Spring 2013 Intown Coaches Meeting March 27, 2013

What is WYSA  Non profit organization run entirely by volunteers  1,100+ children in our programs this season ◦ Intown – Instructional play for K-9 grades (57 teams & 105+ coaches) ◦ Travel - Competitive & instructional play in the Middlesex Youth Soccer League for kids in grades 3-12 (50 Teams & 128+ coaches) ◦ Beyond TOPS – The Outreach Program; Soccer for special needs children aged 4-18 (physically & intellectually challenged children paired with WYSA players ages 8-18 every Saturday at 10:30am) ◦ Intown Referees – WYSA players in 5 th grade or older trained to referee grades 1-9 th Intown games ◦ Travel Referees – WYSA players & coaches certified by U.S. Youth Soccer Federation to referee travel games ◦ Training – provides support to our membership at all ages through player development, coach and parent education and by providing a progressive curriculum for both players and coaches as they move through the program

PresidentJohn Fitzler Vice President DevelopmentMike Fischer Vice President AdminEric Fortier Treasurer/RegistrarMarianne Gallezzo SecretaryJon Snider Travel CommitteeBob Regan - Chair Eric Flynn, Dave Foresyth Intown CommitteeRob Elliott - Chair Amy Young, Dina Gentile Intown RefereesRob Elliott Travel Referees Tom Genthner Fields & BuildingFred Lovine ConcessionsRay Masiello Equipment & MerchandiseMelissa Doherty TOPSDave Celli & Rachele See Interested in helping? There are many opportunities to help improve our program. Join the Board, participate in a committee, volunteer at the fields, and many others. Talk to any BOD for what options exist - catch us on the fields or send an

Your Intown Committee  Who is responsible for what: ◦ Rob Elliott- Chairperson  Grade 2, Intown Referees ◦ Amy Young  Boys Kindergarten, Grade 1 ◦ Dina Gentile  Girls Kindergarten, Grade 3/5, & COED (6-9) ◦ Mike Fischer  Player and Coach Development  Questions? We are here to support and assist you. ◦ We’re on the fields every Saturday (and just about every other day) ◦ us:

Communications  We will communicate by as much as possible  us: ◦ ◦ ◦  Web Site

Intown Philosophy  FUN - Recreational, Developmental, and Instructional  For many of players, this is a social event, not an athletic one  First time many of them will have played on a “team”  It is NOT about winning the game, but rather participating, teaching, encouraging and creating a love for the sport  Coaches set the tone and set the example

 Create a performance-oriented atmosphere – Allow the kids to excel at their own rate – Each player is unique  De-emphasize winning (It is about Development)  Emphasize skills development, fitness improvement, learning & fun  Although you have a “team” development is “individual” based  Create opportunities for fun & socialization  High School Volunteers

Fields & Severe Weather  Your Priority is to keep the kids safe  Carry In/ Carry Out Policy – please spread the word ◦ Please have your team pick up all debris after themselves  Check WYSA’s website for game cancellations or field closures (encourage parents to do the same)  When you see lightening or hear thunder seek shelter  Waiting period before returning to the fields is 30 min after lightening  On game days, a Board Member will make the call ◦ On practice days the coach would be responsible for the safety of the team

Intown Game Times  8:00 AM – Girl’s Kindergarten, Boy's Grade 3/5  9:15 AM – Boy’s Kindergarten, Girl’s Grade 3/5  10:30 AM – Beyond TOPS  11:45 AM – Girl’s Grade 1  12:00 PM – COED 6 th -9th  1:00 PM – Boy’s Grade 1  2:15 PM – Girl’s Grade 2  3:30 PM – Boy’s Grade 2

Game Schedule Game DateDay 1April 6thSaturday 2April 13thSaturday 3April 20thSaturday 4April 27thSaturday 5May 5thSunday *** Town Meeting Day is Saturday, May 4 th – No Intown Games *** 6May 11thSaturday 7May 18thSaturday *** Memorial Day Weekend – No Intown Games *** 7June 1stSaturday 9June 8thSaturday

 Chairperson: Mike Fischer  Objective: To develop age appropriate soccer foot skill through fun small sided games. It’s that simple  How will we be doing that ◦ WYSA has employed Technical Director Rob Holliday to oversee the development and introduction of age and ability appropriate curriculums ◦ Goals of our partnerships – address the needs of the Players and Coaches ◦ April & Summer Vacation Clinics  Your role in Coach & Player Development ◦ Activity leadership focused on soccer skills ◦ Develop yourself

 Technical Director: Rob Holliday  Coach Education and Development – establishing consistency and competence in training programs, by providing appropriate curriculums, training guidelines and continuous evaluation and feedback  Program Design, Marketing and Implementation  Establish and develop the Soccer culture  Lead in-season professional coaching sessions (Training by Grade, Team sessions, 1 st Grade and Kinder Coaches Sessions)  Consistent and clear communication with BOD, Paid and Volunteer Coaches and Parents

 Season Plans and Session Plans  Head Coaches for Kinder, 1st Grade and 2nd Grade will all have printed copies of WYSA Season Plans  The season plans will also be available for download on the WYSA website  The WYSA website also has links to coaching resources to aid session planning and coach education.  Inside Soccer  All WYSA coaches from 1st grade up will have an Inside Soccer account  Inside Soccer has videos for all the activities included in 1st and 2d grade session plans  It is highly recommended coaches watch the videos prior to attending Training by Grade Sessions  Inside Soccer User Guide is available on the WYSA website.

 Training by Grade sessions will focus upon technical player development. All teams within the age group practice at the same time and follow the same curriculum. Players will train with their own team and coach each week. All training by grade programs will be aligned with the US Youth Soccer Player Development Model  Schedule  Kinders - No Training By Grade  Grade 1 - Wednesday 5:15pm – 6:15pm  Grade 2 - Friday 5:30pm – 6:45pm  Grade Thursday 4:30pm - 5:45pm  COED Team Training on Sunday, schedule set by coach  U9 Travel – Thursday 6:00pm – 7:15pm  U10 Travel - Wednesday 6:30pm – 7:45pm

Kindergarten Game Day  Meet Coach Rob/Designated Instructor 30 min before your time slot  Adjourn to you assigned field 10min before your start time  8AM slot - Assign one parent to obtain a Kinder net from the Field House and set it up on your field  Introduce yourself to opposing coach  Check your players - no jewelry, toe cleats, unsafe clothing  On your ½ of the field spend 25 minutes teaching the Activities  5 min Break  Finish with a 25 min 3v3 scrimmage against the other team  One coach per team is allowed on the field to encourage players and keep things in control “referee”  Help to control the flow of the game  Players and coaches shake hands after every game!

◦ First and foremost… HAVE FUN with them ◦ See the game from the child’s perspective, not the adult’s ◦ Use positive language – instead of “don’t do it that way” say “that was good, can you try it this way?” ◦ Keep the players moving. Limit standing around to about 1-2 minutes ◦ Priority for this age is ball familiarity and control through dribbling ◦ Let them learn through experience; no long explanations ◦ Focus on the individual players, not the team ◦ Review the Saturday activities during the week to get familiar with them ◦ Take the ‘G’ course to help you with coaching this age group ◦ Last but not least… HAVE FUN !!

Intown Rules of the Game  Based on FIFA rules (with age-specific adaptations)  Ball Size ◦ (Size 3 – Kindergarten & 1 st Grade, Size 5 for COED, Size 4 all others)  Format ◦ Kindergarten  3 v 3 with no goalkeeper (1/4 sized field) ◦ Grade 1  4 v 4 with no goalkeeper (1/2 sized field) ◦ Grades 2 – 5  6 v 6 including goalkeeper (Full field) ◦ Grades 6 – 9 (Coed)  8 v 8 including goalkeeper (Full field)  All Rules are on the WYSA site for reference

Game Day Reports  Web based on-line reporting system ◦ Go to Intown Page: ◦ Then under the Intown section – Game Reports ◦ 10 different pre-defined reports (5 home & 5 away)  Must be completed & submitted by Sunday at 12:00pm noon for submission to the local newspaper  Please make sure EVERY player’s name makes the paper from your team

 Coaches Role in Developing Players ◦ Winning is not defined by goals scored but in development of skills ◦ Every coach should create “wins” for each player in each game ◦ We should not be scoreboard coaches (wins) ◦ Instead we should focus on the small victories each player and team can accomplish ◦ Soccer is much more than scoring goals ◦ We can celebrate goals but we should never focus on goals.  Creating Wins ◦ Example: Coach gives each player 1 skill to work on at the game, at the end of the game he/she asks them about accomplishing their task ◦ Most times they will say yes, if not we congratulate them on the effort ◦ Effort, Learning from Mistakes creates better players ◦ When we praise effort, we build self-confidence ◦ Players should be rotated through each position – this is the chance to learn and appreciate every position ◦ Our job is to not win, but to create soccer players who want to learn, players who can thrive in challenging situations, and cannot wait to play each day

The Board of Directors wants all children to have a great experience with our Intown soccer program. We respectfully request that no trophies, medals or prizes be given out at the end of the soccer season. The program is developmental and stresses participation as well as fun over competition and individual recognition. To help recognize participation for the players in Kindergarten through 2nd grade we have established a patch program. For each season (Fall & Spring) that a player participates they will receive a season specific patch. We will continue to recognize all players (Intown and Travel) with the annual spring awards in addition to the patch program.

Patches for Participation  The intent is to provide all Intown players with a patch at the end of the season as recognition for their participation in the program.  Each season they participate in they will receive a new, season specific, patch to add to their collection.  Sample:

Concessions and Merchandise  Concessions Coordinator – Ray Masiello  Merchandise Coordinator – Melissa Doherty  Open game days 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM ◦ Additional hours as needed for camps, practice nights, events  Volunteers always welcome to assist (with CORI check)  Helps WYSA to defray registration costs w/sales  Online Merchandise coming soon!!!

Other Topics for Discussion  Revolution/Breakers Tickets ◦ Discounted seats to all Revolution Home games ◦ Outing Nights at the Revs and Breakers, VIP Access  Fundraising and Volunteers ◦ Planned September Field Day ◦ Other fundraising ideas to keep costs low and fund scholarships  Setting Priorities with Teams ◦ If you are coaching more than one team, please make your head coaching duty your first responsibility  Possible changes to fee structures ◦ MYSL Fee Increases ◦ Sportspilot Fee Increases ◦ Cost of doing business/ insurance Increases  Shawsheen ◦ Parking and Safety

Travel Program  750+ players and 50+ teams ages U9-U18  Playing formats are age-specific and all games are officiated by U.S. Soccer Federation certified referees: ◦ U10 – 6 v 6 for (2) 25min halves ◦ U12 – 8 v 8 for (2) 30min halves ◦ U v 11 for (2) 35min halves ◦ U16 – 11 v 11 for (2) 40min halves ◦ U18 – 11 v 11 for (2) 45min halves  WYSA is part of Middlesex Youth Soccer League  Single-age groups playing within double age-banded divisions  Players may begin playing travel as early as 3rd grade  Tryouts take place over 2-days towards end of Spring season for subsequent year (i.e. Spring of 2nd grade, players may tryout to start in Fall of 3rd grade)

 Players are evaluated and placed on teams accordingly  WYSA does its best to make sure all kids are placed on a travel team  Each season consists of 9 games (generally half played at home, half played away)  U10 Post Season play: depending on results of Spring season, may qualify for Commissioner’s Cup (weekend after regular season ends)  U12-U14 Post Season Play: depending on results of Spring season, may also participate in Commissioner’s Cup as a playoff process with the possibility of additionally qualifying for Mass Tournament of Champions (MTOC) held the subsequent weekend  WYSA awards Commissioner Cup and MTOC eligible- teams gifts, as well as winners  WYSA hosts MYSA courses (info is posted on website)

Equipment & Merchandise  Merchandise & Equipment Coordinator – Melissa Doherty  Coach bags: ◦ Uniform shirt & socks ◦ First Aid Kit ◦ Ice packs ◦ Practice cones  Players to provide: ◦ Shin pads (stop 1-2 inches below knee cap, do not “sit” on shoes) ◦ Shorts/warm-up pants ◦ Soccer cleats, only or sneakers (no baseball cleats) ◦ Water for games  Merchandise Tent open every Saturday w/ logo items  Online Merchandise coming soon!!!

 The Outreach Program of Soccer  Special needs children ages 4-18 from Wilmington and surrounding towns ◦ Autism, Asperger’s, Cerebral Palsy, ADHD, Down’s Syndrome, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Multiple Sclerosis, Verbal, Non-Verbal, etc..  Free program for Beyond TOPS players (uniform, ball & free concession ticket every week)  Fostering physical, mental, emotional (social) growth through play & sport  Fun, energy, acceptance & soccer  Structure without rigidity

You are never on your own We are all here to help… Ask any BOD Member

Coaching Certification ClassesLined Fields, Nets & Frames Game Reporting – NewspapersTOPS Player/Volunteer Involvement Online CurriculumWinter, April & Summer Vacation Clinics Coaching Resources on WebsiteConcessions & WYSA Merchandise UniformsWebsite Game Balls and many more…

Thank You !