Soccer's "Seasons" -- When does the Season start?
BYSL's Arsenal teams are caught "betwixt and between" in the larger soccer world. Almost every quality soccer program around has "year-round" opportunities to play soccer. Most of these are compulsory for players on the most competitive teams.
Arsenal teams are "encouraged" to offer some of these year-round opportunities, but they are not mandatory to play soccer on an Arsenal team.
So, as a coach here, I need to gauge the level of commitment parents (and, in turn, players) are willing to commit to for the best possible soccer "season."
Where does that leave your daughters this year? Our team is left in a kind of hybrid-system that must rely on sincere, genuine passion or love of the game of soccer -- as a team -- to be the impetus for us to play more of "the beautiful game." Towards that goal, here is what I've come up with:
Spring Soccer:
As a coach who wants to offer the best player development opportunities to our team, I am offering voluntary, non-compulsory training and playing opportunities this spring as follows:
1. The opportunity to play NorCal Premier Spring League. If there are not enough players from our team interested, I will open up registration to this year's U10 team and try to form a joint roster. [This would be paid by parents interested in addition to all team fees.]
2. Weekly Fiorentina method training sessions will begin b/f the end of February and run through April. These would not necessarily be in addition to Spring League, but will take place regardless of whether or not there is a team for Spring league. [These would be free.]
3. If there is enough interest in these voluntary sessions but not enough for Spring League, I will ask parents if they'd like to play in one spring NorCal PlayDay (mini-one day jamboree-type tournaments). This would most likely occur in mid-April or the first weekend of May. [This would be paid by parents interested in addition to all team fees.]
The Official Start of the Season:
So, here is the "official" view of our "Season" and how it will unfold... at least for our U11 Girls team this year.
1. Contrary to the "Arsenal Player Pledge" that every player and parent signed, the official season will not start in early to mid-April as it suggests. This pledge was developed from an older team's pledge, and does not apply to our team.
2. Most younger Arsenal teams start practicing the beginning of June.
3. Our team will officially begin practice the first two weeks of May. We will break until June. So, officially, our team will start one month earlier than last year, but only add two weeks more to the beginning of the season.
4. Our U11 team will play in one tournament in Mid-May, the Concord Cup. This tournament is close-by (i.e. 10 min. away), and players playing in other spring sports will most likely miss no more than one game of the three or four games we play.
5. Official Summer practices will then commence the first week in June.
Arsenal teams are "encouraged" to offer some of these year-round opportunities, but they are not mandatory to play soccer on an Arsenal team.
So, as a coach here, I need to gauge the level of commitment parents (and, in turn, players) are willing to commit to for the best possible soccer "season."
Where does that leave your daughters this year? Our team is left in a kind of hybrid-system that must rely on sincere, genuine passion or love of the game of soccer -- as a team -- to be the impetus for us to play more of "the beautiful game." Towards that goal, here is what I've come up with:
Spring Soccer:
As a coach who wants to offer the best player development opportunities to our team, I am offering voluntary, non-compulsory training and playing opportunities this spring as follows:
1. The opportunity to play NorCal Premier Spring League. If there are not enough players from our team interested, I will open up registration to this year's U10 team and try to form a joint roster. [This would be paid by parents interested in addition to all team fees.]
2. Weekly Fiorentina method training sessions will begin b/f the end of February and run through April. These would not necessarily be in addition to Spring League, but will take place regardless of whether or not there is a team for Spring league. [These would be free.]
3. If there is enough interest in these voluntary sessions but not enough for Spring League, I will ask parents if they'd like to play in one spring NorCal PlayDay (mini-one day jamboree-type tournaments). This would most likely occur in mid-April or the first weekend of May. [This would be paid by parents interested in addition to all team fees.]
The Official Start of the Season:
So, here is the "official" view of our "Season" and how it will unfold... at least for our U11 Girls team this year.
1. Contrary to the "Arsenal Player Pledge" that every player and parent signed, the official season will not start in early to mid-April as it suggests. This pledge was developed from an older team's pledge, and does not apply to our team.
2. Most younger Arsenal teams start practicing the beginning of June.
3. Our team will officially begin practice the first two weeks of May. We will break until June. So, officially, our team will start one month earlier than last year, but only add two weeks more to the beginning of the season.
4. Our U11 team will play in one tournament in Mid-May, the Concord Cup. This tournament is close-by (i.e. 10 min. away), and players playing in other spring sports will most likely miss no more than one game of the three or four games we play.
5. Official Summer practices will then commence the first week in June.