March
26, 2008
To:
Pearls Intramural Coaches
From:
Ed Little, Intramural Director
Subject:
Coaches Letter for Spring 2008
We are looking forward to an exciting spring
season starting Sunday April 6. With
Mites, we have about 225 children participating in our program. We are utilizing the expert services of professional
instructors to provide additional skill instruction to both our players and the
volunteer coaches. Please read the
information in this letter carefully.
Ø Mites
(3-5 yr olds): three groups of 25. The younger
kids play first.
Ø Girls
Division 1 (K and 1st grade) has 8 teams, playing 4v4 with no
keeper.
Ø Girls
Division 2 (2nd and 3rd graders) has 4 teams, 6v6 (5
field players and a keeper).
Ø Girls
Division 3 (4th - 6th) has 2 teams.
Today, you will receive your roster, Sunday
practice/game schedule, field map, information on the Skills day session and
uniforms for players that ordered them. Your
equipment bag will be available at the coaches clinic or before your first
game. You and your co-coach should attend this meeting. All this information will be on the web site
if you lose anything. Your team roster
will not be on the web – contact our registrar, Jodi Denis, if you need roster
information. (Anything you do not get at
the meeting can be obtained at the coach’s clinic as well if you contact Jodi).
Division 1 Coaches
Pearls has developed a D1 Coaches Manual to help
you conduct efficient practices and manage your team. This manual is available from our website www.pearlssoccerclub.org. Click on the Coaches Corner link. Although it’s labeled for the D1 players, it
offers many drills and tips that can be used by any intramural coach in our
program.
Coaches
Clinic: Sat. March 29, 2008 from 10:00am to 12:00pm at
Time and Setup
Each Sunday (4/6 to 6/1), you will have
45-minute practice followed by a one-hour game.
The game consists of 12 four-minute shifts with a half time after the 6th
shift. All children play an equal
amount. Coaches, please bring a whistle
and stop watch.
|
Mites (3-4 yr olds) |
3 groups |
3 fields/hockey |
12:00-3:00pm |
|
Girls D1 (K, G1) |
8 teams |
4
fields/football |
12:00-1:45pm |
|
Girls D2 (G2, 3) |
4 teams |
2 fields/hockey |
3:15-5:00pm |
|
Girls D3 (G4-7) |
2 teams |
1 field/soccer |
12:00–2:00pm |
|
|
|
|
|
Let me extend a thank you
from the Pearls’ organization because without your time, this program would not
exist.
·
Each coach must complete a Risk Management Application (formerly called
the Employment/Volunteer Disclosure Statement) on-line. If you completed the form as a Pearls coach for
the Fall 2007 or Winter 2008 session, skip this bullet point. The web site is: https://www.youthleaguesusa.com/epysa/2008/RiskManagement.html.
Or go to: www.epysa.org, under ONLINE
REGISTRATION on the left side click Registration & Database access; click
on 2008-2009 RISK MANAGEMENT APPLICATION.
·
Each coach should bring a whistle and stopwatch to each game. Coaches loosely ref their game and make the
player changes every four-minutes. If a
flagrant foul occurs, bring everyone together and quickly explain the infraction. Then play on.
·
Please be aware of your game time slot so you do not run over.
Field Setup
Please offer your help each week to set up plus
ask parents to assist. The fields have
to be lined each week and nets are set up and broken down. We asked parents to specifically volunteer
for a task. We will be truculent this
spring to pursue and organize these volunteers.
But the responsibility ultimately falls on the coach.
Game Day
We ask that all Division 1 and 2 coaches arrive
early on the opening day of the season (4/6) so we have the fields setup. After the first week, 20 minutes is
sufficient to setup. Div 2 coaches have
to break down their nets after their game.
D3 coaches have to setup corner flags for their
game and return them afterwards. D3 is an easy setup.
Each division coordinator
will contact the coaches in their division if we cancel on Sunday. See the coaches contact list for our
coordinator (selected at the March 26 meeting).
Also, check the web site and the club’s voicemail one hour before you
play for weather related cancellations.
In general, the club’s motto is “if there’s no snow, we go!” I may cancel mites in a cold rain but let
intramural play. (We have reserved
Sunday, June 8th as our rain make-up date in case we do have inclement weather
and have to cancel one week.)
Things to tell parents
when you email or call them plus things do or bring for the first game
Ø
Your roster contains the parents’ email address. In order to save your time, add the email
addresses to a group list, paste the information below into an email from
you. This cuts down your time notifying
everyone.
Ø
Make sure your child
has cleats that fit (highly recommended).
Pearls has a ‘pass back’ program with cleats. The box of cleats is in the shed.
Ø
Make sure your child
has shin-guards (mandatory)
Ø
Make sure your child
has the Pearls reversible jersey (mandatory, each week tell them whether you
are pink/silver or solid black)
Ø
Ø
Bring a water
bottle
Ø
Bring a soccer ball
that has player’s name and phone number on it
Ø
Pearls’ shed at NMS
can be used as a dressing room for your players
Ø
Let parents know
the snack list for the season. Bring a
snack list and handout out the team’s schedule at the first game. The organization lists are in the D1 Coaches
Manual that I mentioned earlier in this letter.
Ø
Ask your parents to
assist you with field setup (D2, ask a parent to come an early and help
assemble the nets)
Ø
Arrive about 20
minutes early for the first game to get a uniform, find the correct field and
the correct coach
Ø
Coaches bring a
whistle and a stop watch every week
Ø
Heat: if
temperatures will exceed 85 degrees we get the girls out of their Pearls jersey
and into t-shirts. The pink team wears a
white T-shirt; the black team wears a non-white T-shirt. I’ll get word to the Division Contacts
(listed on Coaches Contact List) but you can also make the call to the other
coach you are playing that day and work it out that way too.
Ø
Our registrar,
Jodi, will be at NMS on opening day (4/6/08) to direct people and players to the
correct coach or field.
Our Skills Day sessions
are mandatory for the coaches and the players on their team in every
division. Coaches will arrive 10 minutes
early for their team’s session in order to be briefed by the instructors. Coaches will be involved in the training
sessions along side the instructors. The
Skills Day training session will be held on Sunday April 27, times TBA. (The club plays a lot of money for the
professional instructors on Skills Day but to get the benefit from their expert
instruction, the players and coaches have to attend.
Each
team will have one, and only one, designated session for Skills Day on April 27. Each team will arrive at NMS at their scheduled
time and the instructors will run their training session along with the
volunteer coaches, who will actively participate.
We are providing this
training at the mid-point of the spring session so that the information learned
by the coaches can be applied to your team’s remaining practice sessions. The children will get more effective
instruction this spring because the coaches will be better trained.
Coaches Clinic
In order to improve
the consistency of our soccer instruction to the players, we scheduled a
pre-season coach’s clinic led by Neshaminy High School JV Head Coach Rachel
Clemens. It is scheduled for Sat. March 29 from 10am – 12pm at NMS. Dress for action: cleats, shorts, #5 ball
or #4, water bottle. This is an
interactive session for anyone interested in coaching. Also, bring a pad and
pen so you can jot down drills and notes.
Please inform your division coordinator if you cannot attend.
Division 3 Format
We
will discuss the Division 3 format at the coaches meeting on March 26.
Fun
This
entire spring program, for players’ from ages 3 to 11, is meant to provide two
hours of fun for both you and your players.
Each Sunday, we teach them the basics of soccer, fair play and build
self-confidence as they develop their soccer skill. There are no refs, coaches help each other
and we don’t keep score. If you have fun
out there, your team will too. I ask for
two things: do not yell at the players (instruct them) and keep your bodies on
the perimeter. Talk to the players as
you instruct them but do not get yourself in the middle of the field while they
are playing. Our big bodies are
intimidating. During the spring session,
hold one “practice session” where the kids play the moms. It’s a blast.
Last Day Sunday, June 1st
The last day of our spring session is 6/1/08. There is nothing special that goes on but
individually, teams may plan to bring extra snacks to hang around for
awhile. If you can work a Father’s Day
theme into a practice concept, please share your ideas, e.g., relay races where
it is ‘dads vs. children’. (Mite players do get a participatory medal and
bag of candy this spring. Intramural
players only receive a trophy during the fall session.)
Please do not hesitate to call or e-mail us with any questions. Also, it makes it easier for us to get news out to you more efficiently if your current email address is updated on our records. Check the coaches contact sheet. If you do not have email, then make sure your phone number is correct.
|
Registrar (Jodi) |
jodidenis@pearlssoccerclub.com 215.741.2610 |
|
ID (Ed) |
267.229.9386 |
All
games/practices will take place at Neshaminy Middle School (NMS) located at the
address below:
Thanks for your time and effort this spring. Have fun and your players will too!
Thanks again,
Ed Little
Intramural Director