For Immediate Release
November 28, 2025
Football Ontario Unveils Team Ontario U16 Women’s Tackle Head Coach
Football Ontario Announces Eric Parthenais as Head Coach of Team Ontario U16 Women’s Tackle Program
Hamilton, ON – November 28, 2025 – Football Ontario is proud to announce the appointment of Eric Parthenais as the Head Coach of the newly launched Team Ontario U16 Women’s Tackle Program.
With over 20 years of multi-sport coaching experience and a longstanding commitment to athlete development, Parthenais brings a strong track record of leadership, technical knowledge, and program-building to this new role. He has coached both men and women tackle football, flag football, and basketball, and is widely recognized for his ability to build competitive, disciplined, and supportive team environments.
“I am truly honoured and excited for the opportunity to help build and support the next generation of women’s football,” says Parthenais. “This program represents a major step forward for young female athletes, and I am committed to creating an environment where they can develop, compete, and thrive.”
Most recently, Parthenais has served as Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator of the Cumberland Girls tackle program, leading the team to a 2025 OWFL Championship title. Parthenais also runs the Cumberland Girls Elite Flag program, and manages a comprehensive offseason high-performance training program, with a particular focus on quarterback development and foundational skill building.
“I’m incredibly excited to welcome Coach Parthenais into our Team Ontario Women’s Tackle program. I am eager to get underway with this new program development and to continue growing the game for women and girls in Ontario,” says Emily Todd, Director of Development and Administration. “This is a crucial step forward for football in Ontario, to ensure we continue providing equal opportunities to girls to compete in the high performance pathway, and to highlight top talent across the province.”
Parthenais brings significant experience from the university level, having spent nine seasons coaching at Carleton University—including roles with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs. During this time, he appeared in five U SPORTS National Championships and captured three national titles, earning championships with both the women’s and men’s programs.
Launching a New Pathway for Young Women in Football
The U16 Women’s Tackle Program represents an exciting new chapter for Football Ontario and the continued development of the women’s game. Eligible athletes born in 2011, 2012, and 2013 will participate in regional Identification Camps and a Development Camp, designed to provide foundational skills and introduce athletes to the high-performance tackle football pathway from a younger age than ever before.
Parthenais’ extensive background in youth development, program structure, and competitive coaching makes him exceptionally well-suited to lead this inaugural team and create a welcoming, challenging, high-performance environment for young athletes entering the sport.
Football Ontario looks forward to the impact Coach Parthenais will have as he inspires, develops, and leads the next generation of women in football.
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ABOUT FOOTBALL ONTARIO: Football Ontario is the sanctioned provincial governing body for football in Ontario, through its focus on transparency, growth, alignment and excellence, is engaged in providing football opportunities for all of Ontario. Football Ontario is driven by a commitment to deliver football programming, opportunities and resources for its members and the provincial football stakeholders. Please visit: footballontario.net
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