Spring 2007 Rising U91 Rising U9 information for parents ● Who is presenting tonight? ● Mark Johnston, House Commissioner ● Mark Thompson, Director of MPS ● Bob Maynes, Director of Coaching ● What is Rising U9? ● Under 8 players born after 7/31/98 ● Information covered today: ● Player Development ● All Stars this season ● McLean Premier Soccer for next year (brief) ● What to expect in house league in the future ● Information is on the web site,

Spring 2007 Rising U92 Player Development Small sided games make the game: Easier decisions Fit the size of the players Greater teaching time More involved in the play More opportunities with the ball More opportunities to score ● Developmentally appropriate

Spring 2007 Rising U93 Player Development ● At U9 there is a fork in the road: try-outs for a limited number of travels spots versus continuing opt-in for recreational soccer. – Try outs are not developmentally appropriate ● Not efficient in selecting the best future players ● Create feelings of anxiety and failure – MYS strives to create a place for every player ● This creates the need to form travel teams at U9 – MYS U9 and above travel soccer is taught in a developmentally appropriate manner

Spring 2007 Rising U94 All Stars All Stars is NOT associated with travel soccer! However, it is true that more touches on the ball improves a player, and all stars will provide more touches on the ball. Skills training is available on Monday nights—it is not too late to sign up (only missed one session so far).

Spring 2007 Rising U95 All Stars ● Coaches and Team Selection? ● Anyone—coach or parent—can apply, selections are approved by the house commissioner and deputy commissioner ● Who Can Play? ● Any house league player of the right age who can attend the practices and the tournament ● Spring 2007 tournament is 6/16 and 6/17 ● Players must tryout to make the team(s) ● If your player can not attend the tryout, you must contact the coach prior to the tryout (there is usually only one tryout)

Spring 2007 Rising U96 All Stars ● Costs and Uniforms? ● There are costs: uniform, tournament fee, and patches. Last season it was about $55 per player in all for my U11 team. ● Financial assistance is available. ● The all star coordinator selects uniforms ● Travel quality ● Names are optional (usually coach's choice) ● Numbers are usually assigned (up to coach) ● Teams, if there is more than one: ● Teams should be of equal strength ● Rosters do not have to be selected immediately—joint practices may be held

Spring 2007 Rising U97 All Stars ● Playing Time? ● Equal playing time is not guaranteed ● Players must play at least 25% of each game ● There is no goalie requirement to play up ● No goalie in U8 all stars ● This season 5v5 with a max of 10 on each team (recommended 8 per team). ● Player Expectations? ● Sportsmanship (parents and coaches too!) ● Must continue to play in house league ● If house practices or games are missed, then the player may lose all star status

Spring 2007 Rising U98 ● Please register on-line (new this season). All Stars

Spring 2007 Rising U99 All Stars ● Tryout equipment ● Shin guards and soccer shoes ● A soccer ball, size 3 for U8 ● Water/sports drink to keep hydrated. Each player should have plenty of fluids to keep hydrated before, during and after the tryout.

Spring 2007 Rising U910 All Stars BOYS U8B Christopher 29- Apr Springhill 6 & 7 4:00 - 6:00 pm Kavian Andrew Keith GIRLS U8G Markus 29- Apr Springhill 6 & 7 2:00 - 4:00 pm John William Try out dates. The boys will have an additional tryout the following week.

Spring 2007 Rising U911 McLean Premier Soccer This is the only “travel” soccer option at U9. Information available on the web: Two informational meetings will be held during May. Tryouts consist of several (3-5) low key sessions. Larger monetary and time commitments.

Spring 2007 Rising U912 House League After U8 Continued small sided play that progressively approaches the “real” game. All stars continues. New in (maybe): academy training. Above U12, the program transitions to the Suburban Friendship League (SFL) --- sort of a local travel league for house players.

Spring 2007 Rising U913 House League U8 to U9 ● Single game ● Larger Field (+29%) ● Reduced scoring area (-40%, mainly due to 2 goals) ● Larger ball, #4 ● Goalkeepers (can't play whole game) ● 6 v. 6 (five field players) ● One referee ● Halves not quarters (4% more time) ● Scores and standings kept ● Round robin tournament at end of season ● “Real” restarts: goal kicks, corner kicks, throw-ins, and kick-offs ● Direct and Indirect kicks (there are penalty kicks)

Spring 2007 Rising U914 House League U8 to U9 Team Reformation Coaches work to create league parity, where all our house teams are competitive with each other. This is done with all the coaches in the group and the age group coordinator. There are specific guidelines and additional guidance is provided by someone who has already gone through the process. Instead of the league deciding where to place players, the coaches that know the players are driving the decisions. There will be a meeting in the fall to review the process mechanics. The house commissioner is open to suggestions to improve this process. This means that your team that has been the same since U6 will probably change in U9.

Spring 2007 Rising U915 Most Players Stay in the House League 2006 data

Spring 2007 Rising U916 What the future might hold? ● All groups are different ● There is a drop off in the number of players over time. ● The trend used to be that children would tend to stop playing soccer after 6 th grade- --MYS now has a larger percentage of players staying in these older age groups (not yet known for the group shown) data

Spring 2007 Rising U917 Academy Training ● “Academy” training is a different style of running practices. – Several teams practice together. – All coaches coach all players. – This style of training is being used elsewhere in the country. – It levels out both player and coach training. ● A pilot program is being run this season. – The MYS board will decide over the summer if it will implement this training strategy.

Spring 2007 Rising U918 House League Coaches The second F module covers U9 through U12, so coaches do need to take a new module For U11, coaches need to take the E module.

Spring 2007 Rising U919 Questions & Answers