95/96 WHITE

 

2009-2010

Team Handbook

Goal:

 

The goal of this team is to teach players that with hard work and effort and by working together as teammates they will be able to achieve goals far beyond what they might have on their own, and that these lessons extend beyond the soccer field into everything they do in life. In doing so, this team will be recognized as one of the best teams in all of Florida.

 

What this team is about:

 

This team is founded in a belief that we will out-train all of our competitors in our league. We recognize that the development as a soccer player occurs on the training field, and we will structure our training sessions so that the toughest competitor we ever have to face is ourselves.

 

We believe that work done on the training field should be extremely demanding but that it can and should also be extremely fun. This team will work like dogs and have fun doing it.

 

We believe that soccer is a physical game and we will play as hard and as physically as we can within the rules both on the training field and in games, and that every time we step on a field, we owe our competition our very best effort. We will be humble in defeat, and even humbler in victory.

 

We believe that it is possible to train hard and excel at soccer and still participate in other activities. We believe that school, church, community and even other sports are critically important to our development as positive young men.

 

We want to set a standard for excellence that younger players at First Coast soccer look up to, admire, and aspire to attain.

 

We believe that being a teammate is a great honor and we will treat each other with the utmost respect, while at the same time challenging each other to be better than we were the day before. We believe that letting a teammate down is unconscionable, and that teammates can push each other to the limits and still be friends.

 

We believe that the team is comprised of the players first, then the parents, and finally the coaches. Within the team communication is vital, and we will be as transparent as possible on all that is occurring within the team.

 

We will never, ever shy away from a challenge, whether it is on the training field or a game. We understand that in order to improve we must seek out and play the very toughest competition and learn to play with them.

 

Team Structure:

 

For the 2009-10 season, we will be carrying a roster of 17 players, each of whom was a starter on their previous team. Each of these players was selected because their values were consistent with that of the team, and each is expected to contribute to making this team even better.

 

Troy Crawford and Matt will be the coaches and will share responsibility. Steve Hamilton the KYX Director of Coaching will train the players once every other week. New for this year, Mike Walker will conduct a technical training session with the players every other week.

 

Beth Cartlidge is the team manager and will be responsible for the administrative aspects of the team; we are always looking for volunteers to help her out.

 

Training

 

This team is founded upon its incredible work ethic on the training field. The training field is where the players will develop as soccer players. We believe in the saying that an amateur trains until they get it right, but a professional trains until they never get it wrong. We ask that the players come to training prepared to work their butts off and to be open to learning new things at every session

 

At First Coast, each team begins the fall season with a mandatory team training camp. Our camp is scheduled for Monday though Friday, August 24th – 28th. Team camp has one session each day from 5:00-8:00. I really like the idea of this camp, and by combining with positional training and SAQ sessions our players should really be coming together in top form by the start of the season.

 

During the season, we will train as team twice a week. Our training sessions are at Patton Park on Mondays; Field 2 South, 7-830 pm and Thursdays, Field 3 South, 7:00-8:30. We start training right at 7:00; we will not use valuable training time and field space to conduct a warm up. Each player is expected to be at the field between 6:30 and 6:45 to get in their stretching, warm up, or any technical training they’d like to do. I am typically at the field before 6:30. If your player is unable to attend training have him call, or e-mail me. This is the player’s responsibility, not the parents’.

 

Each of our training session will follow a roughly similar format:

 

* Warm up segment:

* Fundamental or teaching segment:

* Conditioned game segment:

* Finishing segment:

 

We will post the training goals, season’s training plan, and individual session structure on the team calendar well ahead of time. We encourage you and your player to look ahead and read what we’ll be working on. As the players get more familiar with some of the segment names, it’ll make each session flow more smoothly.

 

In addition to the team training we are excited to offer two additional training opportunities for our players.

 

1: Technical Training: Each player is expected to attend technical training every other week. Mike Walker, an outstanding technician and technical skills trainer, will conduct these sessions.

 

2. Functional Training: On a rotational basis we will conduct position specific, functional training. This training is designed to address specific attributes of playing a position that are can’t be done in the full team environment. These sessions will be held on a rotational basis so every third or 4th week, Friday evenings from 6:00-7:15 during the season. Each player is expected to attend their positional training, but is welcome to attend any of the others if they’d like.

 

Every other week, Steve Hamilton, the KYX Director of Coaching will conduct one of the team training sessions. On occasion we’ll bring in a guest trainer for a different voice, perspective, or to teach a specific topic, and periodically we’ll have several older advanced players join the training session. Having the older players to play against is a fantastic way for our players to have to play quicker and smarter. These older players are some of the best players in the area and serve as very positive role models for our players.

 

The Club offers a voluntary in-season mental toughness, fitness, and finishing training program. Attendance in these sessions is entirely up to the individual, but highly encouraged. These sessions are extremely fun and all of our players who have participated have thoroughly enjoyed them. These sessions are typically offered on Wednesday evenings.

 

So for your base registration fees the following training is offered for your child:

 

·    Off season SAQ program

·    Week long preseason team camp

·    Twice weekly team training sessions (mandatory)

·    Bi-weekly technical skills training (mandatory)

·    Positional training every 3rd /4th week (mandatory, with all other sessions optional)

·    Weekly keeper training (mandatory, but can substitute for a team session)

·    Weekly fitness, mental toughness and finishing session (optional, but highly encouraged)

 

We will also take advantage of opportunities to scrimmage other in-house teams, both girls and boys where possible.

 

You are more than welcome to watch the players train if you'd like, and if you’re not careful we may ask you to help out in a drill.

 

We plan to get the necessary fitness work out of the way during preseason conditioning, but throughout the season and especially during the early season training sessions it is absolutely critical that your player eats and hydrates properly during the day, rule is 1 oz of water per pound of body weight throughout the day. Also, please make sure your player brings enough water to training - a half-gallon milk jug is probably a great start.

 

Since we have players coming from all over Jacksonville and the weather in different parts of town can be vary considerably, I will post a field closing update to the website.

 

We are very fortunate to have 17 players on the roster this season all of whom are considered starters; training at the highest level each and every session is the one sure way for your player to improve their game, and to influence the coaches’ decisions on lineups. 

  

Player Development

 

We have been tasked with a two-year mission to prepare your players for their U-16 season. There is a lot to accomplish in that short period of time, and the young players that are starting their U-14 season will be young men when we say good-bye to them after U-15. During this time the primary focus of our training will be on attacking and scoring goals. We’ll spend some necessary time on defending, but more often than not we will be working on getting to goal and finishing.

As coaches our fundamental goal is the development of your players as mature young men and soccer players; if a player has made the commitment to this team, we have a corresponding commitment to develop them to their fullest potential, with the same enthusiasm and effort as we will for each of their teammates. We consider every player selected to this team to be a starter and at anytime be capable of playing an entire match. If you feel at anytime that we as coaches are not meeting that commitment, please come and talk to us.

KYX White

 

The KYX program is unique in that it fields two teams in every age group, the primary Blue team, and a feeder White team. Some players take longer to develop than others, and the opportunity to get more game time on the White team affords them that chance. It is our hope that every year, a player or two from the White team is pushing to break into the Blue team roster, just as they did last year. We will on occasion ask other team players to train with us, or possibly even play with us if we need a player or two.  We might also dual roster a Blue player to White in order to give them additional game time opportunities. 

 

Finally, the White team can be used to hold a roster spot in case of injury. If the blue team has a player who might be out for an extended time i.e. 6-8 weeks with an injury, we may make a purely administrative roster move to free a roster spot for them. This type of move in no way affects the player’s status in the team

 

The Blue team should be considered an extension of our team, and as the coaches of the White team, we have responsibility for its direction and success.

 

 School Soccer

We firmly believe in players playing soccer for their schools, and will do everything we can to train our players so that they each make their respective school teams should they tryout. The school soccer experience is tremendous for the players from a social standpoint; it is a privilege to represent the school and it is a chance for them to shine in front of their peers. During the school season, we will try not to schedule anything that conflicts with the players ability to train and play for their school; however, should a conflict arise please let me know – there are exceptions, but we will do our best to encourage the player to meet his school commitment first.

Individual Goals 

As coaches we've failed if a player does not understand what we are expecting of them, how they can improve, and how they are progressing. 

Each player will receive a ZOOM report document that defines the role they will play for the team, and coaches’ expectations of them for the season. This document will include an inventory of their strengths and some things they can work on to improve his game. We’d also like to know from them what their goals as a soccer player are. Each player will be given the document 3 times a season:  once after we’ve had a chance to watch them during team camp and two more times during the season we’ll take checkpoints with the players on how they are progressing – these will be done via individual discussions and Zoom Reports. I encourage the players to share these documents with you so you have a clear understanding of what we are asking of them. We’ll be happy to discuss the goals, and the progress against them with you at any time. These are formal evaluations; their use is to provide a path upon which your players can improve as soccer players.

Listed below are some questions that we'd like you to talk about with your player over the summer and prior to team camp so that when we talk about their soccer goals it is a conversation, not an interview. You may even find out more about your player then you thought you knew.

·         What is your favorite part of playing soccer?

·         What is your favorite position? Where do you feel you play best?

·         What is a position you'd like to try if given the opportunity?

·         What do you think you do well on the field? Where do you think you can improve?

·         What would a successful year look like to you?

·         How much time do you / can you dedicate to your soccer?

·         Do you want to play soccer in high school? in college?

Keep in mind that not all of the places where a player can improve are necessarily the coaches' responsibility, and that each player will determine how much they works on their own, whether it's improving fitness, working on touch, building up their off foot, etc., but we will work to put each of the players in a position to improve those things that will make them a stronger player.

Each player needs to come prepared at every training session and every game to learn something new - training is the time to try new things, to push the envelop, to make mistakes and to learn from them; games are the time to execute. If a player is unwilling to try new skills for fear of failure, then they are limiting their development as a soccer player - the training field is a haven, mistakes are forgiven.

Leadership

Within the team there are players whose leadership skills will rise to the surface, whether this is through how hard they train, how hard they play, how they support their team mates, how well they can communicate messages from me to the team and from the team to me, their dedication to the team, how well they read the game and can instruct their teammates, and how much their teammates will respect and listen to them. These are the players we will look to as captains. Captaining the team is more than wearing the armband and picking heads or tails; it is an extension of the coaching staff itself. A captain needs to be level headed, aware of their play and the play of their teammates; they must be willing to put the success of the team above any personal goals. It is not a rotating role. The captaincy will be earned during the preseason training sessions and scrimmages. Matt and I will be selecting for the right player(s) to take on this role. 

Player Profiles 

Team and player profiles will be set up with Got Soccer and Soccer In College for each of our players. Both of these sites assist the players in building their soccer resumes, promoting where they’ll be playing, and generally getting their name out.  However, Soccer In College has a whole suite of services designed for the individual player. Since this is a web based service, it is obviously voluntary, and there is a charge in using the full suite of services. If you are interested in this additional service, please contact Beth.

ODP

 

The Olympic Development Program (ODP) is the program established by the US Soccer Federation to identify quality players and begin tracking their development. Players are selected for ODP via a regional tryout process in Florida, whereupon they can progress to the state, regional, and national levels.   Being selected for and playing in ODP is a tremendous opportunity for a player, and while helpful, it is by no means a guarantee future soccer opportunities, nor is not playing ODP viewed as a 'black mark' by college coaches. ODP does require an additional level of commitment. ODP teams turnover each year as players opt to participate or not, although admittedly making the team once does give a player an advantage the following year. There are numerous college, professional, and national team players that did not participate in the ODP program.

 

ODP is based on calendar year birth dates, not soccer year dates i.e. the players born in ‘95 are in a different ODP age grouping than those born in ‘96. We will keep everyone posted on the tryout dates well in advance.

 

I strongly encourage each player to tryout for ODP if for no other reason than to get a weekend of play in with the very best players in the state. Additionally, the chances of a player making the ODP pools are improved dramatically if several players from the same team or who routinely play together attend tryouts together. If your player does decide to tryout for ODP, please talk with me.

 

Extra Training

 

Some of the players will want to participate in extra training with personal trainers or with other teams within the Club. This is acceptable provided it doesn't conflict with one of this team's scheduled training sessions or games. Our training schedule and games are posted well ahead of time, missing a scheduled team training session to practice somewhere else is not acceptable. If a player wants to work on something specific about their game, they are more than welcome to contact Matt or I for extra training if they'd like. 

 

Guest Playing / Dual Rostering

 

Some of our players may be asked to guest play for other teams, I will consider these requests on an individual basis; I will try not to be restrictive. The one clear exception is if there is a direct conflict with what the team is doing.

 

It is possible that we ask a player to guest play with us. If we do, for the time the player is with us, they are to be considered as a full member of the team.

 

Games

 

The U-14 age group is where the players make their first significant steps towards serious soccer. It is an age of transition from introductory soccer to truly competitive soccer. Accordingly, we've laid out a training schedule and now a game schedule that will challenge each of them to be the very best soccer player that they can be.

 

I am excited to let you know that the players will play in the FSL U-14 B rotation for league play. Our players will now have the opportunity to compete with the best teams in the region on a bi-weekly basis.

 

Scrimmages:

 

I'd like to play at least two, preferably three scrimmages before we start league play. Scrimmages are our chance to build continuity, work out bugs, see what works and what doesn't and for the players to gain familiarity with each other. It's a time for experimenting with positions. We typically play preseason scrimmages on a Sunday afternoon, without uniforms; I like to start with an easier one, followed by a tougher team. Scrimmages may also occur spontaneously during a training session with one of First Coast's other teams.

 

League Games:

 

The FSL “B” division league games qualify us for Region Cup, and are our chance to prove where the players rank in terms of the soccer being played in Florida, and more than anything else we do, this consistent requirement to play their very best soccer will help each of the players develop as soccer players.

 

Friendlies:

 

Friendlies are games scheduled in addition to league games; they are played against good teams that we will not see during our league schedule. We wear uniforms and treat it as a 'real' game. We like Friday evening as a great time for a friendly.  Each season we’ll schedule a friendly against a team that is clearly a reach for us. We want to always be aware of where the next level is, and what it will take to get there.

Tournaments:

 

Tournaments are an excellent means of evaluating the progress made by the players and at the older levels, a forum for them to showcase their talents for potential college scouts. Our focus for tournament play this season is to get the players to places that require them to play competition that will truly stretch them. My observation is that the players really enjoy playing against teams from other areas, especially those from other parts of the country.

 

Fall (2-3 tournaments)

 

Labor Day (September 5-7): We will participate in First Coast’s Annual Labor Day Shootout.  This is a great tournament hosted by our home club.  Many of our KYX teams will also attend.

 

Columbus Day (October 10-11): We’ll attend the Adidas Cup in Tampa. This has been a nice tournament where competition has always been good, and several First Coast always attend, making it a great Club showcase. It offers a chance to play against several of the big Tampa Clubs like Clearwater and RSL.

 

Spring (2-3 tournaments)

 

Savannah Players (January 23-24): My concern here is the overlap with school soccer.

 

 

FYSA Region Cup: (April- May): Last season's Regional Cup second round was very much a learning experience for our players as we competed at the state level for the first time. I feel this team has a really good chance of winning Region Cup and going on to the Presidents cup.

 

Schedule Summary

 

We are looking to playing a fall FSL schedule of over 16 games between mid August and early November, plus 1-2 scrimmages worked in during preseason training. In the spring we can expect another 10-15 games spread between February and the end of May, plus a couple of scrimmages before the games start. We can expect scheduling conflicts, and unfortunately we can also expect to have players miss games due to injuries - hopefully none will be severe. Throw in a 15 game middle school season in between and I think you'll see why we wanted to field a 17-player roster. 

 

The FSL game schedule should be relatively competitive for us. Our opponents will be competitive, the players are all athletic, the skill level is up, the speed is exciting, teams are more tactically proficient - it starts becoming the 'beautiful game' at the older age groups.

 

For home games, the players are expected to arrive at the field one hour before game time; we'll start the team warm up about 35 minutes before kick-off (players need to be dressed and ready to go at that time). If we are traveling to a game, I will ask the players to be there 90 minutes before a game.  We'll wear our KYX warm up jerseys prior to the game.

 

It is the players' responsibility to eat and hydrate properly before playing. Even though we have plenty of players, each player is expected to be able to play a full game at any time; proper nutrition and hydration are critical to that.

 

Positions and playing time are the result of a combination of factors including, but not necessarily limited to how well (and often) they are practicing and grasping what we are teaching, how well they are playing in games, effort and attitude, the success of the player combinations, and what we are trying to accomplish in the game. We have no guarantees of playing time, but we clearly will be playing enough games for every player to see plenty of game time, and we also now have a team where every player is considered a starter, with competition at every position on the field, which can only make our players better. We want all the players to gain experience playing multiple positions, while settling in on a primary and a secondary position.

 

Travel

 

We consider our traveling to be a business trip; when we travel, the players represent each other, the team, the Club and their families; we expect them to represent all to the very highest standards; because of that, while in hotels the players are not allowed to roam the halls in an unruly manner. The players are not allowed to meander off alone or in small groups off the property or to any place we deem off limits without either being accompanied by an adult or having their explicit approval, this especially includes the rooms of other teams, First Coast or other. During hotel stays we will have a reasonable in room curfew; the players are expected to adhere to it.

 

While on the road, we typically try and stay at a place that includes breakfast in the rate; if not, we’ll have one of the parents make a bagel run. The players should plan on eating together at a team breakfast 2.5 hours prior to any morning games. We’ll have a players only meeting at the hotel the Friday evening before each tournament where we’ll discuss the scouting report / tactics/ lineups etc.

 

Depending on the schedule we’ll try and plan on eating together as a team on the Saturday evening of an away tournament; in the past we’ve even used the hotel facilities to cook dinner or to have pizza for the players, but that can be a pain. Prior to a road trip, we’ll ask for estimated departure times from each of you and a list of which players are riding or staying with other parents.

 

As much as we all love watching our players play, trekking the whole family to a tournament gets to be an expensive proposition; please don't feel obligated to attend every tournament or away game. There is always an opportunity to share a room with another player.

 

Player Responsibilities:

 

Conduct

 

We don’t use profanity; we won’t accept it from our players. We expect our players to train and play as hard as they absolutely can within the rules. We expect them to respect their teammates, their opponents, the referees, and both sets of parents. We won’t tolerate any level of less than exemplary sportsmanship from our players or our parents. Our players have a tradition of jogging over as a team towards the sidelines after each match both for you to acknowledge their effort and for them to thank you for the tremendous support you provide; I hope the players never feel they’ve outgrown this gesture.

 

The authority to enforce team behavior rests with every parent, the players are to understand that each parent acts as an extension of the coaching staff, and they are to obey each of the parents just as they would the coaches.   

 

Attendance:

 

This team is blessed with an inordinate amount of exceptional athletes and fantastic students. We totally understand that the players have commitments their families and to other sports and activities such as school and church, and that they will at times have to make choices. My philosophy will continue to be that playing soccer for this team should not require a player to have to give up some other activity that they love. We will accommodate the players other activities provided I know about them ahead of time. Missing training or a game because of another commitment will not be held against any player; however, with the quality of players we have on this team, the simple fact is that the players that are training hardest and most frequently are going to start playing better and better, are going to build the rapport with their teammates so critical to team success, and are going to be more visible to the coaches. Repeated, unexcused absences will be addressed individually with the player and parent.

 

Injuries:

 

Soccer is a physical game; we expect the players to play physically, and to be played physically.  They are going to be bumped and banged; they’re going to be sore and tight; they will many times be hurting. At these times, they are expected to play. 

 

As in any sport being played at a highly competitive level, injuries can and will happen. We fully expect that at any given time we may have a player or two missing a match because they are injured. If your player is injured during a match, please stay on the sideline; we’ll assess the extent of the injury and the next steps. Many times what seems like a serious injury at first turns out to be a good knock. If an opposing player is injured during a match, we will call our players over to our sideline or have them stretch where they are. What we don’t want is our players hovering around an injured player. I’m actually far more worried about injuries coming out of school soccer than in select ball.

 

We will give all injuries the proper time they need to heal. Hopefully the player is going to want to play before we are ready to let them; however, we will not risk a player’s career by rushing them back to play too soon after an injury. While injured, we fully expect the players to attend games and we highly encourage them to attend training sessions. Being out of the team while injured is a very lonely experience, and while being around the team and not participating is equally tough. Sometimes our players don’t want to let us know they are injured; however, they need to make sure we are fully aware of things that we may not have seen. I don’t want to get on a player about not running only to find out their ankle is swollen up like a balloon and they were trying to tough it out.

 

So what’s a hurt and what’s an injury? If there is no risk of long term damage by playing and your player’s performance is not impacted, then it’s a hurt and I would expect our players to play through it. The players do need to learn where their pain threshold is, and I can guarantee you it is a lot higher than either they or you as parents might initially think. If a boy is bleeding they need to come off the field; if they get blood (either his or someone else’s) on his uniform, they may not be allowed back in the match. Breaks are obviously injuries. Sprains and pulls run the full spectrum: the severe ones are injuries for sure, the slight ones can at times be played through. Hard casts are expressly not allowed in Florida soccer – if your player has a hard cast on, they will not be allowed to play, even if it’s padded. 

 

If your player is hurting or gets injured, the rule of thumb is RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevate. Ice has magical healing powers, you can never go wrong with it. I would add a one time heavy dose of Advil to the mix, and for hurts, a hot Epsom salt bath after playing is highly recommended. 

 

Parent Responsibilities:

 

Parent Conduct 

 

FYSA has a Parent Code of Conduct that FCSA follows.  This code of conduct was included in the handout given out at tryouts.  Please make sure you have read it.

 

We consider parents to be an integral part of the team, and as such we try and over communicate with you. Nothing we do as a team is intended to be a secret or protected in any way. You are all made aware of our season’s plans as early as possible, training session content is posted for you, and we’ll even bring parents in to help out in a training session on occasion. If something in the team environment is not working for you, please bring it to us. We can’t address it of we aren’t aware of it.

 

We’d like you all to recognize that soccer is a physical game, and it is highly unlikely you will never hear us complain about our players being knocked around on the field. Believe me our players deal out their fair share of knocks as well J. If I can influence the parents in any way, this is where I’d like to do it.

 

During a match, please encourage and cheer for the team all you’d like, but try and limit giving the players instruction. There are three reasons for this:

 

·         We want the players to learn to make their own decisions. We want to develop intelligent, thinking soccer players, able to solve problems presented to them on their own

·         We want the players to communicate with each other. It’s hard to have that happen when the airwaves are filled with our voices.

·         We want them to execute according to what we’re asking them to do, and however good (or even correct) the intention, it may be different that what we’re asking. We want the players totally focused on the match and their role in it.

 

For those of you who want to learn more about the game; I’ll do training sessions specifically for the parents. Last year we did an overview of the laws of the game that went very well.

 

 

Coaches’ Responsibilities

 

Coaches’ Conduct

 

You and the players have every right to hold us and the other coaches to the very same standards we’re asking the players to adhere to. Please let me know if we are not meeting your expectations.

 

Team Communication

 

Important information that needs to reach you will be distributed by e-mail. You can expect e-mails from us each week. The best bet is to check your email daily J

 

Field closings are posted on the website.  Please check it for important updates.  We will also have a phone tree for late closures.

 

On occasion I may want or need to call your player regarding something that occurred in a game or in training; I will not call them directly, but will always go through a parent first.

 

If you need to talk with me, please feel free to catch me at the fields, or call. I will always make time for you provided I am not committed in a training session or a game.