Rock Research Corporation
Castle Rock Research is an education resource development company based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1995, Castle Rock helps Canadian and U.S. students in grades 3-12 reach academic success with its wide range of print and digital education solutions in Math, Science and English Language Arts. Castle Rock uses secure proprietary technology for developing, managing, and deploying educational content, which are aligned to accurately reflect each region’s standards and curricula. Castle Rock supports learning and achievement for individual students as well as through schools, school districts and library systems. It also has an extensive partnership network to reach students in sports communities throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as corporate partnerships.
SOLARO
SOLARO (Student-Oriented Learning, Assessment, & Reporting Online) is a student self-directed learning resource that can augment the curriculum in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science for grades 3-12. SOLARO also offers students diagnostic assessments with detailed descriptions associated with their responses to gauge what they know and where the learning gaps still exist. SOLARO is a digital resource, compatible with phones, tablets, and full computers with online and offline access.
Media Contact
Ben Lungo | Manager, Digital Strategy and Communications
Ontario Soccer | blungo@ontariosoccer.net | 905-264-9390 x 255