Coaches and Assistant CoachesThe Club's expectations of you as a member of the coaching team.The main Coach listed for the team is not the sole person responsible for the team. It is our intention that the Coach, Assistant Coach(s), are a team that manages a group of players. It is left to the people assigned to each team to work out a system that is best for them. This includes coordinating the equipment for those weeks when one person is not available. Please speak to each other about your summer plans so that we have someone running a session every week for every team. If both are unable to make an evening connect with parents to see if one could step up to cover that time, the second would be to see if the other team scheduled for that night can manage both groups. We are a recreational club. Our emphasis is on having fun and having as many children participate at the pace they are comfortable with. What does that mean in a practical sense? U4 and U6 teams - if your players don't want to play this week, or are more interested in flowers, bugs and water breaks - that is ok. Let the parents know that this is normal and that it WILL improve with time. U6 and U8 teams - everyone should play every position but don't force someone to be a goalie if it scares them. U10 and up - teaching your team good sportsmanship is often harder than teaching them how to play a position. We are not encouraging anyone to keep score but the players seem to keep a close eye on it - the players need to learn how to win with grace as much as they need to learn how not to quit when it is hard.
What rules do we follow?U4 teams - the only rule is no hands. If a player uses their hands, remind them of the rule but do not stop play. We are also encouraging them to stay in the marked area. If the ball drifts out a little, do not stop play. However, if the ball is well out of the area, or the players are in danger of interfering with other games, place the ball back in the area and have the players continue.U6 teams - at this level, we are introducing the concept of penalties but are still only following 2 basic rules. If a player kicks the ball out of play or intentionally touches the ball with their hands, play is stopped and possession is given to the other team. It is not necessary to use a throw in to restart when the ball is kicked out of play, but coaches may introduce this skill if they think their players are interested. It is also appropriate to introduce goalie kicks at this age (if the ball is kicked out of bounds on the goal line ends of fields). U8 teams - throw-ins and goalie kicks should be used. Goalies can also use drop kicks if they have picked up the ball. We are also introducing the concept of "controlled play". Coaches should be teaching their players that pushing and tripping will result in a loss of possession. There is no penalty kick at this level. The player starting with the ball after a foul can only pass the ball to a teammate. U10 teams. - at this level, aggressive play will result in a penalty kick. The player can make a shot or choose to pass to a teammate. Corner kicks are introduced. U12-U14 teams - Offsides are introduced but not enforced at this level.
HydrationPlease encourage all of your players to bring water and take frequent water breaks during the skills sessions and during the games.
How to use your allotted timeA typical night would have each field occupied by 2 teams. Each team is given ½ of the field to do their skills session. The skills session should last for ½ of your allotted time. The second half of the allotted time is used to have a game against the other team. The coaching teams for each team can decide how they want this to proceed (ie: 6 vs 6, 8 vs 8, or all on, goalies/no goalies, etc.) and how long the teams will play between substitutions (ie 2 min, 5 min, etc.). The coaching teams are responsible for refereeing the games. If the two teams agree, the skills session can be cut short or abandoned in favour of getting right into the game (This is usually reserved for nights when the weather is questionable and you are worried the rain will start before you get to play). |
Email: douglassoccerclub@gmail.com | Website: www.douglassoccer.ca
