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Mad River Youth Soccer League

Coach Information 2016

Thank you for volunteering to coach MRYSL youth soccer! Mad River YSL’s mission is to provide an effective soccer program that encourages all children to enjoy playing soccer and to have fun. As a volunteer coach, you are now a representative of the league, entrusted with helping us fulfill our mission. We strive to provide excellent coaching that teaches good sportsmanship, character development, and of course, how to play soccer. Most important is teaching our children the lifelong lesson of using soccer as a way to stay fit and enjoy physical activity. Positive coaching enables the children to develop into healthy, competent and caring adults through playing soccer. We hope that our children continue to play soccer throughout their lives—we hope that they end this season and every season loving the game and wanting to play again. YOU can help make that happen!

Things To Do ASAP □ CalNorth/CYSA Risk Management Disclosure is required for all of our coaches,

assistant/co-coaches, team managers and any other adult who may have substantial contact with children. Here’s how to do it:

Go to http://calnorth.org/register-online-to-coach/ and follow the instructions. If you coached last year, or had a child play in the past two years, then you have a profile; use the “forgot password” feature to obtain a password and username.

Please be sure to complete all of the on-line risk disclosure checkboxes at the CalNorth/Affinity website.

Print out the LiveScan Form from CalNorth (at the end of your coach registration) and take that form to

McKinleyville Office Supply 1928 CENTRAL AVE, MCKINLEYVILLE, CA 95519 M-F: 8:30AM - 5:30PM

Please contact the office mrysloffice@sbcglobal.net for other locations

Need LiveScan Help? Please contact the office, at mrysloffice@sbcglobal.net

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All MRYSL coaches are also encouraged to complete the following:

• F License or higher (or NSCAA Diploma Level 1 or higher): You can earn an F License on line, at the USSF website (http://www.ussoccer.com/coaching-education/licenses/national-f).

• Concussion Training: REQUIRED: Also an online training, every MRYSL coaches must submit proof of completion of concussion training, through http://www.cdc.gov/headsup/youthsports/training/

• CPR/First Aid Training: All MRYSL coaches must also complete a CPR/First Aid

course, and submit proof of completion. □ Determine who your assistant or co-coach will be. Every team must have an assistant

coach..

If you do not have an assistant or co-coach yet, check your player’s information for parents or guardians who may be willing to help with this job. Start soliciting parents or guardians when you contact all of your players. Also see Parents Meeting, below.

Note: At least two risk-management approved adults must be present in supervisory roles at all practices and games. All assistant coaches and co-coaches must complete the risk management process (see above).

□ Recruit your team parent (manager). Your team parent is a critical component of the

team. Your team parent‘s responsibilities include:

1. Snack schedule for games (healthy snacks such as fruit, bagels, granola- and water); 2. Helping with practice and/or games if you or your co-coach can’t make it; 3. Being the Positive Parent role model for the team. 4. Making the phone list and contacting team members as needed; 5. Organizing the end of the season party.

□ Contact your team players/parents now. If a parent or guardian indicates their child can no longer play, please notify Kristin Reiner at 822-3333 or mrysloffice@sbcglobal.net as soon as possible. We may have children on a waiting list who would love the opportunity to play.

□ First Phone Call Tip: write out what you want to say with all the pertinent information before you make your phone calls. Here is a sample phone call or message information which you can adapt to your age group and practice plans:

“Hi, my name is Gina Jones and I will be the coach of your daughter Elizabeth’s soccer team this season. We will have our first practice on (insert date, time, place). Elizabeth needs to bring her own ball (size dep. on age), soccer cleats, shin guards covered by soccer socks, and very important, bring a water bottle.

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We will be having a parent’s meeting immediately following practice for approx. 20

minutes (if you have not already done this). Let me give you my contact information so that you can reach me if you have questions or need further information.”

The Parents’ meeting on August 6 is an ideal time to make contact with your parents, give them important information about the upcoming season, establish team volunteers, such as team parent and assistant coach if that has not been established. At the parent meeting, after a brief orientation, coaches will be introduced to the parents, and then coaches and parents will be able to break into groups and have their team meeting.” Coaches are not required to attend the parent meeting. However, you must have a team parents meeting before or during your first practice. Below is a suggested outline for your team/parents meeting: 1) Introduce yourself, your assistant coach and your team manager. 2) Have each parent introduce themselves and who their child is. Make a note of parents

who are absent so you know who you will still need to contact. 3) Briefly explain your positive coaching philosophy. This is a great time to ask for your

parents’ moral support. Be sure the parents know that you need their help to have a great season. Ways that Parents can help: a) Get their child to practice and games on time, but encourage them to give their

child the responsibility to be dressed and ready with water bottle on time on practice and game days.

b) Important – Ask parents to notify you when a child cannot make a game or practice. It is difficult to plan practices when you don’t know the number of players who will be present. It is difficult to plan a game roster when you don’t know who is going to be there. This also cultivates the expectation of accountability. Make sure parents know the best way to contact you and that you will be a good communicator and keep them in the loop.

c) If their child is having an issue of some kind at practice that you are not aware of, let them know your door is open, and your goal is a fun experience for all.

d) Ask them to let you be the coach. Go over the MRYSL FunFirst document with them.

4) Type up a brief summary of your coaching philosophy, along with your contact info. Also

include information about practices, locations and times. In your letter or email to the parents, let them know that each child will need to bring their own ball (include size), wear shin guards covered by soccer socks, wear soccer cleats (baseball cleats are not acceptable due to the center toe cleat), and always bring a bottle of water as drinking fountains are not always convenient at practice locations.

6) The first game will be the Jamboree on Saturday August 20 at Hiller Park in

McKinleyville (see more about the Jamboree further down this document), and that you will notify them of the exact time when you know it. Team pictures will also be taken that day, one hour before game time. Hand out photo packets at the parents meeting.

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7) Hand out uniforms at the first practice. Assign uniforms based on size (it is impossible to honor children’s jersey # requests). If you are missing sizes, be sure to let Kristin Reiner know immediately!

8) Hand out and go over the FunFirst sheet with your parents. MRYSL encourages a

positive buy in from parents (rather than simply signing a pledge). The “Fun First” principles mirror our league philosophy which is letting the children play the game without interference or pressure, and creating a fun and positive environment.

9) Organize your volunteers. Establish a team parent and assistant coach if possible. Also

please see the section about volunteers below so you can discuss the league’s parent volunteer policy. Also, organize (or have your team manager organize) a phone tree, email list or some other method of quickly contacting parents in case practices or games are cancelled. Remember that not everyone texts, email, Facebook or tweets.

Contact the rest of the team that was not present at the parent meeting as soon as possible.

The Jamboree

The Jamboree is Saturday, August 20, 2016 at Hiller Park. It is the season kick-off that includes the first games of the season and photos. Pictures are taken 1 hour prior to your game time. Have your players arrive 15 minutes before your team’s picture time. Picture forms need to be given to all of your players’ parents. Have them fill them out and bring the completed form and a check to the Jamboree.

There may be an equipment exchange at the Jamboree, if there’s enough interest and volunteer help. Please share this information with your parents. They can bring old cleats, balls, etc. that they are no longer using and we will try to pass them on to someone who can use them.

The coach for each team must check in at the Check-In area. You will receive additional gear and information that may have come up between the coach’s meeting and the Jamboree.

If you have any questions or issues, go to the Check-In table for assistance.

Volunteers

Mad River YSL cannot function effectively without volunteers. Every team will be assigned a weekend to provide volunteers for particular jobs (field set-up, field tear-down, concessions, etc.).

We invite anyone interested in helping us continue to make this league successful to come to our Board meetings, which are usually held the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Please check our website for times and location.

Rules to Remember There is absolutely no movement of players from team to team. We accommodate hundreds of requests made on the registration forms to the best of our ability. Any requests

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that were not filled are not filled due to other conflicting requests or other conflicting issues (e.g. number of spaces on a team, age issues, etc.).

Playing Time - All players at all age groups must be given equal playing time.

Travel Games – Players U-10 and younger are not required to travel between Hoopa, Willow Creek and the coast. But if your Coast team would like to volunteer for a playdate in Hoopa or Willow Creek, please let us know! Older teams (U-12 and up) will have games in Hoopa, and away games in Eureka, Fortuna and Redway. Teams are required to be at all scheduled games, no matter how inconvenient it may be.

Coaches are required to have the registration forms for each child at all games, practices and other team functions. These forms contain the player’s consent to medical treatment in case of an injury. Injuries requiring more than just first aid need to be reported to the League office, at mrysloffice@sbcglobal.net immediately.

Practice Information

Practices can begin no earlier than the week of August 8. Practices should be held no more than two days per week for ages U8 through U18 and one day a week for U6 and under. The duration of your practice should mirror the length of your game times. Recreation teams have specific fields you can use for practice. Please sign up for practice fields and times as soon as possible. Do not change your practice field or time without obtaining permission from the Rec program.

Each player will need to bring water, shin guards, cleats (need to be soccer cleats with no cleat in the toe area) and a ball to each practice.

You will receive a shirt, pair of shorts and pair of socks for each player on your team as soon as they are available. If you are short any items, please contact the Recreation Coordinator or the program chair, ASAP. Shortages will be ordered as soon as we are aware of them. There will be a list at the Jamboree’s Sign-In table for uniform issues.

It is up to you and your team to develop a team name. It can be lots of fun to include the kids in this activity. Try to spend a little bit of each practice getting to know your kids and showing interest in them as the individuals. This helps with building your team’s community and team work. Help them do this with each other too.

Game Day Information Schedules for the season will be posted as soon as they are available. If you have questions or issues with your schedule, please contact the Rec Chairperson.

Any issues, questions, or problems on any game day at Hiller Park, please go to the concession stand and ask for Heidi Foley or Sarah Vevoda. We strive to have someone available from the league available to assist. The concession stand has a first aid kit, and contact information.

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Rain outs will usually be called by 8 a.m. game day. Scheduled games will be played, no matter what the weather, until someone from the league tells you differently. Look on the website (www.mrysl.net), friend our facebook page, or follow us on Twitter (@mryslfc) for information on game day rain outs.

Never practice on a field that has a “field closed” sign posted. Please let Rec Chairperson or Rec Coordinator know about field closures.

No Cancellations: Coaches may not cancel scheduled games. There are always options and ways to work around any problem that may arise. Only the Rec Coordinator, Rec Chairperson or League President may cancel a game. Please contact us to help find solutions to whatever the problem may be!

Referees: Our goal is to have at least one licensed referee for all U7 games and older; we usually have two licensed refs for U-10 games and three licensed refs for U-12 and older. We usually have one game facilitator (also a licensed ref) at each U8/U7 field.

If there is not a referee at your game by start time, please check in with the concession stand to see if any refs are available. If not, work with the coach of the other team and decide who will ref and start your game. Please go the concession stand or find the Field Marshall if you need help. As a coach you must support the referees and facilitators, and treat them with respect at all times.

Please remind your parents to support the referees and facilitators as well. Most are MRYSL teenaged players who want to give more to the game. The treatment of our refs and facilitators is a direct reflection on who we are as a league. THANK YOU: Thank you very much for coaching our children. We are grateful for your time and energy. Please emphasis good sportsmanship on and off the field, for your players, their parents and your fellow coaches. Have a fun and safe season!

Important Dates Sat., Sept. 3: No games (Labor Day) Sat., Sept 26: Day of Play at Hiller Park Sat. Oct. 22: Last Weekend of Games Thurs. Nov. 3: Coaches & Sponsors

Appreciation Celebration (date subject to change)

IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION Web: www.mrysl.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadRiverYSL Twitter: @mryslfc

Mad River Youth Soccer League PO Box 103 Arcata, CA 95518 707-822-3333 mrysloffice@sbcglobal.net Kristin Reiner, Registrar & Office Manager

Heidi Foley, Rec Program Chair hid4335@yahoo.com 707-601-3888 Sara Vevoda, Rec Coordinator soccermama.mrysl@gmail.com 707-599-4452

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COACHING RESOURCES

Books Coaching Outside the Box – Changing the Mindset in Youth Soccer by Paul S.A. Mairs & Richard Shaw The modern coach must know HOW to teach soccer before they tackle WHAT to teach. A Great Guidebook! Developing the Youth Football (soccer) Player by Horst Wein A step by step approach for teaching the game of soccer by a master teacher. Our Competition is the World by Stan Baker This book is a great mix of soccer coaching philosophy, collected wisdom of the world’s great soccer minds and hands on training games. Highly recommended! Available for Checkout The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle This book will change the way you think of talent, not as gift, but a physiological process of the brain related to the way we practice. Essential reading for a coach. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck Mindset is becoming the new buzzword, and this book is one reason why. Read this book and find out why major soccer coaching organizations are touting its insight. Again, a must read.

Internet http://mrysl.net/coaches.php (click on "coaching resources") http://blog.thebeautifulgame.ie/ http://www.karldewazien.com/ http://www.thecoachdiary.com/ http://www.bettersoccermorefun.com/

Share the below with your team: Google Coerver Coaching on youtube, for great videos on footwork and skill development http://www.footytube.com/

DVD’s Game Intelligence – Horst Wein Soccer - Coerver Fundamentals - Ball Control, Fast Footwork & Feinting – Weil Coerver

WWW.MRYSL.NET/COACHES.PHP

FOR MORE LINKS AND COACHING MATERIAL

Mad River Youth Soccer League, Inc.

COMPLAINTS What To Do If You Have A Complaint

For Coaches/ Team Managers:

1. Talk: If you are having a problem with parents, players or other coaches, first try to speak with the parents, players or coach about it.

Exception: If you are having problems with a referee, do NOT speak with the referee – instead, please let the ref assignor or your program coordinator know about it.

2. Supervisor: If, after talking with the person with whom you are having difficulties, your complaint is not resolved, then speak to the person in charge of the program.

Heidi Foley, Rec Chairperson, 707-601-3888, hid4335@yahoo.com Sarah Vevoda, Rec Coordinator, soccermama.mrysl@gmail.com, 707-599-4452

You can also contact the MRYSL league office at mrysloffice@sbcblobal.net

3. Formal Complaint: If you wish to pursue a formal complaint, MRYSL has a “Protest Appeals and Discipline” procedure. This process can be used to address any violation of MRYSL, CalNorth/CYSA, or US Club rules or policies.

To invoke this procedure, you must mail your written complaint to the MRYSL office, providing as much detail about your complaint as possible (emails are not accepted for this purpose). In about 30 days, a hearing will be held, during which you can present your complaint and witnesses; then the person you are complaining about will have an equal amount of time to present his or her side of the event. Three panelists will then decide whether any rules or policies were violated, and if so, what the proper amount of discipline is, if any.

More information on the PAD process is available at CalNorth CYSA’s website, http://www.calnorth.org/

4. Policies: If you have a complaint or concern about MRYSL rules or policies, please contact the MRYSL Board of Directors. You can also attend one of our monthly board meetings – we always set aside some time at the beginning of the meeting to hear from MRYSL members or the public.

Mad River Youth Soccer League, Inc. www.mrysl.net

Guidelines for Training

Practices are where we have the most influence as educators. To take full advantage of your time with the children here are some guidelines:

o Come prepared with a well-planned session, written down. Arrive early to set up. Practice duration should be roughly equivalent to the weekend’s game duration.

o Greet all your players by name, with a

smile, make them feel welcome. Weave sportsmanship and respect into all your activities.

o Include a dynamic warm-up as part of

your practice to raise muscle temperature and enliven the spirit. NO static stretching!

o Design your practice to flow. Start with

one player per ball activities to small sided games of increasing size.

o Small sided games should be smaller in

numbers than the scheduled weekend contest.

o Incorporate Cooperative play or “Chill

Mode” into your practices. 1+1 means one player allows the other to succeed in order to practice some dribbling move. Allowing success is an important step before adding live pressure in games. 2 + 1 same idea.

o Incorporate Guided Discovery,

questions to guide children toward the lesson you are teaching. Write down 3 questions in advance for each activity you are doing.

o Utilize global training (games with

creative demands) over analytical training (drills with rote repetition)

o Include fun games to “liven the spirit”

and inspire players to love the game.

o Keep it simple, coach your theme, stay on point, do not get sucked into tangents and try to coach too much at once.

o Keep your lessons and practice

environment age appropriate. Let kids be kids. Keep explanations to the bare minimum, “show and go,” maintain an active environment with little downtime, or waiting in lines.

o When all else fails, fun and maximum

touches on the ball for each player equals a successful practice

o Learn to evaluate your practice on the

fly and make changes accordingly. Are the children restless? There may be too much waiting. Are the children bored or unengaged? Your activity may not be fun, or too complicated or too difficult. Sometimes you can tweak a game or activity to make it successful.

o Things you can tweak in a game to

modify it and make it more successful: Field size, number of players, number of goals, placement of goals, number of balls, a condition or rule of the game.

Mad River Youth Soccer League, Inc. www.mrysl.net

o Smaller fields with more players = more technically demanding. Unbalanced teams with larger fields, such as 3 v 1 encourages success in passing games, as opposed to 2v2.

o Encourage a growth mindset

environment, by praising effort, not results or ability, and not criticizing players or the team for mistakes.

o Take a step by step approach. Lead your

players through activities that they can succeed at before proceeding to the next level. For example, playing 3v0 before playing 3v1.

o Schedule 1 minute water breaks into

your practice – be flexible if training is particularly demanding, or warm weather conditions are present.

o Stimulate your practice environment by

varying your activities, providing lots of encouragement, and taking a step by step approach where you build on success.

o Give your kids as much responsibility

as possible. Take into account things the kids like to do.

o Allow them to choose one 10 minute activity each session and let them run it.

o Remember, most coaching is non-

verbal. Your body language, facial expressions and tone of voice have a powerful influence. Try to stay relaxed and positive, and remember there is no “down” time when running a practice session. You are constantly communicating “something” to your children.

o Repetitions in games/activities

consolidate learning, but you can have too few or too many. Soccer educator Horst Wein says 5 to 7 repetitions of a game situation is a good target.

o Take some time each practice to get to

know your players, their interests outside of soccer.

o Conclude your practice with a cool

down and a compliment circle. Allow your players to leave practice in a calm positive frame of mind with a feeling of success and accomplishment.

MRYSL RECREATIONAL PROGRAM POLICY ON HEADERS & CONCUSSIONS

---Children under 14 are not permitted to head the ball, in games or in practice. Instead, in situations in which children might be tempted to use their head, children should be redirected into receiving and controlling the ball with their chest, thighs or feet. --Any child suspected of sustaining a concussion must be removed from the game or practice immediately, and will not be permitted to return until the CalNorth Concussion Protocol is completed. Coaches – Please be sure to have an adequate supply of the CalNorth form, Possible Concussion Notification Form For Cal North Events, with you at all practices and games. The form is available at http://calnorth.org/app/uploads/2016/01/Concussion-Notification-Form.pdf

ALL parents and coaches should go to

http://calnorth.org/concussions/

and

http://www.cdc.gov/headsup/

and

http://www.sportslegacy.org/