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Coaches Starter KitIntroduction
At some point usually 2 to 3 weeks prior to the start of the season you will be notified about pre-season coaches meeting. This meeting is set up to answer questions, hand out rosters, go over the laws of the game, zero tolerance policy, etc, and to outline your responsibilities as coach such as score reporting, equipment, and referee cards. At this meeting each coach will be give player rosters. You may share only names and telephone numbers of your players with the team. Any medical information noted on the roster must be kept confidential. Players will be assigned to your team by the age group registrar and are done so in a random fashion. Although players registering early may request a team or coach, we strongly encourage teams and coaches to mix and change each year. Teams wishing to move up with an exclusive coach from year to year will not permitted. Immediately after this meeting you should contact all the players on your roster to introduce yourself and to let the players and parents know when games and practices will be. Please notify the registrar immediately should any player schedule conflicts exist. Practice times and fields may be reserved by contacting the field coordinator- field rules and permits. Practice times are on a first come first serve basis so request your time early. Each U10 and above coach needs to sign a Nashoba coaches pledge and send it to NYSA’s Nashoba League representative prior to the start of the season. Each coach and assistant coach also need to fill out a KID SAFE form and send it to the coach coordinator prior to the start of the season. You can also fill out a kid safe form electronically by going to the MYSA web site. Each coach, especially new coaches, will need to coordinate with the equipment coordinator at least one week prior to the NYSA coaches meeting. Please don’t request new equipment every season, request only what you need. If at the end of the season you are moving up an age group, or will not be coaching any longer, please return all equipment to the Field of dreams café after your last game. Coaches Meetings Approximately one week prior to the start of the season NYSA will hold out Spring or Fall coaches meeting. It is very important that ALL coaches and assistant coaches attend this meeting. There will be much information passed out, such as schedules, equipment, game balls, coaches shirts, and much more. Practices There are many aids that you can use to help when planning a practice. MYSA publishes age level guidelines which will help you to identify what skills are appropriate for your particular age group. NYSA working with Major League Soccer camps is offering all our coaches access to the MLS 10 week planning curriculum. This is an excellent way to plan out a season long practice curriculum that will be both challenging and age appropriate. Lastly as you begin planning your practice remember NO LINES and NO LAPS. Each season NYSA hires a Player Development Officer to assist with coach and player development. For many of our U8 and U10 teams some of your practices will be scheduled so that out PDO, Player Development Officer, can work with your team. Check the PDO schedule to see when your team will be working with the Player development officer. Games All our U10, U12 and U14 teams play an eight game schedule in the Nashoba League. Four games will be played at home and four away. Your game schedule and maps to away fields is outlined on the website. If you are playing in the Nashoba league, U10, U12, and U14 teams, you will need to bring two copies of your roster to all games, and a Nashoba referee score card to all home games. Rosters and score cards will be handed out at the Nashoba League meeting and/or the NYSA coaches meeting. Games are all about the kids, let them play! Soccer is a very fluid game where decisions need to be made by the players on the field. Coaches standing on the sideline yelling instructions like they are directing traffic does nothing to help the kids learn the game. Keep your instructions to a minimum, and let the kids play! If you are not familiar with the Zero tolerance policy make sure you familiarize yourself with it . NYSA, MYSA, and NVYSL all strongly enforce this policy. Take a few minutes after each game to think about what worked and what didn’t work. Did a particular line-up perform up to your expectations? Were they stronger defensively than offensively? Was there a breakdown in a particular position? Think about what might be done differently, what line-up changes to make, and what should be addressed during practice. After the game you will need to log onto Score Reporting enter your user name and password, given out at the coaches meeting, and report your score to NYSA’s league coordinator. NYSA is required to report ALL scores as part of our membership in the Nashoba league. Tournaments In the spring NYSA U12 and U14 “A” teams will compete to play at MTOC, the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions. This is a huge tournament held annually at UMass Amherst to determine the best teams in the state. If you enjoy youth soccer this is as good as it gets! Also in the spring, NYSA U12 and U14 “NCup” teams will compete to play in the Nashoba Cup Tournament to determine the best U12 and U14 teams in the Nashoba league. Tryouts Indoor Soccer Camps and Clinics |