East Meadow Soccer Club
Developmental Program Manual1
PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY AND MANAGEMENT
The
Developmental Program is an enrichment program. It’s purpose is to provide children who are registered in the
East Meadow Soccer Club intramural program with training that supplements the
training offered in the intramural program.
The primary goal of the developmental program is to further assist the
players develop their skills. The
emphasis will not be on winning,
rather the emphasis will be on developing well-rounded players by
improving every players’ skill at all positions. Please keep in mind that at the developmental age, the emphasis
is on developing the individual players, not on producing a team that will win
every tournament. The focus is not on producing the strongest teams possible,
but rather to give all of the talented and committed players of our club a
chance to develop their skills and become better players.
The
Board of Directors shall appoint a boys and girls developmental coordinator for
each age group at the U7, U8 and U9 age
levels. These are 1 year positions
however the commissioners reserve the right to suspend any coordinator for
cause, pending investigation by the Board.
The Boys and Girls Commissioners shall oversee each of their respective
Developmental Programs and they shall each be supervised by the Vice President
of Intramurals.
All
of the Developmental Players in an age group will be part of 1 large
developmental team (pool) in each age group. The coordinator of each group will
be assisted by assistant coaches, whose number shall depend upon the number of
children in each pool program and must be approved by the Board of
Directors. Each assistant coach will be
head coach for 1 or more tournament(s) during the year. The children will
practice together and will be divided into different squads to go to
tournaments during the year. The purpose of this is to allow all of the
children the opportunity to play with all of the other children during the year,
and not just be limited to playing with only a portion of the players. In
addition, all of the coaches will get the opportunity to coach all of the
players so all of the coaches will get to know all of the players.
This “Developmental Pool Program” is a model that
is used with great success all over the country. Some of the largest and most successful Soccer Clubs use this
type of program successfully to develop a large pool of talented developmental
players who go on at U-10 to form extremely strong Travel Teams. The teams that are sent to any individual
U-7, U-8 or U-9 tournament may not be the strongest. However, when the players reach travel age there will be a large pool
of talented players and they may go on to form some of the strongest travel
teams possibe.
INFORMATIONAL MEETING
Each
May a mandatory informational meeting will be held for parents of players
interested in playing in the following year’s developmental program. The purpose of the meeting will be to
discuss the program, announce try-outs and announce changes to the
Developmental Program made by the Club’s Board of Directors.
COORDINATOR SELECTION
The main function of a coordinator in our Developmental
Program is to be more of a manager or supervisor. They do not need to be a talented soccer trainer. The coordinators are the liaison between the
Commissioners and the parents. They
need to possess good communication skills and good people skills in addition to
possessing a general knowledge of coaching children’s soccer. The coaches will not train their teams themselves. In fact, whenever possible EMSC shall
supply professional trainers for regular practices that will be held during the
Fall and Spring intramural seasons and some winter practices (“Club Practices”)
and we encourage individual teams to hire their own trainers to supplement club
training at practices when no trainers are provided by the Club. Any trainer hired by a Developmental Team
must be approved by the Commissioner and the Board of Directors.
Club Practices shall be held on Fridays approximately
once a week during the Fall and Spring intramural seasons for a total of
approximately 16 outdoor practices.
We want our coaches to have a good knowledge of soccer so
that they may properly manage the games, evaluate the effectiveness of the
trainers and make suggestions to their respective Commissioner.
Anyone
interested in being the coordinator of a Developmental Team is required to
submit to the Board of Directors a letter of intent and a resume stating
coaching qualifications and soccer experience as well as experience working
with youth. The date these resumes are
due will be determined by the Board of Directors and this information can be
obtained from the Division Directors, Commissioners, Club Publications or on
the club’s website, www.eastmeadowsoccer.com. It is recommended that all people interested
in being the coordinator strive to be as well educated in coaching soccer as is
possible. Towards this end, the club
encourages people to take courses and obtain their licenses. The “D” License Course covers coaching
techniques for children aged 6-10 is offered at various times though out the
year and the “C” License course covers techniques through age 13. Many of our local Soccer Clubs host these
course during the year. Information on
clubs holding courses can be found on www.lijsoccer.com.
After
the try-outs are held, the East Meadow Soccer Club Board of Directors will
evaluate all the resumes of prospective coordinators and will select one for
each age group. The coordinator will be
notified by the board of his/her selection and will the be given his/her roster
to notify all the players who attended try-outs of the results.
Each
coordinator must communicate regularly with their respective commissioner or
when necessary the Vice President of Intramurals.
ELIGIBILITY
All
players registering for the following fall East Meadow intramural program in
the U7, U8 and U9 age groups are invited to try-out for the Developmental
Program. At such try-out there shall be
an evaluation of each player’s skills, desire to play and ability to play in a
team setting. In order for a player to
participate in the try-outs, a copy of that player’s birth certificate must be
submitted with a permission slip completely filled out. Parents are also required to attend the
Developmental Program’s Informational meeting, which will be held prior to the
try-outs. Parents of players currently in the program must also attend.
Tryouts
shall take place in late May and early June and shall be announced at the
Developmental Program’s Informational meeting.
Teams will be selected for a 1 year period. There will be no guest players permitted on any developmental
teams without approval of the commissioner. Players can only be added during
the year after an evaluation by the club trainer and approval by the
commissioner.
REMOVAL FROM PROGRAM
The
Board of Directors retains the right to remove any coordinator, coach,
assistant coach or player from the Developmental Program for good cause
shown. Good cause includes, but is not
limited to the failure by any player
and/or parent to fulfill their obligations or failure to abide by EMSC’s rules
and regulations and/or code of conduct. The Developmental Program requires a
one-year commitment on the part of both the player and parent. Players must resister for both the Fall and
Spring intramural programs in their proper age group in order to participate in
the Developmental Program. Any player
who is removed from or leaves the developmental program without just cause will
also not be eligible for the developmental or travel programs for one full year
thereafter.
OBLIGATIONS OF EACH PLAYER
Every
player must regularly attend intramural practices and intramural games. Failure to do so shall be cause for that
child to be removed from the Developmental Program.
OBLIGATIONS OF EACH PARENT
The
Developmental Program is partially funded by the proceeds from the East Meadow
Soccer Club’s indoor tournaments. In
light of this, parents of players in the program are required to volunteer for
various tournament committees, work at tournaments and must participate in fund
raising activities.
FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS
Each
player will be required to pay a $50 Developmental Registration fee, which
shall be collected at the start of the Fall and Spring intramural seasons. In addition, teams may pay for additional
training sessions and attend tournaments not paid for by the Club. The funding for these additional activities
will be the responsibility of the parents and players of the respective teams.
To
supplement the costs of additional training, private gym times, and winter
tournaments it is recommended that coaches collect between $100 - $200 from
each team member. The money should be
turned over to the team’s treasurer and a full accounting record is to be
available to any member of the team upon request. It is recommended that the coach does not also serve as team
treasurer. Additional money may be
collected as needed, however, any remaining funds must be returned to the
parents at the end of the Spring season, when the team is officially disbanded
prior to a new team being formed based on the results of the try-outs. It is for this reason that the team cannot
carry over money from one year to the next as there will be some different
members of the team each season.
Each team has the opportunity to raise funds
through the Journal ads they are selling for the East Meadow tournament. Fifty percent of the amount of money raised
by your team in excess of the required amount will be returned to you for
training.
In
addition, your team may opt to sell candy or participate in other fund raisers
which must be approved by the commissioner.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Parents
and players are required to conduct themselves with proper decorum while
representing the East Meadow Soccer Club.
See Code of Conduct on our club website.
SCHEDULE
Each
age group’s season, other than U9, ends after the Father’s Day weekend
tournament. U9 ends upon travel
tryouts. It commences as follows:
U7
commences upon the first scheduled Club Developmental Practice in September.
U8
commences upon the first scheduled Club Developmental Practice in September,
unless the team is playing in the East Meadow Ref-Fuel tournament, in which
case they may start practicing in mid-August, 2 weeks prior to the Ref-Fuel
tournament.
U9
commences in mid-August, 2 weeks prior to the Ref-Fuel tournament. The U9 team may also run a summer program at
the discretion of the respective commissioner which may not commence until
after July 15 and must be approved in all respects by the commissioner.
PRACTICES
A
Developmental Team is not permitted to have any practices not provided for by
these rules. Teams may only have one
practice per week in the Fall and Spring intramural seasons which practice
shall be set by the club and held on Fridays in the Fall and Spring
seasons. During this time period a team
may run 1 additional practice each week in the 2 weeks preceding a
tournament. Prior to each such
tournament the squads going to that tournament may practice together to prepare
for the tournament.
Developmental
pools may also practice during the 2 weeks prior to the start of the Fall
Outdoor Season and Spring Outdoor Season.
After
the conclusion of the Fall intramural season, in the month of November, when
possible, each developmental team may be given a practice time at a local
school gymnasium. Usually no trainer is
provided by the Club for these practices, but it is strongly recommended that
one be hired by each team and paid for out of the team’s own funds. Only the commissioner may schedule practice
at an East Meadow school gym. Individuals may not go directly to schools or
school districts to arrange gym time.
In
January and February each developmental
team may be given a practice time at an indoor facility, when possible. Professional training may be provided by the
Club, when possible. There may be an
additional cost for this indoor time and training which shall depend upon the
success of our indoor tournament.
There
is almost no coach within our club who can train a team as well or as
objectively as a good professional trainer can. For practices where the club
does not supply a trainer, you are encouraged to hire a trainer. You may hire
any club approved trainer you wish, provided that you obtain approval from the
commissioner and the trainer does not have an immediate relative on the team.
The Club maintains a list of club-approved trainers. In addition, you can speak
to coaches of the older developmental groups or your commissioner for
suggestions. Should you desire to go with a trainer not currently on the Club’s
Approved Trainer List, you should have the trainer submit a Resume along with a
letter requesting to become an approved trainer to your commissioner or the
Board of Directors so that they may be considered for approval prior to your
hiring that trainer.
MEDICAL RELEASES AND BIRTH CERTIFICATES
Each
coordinator should compile a file for maintaining program paperwork. In that
file there must be a completed Medical Release form and a valid Birth
Certificate for every player. Coaches should have these forms in their
possession at all practices and games.
TOURNAMENTS
No
team may enter a tournament without the prior approval of their respective commissioner. Upon receiving such approval the coordinator may apply to such
tournament and then must send the commissioner a roster with the names of each
child and the coaches that are playing for each team registered in such
tournament prior to attending such tournament. No player may guest play for
another club or participate in a privately run tournament without the consent
of the coordinator and the commissioner.
The
Board may in its discretion require teams to register and attend particular
tournaments in an effort to support clubs that support our own tournaments.
The team
must pay its own entry fee for tournaments, except the Board, at its
discretion, may enter each group into a Fall (Columbus day) and/or Spring
(Fathers Day) Tournament each year.
Teams may enter the East Meadow Indoor Tournament free of charge by fulfilling
their responsibilities to the club.
EAST MEADOW SOCCER CLUB
INDOOR TOURNAMENT
It is
the obligation of each group to sell
journal ads (the amount raised to be determined by the tournament committee and
Board). In exchange, each group will be entered, free of charge, in the East
Meadow Intramural Indoor Tournament. Failure to obtain the required dollar
amount will result in the program being disbanded in that age group.
Parents
in each group must also work at the tournament. Failure of a parent to work at the tournament will result in
their child not being eligible for the Developmental Program. Each player’s
family will be required to work at an East Meadow Soccer Club Indoor
Tournament. If a family will not be available to work during their player’s
tournament they must notify the coach 30 days in advance and they will be
assigned either a different East Meadow tournament to work at, or given other
volunteer work duties deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors to fulfill
the family’s commitment. The infraction of this rule must be brought to the
attention of the Tournament Director and your Commissioner at the time of the
infraction.
INDOOR TOURNAMENTS
Each
group during the winter, at it’s own expense, may choose to go to several other
indoor tournaments. The Long Island Junior Soccer League publishes a list of
all area indoor tournaments. This can be found on their website www.lijsoccer.com or obtained from your commissioner.
Because of roster limitations at some tournaments there will be some that you
cannot take your entire team to. In determining who goes to which tournament
you must remember that each child whose commitments are being fulfilled (i.e. –
financial commitment, attendance at most practices, parent volunteer work) must
have the opportunity to go to the same number of tournaments. Parents should be
polled as to the dates that are available. You can then choose which
tournaments to participate in, being certain that each player participates in
no more than eight tournaments each winter season. Participation in leagues is not allowed except as specifically
provided herein.
ADDITIONAL RULES FOR U9
ONLY
U9 teams may hold one additional optional practice
each week so long as the time of such practice is not in conflict with intramural
games and/or practices and not on a day that intramural games are
scheduled. The scheduling of such
practices must be with the approval of the commissioner. The parents must be informed that failure to
attend these optional practices will not result in loss of playing time or harm
the child’s status on the team in any manner.
U9 teams may, with the permission of the commissioner
participate in league play so long as it is not in conflict with intramural
games and/or practices and not on a day that intramural games are scheduled.
. U7 and U8 teams are not permitted to
play in leagues under any circumstance.
Tournament teams may, where appropriate, be divided
based on skill for the Spring outdoor tournaments at the U9 level only.
MISC.
Team names are not permitted. Teams shall be called East Meadow
Developmental on all tournament applications.
Where more then 1 team is sent to a particular tournament, color
designations may be used.
No training shirts, warm ups, or clothing of any kind
is to be used, bought or sold to the players without the approval of the
Board. Players must wear only club
approved uniforms.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
Any problems that arise with your team are to be
brought to the immediate attention of your Commissioner. Again, situations needing the attention of
the Commissioner must be relayed to the commissioner directly and
immediately. The Commissioner will
investigate the problem and take any necessary actions or turn it over to the
Vice President of Intramurals for his review.
In the event that the coach is unable to go to the Commissioner, the
coach then has the option to go to the Vice President of Intramurals for advice
and direction.
Any parent that has a problem with a coach has the
same rights to contact the Commissioner.
If for some reason the parent cannot speak to the commissioner of their
group, the parent has the option to go to the Vice President of Intramurals for
advice and direction.
For all tournaments developmental teams must play in
their appropriate age group unless given explicit permission to do otherwise by
the commissioner with the approval of the board of directors.
The East Meadow Soccer Club is very supportive of its
coordinators and coaches. The Board of Directors of the club has approved each
developmental coordinator and coach. We appreciate the tremendous amount of
time and effort that each coordinator and coach contributes. Our coordinator
and coaches are more than just coaches; they are the individuals that volunteer
the most time to our club. We expect all players and parents to give the coach
respect and when necessary, the “benefit of the doubt. “
The Developmental Program does not supercede the
Intramural program. Participants in the Development program must be active
members of an Intramural team within the EMSC for both the fall and spring
seasons. Failure of a child to be registered for the spring will result in the
child being removed from the Spring Developmental roster. In addition, the
child will not be eligible for the following year’s Developmental or travel
Program. Participants who regularly miss their Intramural team practices or
games will be removed from the Developmental Program.
The Developmental program follows the same rules as
the Intramural program with regards to playing time. All children are to play a
minimum of one half of each game. While we understand many of our children have
many other activities, being a part of our Developmental Program requires a
commitment on the part of each player and their family. Failure of a player to
be present at an occasional practice is not to be held against the player by
reducing the child’s playing time in tournaments. However, chronic repeated
absences from developmental practices may result in the player being removed
from the developmental program by the commissioner.
During these early years of soccer development we
strive to train all our players in all positions and we do not assign fixed
positions at this stage. In our developmental program we do not want a
6-year-old child to be limited to a particular position. Over the years we have
learned that a child’s body develops and changes drastically over these
formative years. Many times the bigger, stronger 6-year-old will end up as one
of the smaller, faster 14-year-old. Conversely, the smaller 6-year-old
speedsters may end up being the largest, strongest members of their 14-year-old
teams. We feel it would be a disservice to these young children to train them
in one position, because as they get older they may be much better suited to a
different position, and if they are not trained in all positions they will be
at a disadvantage.
All coaches, players and
parents are expected to fully comply with the above
Guidelines for the Developmental Program, as well as
the East Meadow Soccer Club’s Code of Conduct, Policy on Physical Violence, and
all other policies/guidelines of the East Meadow Soccer Club. Violations may
result in the offending party being removed or suspended from the East Meadow
Soccer Club. Please visit our website for the complete text of these policies
and guidelines.
Failure by any coach, player or parent to comply with
any of the rules or fundamental principles will result in the matter being
reviewed by the Vice President of Intramurals and where appropriate the Board
of Directors.
The East Meadow Soccer
Club Board of Directors maintains the right to change any or all of the above
without prior notice. In the event that there are substantial changes to the
program, the board will make the information available through whatever means
it deems appropriate.