Harvard Soccer Club

Harvard Soccer ClubSpring 2014 U6-U8 Coaches Meeting

Agenda:• Contacts and Season Calendar (Carl)• CORI and Pledge Form(Carl)• Concussion Education (Carl)• Equipment (Carl)• New U6-U8 Website (Carl)• Club Philosophy (Carl)• U6 KINS Program (Steve)• Game and Practice Schedules (Steve)• Player Development Expectations (Steve)• U8 Player Ranking (Carl)• Coaching License Courses (Steve)• Additional Training Available (Steve)• Q&A

Harvard Soccer Club

Spring 2014 Contacts

In-Town Program Director - Carl BeckettU6 Coordinator - Andrew Thomas U7 Coordinator - E.J. RussoU8 Coordinator - Rolando Lora

Coach and Player Development - Steve StecykReferee Director - Austin Franklin

Challenger Coaches:Tom Wiffen, coachwiffen@gmail.comNiamh Quilligan, niamhq15@hotmail.com

Field Coordinator - Austin FranklinEquipment Manager – Keith Bilafer

Email links on the website

Harvard Soccer Club

2014 Spring HSC Calendar

Harvard Soccer Club

CORI Requirements

You Must Be CORI Registered• Not needed for those that did it last

season• Requires individual registration in the

HSC system (not your spouse signing you up)

• Requires birthday in the HSC system• Requires 6 digit SSN in the system

http://www.mayouthsoccer.org/programs/cori.update.aspx(or just google “mass youth soccer cori”)

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Coaches Safety Pledge Form

New coaches• HSC Coaches Safety Pledge

Fall coaches – not needed until next year

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Concussion Education

• HSC is requiring that all coaches take the CDC online course. (Link on HSC Website)

• We recommend that you ask all parents to inform you if their child has been diagnosed with a concussion previously.

New Concussion Policy:• If a player has suffered from a concussion you must

notify your age group coordinator and HSC President• In order to resume practice or play you must receive

approval from HSC President. Which will be based on letter from a physician indicating “OK to Play”.

When in Doubt, Sit Them Out

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Equipment

• You should all have equipment from Fall.• Please inspect

• Inflate balls (some will be low)– Count pinneys, cones– Torn nets, bags, et al– Double check first aid supplies

• Band aids• Antiseptic wipes• Ice packs• Tape

• Two new teams for U6• New coaches, new players• Jerseys in process

Anything needed: Equipment Coordinator, Keith Bilafer

Harvard Soccer Club

New U6-U8 Dedicated Site

One Place to Find all Things U6-U8• Development Philosophy• Practice Schedules• Game Rules and Guidelines• Contacts – Coaches, Coordinators• Weather Related Polices for Practices and Games• Sample Practice Plans and links to Instructional Videos

Harvard Soccer Club

Club Handbook and Philosophyl Please review: www.harvardsoccer.orgThe Club emphasizesFunLearning to play soccerSocial interaction with friendsTeamworkSportsmanshipOpen participation by allHealthy physical activityIncreased self-confidence

Winning against other teams is not emphasized as the end result.

The Club strongly encourages its coaches to play their players in all positions on the field, and to balance playing time as evenly as possible among all players on a team

Harvard Soccer Club

Introducing the KINS Program for U6

Kicking Is Not Soccer1. Promote and emphasize the skill of

dribbling at the U6 (and U7) age group(s) and discourage the aimless booting of the ball.

2. Promote decision making by the players on the field and reduce their dependence on the adults for problem solving

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Benefits of KINS

• Dribbling is the foundation and preparation for all the other fundamental skills of soccer (controlling, passing, and shooting).

• Laying the proper dribbling foundation at the youngest years will enhance the players’ ability to improve all the soccer skills. No matter what level the players end up playing.

• Players will derive increased pleasure from the game if they can control the ball better and become more adept at manipulating it.

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KINS Playing Format

• Small Sided 3v3 Format with Loose Boundaries

• New Ball Method

Coaches keep a supply of balls with them, at half field, during the game.

Every time the ball goes out of bounds, one of the coaches shouts “New Ball!!” and throws a new ball onto the field.

The players respond by chasing the new ball and the game never stops. Actual playing time is almost 100% of game time

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KINS Playing Format

Coaches will encourage the players to dribble, dribble and dribble. Their first touch should be a soft one.

There should be very little coaching done by the coaches, just the occasional reminder to “dribble” and, when close enough to goal, to “shoot”.

The shout to “kick it” or “boot it” should never be hollered by the adults (coaches or spectators).

Coaching Rules

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U6 Academy Style Practices and Games

7:30 – 8:00am: Coaches Session8:00 – 8:30am: Player Practice Session8:30 – 9:00am: Small Sided Games

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U7 and U8Academy Style Practice Format

Academy Style Practice Format“Master Coach Model”

5:30 – 6:30

U7 Practices: TuesdayU8 Practices: Thursday • Challenger will bring group together, run the activity, then players

will return to their team to repeat the activity.• Scrimmages at the end

U7/U8 Games: No Change• Spectator rules should be enforced to introduce parents to older

age group spectator expectations.• Continue to set coach and parent expectations appropriately

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U7/U8 Player Development Expectations

• Children in the this age group still play predominately as individuals and occasionally with a partner.

• The coach must set up numerous activities where the players are together but are still involved in individual play.

• This age group prefers individual activities, but it is possible to successfully get them into activities where they can work in pairs.

• The attention capacity for this age group is still limited to one task at a time. They are quite rightly focused on the ball. In a 4v4 match the opposition for the player with the ball is generally 1v7 even though partner play is now emerging.

Harvard Soccer Club

U7/U8 Player Development Expectations (con’t)

• During a game, the players need to focus on the task at hand, trying to control the ball.

• Unfortunately, they are often distracted by adults giving advice from around the field.

• Now they have to make a choice: either play the ball or listen to the adults. If the adults want to help the children play their best, they need to be quiet while watching the children’s game.

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Development Goals for U8

Components of the game are a priority

• Technique: passing, dribbling, shooting

• Fitness: warm-up, jumping, balance

• Psychology: working in pairs

• Tactics: names of positions, deciding to dribble or pass. 1v1, 2v1

• Developing a general understanding of the rules of the game.

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Coaching Points for Game Play

U7• Throw in• Kick off• Play to the open field (don’t join in the scrum)• Sideline behaviorU8• Corner kick• Free kicks (taking and defending• Keeper Boundaries and Goal Kicks (8 yards)• Punting (DONT!), as with no 'BOOT IT'• Sideline behavior

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U8 Player Ranking

U8 coaches will be asked to rank all U8 players sequentially from top to bottom

• Pay attention during the season• A U8 only session will be held prior to the U10

combined sessionCoaching scores will be combined with Jamboree scores

Children of coaches final placement determined by Challenger and/or others

The objective is to ‘get it right’, not to drive personal political agenda

Harvard Soccer Club

Special Activities for U9

Players moving to U10 next season and attending the Jamboree / Try-Out• Intro to the Jamboree Skill Station Sessions

• Participation in U10 Joint Challenger Practices

• Scrimmages with U10

Coaches:

• U8 Coaches you need to attend U10 games

Harvard Soccer Club

Coaching Certification

Age Group Head Coach Training

Course Length Asst. Coach Training

U6 MYSA G-Course 4 Hours MYSA G-Course

U7 and U8 MYSA G-Course 4 Hours MYSA G-Course

U10 Skill Based MYSA F-Course 8 Hours MYSA G-Course

U10 Rec MYSA G-Course 4 Hours MYSA G-Course

U12 MTOC/NCUP MYSA E-Course 16 Hours MYSA F-Course

U12 Rec MYSA F-Course 8 Hours MYSA F-Course

U14 MTOC/NCUP MYSA E-Course 16 Hours MYSA F-Course

U14 Rec MYSA E-Course 16 Hours MYSA F-Course

U18+ MYSA D-Course 36 Hours MYSA E-Course

Working Draft: HSC Required Coaches Training

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Program Details:Number of Sessions: 7Days: One Session each week on SundayTime: AfternoonsWhere: Charlie Waite Field

ADP Training for all Skill Levels

Extra Training for U6-U8

New for this season:• Separate Session for U6• Separate Session for U7• Separate Session for U8

Harvard Soccer Club

Announcing Mini-KickersFor U2 – U5

• Players aged 2 – 3 and 4 - 5

• Once a week for 5 weeks

• Combines soccer with fun games, parent involvement, stories, and music.

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Your Coaching Priorities

What do you think the kids will remember most about their soccer practice or game?

U6 – U7 – U8

Don’t Create FunLets Create Long Lasting Joy

Make sure they want to come back

Don’t be the last soccer coach a child has

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Don’t Forget Extra Team Building Activities

• Revolution or Breaker Games• Theme Practices

• Arm Band Day• USA Day• Famous Soccer Player Day

• Pancake Breakfast or Breakfast for Lunch

• Pizza Party

Enlist Parents Help

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Have a great coaching experience and create much JOY

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Backup Slides after This

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The Challenger Way Resource Site

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For HSC Coaches: Free Access

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Parent communication

l More is more– Parents can benefit from knowing your

objectives for the season, development goals, progress, and philosophies of the club

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U10 coaches:

l Mike Lawtonl Epiphany Vera

What I wished someone had told me when I coached U7/U8

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l Concussionl Cori for new coachesl Practice timesl Extra events in the yearl Ranking processesl Equipmentl Handbook and policiesl Parent communication docl Rules on the website (u7 and u8)l How to know if cancelled

Harvard Soccer Club

Coaching Certification

The Harvard Soccer Club strives to provide a top quality soccer experience for the youth soccer players

of Harvard.

• Coaching and skill development curriculums that span U6 through the U14 age groups.

• Partner with Challenger Sports to provide coaching mentors and teachers

• In-house education (clinics)

The Next Level• The highest quality of coaching for our boys and girls,

demands that we provide the highest quality of training for our coaches, assistant coaches, and everyone associated with the soccer program.