Coach Mommy Long Island

“Soccer for New & Experienced Soccer Parents who Know Nothing or Less Than They Realize About Youth Soccer”- Basic Soccer Equipment

2014-04-09T13:40:00.006-07:00

Nine years ago, I signed up to Coach Pee-Wee soccer and they actually handed me a team. Realizing that I had not played soccer in over 8 years (at that point) and that playing soccer and coaching soccer are COMPLETELY different things…I purchased “Soccer Coaching for Dummies”. Fortunately, I found that I did in fact already know everything in the book (although I have kept the book just in case), it was the first thing I thought of as my niece and I discussed her need to learn soccer. Her son, my Godson, started Intramural soccer last week and she has never played the game. I plan to pull the book out this week and take a good luck through it and use it to guide this series of articles we will call “Soccer for New & Experienced Soccer Parents who Know Nothing or Less Than They Realize About Youth Soccer”. A mouthful, but OH what fun it was to type and imagine how many soccer moms & dads on the sideline of Premier Level games I would like to share this series with…

Today we start by discussing proper equipment for Youth Soccer Players. I wanted to support my Godson and help out my niece by buying his equipment and found that I have grown into a COMPLETE Soccer Equipment snob. Although I bitch and moan every season at the money I must spend on 2-3 pairs of cleats per kid, the cost of soccer balls for my team (and kids), and dread the battle with my boys as we buy shin guards, warm ups, and every other item that is being mass marketed as Youth Soccer gains attention in the US, I was excited to buy my Godson his first set of equipment. As I searched my usual online soccer resources and then stopped in to my “go to” neighborhood soccer store, and finally went to a local National Chain Sports store- I realized that although I know better, the temptation to spend more money than necessary was immense. **NEW SOCCER PARENTS OF INTRAMURAL PLAYERS- AVOID THE TEMPTATION** do not spend more than $60 TOTAL on a decent pair of shin guards, a proper size soccer ball, and an inexpensive but sturdy pair of soccer cleats. If your child loves the sport and has the interest and skill to move to Travel soccer or higher over the next few years, there will be PLENTY of time to spend money you don’t have on necessary certain quality cleats, uniforms, warm ups etc etc etc.

Intramural players need the following:

Sturdy Shin Guards: Shin guards should fit the player just above the ankle and cover the child’s shin to below the knee. Most intramural players are under the age of 12 and although not required, the reality is these players should only be wearing shin guards that are either attached, or come with, ankle guards which will provide a very thin layer of material to cover the ankle. The shin guard should have an elastic strap to go under the young player’s foot and keep the shin guard in proper place. The big boys, professional players, and the “style” is currently an ultra-thin and “light” shin guard that has no straps and is very unsafe for kids. It is not worth putting your young player’s shins at risk. At such a young age, the likelihood is that many teammates and opponents will be kicking more shins than balls and you want to make sure your little futboler is properly protected.

Proper Size Soccer Ball: The cost of a soccer ball can range from $8-over $200 and vary in size. See the following size description: (The “U” before the age indicates “Under” ie- U7 means for players up to the age of 7. Check with your coach).

Size 1- Reserved for commemorative soccer balls or a “skill ball”, too small to play a game or scrimmage.

Size 2- A mid-size skill ball slightly bigger than Size 1.

Size 3- This is the soccer ball that your Pee Wee and Youth player up to U7 should be using. The inexpensive balls they sell at the local superstore is just as good as the balls at soccer specific stores and websites. What you need to make sure is that the ball is an actual soccer ball and is not a foam or plastic ball made to look like a soccer ball. A proper soccer ball has a little weight and bounce to it, but it should not be “squeezable” or rock hard.

Size 4- This ball is used for ages U8-U11.

Size 5- This ball is for ages U12 and up. A Size 5 ball is the size used by adults and professionals also.

It is NOT beneficial for your child to train with a ball that is bigger than recommended for their age as the ball they use in games will be the size required by the league. As a Coach, I would sometimes use a larger size ball or over-inflated ball for shooting drills for the purpose of strengthening the kicks. When training a player for skill and technique, the proper size ball for their age should be used.

There is no need for a “futsal” ball in Intramural Soccer. A futsal ball is heavier and smaller than the average soccer ball and is created to be used specifically during Futsal Soccer games, which is a fast paced version of soccer that is played with smaller teams and on gym floors, usually during the winter months.

Ground Cleats

Soccer Cleats: The cleat your young player needs depends on the

Indoor Cleats

type of field he or she will be playing and practicing on. At this age, a basic rubber soled ground cleat (these are your classic soccer cleat with rubber/plastic studs) is the best choice as they can be used on Grass and turf fields. Although the urge will be there to spend the $40-$100 on the newest and most stylish cleat, the reality is your young or Intramural player will only be wearing them about 3 times a week and the basic $20-$30 cleat is all they need. If your club’s fields are turf and the only place your child will play, or if your child is playing at a higher level, you may want to purchase a turf cleat, which have rubber soles and the studs are much smaller. Indoor cleats have a traditional flat rubber sole that looks like a sneaker and can ONLY be worn on Indoor and gym floors. The risk with the Indoor cleat is that your child may not get the necessary traction on a turf field.

Turf Cleats

I remember shopping for my son’s cleats when he was 10 and the Soccer Store owner stopping me from buying one of the more expensive specialized cleats. He was very honest when he explained that he would love to earn the money on the more expensive sale, but the reality was that my son did not need the more expensive cleat at that time. The owner, and former soccer player and trainer, explained that if he is not playing 5-7 days a week, he was not in need of whatever benefits the more expensive cleat had to offer. I give the same advice- if your child continues in soccer she or he will be spending plenty of your money in the coming years and sooner than later you will HAVE to pay $100 or more per pair of cleats and will have to buy ground and turf cleats every season.

There is time for all the extras as your child gets older and decides if she or he wants to continue in soccer. The important part is to make sure they show up to each practice on time and with their shin guards, socks over shin guards, cleats, and water. If your club has issued a specific t-shirt or jersey for practices, make sure they wear that also with appropriate shorts or sweatpants. As a coach, I recommend that a player NOT wear a hoodie style shirt and it is worth buying a $7 store brand Under Armour style shirt for cooler days of practice and play.

Most importantly, let the coaches and trainers do their job and as a parent you do your job of being supportive and encouraging and making sure soccer is a fun experience for your child and yourself! While it is important that your child learns to follow the instructions of the coach/trainer and respect them, if the child’s behavior is becoming a distraction to the team, take them quietly to the side until they are ready to follow the coach’s instruction. This allows the coach to focus on the rest of the team. But MOST Importantly...Let the kids play, the coaches coach, and have FUN!!

Next week we will discuss some basic soccer terms and rules. Even us “seasoned” soccer parents and coaches can use reminders also.

LI Youth Soccer Spring 2014

2014-04-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

I can only (once again) beg forgiveness for ignoring you all for so long! Fall season became winter soccer which became Spring and Cup season. Alas, I have a few minutes and needed to come by, clear the cobwebs, and see if we have gotten off to a good season!

Yes, the season was delayed due to the snow. Then many Opening Weekend games were cancelled due to the rain. Some of us were lucky (?) enough to have games scheduled on turf fields and got to start our season in the pouring rain. I am just grateful that while I now need to help my calendar accomodat the rescheduling of the 4 games cancelled for my son’s teams, my team got our game played.

Spring is a busy soccer season in Long Island Youth Soccer and I hope everyone is keeping up. If your child’s youth soccer team is registered in LI Junior Soccer League- they have played their first LI Cup game. If their team won- CONGRATS!!- you move to the next round and your game is probably scheduled to play the weekend of the 12th/13th. YES! THAT weekend- the start (for most) of Spring Break when many parents have scheduled vacations for their young soccer players. Is this an issue for your team? I am fortunate that it is not an issue (that I am aware of) for my team, but I am aware it is affecting some teams. If your team did not win the 1st LI Cup game, condolences and you are done with LI Cup games until next Spring. The good news is that you can now focus on your league games that should have started this past weekend and if not will begin this weekend. Due to delaying the start of LI Cup, the first week of LIJ league games has been moved to the weekend after the season was scheduled to end. Your coaches will have the updated schedules by this time.

If your youth soccer player’s team plays for NY Club Soccer and was in the NY Cup last Fall, your season started last weekend (or if rained out) begins this weekend. If your team advanced out of the NY Cup last Fall- you have played at least 1 Cup game this Spring.

Intramural training and games start (for most Clubs) this week. Intramural soccer is the time for your child to get to know the sport and decide if they have the love for soccer to dedicate themselves (and their parents time and money) into the competitiveness of Travel Soccer. Enjoy the time you and your child have in Long Island Youth Intramural Soccer.

I wish everyone luck this season and in the weeks to come will be discussing the planning of team travel to out of state tournaments (Have you planned your Team Fun Night for Saturday of Memorial Weekend yet? Lasertag, Pizza Night, and Bowling are popular!) and I am also interested in everyone’s thoughts on when it is the right time to have a young athlete decide which 1 sport they want to commit their time to playing.

Just When You Thought It Was Almost Over...Winter Ball!

2013-10-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

The weather finally turned this past weekend and we were long sleeves, under armour, hats, and layers of clothing and winter jackets on the sidelines of the Long Island Youth soccer fields this weekend. While standing on the sidelines huddled shivering on the benches with my subs (one of these weekends we will get the side with the sunlight), it hit me. 3 games left in the Fall 2013 Long Island Youth Soccer season and I have not set up our winter plans yet. YES- least you forget (or if you are still new enough to soccer to not know) Youth Soccer on Long Island is a year long sport. We do not get weekends off. There are no holidays or even sick days. We go hard, we go often, and we will soon be moving our games indoors to turf or gym floors. Thanksgiving weekend is no longer about turkey, leftovers, shopping and football...it is now about the better futbol and tournaments and the start of some indoor leagues.

Parents- Have you ordered your youth soccer player’s indoor or turf cleats?

Coaches- Have you registered for your Winter Indoor or Futsal league? December, MLK, and February tournaments?

A few years ago, it was only youth soccer teams in the top divisions and competition levels who took on the expense and commitment of Winter ball, but as the Soccer business has exploded on Long Island and we find Indoor Soccer locations on every other corner (or so it seems), more and more lower level teams are making the commitment and taking on the cost of continuing to train and play in the winter. Some Clubs are able to offer their teams gym space at local schools, and some teams choose to rent indoor space at area locations. I have even attended a training for my son at an indoor hockey rink (the ice was turned off- or however that works) and have driven past the outdoor fields on some sunny but cold days and seen some hardcore players training with their hats and gloves (wait oh yeah- that was us also). But we were NOT alone on the fields!

All jokes aside, if your child loves the sport; if the players on your team are committed and love to play, and if you want to keep the kids busy during the winter, moving soccer indoor is a fun way to keep the kids busy, keep the level of play from declining too much in the off months of winter, and is also a great way to focus on some more small sided training and skills work.

As a coach, I prefer the small fields of the winter indoor season. Yes, there are full sized indoor fields available to rent or attend leagues at, but I prefer to keep my boys on the small field. While we have rented indoor space in previous years, my trainer and I made the decision this to give ourselves and the parent’s pockets a break this year. We will enter our usual small field league from November to March, but we will limit our training to once a week at an area gym. (PARENTS- NO TURF cleats on gym floors. NO OUTDOOR cleats on Indoor turf or gym floors. Do we need to discuss different types of cleats and appropriate field usage? I may address this in the next week or so- it can be confusing.)

Why the small field? I prefer the small field because it forces the youth soccer player to gain some control on their passes and kicks. The field is smaller so if they continue to just boot the ball and hope a teammate gets in the way to receive it, they will find all that happens on the small field is that they give more out of bounds turn-overs. Games on smaller indoor turf fields are also a quicker moving game. This can benefit foot speed and touches for players. Games can be more physical and should help players learn to use the body better. I am not claiming that indoor small field turf play will magically transform your youth soccer player into a perfect first touch having, controlled pass giving, faster moving futballer. I am saying that the smaller field allows you to give the players an opportunity to focus on some technical skills that get overlooked during the season as you prepare the team for full field play and tactics.

Parents- the benefit for your to the indoor winter youth soccer league is that most locations have heat and concession stands. If your coach finds a very nice location, you may also find, field seating to comfortably watch the games or training sessions, as well as some places also have television. (In my house this is BIG especially for those Sunday games when someone I will not name can not understand why soccer is played when there are Football games playing on TV.) BE WARNED!! While there are heated and comfy locations, there are also locations with almost no seating or viewing areas and it is cold, cold, and cold even inside. This is NOT to say these locations are not nice or good. I am not commenting on the conditions of the turf or fields, this is strictly a paragraph dedicated to the comfort of the parent. As we all have learned over the years on Long Island Youth Soccer- what is most comfortable and convenient for the parent is NOT always what allows the best soccer conditions for training and play.

As with everything in life and youth soccer, you will have good turf fields and not so good turf fields. There will be futsal played on good gym floors and not so good gym floors. Some fields are large sized and some are small. You may find a location that offers enough room for all teams to warm up and wait for their game and you will find a location where no one fits and it is worse than shopping on Christmas Eve. The truth is that every team will find what works best for them and their players. I have yet to find a team, parent, coach, or location that everyone loved or everyone hated. Every place you go you will find someone who loves the place and someone who hates the place. Trust me- as a Youth Soccer Coach and parent for almost 9 years (or did I hit 9-years this season?) I have learned (repeatedly) everyone on a team will never be happy or satisfied at the same time. Every parent and player has a different level of commitment, tolerance, and wants.

For the parent who has a youth soccer player on a team that is not training or playing this winter, it is ok. Playing during the winter is NOT a requirement and does not affect the standings for Fall and Spring league play. If your child’s team is not taking part in activities this winter, but your player wants to continue to train, NY Red Bulls, LI Rough Riders, and most of the local Indoor Soccer facilities offer training and league play for players who are not with their team. You can email me for locations in your area or check the phone book or internet (yes I said phone book- I like paper.) My email is coachmommyli@gmail.com

So my question is: Are you ready for the Long Island Youth Soccer Winter 2013-14 Season? What are your team’s plans? Where will you really be Thanksgiving weekend and every weekend before and after Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, and Little Christmas? I know where I plan to be and will spend the next week firming my team’s plans and then waiting to hear from my kid’s Coaches. Enjoy the last 3 weeks of the season for LIJ and for NPL and NYCSL enjoy the last few games before the December break. Play well! Play hard! Play fair! Have fun! Stay warm! As always- please comment below and Like It! Share It! Follow It! (Coachmommyli is on Facebook and Twitter too!)

A Soccer Parent's Post: When Players Misbehave

2013-08-26T19:32:00.001-07:00

I recently posted on my personal Facebook account a thought on parenthood. I basically said that on Saturday I was ready to sell my children, but by Monday they had shown me that they were listening (sometimes) and I decided to keep them around. For the record- I would NEVER sell my children and I always love them. I am not always proud of their actions and can find myself embarrassed by their actions. I have been assured that all parents and their kids go through the same thing, so I am holding you all to that truth.

In my opinion, our first responsibility as parents is to raise our children to be socially responsible young people who know the value of respect, hard work, and have been given a good set of core values. Anything after that is icing on the cake. Youth sports (even soccer) are fun activities for the child and family. As I stated in last week’s post, these young children/young adults, are not robots and no one has complete control over their actions, emotions, or attitudes. (I KNOW- writing it was as big a shocker for me as it was for you to read!) It can be very difficult, as a parent, to sit on the sidelines and watch our child not perform well on the field. It can be even more difficult, as a parent, to sit on the sidelines and watch our child not behave on the field.

If you ever sit on the sidelines and put focus on the words and actions of those on the sidelines, it is easy to determine that soccer is a game of passion and emotions can sometimes run high. A thin line exists in youth soccer between the emotions and support of the parents and spectators being positive for the young soccer players and becoming negative for the young soccer players. I have sat at youth soccer games and the sidelines were quiet and positively supportive of both teams, and I have sat at youth soccer games where the sidelines were downright vicious, negative, and sometimes scary and violent. Personally, I have said things or gotten upset on the sidelines and allowed myself to be negatively affected by the game and I am not proud of those moments. I also have (the majority of the time) sat quietly on the sidelines and supported youth players from both teams. Attending the high number of youth soccer events as I have in the last 8 years, I have seen behaviors from many that is nothing short of shocking. I have pet peeves that include parents/coaches/players screaming at referees, asking referees to card players (especially for kids 13 years or younger), and parents or coaches directing comments or criticisms directly to young players.

This is a repetitive discussion regarding soccer parents, coaches, and other spectators. My intention with this post is that I wanted to discuss the feelings of a parent who sits on the sideline and sees his or her child make a poor choice on the field that includes either poor sportsmanship or giving up on the field. It is difficult enough to see our child wronged on the field, but I think for myself, it is more difficult for me to see my child make a bad choice on the field. Both of my children are passionate about soccer and are competitive (can’t imagine where they get that from-insert innocent face), and as difficult as it is for many adults on the sideline to control their intense feelings, it is even more difficult for young kids to always control themselves. Unfortunately, as a parent, I can often find embarrassment when my children make a poor choice on the soccer field. The field may be a small stage in life, but it is still a stage that we put our children on every week. We all hold these young kids to such a high standard and react so quickly when a foul is thrown, words are exchanged, or a young soccer player shows some attitude. We all seem to forget that they are all still kids, and even the teenagers are young, immature, and full of hormones. As adults, we seem to hold the youth soccer players on the field to a higher standard than we often hold ourselves, other parents, and even coaches on the sidelines.

I am not saying that we should give our kids a free pass to misbehave on the fields and shrug our shoulders as if to say “kids will be kids”. In fact, I started writing this post with the intention of complaining about my disrespectful kids on the soccer field. I am writing and realizing that now that I have come home, had 24-48 hours post-episode, and am writing about youth soccer, I am realizing that I think the larger picture is that we as soccer parents need to do differently. Let us all collectively take a deep breath, admit some honesty about the fact that none of our kids are perfect, and have a bit more (whole lotta more) patience, understanding, and tolerance on the sidelines. We still need to reprimand our children if they behave in poor sportsmanship, argue with a ref, engage in questionable exchanges of words with opposing players/coaches/parents, refuse to line up for handshakes after the game, or give up during a game out of anger or feelings of defeat. I also believe that, as parents and coaches of youth soccer players, we need to be more patient and tolerant and recognize that they are all just kids. Just as my kids have their off days and games, anyone else’s young soccer player can have off days also. It is not a testimony to poor parenting, coaching, or a “bad” kid, it is a testimony to the age, maturity, and inconsistent behavior and attitudes of anyone under the age of 60….I mean 20.

So let’s all take a deep breath, plug in our headphones, and chant for Zen as we watch the kids play their games of soccer. If that fails, duct tape and muzzles can always be purchased and brought to the fields. As always, Read It-Like It-Comment on It-Share It! Next week will be our review of the tournament son Long Island this past month. Please email me any thoughts or comments on the tournaments at coachmommyli@gmail.com.

2013-08-21T19:04:00.002-07:00

August is almost over and we have just 2 summer weekends left until school and the new fall youth soccer season begins. I am asking anyone who would like to contribute thoughts or experiences at a Long Island Youth Soccer tournament this past month to email me at coachmommyli@gmail.com. I would like to complete a review of August 2013 youth soccer tournaments on Long Island and would like it to be more comprehensive than just my opinion. Please reach out to me as a team manager, coach, or parent and share your thoughts, opinions, and experiences at any and all of the tournaments you attended that were held on Long Island this past month. It helps other teams in the future determine which tournaments they would like to take part in next year.

Unfortunately, I was not able to write and post my Labor Day tournament preview blog in time for teams to register for the tournaments. With the exception of a few open spots, both Long Island Labor Day tournaments have closed registration for 2013. I would like to share some information about each tournament for future reference for coaches and for parents who may be attending the tournaments for the first time this year. I am reaching out to Columbus Weekend Long Island Youth Soccer Tournament Directors this week and hope to have a preview posted by Labor Day weekend so that my preview can be used to help determine which tournaments your team will attend this year. If you have any experience at a Columbus Weekend tournament or are a Tournament Director, please email me so I can include information. I am also looking to purchase journal space in tournaments in an effort to spread my website.

For many years, Labor Day weekend was my gift to myself and my team’s parents. I never registered the team for a Labor Day tournament and figured we deserved a free weekend just before school started to relax and to get our school clothes and supply shopping done. Then, my son began being invited to guest play for an HBC team and thus began the loss of our 1 soccer free weekend of the summer. In an effort to appease my soccer parents, I decided to bring my team to HBC Labor Day tournament (since I was there for my son anyway) and this way I had less guilt when I stopped taking my team to a Columbus Weekend tournament so that I could travel out of state with my son and his team each October. This is to say that my experience with soccer on Labor Day weekend on Long Island has been limited to the “HBC Peter Renzulli Labor Day Tournament”. This is not to say that I recommend the HBC tournament over the “Oceanside Bob Schrager Memorial LI Cup”. Both tournaments are held by large Long Island soccer clubs and have been held for 20 years or more. (2013 is the 20th Annual Oceanside LI Cup and the 36th annual HBC Peter Renzulli tournament). I am actually very interested in attending the Oceanside tournament, and almost did register my team this year. Unfortunately, due to scheduling this August, I missed quite a few games of my son’s game due to my team attending a separate tournament and conflicting tournaments attended by my son’s teams. I informed my trainer that I needed one weekend this summer where both of my sons and my team were all at the same tournament.

When I reached out to Oceanside Soccer Club, they responded quickly and in a positive manner regarding my inquiry about the tournament in order to write a blog. (This is the number one reason I am following through with this pre-view: my guilt at not getting it written sooner after they were so supportive.) Oceanside is hosting a 2 day Labor Day weekend youth soccer tournament this year that will benefit the club’s scholarship fund for its players. This year, they are promising that every team will play their 3 guaranteed 50 minutes games in one day. By having all games for each team on one day, it allows us parents to still have 2 days of the holiday weekend to relax and prepare for school opening. Any other weekend of the year and I would say that I want the full weekend experience, but Labor Day weekend is that weekend each year we need to prepare for school and celebrate the end of our summer. This tournament offers awards to the 1st and 2nd placed teams in each age group bracket and offers a 3-ref system for all games U12-U17. There are multiple game sites, but many of the sites will have food vendors, including a deli catered offering at the fields for the U11 games.

HBC Soccer Club is offering a guaranteed 4 50 minutes games over two days this Labor Day weekend. All games are played on fields along the Nassau/Suffolk border and many have vendors on site. This tournament also offers 1st and 2nd place awards for each age bracket. Historically, the fields holding the same age group are within a 5 minute drive of each other, and the tournament seems to do a decent job of keeping brackets on the same field site each day, even if the sites differ from Saturday to Sunday. We have played on fields where there were food and soccer equipment vendors, and we have played on fields where there are no vendors.

Although I have only ever attended the HBC Labor Day weekend tournament, I believe it is safe to assume that both tournaments are equally well organized and run professionally. Both HBC and Oceanside Youth Soccer Clubs have been running these tournaments for years, are well experienced, and they are both GotSoccer tournaments with GotSoccer points awarded for U12 and older. I have never heard of a specific complaint regarding either tournament. (Keeping in mind that every coach, player, and parent is never going to be completely happy with any tournament they take part in.) I look forward to attending HBC and having every game I have to attend that weekend take part at fields that are within a 10 minute drive of each other, but I also hope that I receive feedback from some coaches and parents attending the Oceanside tournament as I am very interested in the experience.

Once again, I apologize that I was not able to get this post out prior to registration for the tournaments. I plan to have a post in the next 2 weeks to preview your options for Youth Soccer Tournaments on Long Island for Columbus Weekend. Please email me at coachmommyli@gmail.com any opinions and experiences that I can use to review this past month of soccer tournaments on Long Island. As always, please comment below and Read it-Like It-Share It-Subscribe to It!!

Responsibility of the Player

2013-08-19T10:28:00.002-07:00

As parents of youth soccer players, we need to take a good look at ourselves and do some self-evaluation. After we complete our self-evaluation, we need to then have a discussion with our youth soccer player and allow them to answer openly and honestly. The reality of youth soccer is that sometimes the blame, yes I said blame, must lie with the players. Listen quietly at the sidelines of most youth soccer games and you will hear a plethora of excuses and false blame for poor soccer. Often in the cross sights are the coach, trainer, club, certain players, parents of the other team, tournament directors, hotel staff, free continental breakfast lack of Wheaties, and Aroid. Yes, go ahead, take a moment and go back and reread the last sentence. Isn’t everything Aroids fault? Or is it the fault of his PR people? I digress, the first 4 or 5 of the list were legitimate and the most usual suspects taking blame on the sidelines of most youth soccer games. (Although, honestly, everything is always Aroid’s fault.)

The truth is that we are doing our children a disservice by constantly finding someone else to blame. Youth soccer players are not robots (oh how that would make my job as a soccer coach so much easier) and as such they have wills of their own with moods and the ability to have good games and bad games. They can and should be held accountable for their personal role in their play on the field. I said it last week and I will say it again, a coach and trainer (unless abusive or unreliable) should not be judged on a tournament, game, or even a season. Soccer is a year round sport, with a minimum of team commitment through Fall and Spring season, and it can take those seasons of time and experience to start seeing a change in players. In addition, a coach/trainer’s ability should not be judged on wins and losses. A parent needs to evaluate the play of the individual player and team and determine if they are improving. Sometimes, a team will improve and then gain or lose players or change their level of competition. All of this will change the team’s ability to win and lose games, but the reality is that they may be improving exponentially as players and as a team. It takes a knowledge of soccer and some realistic and fair reasoning to determine if your coach/trainer is effective regardless of if your child’s team is losing or winning games.

TRUTH SPOKEN HERE-------) Regardless of how much a coach yells or screams on the sideline (or doesn’t), the lineup he puts on the field, or the time and location of our games: our girls and boys CHOSE to PLAY or NOT PLAY each weekend. When this occurs there actually becomes nothing a coach can do to change the outcome on the field or motivate these players. I speak this with the experience of having seen his with my own team last weekend and having witnessed it with many other youth soccer teams throughout the years, and we will add in my years of experience of caring for kids both at home and professionally. Youth soccer and youth soccer players lack consistency.

(Here comes the lecture- allow me to get on my soapbox. Ahem...) You may be rolling your eyes and wondering what the point of practices, trainings, tournaments, etc etc etc, is if I am just going to tell you it all comes down to the inconsistent behavior of our kids.

First off: If we do not have our young soccer players join organized sports and possibly play at a competitive level, then they will not gain knowledge of team play and the corresponding social skills. In addition, they will not learn the soccer skill and knowledge of the game of soccer that they will need to exceed on the field when they are mentally committed to the game and playing in a manner consistent with the soccer they have been taught.

Second off: As long as our players are properly placed in a league that allows them the appropriate level of competition to their level and they have that outlet to fail and succeed with wins and loses appropriate to their skill level, they can only benefit from failure at other venues. In other words, repeatedly registering a D4 team in D1 will only destroy the team’s morale and have a negative impact. Allowing them to play a season in a higher division or attend tournaments with more competitive teams is not destroying their morale, it is giving them an opportunity to be exposed to a higher level of soccer that can help them improve their game.

Third off: Repeatedly taking a highly skilled team to competitive tournaments where they repeatedly lose is appropriate when they are losing because of their mentality and NOT because they lack the skill to win games at the tournament. In other words, just because a team repeatedly loses at games or tournaments does not mean that they are playing at a level that is too competitive. Teams that are playing teams that are at a comparable skill and competition level as them, but the team continues to not play well and loses at these tournaments or games must make a group decision. Either the coach, parents, and players will decide that they prefer the trophy and bragging rights that playing at a lower level will bring or they will decide that they will take the experience that comes with the losses, put the players on notice, and continue to work hard and attend the tough competition events until the players realize they need to play the way they were taught regardless of if the win will be easy or one they need to work to win. (Oh yes- it is fire and it is honest and it is not meant for every soccer girl or boy. I am referring specifically to the soccer player and team that is a little older and has dedicated themselves to a competitive level of soccer that has taken some years of training and commitment. This is for the soccer player that has soccer dreams- whether it's to be the best they can be, to play Varsity soccer, College level soccer, MLS, World Cup, or for Barcelona. The reality of the dream does not matter, it is the existence of the dream that matters.)

What does this all mean? To me, it means us soccer parents need to let the process work. Our kids may have soccer dreams and we will not destroy their dreams with reality, but to us we must realize that the reality is that while our kids are playing towards their soccer dreams, we are hoping they are realizing our parent dreams of them having fun while learning about hard work, the benefits of commitment, loyalty, teamwork, respecting authority, sore winning, sore losing, good winning, and good losing. All skills that help them on the soccer field will benefit them in being successful later in life, as long as we let them learn the lessons and not make excuses or try to soften the disappointment for them.

As always, please comment below. Share your thoughts, agreements, disagreements, and experiences. Read it-Like it-Subscribe to it-Share it!

A Coach's Rant: When a Loss is a Win and a Win is a Loss

2013-08-13T14:10:00.002-07:00

Last Sunday I quit soccer. I was hot, exhausted, frustrated, and informed my soccer partner in crime that I quit and would stay the season so not to leave the boys hanging. Interestingly enough, I was not the only coach I saw on the field that day having a similar moment. Within 15 minutes of my decision to hang up my coaching hat, I saw another coach throw a yelling and cursing temper tantrum and yet another one have a similar meltdown. Yet, at the end of the day, we all remained on the sidelines with our teams and finished out the tournament. I will even dare to assume that we will all show up at practice this week (although I can not tell a lie- today’s rain was a HUGE relief and by noon I was cancelling today’s practice.) The point of this coaching confessional is to maybe bring some light to the stresses of the Youth Soccer Coach and to remind ourselves (especially the parents who may have never experienced what a coach experiences). We are human and the long and hot days of summer tournaments are just as long and hot for us.

As coaches, we are standing on the firing line and working as we coach the young soccer players and hope that they are able to take the lessons we have tried to teach at practices and put them into play on the field, when it matters. As coaches, we are sheep herding between 12-18 young kids, dealing with referees, other coaches, scheduling and field issues AND very often having to do so without full support of the parents on the sidelines. Be honest, as parents, our instinct is to immediately blame the coach for any list of things on game and/or tournament day. These complaints may include: lack of parking, poor scheduling, games are too early (or late), too close together or too far apart, it is too hot (substitute cold, rainy, windy etc), the competition is too hard (or easy), the fields not well maintained, food too expensive, the team is not playing well, and the referees do not know the game. Unfortunately, the magic ball I was given 8 years ago when I first volunteered as a Long Island Youth Soccer Coach never worked after the first game and I am still waiting for my replacement. I have heard there is a 6 million year backorder at the “Magic Soccer Ball” company that is used by all Long Island Youth soccer coaches, so until the backorder is filled, we rely on research, word of mouth, hard work, and blind luck or bad luck when choosing which tournaments to take our teams to attend. Sometimes we get the tournament right AND our young soccer players perform well and the parents are happy, and sometimes we are struck by lightening while the tournament sucks and the kids play like we do nothing but play video games at practice.

My son’s coach has an EXCELLENT rule, and I have tried and failed (my own fault) at implementing it with my team. The rule is that the Coach will not discuss games or tournaments with ANYONE until 48 hours AFTER a game. The time delay allows everyone time to refuel after the game and allows everyone time to cool any emotions and rethink any arguments, complaints, or emotional suggestions they may have. It is not that Coaches are bad people or that parents are evil, and it is not that every team is dysfunctional. The truth is that youth soccer is, right or wrong, emotional. Not only is the process physical and exhausting for coaches and soccer players, but the parents also give a lot to get themselves, their player, and the rest of the family, where they need to be at the soccer fields. In addition, most people are passionate about sports and their kids and youth soccer on Long Island combines both. There is also a new emotion that is growing among some coaches as the climate of youth soccer on Long Island changes. Long Island Youth Soccer has been moving away from volunteer coaches and towards paid coaches and trainers who dedicate their time and experience to the kids, but they are financially compensated for what they do. There still exists the Volunteer Coach who does the same thing (and often more as they will also do Team Manager duties) as the Paid Coach, but the Volunteer Coach is only compensated with the happiness and gratitude of the soccer players and their parents. So on these long and hot weekends when NO ONE is happy, volunteer coaches have very little to take away at the end of the weekend. In fact, most will leave the fields feeling the added pressure of unhappy parents. The epitome of “Thankless job”.

Personally, I believe that we all need to take a step back and breathe on any given day at the soccer fields. In addition, I think that we need to view soccer and our kids as an experience of youth and not place such value on individual games, tournaments, or even seasons. Sometimes it takes a year or more to get a team to a better place. The key is to determine if the team is making improvements and what is the behavior and vision of the coaches. Cut the coaches a break and just go along for the ride and if something repeatedly occurs that concerns you, then approach them on a non-game day and discuss your concerns. Also, keep an open mind, a loss can be a win for a team just as a win can be a loss for a team. The final score and trophy is not alway the same story,

Now, I know, I have admitted to quitting and “losing” it this weekend and now I am saying that a loss can be a win and a win can be a loss. You must be thinking this chick is nuts! Before you call the padded wagon and unsubscribe, let me explain.

This past weekend, I agreed to let my team play a year up in a weaker division. It did not appear that we fit well with the other teams in our age and would not benefit by beating up on lower division teams our age or by being beat up by the more skilled teams in our age group. I rationalized that as many of our boys would be trying out for school ball in the next few weeks with kids in the older age group, we could actually benefit from the play time against the older teams. Long story short, it backfired for the first 3 teams and we played HORRIBLY. My boys were intimidated and did not perform to their personal ability. It was to the point that I had a player leave prior to the last game and I heard whispers of forfeit for the last game. Then it happened, what I hoped would happen. Our last game started physical and our boys woke up. We still lost, but they had more energy and showed more ability in that last game than they had in the prior 3 games combined. At halftime of that last game, I asked my boys if they played soccer because they loved the game or for a trophy. They all energetically answered that they played for the love and were anxious to get back on the field. I believe that my boys learned a valuable life lesson this past weekend. Although they gave up the first 3 games, by the 4th game they learned why we never give up and that the size of the other team did not have to matter. In addition they learned to find enjoyment in playing even if they are not winning. Would I purposely put my boys in that situation? No. Will I do everything to keep it from happening again? Yes. BUT, my boys learned that not every game or tournament will be perfect, but we must still work as a team and find the fun in the game and “leave it all on the field”. This weekend gave us a lesson in when a loss is truly a win.

On the flip side, my son’s team was dominating their bracket and winning BIG all day Saturday. They had 1st place in a lock and played great soccer. Then Sunday came and it all changed. The team appeared to have no ability to put the ball in any net, almost every player was playing flat, and in the last game they began to panic and stopped playing good soccer and were not playing as a team. Thus making the hurt worse as the opposition (a younger and weaker team) took advantage. (Yes, I sat watching on the sidelines thinking if only the parents of my team could see the younger team who had lost every game not only beat, but embarrass the team that had been in first place.) The irony is that my son’s team was not the only team that fell apart that day and they won 2nd Place and saw the other top contender fall to 3rd as a team that did not win on Saturday took 1st Place as Tournament Champions. In my opinion, one of the ugliest bracket wins with 3 of 4 teams having 6 points and the placement determined by “Head to Head” competition results. The last place team lost with 3 points, and I don’t think any of the top 3 teams should be happy with their overall play for the weekend. In all fairness, it was one of the first major tournaments in the area since last June, and we can all expect rust and the some summer time lazy. All in all, as my son and his friends celebrated their 2nd place win, I couldn’t help but cringe as I thought about the fact that they were over celebrating bad soccer and the luck of the draw. To me, it was a situation where a win was a loss. The team may have won the right to say they took 2nd Place and another trophy, but they did not learn anything about good soccer that weekend and in fact were rewarded for poor play.

In my mind, this is probably my most controversial post to date and I have a voice in my head suggesting that I take another day or so to recover from the weekend before posting it. The truth is that even if I take a day and convince myself it is a bit much to post, the truth of what I have written will not change, in my opinion. I urge anyone who agrees or disagrees or thinks I have gone round that bend- please comment and let us get a conversation started. I think there are many times that Coaches need to be checked, but I also think that many times parents need to take an extra moment also. I have been on both sides of the fence and have been both right in my actions as a coach and a parent, but I have also been wrong as a coach and wrong as a parent. I try very much to not let the opinions of unhappy parents upset me and I try very hard to not comment as a parent, but sometimes my being a human gets in the way. Please as always- Comment-Like It-Share It-Subscribe to it!

Are You Properly Preparing Your Youth Soccer Player?

2013-08-01T16:43:00.002-07:00

By all apparent indicators- I am failing miserably at this blog stuff. I have not only NOT kept true to my intentions of 2 posts a week, but I also have not even posted in the last 2 weeks OR updated my Facebook and Twitter. I can only apologize and hope that the money I have spent on a new Chrome Notebook and Blackberry will mean that my technological woes are behind me. I am PLANNING to make Wednesday my post day and plan to do a weekend post as I attend the many tournaments in the next few weeks and then the start of our seasons. It is my intention that the Wednesday posts will be where I include researched topics and resources, while my weekend posts will be more geared towards my thoughts and experiences with Long Island Youth Soccer that weekend. That in itself will give me material for YEARS! I figure, as my emotions vary each post soccer game weekends, these posts will vary from angry rants, amused observations, embarrassed apologies, to boastful gloats (just kidding- I would never gloat). Since I have already spent too much time away from my topic tonight, let me just also state that it is not my intention to imitate any other youth soccer outlets or be something that I am not. I do not profit from this blog and do not plan to profit from this blog. I DO plan to use my experience here to create another blog that will be a professional blog that ties into an online “Interview Skills” course I am creating, but for the purpose of this blog for Long Island Youth Soccer, my only intent is to share my experiences, information, resources, and stories for the benefit of other youth soccer coaches, team managers, and parents. I hope you enjoy what I have to say and share and as always encourage comments and ask that you share this site with others. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post...

It seems that in the last month, both of my son’s coaches and I have discussed acceptable expectations for players and parents. In addition, I have ranted with my trainer and to some of my parents about what I should be able to expect as a coach from my players and their parents. Recently, I received a mass email from Long Island Junior Soccer that highlighted a conversation with the Coach of the new BU 16 National Champions Smithtown Arsenal and discussed the sacrifices his players and parents made and how he felt it was the difference in his team being able to win the title. (Are you picking up on a theme here?) YES!! The sacrifices that the Arsenal Coach attributed to his team’s win, are the SAME sacrifices that we all felt our players and parent’s need to make. (Imagine that.)

To me, the sacrifices (personally, I think that is a strong word- I prefer common sense choices- but many would probably take offense to that) make sense and once a Coach makes the request, the parents and players who are spending their time and money to play Youth Soccer would have no problem abiding by the coach’s requests. I am finding, unfortunately more and more, as a Youth Soccer Coach and mom, that even at a high level of soccer and travel soccer, the level of commitment varies greatly. This is extremely frustrating to the parents, players, and coaches who are willing to make the “sacrifices”. I will still never understand why parents would pay the money to have their child involved in “Premier” level and/or Travel youth soccer and not make the commitment of time and whatever else is expected by the coach they are trusting to coach their child.

At this point, you are either nodding your head in full agreement and muttering along with me, OR you are re-reading the post and asking yourself “What is she talking about? What sacrifices?” So, in order that we can all be on the same page, let me back up and ask some questions for you to answer (honestly- you are in the privacy of your own space):

1. What time prior to games does your child’s soccer coach expect you and your child to be at the field?

What time do you and your child actually arrive to the field?

Most coaches should expect their players to arrive to any playing field a minimum of 1 hour prior to game time in order to ensure time to properly prepare the team for the game. (The Arsenal coach states that his team showed up atleast 90 minutes prior to gametime and the opposing team showed up only 45 minutes prior to the game.)

2. When travelling (or home), what time does your coach expect your child to be in bed the night before a game? (Usually, curfew is only put in effect when travelling out of state for tournaments).

What time do you actually put your child to bed?

Personally, I LOVE when my son’s Coach gives a curfew because it makes him the bad guy when I tell my son “Coach said...”. I also feel this way, because I WANT my child in bed by 8 or 9 pm the night before a game. Even the night before afternoon games because I want them up early enough to be alert for the game. So when his teammates are hanging out in the hotel at 10:30pm and Coach has not given a curfew, I do feel like a bad guy and will often wimp out and let him hang out with the teammates for the bonding experience. (The Arsenal coach states that his team of BU16 players willingly agreed to an 8 or 9pm curfew.)

3. What do you feed your youth soccer player prior to a game or between games at a tournament?

This one has driven me BATTY for years. YES, I agree, it makes little sense why the Tournament committees have vendors who sell only fried and greasy food and candy, and offer bouncy rides and other activities to distract and exhaust our players. Here is the thing....repeat this out loud 3 times: “Drink this water and eat this light sandwich and fruit now and after you play hard you can get a snack and go on a ride before we go home (to hotel).” It seems so simple and makes so much sense. Our young soccer players and their coach have trained and practiced for months for these games and tournaments, but yet us parents who have shelled out the training money and time to go to practices and to this tournament, will torpedo ALL the work and sacrifice by allowing our kids to eat junk and run around like maniacs prior to the games (or in between games).

We then send our players to the coach with full bellies, not properly hydrated, and exhausted from their excursions between games, and we stand on the sidelines in disbelief (and sometimes questioning the effectiveness and soccer knowledge of the coach) when the players are slow and seem “uninterested” in playing.

Any athlete should begin drinking water to hydrate the night before a game and atleast 1 hour prior to a game. They should eat a light snack or fruit 2-3 hours prior to game time and should have adequate sleep and be woken atleast 2 hours prior to when they need to leave home or hotel. Some of you are laughing and thinking this is extreme, but I challenge you to try it a few times and see the outcome. How can we go wrong teaching our kids to eat healthy and get rest?

As a Youth Soccer Coach, I can go on and on and on, but I will not. If you think I am extremist or the only soccer maniac to think this way, try printing this and showing it to your child’s soccer coach. Ask your child’s soccer coach what they think of what I have written. I can say with complete honesty that the same things that I shared above have been repeated by many coaches. I often chuckle to myself and allow a small sigh of relief that it is not just “my” parents and soccer players who need the same lecture. (Although it is even more amusing when I hear the speech given by the Coach of my son’s competition as opposed to one of their Soccer Coaches). I found it fitting that the conversation with the Smithtown National Champion’s Coach came out as we enter our month of Youth Soccer tournaments and found it a perfect segway into this conversation. Somewhere a Long Island Youth Soccer Coach is reading this and trying to figure out how to get their parent’s to read it without offending them. Good luck to all of our young soccer player’s this month as we prepare for School Ball and the Fall Long Island Youth Soccer season!

As always, please comment below. Share It-Comment-Like It-Subscribe and Follow It!

August Youth Soccer Tournaments- Info and Team Management

2013-07-19T12:33:00.001-07:00

As I laid in bed last night unable to sleep due to this oppressive heat we are dealing with on Long Island, I experienced a moment of pure panic as I realized it is already July 19^th. Not only are we well into the heart of summer, but I realized that I had not yet gotten this post about August tournaments written for you AND that MY Soccer Team Manager had not yet registered my team for our August tournaments. I WISH that I could fire my team manager, she has been increasingly unreliable the last few months, and I am not willing to be an understanding employer who realizes she is recovering from major back surgery. NO! I expect my Team Manager to be organized, prepared, and making sure that we are registered and all paperwork is in order in a timely fashion prior to our tournaments. I want the same commitment from MY team’s Team Manager that my son’s Team Manager gives. Now, if you have been paying attention to my blog, you are scratching your head in complete confusion. If you are new to my blog, I probably just sound like a true “B”. Everyone rest assured, we will blame the heat and my need for additional medication the last few days. I am my Team’s Coach and Team Manager (although I have a Team Parent who handles the money). In addition, I am taking on more and more Team Managerial responsibilities for my older son’s team and have had my hand in preparation and Travel arrangements for the Team’s June NJ tournament trip and our upcoming August PA trip. The point of my poor attempt at humor is that not only are we deep into Summer Youth Soccer Tournament Season, but some of us are very unprepared and the most overlooked but probably most valuable person on the Youth Soccer Team is the Team Manager.

I taught myself about Team Management and tournaments and what it takes to prepare a team for different events. Our discussion of the role of Team Manager will be ongoing and I will begin a “Team Manager Diary” for others to follow as guidance. In this blog, I will share with you information I have gathered on Upcoming Youth Soccer Tournaments on Long Island. There isn’t much time left to register, but in case it is helpful, please read and learn about some of the local tournaments coming up on Long Island in August 2013. This post will NOT take a look at every tournament available. Due to my lack of better planning, I am only mentioning tournaments that either my team has registered at this year or that one of my son’s teams is registered at this year. In other words, I will be at each of these tournaments at SOME point (I hope gas prices finally go down for all the driving I will be doing next month.) I am including basic info and contact information so that if it is a tournament of interest, you can reach out to the tournament with questions. Also, most of the tournaments have been around for YEARS and while it may be too late to get your team into some of the tournaments, you can also use the information to prepare for next summer. Please feel free to comment below with any experiences you have had at the tournaments, but please let’s keep it positive. It is ok to comment on a bad experience, but let us try to keep it in a polite manner.

LONG ISLAND YOUTH SOCCER TOURNAMENTS AUGUST 2013

(A minimalist look at local Youth Soccer Tournaments)

Aug. 3^rd/4^th LI Rough Riders BEACH BASH: 1 Day (Sat 8/3) - Jones Beach, NY; U8-U15, HS and Adult Divisions, REGISTRATION ENDS SOON! (7/20^th date Sold Out), $295, 3 games (3 10-min periods, 5v.5) **THIS IS A BEACH SOCCER EVENT AND LIMITED ROSTER SIZE AND DIFFERENT RULES)**

Email: Tournaments@liroughriders.com- Although I have never been to a Beach Tournaments, I have heard GREAT things about them and you already know I believe the Rough Riders run some of the most competitive and well organized tournaments in the area. I am looking forward to attending and seeing how Beach Soccer works on Long Island.

Auburndale Soccer Tournament: 1 Day but can be scheduled 8/3 or 8/4- Randall’s Island, NY; U8-U10 $300, U11-U15 $350, 3 games guaranteed, Registration EXTENDED to 7/21/13.

Info: www.Auburndalesoccerclub.org –Although not technically taking place on Long Island, it is close enough and as I will be there at some point, I included it in our list. I have never attended this tournament, but I have been to games at Randall’s Island and I enjoy the fields and the view of Manhattan. It is a busy area and can be difficult to move through the maze of roads. It will be an interesting experience, but one I look forward to attending.

Aug. 10^th/11^th West Islip Fun In The Sun: 2 Day (8/10&8/11)- West Islip, NY; U9-U11 $395, U12-U15 $435, Guaranteed 4 50 minute games, Trophies 1^st & 2^nd place, Player gift all players, REGISTRATION DEADLINE: 7/31/13

Info: www.westislip.com or Email: Jklfire6@aol.com – I have never done the West Islip tournament before and I believe (may be wrong) it is one of the newer tournaments in August. I do know they have been running the tournament for at least a few years. The West Islip Fun In The Sun runs up against the larger and longer running East End Tournament, but I know that I am looking forward to attending a tournament that is closer to home. I have never heard any negative comments about the tournament and am looking forward to a new experience. I do know that this tournament was the first to respond to my request for information and as you all know I love when members of this Youth Soccer Community Support each other. It is a large market and the more options we have, the better for the kids. If we all support each other it only benefits the kids and Youth Soccer on Long Island.

East End Tournament: 2 Day (8/10&8/11)- William Floyd School Fields, Mastic, NY; U9-U11 $400, U12-U17 $450, REGISTRATION ENDS SOON!

Info: www.eastendsoccertournament.com or email robzecha@eastendsoccertournament.com – This was the first major tournament I ever did with my team and I was a mess in regards to paperwork and planning the day and helping my parents to understand what to expect. It was a HORRIBLY hot weekend and I basically ran in all directions as a coach new to Youth Soccer Tournaments. The fields and tournament tents are placed in an immense plot of land and you must come prepared to walk. They do a decent job of scheduling the games on fields that are close together, but every once in a while you do get that game scheduled on the field clear across the complex. The first year, I was miserable and lost and swore I would never do the tournament again. As a coach, I was overwhelmed and this is one reason it is so important to do your homework prior to tournament days. The one thing I could not complain about was that the staff and volunteers working the tournament were helpful. Last year my team and my older son’s team attended the tournament and it was a better experience because I was better prepared. I can say that the staff is attentive (I had just been injured and they made sure there was a golf cart waiting for me to take me between fields and they offered that, it was not a request of mine.) This is a long running and known tournament in Long Island Youth Soccer and the level of competition has always been high. At the same time, there was appropriate competition in a lower bracket that was perfect for my lower division team and good competition for my son’s team in a higher bracket. The awards ceremony was organized and I think we all had a good weekend. For my team, it was a long drive, but the competition we faced made the drive worth it. And I lied above, I will enjoy having a short drive to West Islip, but I still have to travel to East End for 2 other teams. This will be a long weekend, but the concessions and the promise of 2 tournaments full of soccer will make it worth it!

Aug. 17^th/18^th: Long Island Rough Riders Kick-Off Classics: 1 Day (Sat. 8/17)Plainview Soccer Park, Plainview, NY; U7-U10: 8V8 $395, U12-U14 + HS: 11V11 $425, REGISTRATION ENDS SOON!

Info: www.liroughriders.com Email: tournaments@liroughriders.com – This is the 4^th year that the Rough Riders have held this Kick-Off Classic in August, but I have never attended. Unfortunately, I will be out of state with my older son’s team this weekend and am sending Ace Reporter/Correspondent and Soccer mom stand-in “Grandpa” to attend the tournament with my little guy (first time ever I have missed a tourney- it will be rough). Even though I have no experience with this tournament, I again have high expectations and will recommend a Rough Rider tournament 10 times over. My experience is of a knowledgeable, professional, helpful, and organized staff. Great concession and I like the Plainview fields. The fields are decent grass fields and there is room for teams to warm up, specific team and separate parent areas, and everything are in a manageable walking area. I look forward to getting my report back and hearing the experience from a third party.

Aug. 24^th/25^th: 35^th Annual East Meadow Soccer Tournament: (formerly Covanta Cup) 2 Days (8/24&8/25), Assorted Fields East meadow area, NY; U8-U11 &625, U12 and above $775. This tournament registration ended this year and usually Sells Out. I am including as I will be there with 2 teams this year and it is one of the most well-known Youth Soccer Tournaments on Long Island in August. This tournament is known for having high competition and I recommend considering it for next year.

Info: www.eastmeadowsoccer.com

This takes us through the month of August for Youth Soccer Tournaments on Long Island. There are other tournaments, but these are the ones that I am most familiar with and I will be at every tournament listed above this year. I love tournaments so I am excited for so much soccer and to have so many tournament experiences in such a short time to get an idea of how each one really compares. If you are affiliated with another tournament during this time, please contact me at coachmommyli@yahoo.com and I would love to hear about your tournament and add the information in the next few days, Also, I can put information on my Facebook (Facebook.com/coachmommylongisland) and Twitter (Twitter.com/coachmommyli) pages (make sure you like and follow!) Please comment below check back in the next few days. Time is running out for Labor Day tournaments and I will be looking at the HBC and Oceanside Labor Day Tournaments. As always, please share your thought below and: Read It-Like It-Share It-Subscribe to It-Comment!

CoachMommyLongIsland Review: LI Rough Riders FREE Youth Goalie Clinic

2013-07-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

What is the one position on the soccer field that brings the most fear to parents? The position is that of goalie. Not only is it a position in which we must watch players kick balls at our children and watch our children go head first into player’s cleats, but it is also a high stress position. There is nothing more difficult than sitting on the sideline with all of the other parents from the team, after your child has been scored on. Also, many of us want to see our child running on the field, scoring goals, and learning skill and interacting with other teammates throughout the game instead of standing by their lonesome in the net.

As a coach, I have spent many years trying to convince players and their parents that it is a smart move to have their child train to play as a goalie. Almost every season I would have the same conversation with the team and parents explaining that by learning to play goal, it was in fact a great opportunity for the player: as a decent goalie will always have a team to play for since goalies are in short supply. The conversation almost always ended with me having to the threaten the team and their parent s that if someone did not volunteer to play in goal then EVERY player would take a turn in goal since we could not field a soccer team with no goalie. Not only myself, but almost every youth soccer coach out there is always on the lookout for a skilled (or even “kinda skilled”) youth soccer goalie to snatch up for our team. I was always privately relieved that my son’s did not play in goal…until my little guy not only announced last season that he wanted to play goalie for his team, but he then proceeded to become a MONSTER in the net. A monster with some good instincts, but he had very little knowledge of how to be a goalie.

Needless to say, when I received the email this past June about the free Goalie clinic being offered by the Long Island Rough Riders prior to one of their Men’s home games, I jumped on the opportunity to not only get my son some quality introduction to Youth Soccer Goalie 101, but I knew we would enjoy the Men’s Soccer Game that followed the training. And let’s be completely honest…FREE is always my favorite price. So, I not only responded to the email to sign my son up for the FREE Clinic, but I sent the email to my good friend, who has a son who plays in goal (he bought the hype one season when I gave my goalie lecture and is now a great goalie for another higher level team), and I sent the information to the father of the goalie for my team. I then purchased tickets for the rest of the family to attend the game and we waited for the night to come.

I cannot tell a lie; I am not sure who was more excited, I or my son. I have to say the one reason I never voiced my objection to my little guy playing in goal is because of his passion for the position. Last fall, he was a meek field player who could not seem to find his confidence or way on the field and spent most of his games on the sidelines, and I could not object to his lack of playing time. This past Spring, once he got into the net as a goalkeeper, he became this soccer kid who was excited to get to games and became one of the most aggressive goalkeepers for his age I have ever seen. He received some training in goal, but as I said, I like the kids to get a variety of training and the LI Rough Riders Free Goalie Clinic was a great opportunity.

Dressed in his long sleeve goalie jersey and long goalie pants, with his turf cleats and Gatorade (epic fail for me as the rules specifically said Water Only and no Gatorade in St. Anthony’s gym) and we were off to St. Anthony’s High School for the clinic. Upon arrival, we checked in and headed into the gym with parents and spectators in the stands and Goalie keepers aged 9(ish) to 13(ish) on the field. As the players were lined up, the clinic began with a discussion about proper goalie equipment AND care for the equipment. I thought this was a great conversation to have, especially with the parents in ear shot, as many parents and coaches overlook the added extra expense for goalkeepers and their families. As the parent of a goalkeeper, I found it very informative to learn about the proper care of goalie gloves and how to maintain the gloves and clean them. (They can be washed, but they need to be washed with enough time prior to game and practices so that they can properly dry. A tip was to place them between 2 towels to help squeeze excess water from the gloves in order to expedite the drying process.) I know as a parent and coach, I always cringe when I see a soccer player of any age thrown in net without proper gloves or protection for their arms and legs. A player that is used to playing in goal will become accustomed to the feel of having to get down on the ground or turf to make saves, and their body becomes used to it. These players can begin to choose if they want to wear long sleeve/legged protective gear or short length (although for youth I ALWAYS recommend long sleeve protective shirts). Soccer players who are given nothing but a different colored tee and no gloves are being done a disservice by their coach and put at risk. I believe every coach should carry 1-2 pairs of Goalie gloves in their bag in case they ever need to sub a non-goalie in to the game.

(stepping off soap box and reminding self I have a blog to write)

After the equipment care discussion, as the players began a soft catch with their ball and the trainers, the question was asked about which animal the favorite animal of all goalies is (or should be). I will not give away the answer and spoil it for future clinics, but I will say think stealth and quick. Soon, the group was split into a group of the older goalies and the younger goalies and they began working on drills. As they worked on the drills, which focused on ball recovery, quick movement, and following instructions, the main trainer also taught the young soccer goalies about the different types of catches (a “W” and a “Basket”). Can anyone comment below and tell us the most effective catch of the two? I will give you a hint: it is the catch that requires 8 different body parts being in contact with the ball. Comment below to share your answer. In addition, they young goalies were taught the “Cobra” technique, which is the best goalie stop when faced with a “50/50” ball on a breakaway. (FINALLY! Someone taught my son the safe way to go aggressive on the ball.) The goalkeeper must have strong hands and get out to the ball on the ground with her/his body on back shoulder, head down, and hands and wrists over the ball with ball contact with hands, wrists, inner arms, and body. (See side picture). The most interesting part of the training was that the players did all of their training and drills without ever getting in the net and were able to learn that they can train and practice without a net. Although the initial training was to last about 1.5 hours with a competition at half-time of the game, the game start was delayed and the kids got almost an extra hour of free training. The clinic included free entrance to the game for the goal keepers (and discounted tickets for the families). During the game, the goalies all sat together with the trainers and were able to continue to learn as they watched the game and discussed the moves of the goalies. At half-time, the goal keepers went down to the field and took part in a competition to show off everything they learned in training. It was not only an educational, but also a FUN night for the kids and families.

My favorite part of the training was that in addition to the skills training and lessons about equipment care, the trainers also spoke to the goalkeepers about goalies being the heartbeat of the team. It was explained to the kids that goalies must be strong and never show weakness because the team will watch the goalie and react to his actions. The trainers made it clear to the kids that they were to never put their hands on their knees or put their heads down, or cry when a goal is scored. In addition, the goalies were taught that they must be the voice of the team on the field. As a coach, everything that I want my goalie to know was taught at the training. It was a well-rounded training for youth soccer goal keepers.

In this case, free did not mean low quality. The clinic was not only exceptionally informative and taught appropriately for the age levels of soccer players that attended, but the trainers taught in a way that was fun for the kids, while also being “no-nonsense” and maintaining high expectations for the behavior and actions of all the young participants. I give a 5 goal salute to the LI Rough Riders for the Goalkeeper Clinic and look forward to future programs. Well done!

Please feel free to comment or share your experience below, even if it was different than mine. Also if you know the answers to the above questions- please share! Coming soon is a look at the upcoming Summer Tournaments for August. Where is your team going? As always: Read It-Like It-Share It- Comment-Subscribe to It and FOLLOW US on Facebook and Twitter!

"Coachra" v. "Momzilla"

2013-07-11T20:35:00.003-07:00

Coachra: “THAT” coach, appears to have lost all common sense on the sidelines, yelling and out of control, argues with referees, opposing coaches, players, and parents (n. coachro (masc.)

Momzilla: “THAT” soccer mom, can be a yelling and argumentative mess on the sidelines and/or at practices/team meetings (n. Dadzillo is male counterpart)

Yep! It is finally here…the much promised and anticipated “COACHRA v. MOMZILLA” (Godzilla fans anyone?). Every soccer field has them and the majority of the time they provide great entertainment to the saner (notice the use of “saner” and not completely “sane”) youth soccer parents and coaches. The epic battle takes place weekly and, with the right sense of humor, has us thankful our kids aren’t on “that” team. Unfortunately, the “Momzilla”/”Coachra” disease IS contagious and spreads quickly- often creating multiple irrational “zillas” running amuck on our kids soccer fields. My advice is if you come across a “Coachra” or “Momzilla”- RUN!!

Fortunately, if we find the “Coachra” is on our kid’s soccer team sideline every week, we can move away at the end of the season. If we find run across a “Coachra” on the opposing team’s sideline, we can find humor in the “Coachra’s” behavior, as long as it is not directed at our players. There are two kinds of “Coachras”. I know of a “Coachra” who makes regular appearances at one of my son’s games and know that he is harmless. On our sideline we are able to laugh and joke when the “Coachra” comes out. This “Coachra” is dramatic and passionate on the sideline, but he/she is NOT vicious or mean spirited. When this “Coachra” appears, we throw our hands in the air and joke it is time to go to “Soccer Church”. Another “Coachra” is, fortunately, more difficult to find, but extremely poisonous and harmful. This “Coachra” can either spend time berating his/her own players without offering constructive coaching/criticism, repeatedly cry and complain to the referee, and in worst case situations negatively comment or try to engage opposing players. “Coachra” can bring out the “Coachra” in the opposing coach by repeatedly accusing opposing players of “dirty” play, call opposing players names , repeated claims against the opposing team to the referee, and these actions can lead to face offs between “Coachras” on the sideline.

A true “Coachra” is a dangerous animal. I have seen a true “Coachra” bring out the “Coachra” in some of the best and most calm Coaches. The danger in a Youth Soccer “Coachra” is that when he/she goes after opposing players, the opposing Coach and parent have the natural instinct to morph into a “Coachra” or “Zilla” to protect the child. For me, the most amusing interactions of a “Coachra” is when he/she wakes the “MechaReferee” and the banter turns to calls against the “Coachra’s” team and the dangerous “yellow” and “red” weapons known on the fields as cards.

I have found that the most dangerous of all Youth Soccer monsters is the “Momzilla”. A close second is the ever present and just as loud “Dadzillo”, but experience has shown while the “Dadzillo” can be loud and overbearing, he has nothing on the sneaky and vicious “Momzilla”. “Momzilla” will cut your throat, kick you in the shin, and morph back into “mom” in the blink of an eye. Now, we will find “Momzilla” at any game, and the truth is any Soccer Mom can have (and will have) a “Momzilla” moment. Sometimes, “Momzilla” will surface to yell at her own child’s lack of effort or smart play on the field and this is a distraction to the player. I am guilty of this infraction and was put in place by my little guy when he informed me at a tournament a few weeks ago “You are distracting me”. Little sucker put me in my place and I couldn’t even say anything- he’s right.

The dangerous “Momzilla” is going to strike fast and hard and shows her fangs when she feels her child has been attacked. This “Momzilla” will go after parents, opposing players, and even the “MechaReferee”. A sharp tongue and the ability to grow a foot in all directions when provoked define the “Momzilla’s” Super Powers. She will cut you down, put you in your place, and take a bullet (or a fist) for her soccer player. Once a “Momzilla” has morphed to this level of “Zilla”, there is very little rationale left in her mind and she must be dealt with in a cautionary and soothing way. Remove this “Zilla” from the situation and soothe. **Warning: ALL Soccer Moms are capable of momentary morph into this “Momzilla”** This “Momzilla” is different from the more common “Momzilla” and this one should be given some slack after the fact as if we are honest, we will usually find this behavior was out of character for the offending “Momzilla” and was a response to her perceiving a severe threat to her soccer child. This slack should not be given to the “Momzilla” who wears her fangs at every game.

Lastly, we have the Coach’s nightmare “Momzilla”. This is the “Momzilla” who, usually, does not have a realistic understanding of the game but believes that she knows more than the coach. This “Momzilla” makes a nuisance of herself on the sidelines every week and to the coach before games, after games, and in worst case, during games. Listening to this “Momzilla” will have the average soccer parent wondering why her child remains on the team that she vocalizes is so poorly coached. “Momzilla” will expect the coach to play her child in the position that she wants and for the time that she feels is appropriate. Every decision the coach makes will be questioned by “Momzilla” and usually argued. Although “Momzilla” believes she is advocating for her child, the truth is that soccer players with this kind of “Zilla” for a mom or dad actually suffer because of their parents’ interference. A secret I will share with you is that Coaches and trainers talk and the existence of a “Parentzilla” is information we share with each other. Often, regardless of a player’s skill, if their parent’s “Zilla” rating is too high, this player may lose opportunities. This “Momzilla’s” fangs are invisible and the most damage she causes is the knife wounds in the back of the coach and other players and parents on her child’s team.

I have tried to make light of what is in reality a very real and most disgusting part of Youth Soccer. Having travelled to numerous out of state competitions, I can say the epidemic is not only on Long Island. This is not actually a good thing. As a 13-year-old soccer player, I remember to this day a game being stopped when an opposing father and one of the 13-year-old girls on my team got into a brawl during the game. She was a big girl and actually held her own, but the truth is she was 13 and a grown man let a Youth Soccer game get to the point that he had a physical altercation with a child and probably ended up messing up his life with criminal charges and proceedings (I hope anyway). Fast forward 20 years and the same things go on in Youth Soccer today. I have been at games where the police had to be called to break up conflicts between parents, coaches, and players. In addition, I have seen kids brought to tears by the words of their parents on the sidelines and have seen coaches scream at their youth players as if they were robots.

A few years ago, I felt that I was getting into arguments with opposing coaches almost every game. I truly believe it had more to do with the fact that I am a woman coach and would be tested. When I stood my ground and went toe to toe with these coaches, many could not handle that behavior from a woman. There is often a noticeable difference in the attitudes of opposing coaches when my male trainer attends games. I have grown as a coach and do not let the behaviors and attitudes get to me as much and have taken my personal “Coachra” down many notches. She still exists, but does not make the appearances she used to. In fact, some parents approached me last year and felt I had become too docile on the sidelines and they did have a point.

It is a fine line to walk as a coach to teach, protect, and encourage our team with our words and actions on the sideline without over stepping the line into the behavior of a “Coachra”. As I said, every coach will have a “Coachra” moment; it is to be determined how often these moments occur. My worst “Coachra” moment was the “Diet Soda Incident”. I became so wrapped up in an intense game that when we gave up the winning goal with barely any time left in the game I threw my bottle of “Diet Soda” I had in my hand to the ground. Fortunately, it did not hit anyone, but unfortunately it did spray me and 2 of my players. I was mortified and made sure to apologize to the entire team and parents after the game. It was also an eye opener that had me reevaluate how I let the game affect me on the sidelines. I can say I do much better, but my kryptonite (sorry I don’t have a Godzilla reference on this) is when opposing coaches speak to my players on the field in a derogatory or unkind way. I feel that if coaches have issues with a players behavior they should address it to the player’s coach.

I told you my story about my little guy informing me that I was a distraction to him at a game, and I recently had the “Momzilla” moment of jumping up and putting some opposing parents in their place who were verbally harassing my son as he took a throw in (and I would have done it for any player on our team). The truth is that because I am a Coach and I spend so much time watching youth soccer games, I had made a promise to myself to just sit on the sidelines and be silent. I did not want my child or their coach to feel that I was trying to use my coaching knowledge to coach over them, and also as a coach, I know how distracting and infuriating parents on the sidelines can be. For the MOST part I am proud to say that I do a pretty good job of keeping it quiet. I am not perfect and have started becoming more vocal recently, but after writing this I am reaffirming my commitment to sideline silence. (I keep saying I need to bring my IPod and headphones to the games and I just might for all of our tournaments in August.) There have been moments when I have been embarrassed by the words and behaviors of the parents on my child’s team, and I have been disgusted by the words and behaviors of not only parents of the opposing team but also parents from nearby games that we can hear or see from our seats. The point is: “Coachra” and “Momzilla” are running rampant at our youth soccer games and maybe by making jokes and talking about it, we can find a way to bring the fun back to the games and the focus back to the kids. I also believe that if I follow the rainbow, I will find gold.

Do you know a “Coachra” or have a good “Momzilla” (or “Dadzillo”) story? Care to share your embarrassing sideline moment? Please read it-comment-like it-share it-subscribe to it!

Soccer Roles- The Youth Soccer Coach

2013-07-10T09:26:00.002-07:00

Coach: a person who trains an athlete or a team of athletes

When my son was born, over 10 years ago, I had it in my mind to one day coach his soccer team. I had played Travel soccer and loved the game as a child, and not only did I want to share my love for all sports with my son, I wanted an activity to do with him. Once he turned 4-years-old, I excitedly signed him up for Pee Wee soccer at the local soccer club and checked off that box volunteering to coach. I then proceeded to stress (and may have harassed the local club) until I got that call at work one night about helping out with the Pee Wee soccer. I had NO clue what I was doing, but I loved it! Since that time, it has been an ongoing learning experience full of ups and downs. There have been good times and bad times, I have wanted to quit many times, but then something would remind me why I coach youth soccer. It started out as the wish of a young mom, a former youth soccer player, who wanted to do something special with her child, and it grew to me learning all that encompasses coaching young soccer players and coming to love the game, coaching, and most of all the kids. I take my responsibility seriously. I have made MANY mistakes over the years, but I have also learned from these mistakes and hope they have made me a better Youth Soccer Coach and person.

The definition of a coach only mentions training an athlete or team, but being a youth soccer coach, or coach for any kid, is so much more than that. In fact, if you come across a youth coach who believes his/her only responsibility as a coach is to train the kids in their sport, this should be a red flag. Our kids do come to soccer to learn the game, but they are kids and by nature any adult in their life takes on a role of role model, teacher, friend, and educator (run the word “coach” through Thesaurus and you may be surprised all of the words that are listed). Kids will learn the game through the drills that we prepare, they will learn about life by the way we teach the drills and act at practices, games, parent meetings, and even in our personal lives when the players are nowhere to be found. Like it or not, any coach or trainer who is involved in the soccer life of our kids is an influence on our children. The more competitive our young soccer players, the more they will learn from their soccer coach not just about soccer, but about life.

Ask yourself, why is it that we involve our kids in activities/sports? Is it so they can grow up and be famous or earn a college scholarship? That may be a pipe dream in the back of our heads, but it should not be our driving force for involving our kids in activities. I can say that I have my kids in sports for many reasons. Most importantly, I want my kids to learn to be part of a team, to have that camaraderie and learn about teamwork, relying on others while also having to do their part to attain that common goal. In my opinion, learning to be an active and reliable part of a team teaches our kids a lifelong lesson that will help them take those lessons use them to become successful in business and life. In addition, being a part of a youth sports team as a kid should teach commitment, reliability, respect for authority, the importance of hard work, and social skills of getting along with others and dealing with conflict. Although it is the parent’s responsibility to raise their child, children need to interact with other adults and will be influenced by the people they are around. It then becomes the responsibility of the parent to determine which adults/coaches their child will be around.

As you can see, although the primary purpose of a Youth Soccer Coach is to train and teach the game of soccer and appropriate skills to our kids, the coach has a greater responsibility with our young soccer players as well. Respect and Accountability/Responsibility are the main lessons our kids will need to learn from their coach. A good Youth Soccer Coach is going to know how to speak to our kids. This does not mean, the coach cannot yell or be tough on our kids, it does mean the Coach should know how to do so without using inappropriate or insulting language. The lesson of respect goes further than just how the coach interacts with our children. Even more importantly, our kids are going to learn about respect from their coach by the coach’s interactions with the parents, other coaches on the field, and most importantly referee. Again, this does not mean the coach needs to be silent or never disagree with a call or defend his team against aggressive or disrespectful opposing coaches or parents, but it is all about how your child’s coach responds. Does the coach scream, curse, threaten harm or use name calling or derogatory terms to defend his team or make a point? Is the coach constantly questioning the referee and being argumentative or publically questioning or name calling the referee in front of the kids? After the game, does the Coach blame the referee or make excuses blaming others for the team’s shortcomings on the field? In my opinion, the most important indicator of a coach’s responsibility to his team is what he allows his players to do on the field. Now this does not necessarily mean fouls and every action of each player- kids are kids and no one can control their every move or choice. When I see players doing something on the field that I do not like, I quickly look to see the coach’s reaction. Does the coach substitute the player to let the player know the behavior is not accepted? Is the Coach verbally letting a player know that a behavior is not allowed or appropriate? On my team, my players know certain things are unacceptable on the field and those behaviors include: talking back to a referee, coach, or parent, cursing (when I hear) at a player, and other objectionable behaviors. We are all human and will sometimes do something we regret, the question is which coaches take responsibility with the players and parents after he/she has made a poor choice and who ignores the bad behavior and allows the young players to believe the objectionable behavior is acceptable.

Other important lessons that our child’s Soccer Coach should be helping us teach our kids is Punctuality and Presentation. The P’s are often the most overlooked but important lessons that players need to learn from youth sports, including the parents and coach. In fact, I will throw the “C” word out here: Commitment. A Youth Soccer Coach should not only show up on time, dressed appropriately to coach/train the team, and also should follow through on their commitment to the team and the kids, but the Coach should also demand the same from the players and accept nothing less. Coaches should expect players to arrive on time and have some sort of system in place to address lateness, this could be loss of playtime, additional warm ups or laps, or having to stay after practice. In addition, coaches should expect all players to show up in appropriate uniform and make sure that all players are properly tucked in, matching, and have all gear prior to check in with the referee. Again, there should be a penalty system in place so the players understand the importance of presentation and following the rules a set up by the Coach (the authority figure). Most importantly, in my opinion, a Coach must make a commitment to their team and show up at practices and games, and they must follow through with seasons and if they plan to leave the team, they must attempt to put into place whatever is necessary so the team continues without the coach or helps to find a new team for the players. In the same manner, the coach must demand commitment from players and parents. The coach must let the players and parents know that they are expected at practices and games, and that it will not be tolerated for players to not finish a season. Of course as Coaches, we are limited in what we can do and we cannot physically force a player to finish a season with the team or be on time or show up to practices and games, but we can address the issue. It is surprising how many parents have no experience in organized sports and do not realize the importance of commitment. As a coach, it is our responsibility to address the issue and try to get the player and parent to understand commitment and why it is important.

As always, this is just a small part of the role and responsibilities of a Youth Soccer Coach. It is ultimately the parent’s responsibility to determine if your child’s Soccer Coach is teaching them on the field and off the soccer and life lessons that you want your child to learn. If you decide that you want your child to remain on the current team, then it is your responsibility to support the coach in his/her rules and expectations for the team and players. As always, any disagreements or questions you may have for the coach should be addressed privately and away from the players. A Youth Soccer Player should not see or hear their coach being questioned, unless the infraction of the coach is severe, and if it is that severe and the coach does not take responsibility on their own, then you need to decide if this is someone you want to coach your child. I keep saying, we are all human and soccer is an emotional game especially when our kids are involved, I have broken most of the rules/responsibilities above at some point in my coaching career. What is different is that I learned from my mistakes, acknowledged and addressed my mistakes with my players and parents, and (hopefully) have grown as a Coach and a person.

What do you expect from your child’s coach? Do you agree with the responsibilities as listed above? As always, Like It- Share It- Subscribe to It-Comment-Follow.

Possibly the Most Important Soccer Parent Post Yet

2013-07-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

Although I have been away for a week and have not posted anything to the blog, I have started and restarted so many different post topics. Now that I have finished the “Long Island Youth Soccer Summer Camp Series”, have attended the first 2 tournaments of the Summer 2013 Youth Soccer Season, completed Long Island Junior Soccer registration for my team, and played team manager and helped my son’s team prepare for their next out of state tournament, my mind is going in so many soccer directions. I have SO much I want to share and so many opinions, suggestions, and complaints that I have been unable to complete one post for you all. While trying to figure out which topic to share first, I realized that there was a common thread to them all, it was youth soccer parents and their role in youth soccer.

If I didn’t hold so many hats in youth soccer on Long Island, I would probably not realize that parents hold one of the most important roles of all. My personal favorite quote for Youth Soccer is “Let the players play, the referees’ ref, the coaches coach, and the parents parent.” To me the quote is self-explanatory, but 1 day on the youth soccer fields of Long Island (and beyond) reminds me that many need the quote explained. My main focus today is to take a look at the parent’s role in youth soccer. If I was to take an in depth look at the soccer parent’s role, I would be writing a dissertation and hoping to earn my Doctorate in Youth Soccer. As this degree does not exist, I will focus on a few parent topics that as a parent and a coach, I wish all soccer parents had more knowledge about.

**COACHMOMMYLI DISCLAIMER- Before I am called out as a hypocrite or written off as a “goody-two-shoes know-it-all”: I have broken EVERY rule and recommendation that I will mention below. In fact- I can state that it is more embarrassing when one of my family members or I don’t follow the expectations below because I DO know better. But as I always say- we are only human. It is about trying to be the best soccer parent we can be even if we aren’t always.**

Let’s start at the most obvious- Team Paperwork: A soccer parent’s first responsibility is to make sure that they get all the necessary paperwork and payment to the team Coach or Manager and in a timely manner. This can be birth certificate, registration paperwork, Medical Releases, training or tournament fees. It seems like such an obvious responsibility of parents, but as a coach, I can tell you it is one of the more annoying aggravations and oversights that parents make. Coaches and team managers are responsible for providing the payment and paperwork to the powers that be for each league, training entity, or tournament and they must provide the information by a certain date in order to keep the team compliant. If even 1 parent fails to make proper payment or provide paperwork as requested, the entire team can suffer and miss out on a tournament or training opportunity. Personally, I can tell you, it is also embarrassing as a coach to not have all paperwork and payment on time. It makes me look unprepared and unprofessional and it embarrasses me. Not only must I deal with the dressing down I will receive from my Club President, registrar, or Tournament Director, but I must also take my time to call, text, email, track down whichever parent or parents have not provided whatever was requested. As an unpaid coach, I can tell you this is NOT what I signed up for when I asked to be a Youth Soccer Coach. As a parent- pay the money, sign and provide the paperwork, and give any answers required by the team in the time allotted. It is not just your child affected by you not being prepared, but an entire team and the adults who are volunteering their time to help your soccer child.

Practices, games, and team events: Get your child on time to all practices, games, and team events. “On Time” is not the time that YOU feel your child and the team need to arrive, it is the time the coach and/or trainer has stated the soccer players must arrive. In fact, the old adage is well used in these situations- if the Coach say’s 1 hour prior to game, your soccer youth should be at the fields 1 hour and 10 minutes prior to game. A practice cannot be run properly if all players do not arrive on time. As a coach, we only get a short period of time with the team and we have created a practice plan that is based on all players arriving by a certain time to practice. This does not mean players running to the field at 5pm, but them being at the field with their gear on and ready to start warm ups before 5pm. For games, a referee has the right to start a game early if he chooses. It is the expectation that all teams and their players will be prepared to be checked in and ready to play up to 30 minutes prior to game time. Most coaches, including myself, require the players to arrive at least 1 hour prior to game time. Parents should add in extra time to allow for traffic, getting lost, and finding parking. There is a direct correlation between how well a team plays and how much uninterrupted pre-game warm up time they have had as a team. Even if your coach or trainer is habitually late, if your team is old enough, they should be taught to be on time, arrive prepared, and begin warm ups on their own. Do not fall into the trap of becoming lax in being on time and arriving prepared based upon the coach, trainer, or other parents and players. Even if you must wait every week for 20-30 minutes while everyone else arrives whenever they want- you are teaching your young soccer player an important lesson about the importance of commitment, preparedness, and respecting the rules of the team and game.

Uniform, equipment, and hydration: This topic includes one of my biggest Pet Peeves and embarrassments as a coach and parent. I believe, regardless of age, all youth soccer players should be taught the importance of presentation on and off the field. Every player should be properly uniformed (this includes jersey, shorts, socks, warm-ups and team bags- everything should be matching in color and be in good condition). Players should only take the field to be checked in and play if their uniform matches their teammates AND they are all tucked in. Nothing makes a team look less prepared for a game than if players are wearing different jerseys or different colored socks, and if they have not taken the time to tuck in their jerseys. I have always pointed out to my players when we see an opposing team who arrives in 2 neat lines with matching uniforms, warm ups, and bags. It is true, that team will always intimidate their opponent and give off the impression of being a well skilled team, even if they lack in skill. The prepared team has won the first mind game before the match begins- do not underestimate the Importance of the mind game.

In order to be properly prepared for the match, your child must arrive with a properly packed bag. In every bag should be their other uniform (you never know when the uniform color will change and you do not want your child to be the one who does not play because he doesn’t have the right jersey). I also tell my players (and sons) they should keep all cleats, back up socks, a spare air pump, ball, and under armor in their personal soccer bag. I also make sure my sons each have a personal first aid kit in their bag. The best habit to get your soccer player into at a young age is for them to keep their bag packed at all times. When I check my son’s bag (which all parents should regularly), I expect his outdoor, turf, and indoor cleats. All uniform shirts, shorts, and socks, under armor, team warm-ups, shin guards, first aid kit, and soccer ball should be in the bag. On game day, he should either have packed his small individual cooler with water and Gatorade or have put the drinks in his bag. Each player should hydrate with water at least 1 hour prior to game and have enough water and Gatorade to remain hydrated during warm ups, each half of the game, and post-game. If a snack is required, it should be fruit and nothing sweet or heavy. Your soccer child should not be eating 1 hour prior to game and if you are at a tournament, they should not be given sweets and heavy food or soda between games. Reward them with a sweet snack or hamburger after they play games for the day, but keep it light and healthy during the tournament.

Sidelines: All I can say is sit down, cheer nicely, and enjoy the game. Do not cry every perceived foul or bad play against your “baby”. First off, our kids play soccer. Real soccer is one of the most physical games there can be. Also, not every foul or play is purposely dirty. We are dealing with young soccer players who are still learning the game and it is not OUR job as sideline parents to teach them. It is the job of the coaches and referees. If they aren’t doing the job, in your opinion, you need to decide how that affects your child’s role in the league, but this does not mean you need to yell, scream, boo, and cry. There is NO need to insult the ref, youth players, coaches, trainers, or opposing parents. Let the players play, the referees’ ref, the coaches coach, and the parents parent. Just try to enjoy the game and if you are not enjoying the game, take a walk. Come back and deal with your concerns with your coach after the game and away from the players, referees, and other parents. That is the other rule- NEVER let your soccer child hear you question or insult their coach. Address any questions directly to the coach and in private. The sidelines are the most emotional place for all those involved from the players, to coaches, to parents, to referees. Try to keep this in mind and although it may not always feel right- try to always be the bigger person and remind yourself it is youth soccer and not world peace.

This is just a small and quick guideline for soccer parents and every coach and parent is going to share a different philosophy. Certain things I have mentioned are not of importance to others, while some will read this and understand why I expect certain things from parents and players. The big words to remember as a soccer parent are to help your soccer youth be prepared, on time, and respectful. Also, keep a sense of humor. It is possible to be committed to serious soccer while keeping a sense of humor as long as the hard work and commitment are there.

Summer Youth Soccer Camps: NOGA Camps

2013-06-27T13:08:00.002-07:00

“And we’ll have fun, fun, fun

‘till her Daddy takes the T-Bird away”

In my opinion, the best way to keep our kids from having fun with the T-Bird (or any other thing not in their best interest) is to keep them active and involved. What better way to keep them involved than a local youth soccer camp offered by one of the oldest and most respected Youth Soccer training programs in the area? NOGA is a name that has always come up over the years whenever I inquired about quality training for my son. The whole purpose of this blog is to make life easier for most soccer parents and coaches by providing you information and experiences that took me 8 years of asking questions, succeeding and failing in trying different things and dealing with different people. Today, we get to learn together about NOGA and their Summer Youth Soccer Camps. This post was one of my favorite ones to write, and it also involved the most research.

I have learned that NOGA was, if not the first, one of the first programs to develop the concept of the specialist soccer camp idea. According to their website, “For over 35 years NOGA has been providing unparalleled camp experience and specialist coaching to thousands of boys and girls. NOGA provides two substantially different soccer camp experiences. “ So, as I said, I have been very excited to finally get to learn more about a program I have always been interested in, not just for me and my son, but for all of you also.

NOGA offers youth soccer camps and training across the Northeast coast, but I will just focus on their camps that are offered on Long Island. Although NOGA’s reputation, at least in my head and with the people I spoke with, is for providing a high level of soccer training for the more serious and skilled soccer player, they have soccer camps for every young soccer player regardless of their skill level. This summer, NOGA is offering a Micro Camp (players aged 4-6 years, Beginner skill level), Community Camp (players aged 6—14 years, Beginners and Intermediates), Team Camp (teams only with players aged 8-18- All Levels), Academy Day Camp/Academy Residential Camp (players aged 7-17, All Levels), and High School Camp (players aged 15-18, Advanced skill). Camps are run at different locations across Long Island and cost and benefits are dependent on location and type of camp. What I found most interesting about NOGA camps is that there seems to be a great amount of opportunities for soccer youth out East in the Hamptons and surrounding areas, central locations such as Smithtown, and Nassau locations including Hofstra University in Uniondale and Long Beach. The cost of camp runs $105-$750 for week long camps and is dependent upon type of camp and location. A full listing of all available camps, costs, and amenities can be found at www.nogasoccer.com and additional questions should be referred to Community Camps Manager, Tom Williamson at coachtwilliamson@gmail.com or Academy Camps Manager, Paul Kelshaw at paulkelshaw@yahoo.co.uk .

NOGA provides a very specific description of their camps on their website, www.nogasoccer.com. The coaching curriculum used by NOGA Camps aims to give the soccer campers a fun and challenging age specific environment, while the trainers and coaches employ proven soccer training methods taken from soccer academies across the world including Holland, England, and Spain. NOGA states, “Each player is given an equal opportunity to reach their soccer potential by focusing on individual technical development while being introduced to the physical, psychological, and social demands of the game.” All in all, NOGA appears to have a good handle on the needs of the young soccer players and has created a training program for camps that will help develop your soccer child into a soccer player who has received a well-rounded training experience.

The Community camps run 3 hours each day (with a Micro Camp running 1.5 hours). As many of these camps are hosted by the local soccer organization, price varies and some are restricted to players from the hosting organization or township. In addition, some of these camps are designated to specific skill and play levels, including Travel or Recreational. Any teams of 10 or more that register at 1 Community camp as a group will be guaranteed an individual trainer for the week. There is a very comprehensive schedule available at the website and registration or inquiries can take place by calling 516-489-3900 ext. 104 or email tom.williamson@nogasoccer.com.

All NOGA Academy (day or residential) youth soccer camps are held at Colleges or Universities around the country. For Long Island soccer players, the Academy camps are held at Hofstra University in Uniondale. The day Academies run Mon-Fri 9a-4pm in the summer and campers are required to bring their own lunches and they will have use of the pool, when it is available. The Residential Academy camps run Mon thru Friday (Sunday arrival allowed for players arriving from far distance) and soccer campers are provided with all meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Residential soccer campers are also allowed use of the pool when available. All academy soccer campers (Day and Residential) will receive NOGA t-shirt and Adidas Soccer Ball, and a specialist GOALKEEPER training is available during the camp. The younger youth spccer players may have an option of attending a Minicamp from 9a—12 noon Mon-Friday, this is for the campers aged 4-6 years old. Academy camp information and registration is available at www.nogasoccer.com or by calling 516-489-3900 or emailing nogasoccer@gmail.com.

Team Camps are available to any youth soccer team that is interested. The NOGA training program uses a flexible but age-specific soccer training program to best meet the needs of each individual youth soccer team and their parent coach. The camp runs a MINIMUM of 15 hours and breaks down in a way that works best for the trainers, team, and coach, while still maintaining the benefits of the training program. Volunteer coaches are encouraged to interact with the NOGA coach during the week of training in order to encourage a smooth transition of the team back to the Volunteer Coach at the end of the week while allowing the team to maximize the effectiveness of the training received by the NOGA coach. All inquiries should be directed by phone to 516-489-3900 ext. 104 or by email to tom.williamson@nogasoccer.com.

As you can see, NOGA has the history, experience, and camp availability to meet the needs of any youth soccer player on Long Island. Please visit their website at www.nogasoccer.com for more specific information. I wish that I had personal experience with NOGA to share as I did the other highlighted programs, but unfortunately neither of my boys has been fortunate enough to take part in NOGA training or camps as of yet. I can say that I first mentioned NOGA because they are a name that I have heard for years as a youth soccer coach AND as a soccer mom. When I think of NOGA, it is always thoughts of a respected program. I am personally grateful that they reached out to me last week after I mentioned them in the initial Summer Youth Soccer Camp post and that I have had the opportunity to learn more about their program. I can definitely see myself sending at least one of my sons to their camps in the next few years.

I think it says quite a bit about these large organizations, who honestly do not need the support of a small and local soccer youth blogger such as myself, but yet they take the time to not only provide me with information about their programs to share with you coaches and parents, but they also offer and provide support to the blog to help me get my name out to the community. It is all about our shared love of Soccer AND most importantly of improving, growing, and supporting Youth Soccer on Long Island.

As always, please comment and share below. I am currently registering my youth soccer team for Fall season, while helping to manage my older boy’s team trip to Regionals this weekend, and having a child go to Prom and graduate. I will be away for a few days at the Regionals, but I will be posting soon about the Rough Riders Indy Cup last weekend, their Free Goalkeeper Clinic they held this week and last, and also I will share some experiences as Coach, Mom, and Manager from the last 2 weeks in my life of LI Youth Soccer. And….as promised….SOON “Coachra v. Momzilla” and the SHOCKING confession I must now make. Please follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CoachMommyLI and join our Facebook page at facebook.com/CoachMommyLongIsland. Read it-Like it-Subscribe to it-Share It!! Thanks!

Just WHO Is Coach Mommy Long Island?

2013-06-27T12:55:00.002-07:00

As I continue to network and build relationships with others in the Long Island Youth Soccer community and my readership (hopefully) grows, I want to take a moment to introduce myself better and also make sure that you all understand just what benefits I am able to offer. I am here to answer that DEEP and BURNING question that you all MUST know: Just WHO is Coach Mommy Long Island?

I thank you all for taking the time to read my blog and for those who subscribe to the blog or tell a friend, thank you. I really believe that I have something valuable to share and want to continue to build this blog and my readership. Please continue to spread the word!

Follow and Like the page on Facebook: facebook.com/CoachMommyLongIsland – It is an easy way to keep up with new posts on my blogs, also I often post information that I receive from different programs, including area leagues and tournaments. Also, next week, I will be posting a “Soccer Quote of the Day” and also create occasional soccer related polls and Questions.

Please follow and share the Blog Twitter account: twitter.com/CoachMommyLI-On Twitter, I not only follow many local and professional soccer Clubs, teams, and organizations, but many have begun to follow me back. I also tweet when I have new Blog posts, the “Soccer Quote of the Day”, and re-tweet valuable and entertaining Soccer and sports related information. Please follow!

Aside from my failed comedic career, (again I kid- never attempted a comedic career- recognized it was over before it ever began) I am new to the world of blogging. After being in a car accident last summer that led to a year of pain, testing, medical procedures, and eventually major back surgery, I found myself the last few months recovering home alone in bed while the world went on around me. I am out of work on disability temporarily and needed something that kept me interested and with a daily goal. The challenge being I needed something not more demanding or restricting than my physical recovery would allow. At a certain point, I will be creating a NON-SOCCER blog that will hopefully lead to some income and online teaching classes, but I needed a place to start and I knew the one topic that I had a passion for, was knowledgeable about, had a network base, and unique perspective on was Youth Soccer on Long Island. And so “Coach Mommy Long Island” was born!

I believe I was about 4-years-old when I started pee-wee swarm ball (I mean youth soccer) and played up to a Travel level before being injured in 9^th or 10^th grade and not being able to play any longer. I knew that when I had kids, I wanted to be an involved mother and somehow I volunteered to coach youth soccer when my son started his pee wee career at the age of 4. After a few years of pee wee and intramural soccer, I was asked to coach 1 of the 2 Club teams that was making the move to Interleague and eventually Travel. Although I coached my son for about 5 years, I made the best decision ever and allowed him to move to another coach and trainer. It was the best decision I ever made as a soccer coach and a mother. About 4 years ago, my little guy started his soccer career and asked me to coach his team. I did so for 1 season and realized that I HATED the process of building a new team and set of parents from a young age. I found a trusted coach and trainer for my little guy and keep my coaching to my 18 soccer sons and our team.

I hold a “C” Level Soccer Coaching license (that’s for the mid-age kids) and am now at the point I need to get my “B” level. Although I now have a trainer who is MUCH more knowledgeable and skilled than me, I like to keep myself trained and educated. I also know that while he excels in training the boys better, I still bring my experience, personal, knowledge of my players, and my gut to the soccer field. I have evolved over the years as a Soccer Coach AND a Soccer parent and the process has not been easy. I have done things right, but I have also made many mistakes, and the mistakes are always the more embarrassing as they are what everyone remembers. It is all of these experiences and knowledge that I use to pass along to other parents and coaches such as you all. I truly believe that I know a lot of things and with the unique perspective of being a Soccer Coach, Soccer Mom, and part-time Soccer Team Manager, I can offer knowledge, stories, and networking to help other coaches, parent, and managers. The things I do not know, I am always willing to learn, and I LOVE people to share their thoughts and information, as we can always learn and may hear something that I never considered.

Youth Soccer Summer Camp Series- NY Red Bulls Youth Soccer Summer Camps

2013-06-23T17:45:00.002-07:00

“It must be summer

Cause the days are long

And I dial your number

But you’re gone, gone, gone”

I am hoping you’ve gone to a Youth Soccer Summer Camp here on Long Island. There are so many offered and it is so much better to have our young soccer players out there being active than sitting home all day on the Xbox or PS3 (or Oovoo, Instagram, the IPAD…etc…etc…etc). Over the last few days, I gave you some contact information for local Summer Soccer Programs and took a close look at the Summer Camps offered by L.I. Rough Riders, and today we take a special look at the NY Red Bulls Summer Youth Programs.

As a coach (and now a blogger), I have found the staff at the NY Red Bulls to be accessible, friendly, and willing to help. As a Red Bulls fan, I enjoyed attending a game a few years ago and look forward to our next trip to their fields. I know the Red Bulls share a partnership with Long Island Junior Soccer, the league many of our soccer players and teams play in, and I know that the Red Bulls have done programs in Brentwood and other Long Island Clubs. Although they are the Major League Soccer Team and Organization for New York, New Jersey, and the smart part of Connecticut (I am assuming the lines draw for Red Bulls/Revolution fans along the same geographical lines that separate Yankees and Red Sox fans), the NY Red Bulls are active in their support of the youth soccer players in the Tri-State area. I find this refreshing, as I have not seen any other Major League teams in our area have such a strong presence in our youth sports programs as the Red Bulls are in our youth soccer programs. I can say from experience and by paying attention the last few years that the Red Bulls and their staff are extremely accessible to the coaches, parents, and players in the soccer communities in the Tri-State Area.

The Red Bulls were originally known as the Metro Stars and were introduced to the Tri-State area as our MLS team in 1995 and they first played for us in 1996 at Giants Stadium. Over the next years, they made history as they brought major league soccer to New York. In 2006, Red Bulls Company GmbH, maker of Red Bulls energy drink, purchased the Metro Stars and within a few years had built a state of the art soccer stadium for the team in Harrison, NJ, where the team continues to play and make soccer history. During these years, the Academy and youth training programs were born. According to their website,” The Red Bulls Player Development System is a multi-layered program that provides professional support at all levels of the game. Each level of the player development pyramid has been structured to provide extensive support to players, coaches and youth soccer organizations. Within the local community, programs are offered for players of all ages and abilities. For players with outstanding ability, there is an opportunity to progress to the academy level and ultimately, to the Red Bulls First Team.” This philosophy is continued in the Red Bulls Summer Youth Camps. The Red Bulls Summer Camps are the only soccer camps run by a Professional Soccer team and training staff on Long Island.

The NY Red Bulls have one of the most descriptive websites that I have found in my research of Summer Youth Soccer camps. I can not do it justice here in my limited space and I encourage you to visit the website at www.redbullsacademy.com (camp info is under the Academy link on homepage)or call 1-888-370-7287. The website includes descriptions of each different camp, includes sample daily camp schedules and provides more information on the soccer training philosophy of the NY Red Bulls for our young soccer players. In addition, the website offers many parent testimonials and a question/answer section that is helpful.

The NY Red Bulls Youth Summer camps offers different types of camps including: Mini KICK Camp (players 5-6 years old), Skills Camp (Recreation, Travel, and Select Players), Team Camp (designed for entire teams), Extended Day Camp (Advanced Player Camp for players who prefer to travel each day and not stay at residential camp- is NOT available for RDS Residential Camps), High School Camp (specifically designed for High School teams and in coordination with team’s High School Coach), and RDS Camps and Residential Camps (Regional Development School (RDS) day and residential camps for competitive and elite travel team players). The average age of campers is 5-14, but most camps are for players aged 8-18, while the Skills Camp takes players aged 7-14, Team Camps will take teams with players as old as 18, and Residential Camp is for players aged 9-15 years. Most camps are 1 week long and the camps can run 3 hours, to a full-day to an extended day of 8:30a-8:30p, the length of camp depends on type of camp. In addition to the high level of skill and technical training each soccer player receives, campers will also receive an Adidas branded camp t-shirt, soccer ball, and companion ticket to a Red Bulls game. Players who take part in the residential camp will also receive an Adidas branded uniform , t-shirt, Adidas soccer ball, Companion ticket to a Red Bulls game at Red Bulls arena, end of week performance evaluation , Daily player awards and prizes , 3 meals per day/unlimited buffet, and additional non-soccer activities offered during “fun” time including swimming, tennis, basketball etc. (this only offered at certain camps and should be verified prior to registration). The RDS camps offer elite soccer players the opportunity to possibly be chosen to take part in additional Red Bulls activities as described on the website. The cost of the camps are very comparable and range as low as $120 (MINI SKILLS) to $640 (residential), with the average skills camps running about $155 for 3 hours and $245 for all day camp. Some of the camps on Long Island are taking part at the LIJ Soccer Park in Plainview, there are many additional camps run by local clubs and may be open to all soccer players. The cost of these camps varies and are listed on the website.

There are so many different camps and locations offered not only on Long Island, but in other parts of NY, NJ, CT, and parts of PA, it is best to visit www.redbulls.com and under the “Academy” selection is where you will find all the schedules and pricing. Prices vary based on type of camp and when registration takes place. You can also email them at training@newyorkredbulls.com.

The Red Bulls philosophy is a great one: Create a FUN and CHALLENGING environment where players have the opportunity to learn. I have wanted to send my older boy to a Red Bulls Camp for a few years, but to be honest, I believed the cost was outside of my ability. It was surprising to discover, during my research for this blog, how affordable and comparable in cost these camps are to others in the area. Although my sons have never attended any of the Red Bulls Youth programs, I have heard good things about the training, and I know at least one of the trainers and he is a quality trainer (he trained my son for many years and would still train him of the Red Bulls had not scooped him up). I would recommend the NY Red Bulls organization and program. I want to mention that the NY Red Bulls also has a year-long Academy program for players U14 and older which is subsidized for the players. In addition, the RDS year-long training program on Long Island is free for LIJ players, but both of these programs require players to try-out and be accepted. These camps are a good opportunity for parents and players to get a sample of the quality of training these programs offer, as well as allow the trainers to get a look at the player prior to tryouts. According to the Red Bulls, their Youth Soccer Academy program is the #1 program in the MLS. Overall- the NY Red Bulls have so many great opportunities during the summer and year-long for our Long Island soccer youth and I strongly encourage you to take a look at their website at www.newyorkredbulls.com.

As always, please share and comment below with any additional questions or information you may have. Tomorrow, we will take a special look at the NOGA summer camp programs. I was excited to hear from them after I did a small mention in my first Summer Camp special. They helped me learn more about their program, and not only was it a great way to learn more about a program I have heard great things about for years, but it also felt GREAT to know that my blog is not only reaching parents and coaches, but that organizations are paying attention and are willing to help me provide you all with not only accurate, but varied information so that you all have everything you need to determine what is best for you and your soccer player! Also, coming soon, a look at the LI Rough Riders free goalie clinic, this past weekend’s Indy Cup, AND the MUCH anticipated “Coachra v. Momzilla” (I was dared this past weekend to share a certain story and I will very soon!) Say tuned and as always, share it-like it-subscribe!

Youth Soccer Summer Programs and Camps Series: LI Rough Riders

2013-06-21T19:14:00.001-07:00

“summer summer summertime

time to sit back and unwind”

Unless, of course, you are a mom and DEFINITELY not if you are a mom to a soccer player. Summer time is a GREAT time to get some extra work on skill and prepare for the fall season, and for our older kids- many will prepare for School Tryouts. If you haven’t noticed already, you will learn in time that I am a STRONG believer and advocate for team and coach/trainer loyalty. That is exactly why the summer is such an exciting time for soccer kids. There are SO many opportunities and options in different summer programs and types of training that the kids can take part in while still remaining loyal to their team and coach. To me, summer is the smorgasbord season for soccer players. Because, as much as I preach loyalty, I ALSO believe that young players should get some variety in the types of training they receive. The other day, I gave you some information on just a FEW of the many local area Youth Soccer training programs and camps on Long Island. Today, I am going to take a more detailed look at the Youth Soccer Summer Camps offered by the L.I. Rough Riders AND I have a 20% OFF Camp Cost Discount for you at the end…(YAY!)

The L.I. Rough Riders are the ONLY Soccer franchise on Long Island. Created 19-years-ago, “currently, the Rough Riders Men’s Team plays in the Premier Development League (PDL) of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), designed to showcase the top collegiate and professional players in the nation. The PDL is the largest professional / amateur league in the United States, with teams competing for a National Championship each season.” The Rough Riders also have a Woman’s Team and a Youth program that has different training and team opportunities for youth to take part in Tournaments and the Super-Y (Youth version) of the PDL. The great part of the Rough Riders program is that the Youth teams are made to compliment and support each player’s home club/team and not take the young player away from the coaches and teammates that helped them become the players they are today. In addition to the Youth teams, the Rough Riders have a variety of camps and training year round, including their Summer Camp series that starts in the next week.

Not only have the Rough Riders been kind enough to contribute to this post, but I have worked with this organization as a Coach and parent for many years. As a Coach, their tournaments are some of my favorite to take my team to, and I also have recommended their camps to many of my players. This is because as a mom, I sent my oldest to their camps for 3 summers. I find their staff knowledgeable about soccer, forthcoming with information; and most importantly, my son not only learned about soccer at their camps, but he enjoyed them and you could tell that the trainers put the kid’s interests first in all of the trainings. The above is a mom’s testimonial, and while it may sound biased for a blog- that is the point of CoachMommyLI. I am fair, but when I have an experience to share, I will. It is understood that each parent and coach will look for different things in their trainers and programs, and we all have different levels of tolerance for certain things. For me, the Rough Riders were exactly what my son needed when he attended the camps.

Ah yes….I DID promise you actual information about the camps. I step away from the love fest and return our focus to the LI Rough Riders Summer Camps. They have many different types of camps and the camps will meet the needs of different levels of payers from recreational or beginner to a higher level of soccer skilled player. For the majority of campers, any of their Indoor Soccer Academy, Futsal Academy, Soccer Academy, Ball Mastery, and Striker/GK will be appropriate. For the more skilled and serious player, LI Rough Riders Summer Youth Camps offers Elite camp versions of all of the camps named above. All of the camps will focus on ball skill, knowledge of the game, and shooting, while some will focus more on certain skills. Each camper will receive a FREE Adidas T-shirt and all Full Day Campers receive a FREE Soccer Ball.

There are 38 camps offered during different weeks of the summer at 10 different locations in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Locations include the Soccer Park in Plainview, Mitchel Athletic Complex (Museum Row- Nassau; Indoor Fields), Eisenhower Park, and Cantiague Park (swimming may be available at this site). There are other locations and the schedules are too much to list here, but a full list and camp description can be found at www.liroughriders.com/camps. Each camp is a week-long and some are during the day, while some are Part-time camp held in the evening hours. According to Daan Oomen, the Camp Director, the average age of campers is 5-12 and 8-15. A few camps have sold out, but they have added some indoor day camps. The cost runs from $375-$150, but there are sibling discounts and also the 20% Discount available to any of my readers who may choose to register online for a camp. (CODE RRGAME20 AT END OF BLOG)

This summer, the Rough Riders are very excited that they have 3 NEW Camps they are offering which are unique, and they sound fun and interesting. They are welcoming 4 coaches from Germany to help with the new camps. The first camp is the “Moves & Skills” and utilizes the philosophy of the Dutch and the Coerver Technique and focuses on helping the players learn and master basic skills of soccer as a way to develop the advanced soccer moves. Another new camp will bring the German training methods in the (appropriately named) “German Soccer Camp”. (Hey- it worked for the Champions League Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund as they invaded Wimbledon this year). This camp will utilize the German Coaches knowledge and focus on “proper technical execution, smart defensive composure, and quick transition”. The last of the NEW camps for Summer 2013 is “Soccer School” (personally I am trying to figure out how to sneak into this camp because it sounds like a lot of fun and interesting stuff.) “Soccer School” focuses on Theory and Practice and learning as much as there is to learn about soccer culture, history, and skills from around the world. This camp uses not just field exercises and trainings, but games, videos, and even has a TEST! You really can’t call yourself a soccer player or fan if you don’t know anything about your sport!

As always, soccer clubs, teams, and most organizations can contact the Rough Riders directly about hosting a Rough Rider Community Camp. To get more detailed information about the camps, including costs and times/dates/locations, check out www.liroughriders.com/camps. If you have questions, feel free to bother…I mean call… my buddy Daan Oomen at 516-622-3900 ext. 1003 or by email at camps@liroughriders.com. He has been kind enough to share with us a discount code that you can use for online camp registrations to save 20%. Use the discount code (are you ready?......) RRGAME20. Also PLEASE let them know that you heard about them from me, CoachMommyLI (that way maybe they will continue to share great deals and information with us!!)

I will also be writing soon about their FUN FREE Goalkeeper Clinic that they held last week and are having again this Tuesday. Also, tomorrow my son’s team and I are attending the Rough Rider Independence Cup at the Bethpage Polo Grounds (my FAVE tourney and FAVORITE soccer fields). Also, in the next few days, I will post special looks at the NY Red Bulls Youth Summer Soccer Camps and also the NOGA Youth Soccer Summer Camps. As always- please comment, like-share-subscribe!

Long Island Youth Soccer Summer Camps and Programs: Local Academy Programs

2013-06-19T13:43:00.005-07:00

Spring season and most tryouts are over, Regents, Finals, and school picnics are ending, kids and teachers are rejoicing and we parents are freaking out. WHAT are we going to do with these kids this summer?!? Or maybe many of you already have plans for your kids, but you are considering getting your young soccer player some extra training this summer. While many competitive teams will continue to train over the summer, many will take time off as players and coaches go on vacation and rest. Some parents may have a young kid who has an interest in soccer, but has never actually played the sport. I have information for you that will offer a solution for ALL of the above dilemmas and many more.

I have for you some information on different summer soccer camps and programs on Long Island and a **SPECIALIZED** look (over the next few days) at the camps offered by LI Rough Riders and NY Red Bulls. While I have some knowledge of some of the places I will discuss below, none of the programs offered any information for this Blog. LI Rough Riders AND NY Red Bulls have been VERY helpful and provided information for their camps, which is why they each have earned a specialized and individual look. In addition, LI Rough Riders has GENEROUSLY offered all of my readers 20% OFF any summer camp they register for online. Use the code “RRGAME20” and mention that you heard about the camps from Coach Mommy LI and get 20% off any and all camps you register for with the LI Rough Riders.

Youth Soccer on Long Island has evolved into a marketable business and with that our options for camps and training have grown, but with that we also must be mindful of programs and trainers that are not keeping our kid’s best interests in mind or do not have the proper experience and Certifications. While LI Rough Riders and NY Red Bulls are the Semi-Pro and Pro Soccer teams and Youth programs in our area, we also have local and smaller training programs available in our neighborhoods. Now while I cannot mention every program, I can mention the ones I found on an internet search and will include comments if I have any knowledge of the program. I am in no way endorsing any program and specific camp types, dates, and prices you will need to find out by contacting the program directly. Please do mention this blog Coach Mommy Long Island when you contact them and maybe next time they will also offer discounts to my readers ;).

INTERNATIONAL SOCCER ACADEMY: Smithtown, 631-864-3088, www.isasoccer.com

Weekly camps with extended care and meals available. This is an indoor camp and is soccer specific with the majority of the day dedicated to soccer skills and training. My boys have trained here for years and they have quality and certified trainers. If you are looking for camp activities or swimming, this is not the program, it is soccer specific.

NOGA SOCCER: 516-489-3900 ext. 104 www.nogasoccer.com

Variety of summer programs and training. I have no experience with this program, but I can say they are one of the first programs I was ever recommended and know they have been around for many years. It appears that their programs are going to be very soccer training specific and they have programs for all skill levels and also offer team trainings.

SUSA: Suffolk County 631-592-8771 (ask for Bouba) www.susaacademy.com

Variety of summer programs and training, very soccer specific. Again, I have no experience with this program, but I have been impressed with their teams skill and sportsmanship at tournaments and I have heard GREAT things about the trainers at this program. If my sons did not have trainers, this is where I would take them.

INTENSE SOCCER ACADEMY: Commack, 631-462-6999 www.intensesocceracademy.com

Variety of programs and soccer specific. I have no personal experience with them, but I hear their teams are very skilled and this is a true Academy which is considered its own Club in the NPL.

COASTAL SPORTS: Hauppauge, 631-623-6535 www.coastalsoccerusa.com

This program opened a few years ago nearby and is not soccer specific, although I believe at least 1 of the owners is or was a Youth Soccer Coach. I had registered my younger son for a football camp there and it was cancelled due to low registration. The communication was handled well. They offer camps and training in many different sports.

FUTURE STARS SUMMER CAMPS: Long Island, 914-273-8500 www.fscamps.com

I receive a mailing every year from this camp and believe it is held at local college campuses. I do not know the true level of skill training at these camps. It sounds like a good camp for beginners or those kids wanting to test the waters of the sport, but I could be wrong and there may be a higher level of training. Anyone familiar with the camp, please comment below. I will say it was always a fun looking camp that I was interested in sending my sons for the whole camp experience. It has an 8 week program and locations at Southampton College, Farmingdale College, and Old Westbury.

KK SOCCER: Farmingville and Brentwood, www.kkathletics.com

I have used the facilities for winter training, but I have never sent my kids to their trainings or camps. They seem to have some good partnerships, but the risk with the partnership is that you never know who you are dealing with or their soccer ethics. So while I have never had an issue with KK Sports, I do know they use many third party programs under their name and this is something I would question when inquiring about camps or training. When I was on their website, I did not see any camps advertised, but you can probably call the location of choice and inquire what summer programs they have and ask who is running the program.

As I said before, this is just some programs I have heard of, even if I have no direct experience or knowledge of the programs. I encourage you to check out the websites and call and ask questions if you have interest. If any of my readers have comments or knowledge of any programs, please comment below. Let’s try to keep it positive and even if the experience wasn’t a good one, let’s try to just warn against the program while not bashing anyone. Everyone is looking for different things and willing to deal with different things. Tomorrow I will take an IN-DEPTH look at LI Rough Riders camps and remember all readers can get 20% off any of their camps, just mention the blog and use code “RRGAME20” when registering online. Friday, I will have an IN-DEPTH look a NY Red Bulls camps, another great set of training options for our players on Long Island.

Post Tryouts- The 2 Hardest Weeks

2013-06-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

A pretty Soccer Rainbow I offer as apology

Unfortunately, you have all learned the hard way the reality of the life of a Youth Soccer Coach and broken promises/intentions every June. I promised you my "Soccer Summer Camps on Long Island" special as well the much anticipated "Coachra v. Momzilla" posts. They are still on the way, but I should have known better than to make you promises the Toughest 2 Weeks for any Soccer Coach.
We have made it through the end of the season and we should be taking and giving our players and families a few weeks to regroup. Unfortunately, it is June and the Fall Registration Deadline is just a few weeks away in July. This means that instead of laying by the pool, we were at the soccer fields running or attending tryouts, and for us coaches, we then face what we dread, the soccer tryout call backs AND even worse, the registration process. For me, this was the first year in many that we not only had only a small number of open spots on my roster, but we had a few in-house issues to address with a few players and their families, AND we had 26 players show to tryout for basically 18 open spots. Reality being that all 16 of my players returned to tryout and at this age, we do not cut returning players due to lack of skill, but we will not invite them back for lack of commitment, which is an issue we had to deal with this year. So not only would I be having a difficult conversation with 1-2 of my players and their parents, but I would be calling about 8 players to notify them they did not make our team. This is the part that we rarely think about or talk about as coaches.

Once we make it past the difficult conversations and phone calls, we then get to enjoy the calls we make to the players we are inviting to return to the team and the few new players we are adding to the team. These phone calls are the fun ones. As a coach, I got to enjoy about 15 minutes of good news until my next dreaded Youth Soccer Timeframe began- REGISTRATION...a DREADED time for most coaches as we must chase down players and parents and make sure they have PROPERLY registered online at the Youth Soccer Club Website, provided all the necessary pictures, notarized birth certificates, and signed releases. THEN we get to play collection agent and track down parents to pay the registration fee. Just because 16-18 players and parents TELL you they are registering for the next year, but all coaches will tell you we do not breathe easy until all registrations are complete, paperwork in our hands, and registration money paid.

                 Basically, the point of this post is one big excuse as to why I have been MIA the last 2 weeks ;). It is also my personal vent as I dealt with my personal guilt yesterday while I made the difficult phone calls and may have broken a young soccer players heart, while I also take deep breaths and deal with the hundreds of phone calls and texts that I will deal with the next week until registration is complete and I have walked each player and parent through the ritual 6 billion times, the SAME process we have done every year for the last 4 years...not that I am complaining...

                   Please- share your Tryout or registration story or rant below. Also check back soon for the promised Summer Series AND I will be reviewing the Rough Riders FREE Goalkeeper Clinic and Tournament this weekend!

Coaches: Tips for a More Efficient and Organized Youth Soccer Tryout

2013-06-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Last night was the first tryout for my Long Island Youth Soccer team this year and I decided to share some of the information with my fellow soccer coaches that I have learned over the years. I can only chuckle at how far I have come since I ran my first youth soccer tryout about 4 years ago. Every year is a learning process and every year some new issue comes up that I figure out a better way to handle the next year. I hope that by sharing what I have learned, it will benefit either a new soccer coach or even a seasoned youth soccer coach who has run into the same problem and needed some help figuring out a better way to run the tryout next year (or if time, this year).

Every Long Island Youth Soccer Club handles tryouts differently and some run the tryouts as a Club and some allow the individual teams to handle their tryouts. In my Soccer Club, the Club schedules and runs the Tryouts, but as a Coach, I still am involved as if I am running the tryout. The ups and downs are that I have no control over the date and time of the tryouts, but I also do not have to worry about locating additional coaches/trainers to run the tryout and I can focus on the players and observing my team and our new options as they are taken through a tryout run by someone other than me. Fortunately, I am given final decision making power. Although I take the suggestions of the Third-Party Trainers VERY seriously, if I chose not to listen to their suggestions, I can choose whichever youth soccer players I want.

Regardless of who schedules the tryout, the following suggestions can be used by all to help ensure you have an organized and efficient tryout, which will help you roster a team that not only is skilled, but that will also have all positional needs covered and hopefully has some chemistry. It is easier to do this when you have a set plan and enough people and the proper equipment to have a good Youth Soccer Tryout.

1. Once you set up 2-3 dates for tryouts, ADVERTISE THE TRYOUT. This can be done by word of mouth/reaching out to players you may be interested in, and by posting the tryout son your club website and public sites such as www.backofthenet.com or if your team plays for Long Island Junior Soccer League, you can post the tryouts at www.lijsoccer.com. Be sure to include age, league/division, and your email and phone number so prospective players or parents can contact you prior with any questions.

2. Schedule to have 2-3 other qualified adults to run the soccer tryout. If you have a team trainer, the soccer trainer should be the one running the tryout and you and the trainer should agree on 1-2 other trainers or soccer coaches in the club that you trust. By trust, I mean that you know will show up for all the soccer tryouts and whose soccer knowledge and opinion you trust. The best Tryout is when you, as the coach, can focus on the paperwork and observing the players work with the other coaches/trainers.

3. Prior to the Soccer Tryouts, prepare (or purchase) soccer scrimmage vests (2 sets of different colors) numbered 1-25, unless you expect larger numbers of soccer players at tryout then have enough to for each player to have their assigned number in both colors (reversible vests with a number are best). We have tried different numbering options over the years including taping numbers to jerseys and shorts, pinning number cards, writing numbers etc. What we found is that sweat and forgetful kids mean that none of the above options are reliable. What works best is to use construction tape to number pennies or if you know you will be holding Tryouts over years (or maybe share with another coach) order reversible scrimmage vests (pinnies) with numbers screened on both sides of the vests. This allows you to keep track of the players with numbers assigned to each player and the ability to split into separate groups by color. A local soccer catalog/internet company (American Challenge www.achallenge.com) has a few different styles of vests available and for a small additional charge will put numbers on the soccer scrimmage vests. I have used this company for many years and have purchased warm ups, sweats, balls, and equipment for my team. In addition, I have purchased items for my sons and have used them to add numbers to t-shirts and jerseys. The quality of their work is excellent and I have never had a problem with their customer service. When I emailed them through their website, I received a pricing quote back to me within 30 minutes. I had sent two other companies requests for pricing quotes and never received a response. Depending on the vest you choose and numbers your price per vest will run you about $4-$12 a vest (discounts on larger orders) and numbers would be an additional $1.50/vest- 6” numbers 1-99 and $2.50/vest-6” numbers- 100+. Searching the web, I found another internet store that sold them www.soccergarage.com at a discount price of $5.25-$16 a vest without numbers, and www.amazon.com had them in sets of 12 from $12.75-$99 and individuals prices about $5.50, without numbers.

4. The Day Of Youth Soccer Tryouts- arrive at the fields about 30 minutes prior to tryouts and have players show up about 15 minutes prior to tryouts. Make sure that you and your trainer/Asst Coach have discussed the specific warm-ups, drills, and games they will run the players through. You want to typically break up your tryout into 15 minute warm up, 15 minute drills, 30 minutes small sided games, and 30 minutes full field scrimmage (if enough players), and 15 minute cool down.

5. While your assistants set up for the actual tryout, you should have a pre-printed sign up sheet that would include- Pinnine number, Players full name, Date of Birth, phone number, and email. You may also want to include a spot for previous team. **MAKE SURE PLAYERS DOB FALL WITHIN YOUR AGE GROUP**. As players arrive, have them fill in the form and issue them their numbered pinnie to correspond with the number they signed up under. At the end of the tryout, collect all pinnies and at the beginning of the next tryout have the players sign-in and give them the same numbered pinnie they had the prior Soccer Tryout.

6. After signing in all players, take some time to walk around and observe the tryout and different players. At some point, you will want to take 15 minutes to meet with the parents and discuss the team and answer any questions they may have. It is surprising how many parents are not aware of the financial and time commitment that Travel Youth Soccer requires.

7. Conference with your trainer/other coach during the tryout to see which youth soccer players each of you are interested in getting a better look at. At the end of the second tryout, you and them will create your final roster and always choose 2-3 alternate players you all agree would be good choices if any of the chosen players declines the invitation to the team.

8. I recommend that once the decision is made, you contact the parents and player that night or a minimum of 24 hours after the end of tryouts. In addition, set up to collect the registration money and paperwork from all players (including returning players) within a few days of the end of tryouts. Although you get verbal commitments to the team, it is not definite until you have the paperwork and money. This is why it is important to collect everything so soon to the end of tryouts. This way if any player does not provide the money and documentation, you should have time to find other soccer players to make the commitment to the team.

Somehow, this post has once again gone so long, but I feel it has a lot of great information for Long Island Youth Soccer Coaches on how to have a more efficient and organized Youth Soccer Tryout on Long Island. Everyone has a different style, and you do not have to take my advice, but when I was starting out and even the 2^nd and 3^rd year, I would have liked to have a post like this to read to give me some ideas on how to run a better tryout. Good luck! Please share any comments or other suggestions below!

Coming soon- the MUCH anticipated- “Coachra v. Momzilla”, and a look at the summer programs/camps offered by Long Island Rough Riders and NY Redbulls Youth Academy.

Rain Rain Go Away...

2013-06-07T17:55:00.003-07:00

It is Friday night on Long Island and the first soccer game of the weekend has already been cancelled due to Tropical Storm Whoever that is drowning us at the moment. Between my team and my boys we have 1 Little League baseball game and 4 more soccer games to get through in the next 48 hours. I am one of those weird people who, although we have multiple games every weekend, still HATES to have a game cancelled. Yes, I enjoy games in the rain and my favorite is in the snow. (True story- LOVED the snow game in March up in Yonkers.) My home club has turf fields, so we rarely cancel and I have developed a "Soccer Weather Ego". This is the ego where I snicker and sneer when I get the emails that my little guy's baseball or football game has been cancelled, and I quickly go to Facebook to "brag" that us "REAL" athletes, aka soccer players/coaches, will be braving the elements and playing through the rain, wind, snow...insert bad weather choice. Now I find, that I FB jinxed tonight's game and am hoping everyone hangs tough tomorrow. In my (arguably warped) thinking, I hope everyone realizes that it is more important to get the last weekend of games in for the season than worrying about some water on the field. (I HATE rescheduling games- ESPECIALLY once the season has ended- imagine notifying a kid he didn't make the tryout cut but needs to show up for our rescheduled season ender.) With all of that said- I sit here this rainy Friday night, have texted my "other sons" and their parents that if I don't notify them the game is cancelled they had better be at the field, and I have extra time on my hands to remind everyone just what the rules are for these rainy game day situations.
As a parent, you may wonder what the big deal is or why the coaches wait so long to make a decision about rescheduling a game. I am sure some of you have had the experience of driving 45 minutes to an away game, waiting 1 hour and then being told to drive back home because the game is indeed cancelled. Yes, you are right, it is the mind games of the inconsiderate coaches who just want to waste your time and gas. Ok, that is only partially true,( just remember what you say about us coaches when your child's team has a losing record before being too tough on us when we play the game to try to get our team an easy "W" in the standings.) **DISCLAIMER TIME: As a Soccer Mom AND Soccer Coach I have at some point thought/uttered/agreed with the majority of the complaints from both sides of the field- REMEMBER COACH MOMMY LI'S #1 RULE- COACHES AND PARENTS ARE HUMAN** There really is a reasonable explanation as to why things play out the way they do when the weather is bad.

The Coach of the Home Team has the most responsibility, and for many clubs even that coach is not the one making the final decision, but he is notified by the Club if the fields are open or not due to weather. So first, the coach must wait and see if the club closes the fields or not. He has until 2 hours prior to the scheduled start of the game to notify the referee and Away Coach if the fields are not playable. Very often it is not even up to the Home Coach if the fields are closed, but the Club determines if the fields are open or closed due to weather. If the Home Soccer Coach has not been notified by his club or has chosen not to cancel the game by the 2 hours mark then it is IMPERATIVE that all players show up at the field. Even if mom/dad/ and every other reasonable person has determined the weather is not appropriate for youth soccer, the player must show up at the field. Once the 2 hours prior to game time mark has past (ex. game time is 10am, Home Coach has until 8 am to cancel the game), the only person who can cancel a game is the referee. Both coaches must show up to the fields and have with them the minimum allowable number of players to field a team for the game (depends on age: ex. for U12 and above 9 of 11 players are required to start a game). If either team does not show or have enough players, the referee will call the game a forfeit with a win to the team that showed up with enough players. THIS is why many home coaches will not cancel a game unless the club closes the fields. Every home coach dreams of the day the other team fails to show for a rainy day game. It is a free win for that team.
What should occur if the game has not been cancelled, is that both teams arrive at the fields with enough players to play and the referee will then determine if the field is playable. If the referee determines the field us unplayable- the game will be considered a rescheduled game and the coaches have about 1 week to agree upon a new day and time to play and submit the information to the League office. It is the responsibility of the Home Team to find a field available at an agreed upon date and time. In the situations where the coaches can not agree, the League can become involved and possibly determine that one of the coaches is being unreasonable and the League will then issue a forfeit against that team or more likely assign a date and time that the game must be played.

I have provided a very diluted and basic explanation of the process. It is more to help parents understand just what is going on behind the scenes on days/nights like this. Although it seems like such a simple decision, as you can see, there is so much more going on behind the scenes. In addition, as you can see, even if you ended up taking the 45 minute drive to wait 1 hour for the referee to send you home, you are actually doing it for a reason. With that I wish you all a dry, safe, and fun last weekend of league youth soccer play on Long Island! Come and comment and let us know how your weekend end games went.

Long Island Youth Soccer Tryout Process: Final Steps- The Tryout

2013-06-04T18:13:00.001-07:00

Congrats! We have made it to the end of our first series and what a chockfull of information I have thrown at you. One of the things I like about writing this blog is that I really feel I have experienced the feelings and concerns and questions of a parent and am also able to include suggestions that most coaches wish parents considered. There is very often a lack of communication between parents and coaches and a lack of understanding. Hopefully my blog will help to bridge some of the misunderstandings. Alas, not every coach thinks the way I do, so I always remind you to always keep my suggestions in mind but have a conversation with your child’s Soccer Coach or prospective Coach to determine what their Youth Soccer Coaching beliefs and expectations are. Now, the last steps to having the best Tryout experience possible.

As a reminder, at this point you and your child and family have determined what you want in a soccer team and have discussed this with the current soccer coach. After the open and respectful conversation, you and the Soccer Coach determined that it is in the best interest of the child to find a new team. You have asked the coach for recommendations and hopefully the Soccer Coach was helpful and made some suggestions about possible new teams for your soccer player. You have also reviewed age appropriate Soccer Team Tryout options available at www.backofthenet.com and www.lijsoccer.com. Now we are in the final stretch and it is time to determine which tryout your child will attend.

5. Contact the Coaches of the top 3 teams you feel best meet your wants and ask for information from the coach about the team and role that your player may be used to fill, ask questions about practices, fees, training, substitution and play time policies, change of position, league team plays in, and location of most games and tournaments team attends, to name a few things you should consider.

After reviewing all of the Youth Soccer Teams that are having tryouts in your child’s appropriate age group, you want to make a list of the Top 3 teams you feel will best meet you and your child’s wants and needs for a Youth Soccer Team on Long Island. While making this decision you are going to want to consider the location of the team and length of travel for those weekly practices and home games. In addition, you want to make sure the Competition level is appropriate for your child. Once you have created your “Top 3 Possible Youth Soccer Team” list, I recommend emailing each coach and tell them your child’s age, prior team, and position of choice. I then recommend you asking them a few specific questions about the team. These questions should address your main determining factors for choosing a team. This could include amount and cost of training, location of training, number of leagues the team plays in as well as inquiring about the teams Tournament participation and the team’s activity in the off seasons of summer and winter. There is a possibility the coach may not respond, but it is worth the attempt to help you choose the first tryout you will attend.

**Some parents choose to attend more than one tryout at a time and then make a decision after hearing which teams the youth soccer player has been invited to join. As a parent I understand that doing things this way increases your options for your child, but as a coach I will never recommend that a player tryout for more than one team at a time.**

As always- COMMUNICATION! COMMUNICATION! COMMUNICATION! Open and honest can never steer you wrong.

6. Decide which team you feel would be the first pick for your child and you and attend that tryout

It is most fair for everyone involved to attend one tryout at a time. This way, if the child is offered a spot on the team they tried out for, when you are notified you can immediately accept the spot. Each team will do things differently. Some teams will notify the accepted players at the end of the tryout, but some teams will have multiple tryouts and notify the players anywhere from 1-72 hours (or more) after the tryout. If you find yourself in a situation where the team notifies you after the tryout ends and your situation has changed in that time frame- it would be appreciated by the coach if you send an email or phone call notifying the prospective team that the player should no longer be considered for the team. There are no specific rules to tryouts, but there is always the expected common courtesy of open communication.

7. If your child is chosen for the team, notify both the new coach and the current coach of your child’s decision within 24 hours. If the child is not chosen, repeat the steps and attend another tryout. I would NEVER suggest attending more than one tryout and then waiting to make a decision. If the child earns a spot on multiple teams, he may be taking a spot that he does not plan to fill from another player who will commit to the team.

Step 7 is basically just repeating what I mentioned above. These last few steps will move very quickly! Ideally, the child and parent will know their decision to join the new team as soon as the new Coach notifies them that they are offering the soccer player a spot on the team. In addition, the first phone call/email after the player commits to a new team should be to the previous coach.

As always, the information provided was a lot and sometimes drier than I wanted, but it is all valuable information for Long Island Soccer players and their parents. Finding a team that you and your child are comfortable and happy with is very important. At the end of the day, the most important thing for everyone to consider if the level of FUN and ENJOYMENT the soccer players are having. Good luck and please- comments and questions below! Coming soon is a “Coach’s Guide to an Effective and Organized Tryout” and “Momzilla v. Coachra.”

BONUS- IMPORTANT REGISTRATION/TRYOUT INFORMATION ALL SOCCER PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

2013-06-03T13:54:00.001-07:00

IMPORTANT REGISTRATION/TRYOUT INFORMATION ALL PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

Tryouts start towards the end of the Spring season and usually Soccer Tryout dates will begin to be announced in May, with most occurring the week after the season ends (usually 2-3^rd week of June). With more teams and leagues competing for players, a new trend has started in Long Island Youth Soccer where some teams are offering tryouts earlier in the Spring season. Most leagues require teams to register with a minimum number of players by the beginning of July. This does not mean that you cannot change teams after July, but you will find your options limited. Most leagues close down a team’s ability to add a new player by the middle of the Fall or Spring season. *If you register with one team for the season, you CAN NOT register for a different team later in the season, you will have to wait until the next season to play.* In addition, most players change teams in the summer and there are no additional costs to the parent. If you and your child choose to move teams between the Fall and Spring season, there can be fees of $100 or more that the parent must pay in addition to the registration and training costs. Many teams have also begun to offer “Open Practices” which is a way to allow your child to attend a few practices with a soccer team you are considering a move to. I like the open practice because it allows the child, parent, and prospective coach the opportunity to get a better idea of the chemistry of the team, the parents on the sideline, and the training style as well as your child’s response to the training style of the Coaches and trainers.

Tryout Process for Long Island Youth Soccer: Steps 3 and 4- Locating a Tryout

2013-06-03T12:36:00.001-07:00

At this point, if you have spoken with your child’s coach and still believe the best decision is to find a new team for your child, you will want to familiarize yourself with the following options. Sometimes, if your child is very skilled, you may have been approached by a different coach or you may have friends on a different team and you know what team for your child. If you know you want a new team, but you are not sure where you want your child to play, the next steps are for you. It has taken me years of coaching, asking questions, meeting other parents and coaches, and playing around on the internet to begin to figure out all of the different resources and options available on Long Island for things related to Youth Soccer.

3. Ask your current soccer coach if he/she has suggestions for another suitable team or tryout

I genuinely hope that the coach you are leaving is a reasonable person who puts the needs of the kids first. If the coach is a jerk and chooses to take the news badly, thank him/her for their time and walk away knowing you made the right choice. The hope is that the coach appreciates your honesty and is willing to offer some suggestions to you as to teams that may offer you and your soccer player what you are looking for. As a coach, we know other coaches and will usually have a less biased assessment of your child’s soccer skill level. We also know what clubs and teams are good places to be and which are poor sports or teach tactics and soccer beliefs that are not always in the best interest of the kids. We also may be able to reach out to the coach of the team you want to try out for and let the coach know the player is interested. It never hurts to ask the coach for an honest opinion and suggestion about a team that may better meet your players soccer wants and needs. In the Club where I coach, I work closely with the other coaches in my age group and the age group above and we have referred players to each other over the years in an effort to make sure that players in our Club remain in our club and that all teams are appropriately rostered. Unfortunately, not all Long Island Youth Soccer Clubs or coaches work together this way.

4. Search local resources for teams having tryouts and open practices; sites available for Long Island Youth Soccer and surrounding areas include: www.backofthenet.com and www.lijsoccer.com

Now that you have gotten through the hard part (yes, I know prior to this series you thought the hard part was the actual tryout), it is time to decide what team you and your youth soccer player want to play with. If the prior coach was able to offer suggestions, contact those coaches first and ask for information on the team and tryouts. If you need to find what options are available to your child, there are two options available to parent and players in Long Island Youth Soccer.

The first is BOTN (Back of the Net) at www.backofthenet.com and Long Island Youth soccer tryouts have been listed at this site for years. You do not need to have a login to access the different tryouts and can go and locate teams in your age group that are hosting tryouts and usually coach contact information will be available. In addition to the tryout posts, this website has a very active message board and you may be able to get information about teams by reading through the posts relevant to your child’s age group. **WARNING anyone can post in the message boards and all personal opinions posted in the message boards should be take with a grain of salt. All tryout information is verified by the moderator and can be trusted as valid**. As of last year, this site has been allowing posts for teams in all the area leagues. If a team posts a tryout on this board they cannot post anywhere else.

This year, Long Island Junior Soccer League, one of the larger youth soccer leagues on Long Island, has added a Tryout Board to their website www.lijsoccer.com. This site only has tryouts for teams in the Long Island Junior soccer league and it appears you need to create a login to access the site.

I hope your head is not spinning too much. There is a lot of information here, but good information. I believe you will find that when you put these suggestions into practice it is not as complex as it sounds. As always, please ask questions, share experiences, or comment below. Tomorrow we will take a look at the last 3 steps in the process.

The Long Island Youth Soccer Tryout Process- Step 2: The Coach

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A few years ago, I made the toughest decision in my youth soccer career as a coach and a mother. My team had worked hard and quickly moved up the ranks to a coveted D1 spot in Long Island Junior Soccer. The problem was that I knew we were not a D1 level team and also knew that although all of my players trained and played hard and had heart, it was 4 standout players who got us to D1 and in D1 you need an entire team to stay competitive. As a parent, I knew my son was one of those players and knew that it was time for him to switch to a trainer he was not related to, and I also wanted him on a team that was more competitive and that travelled out of state for tournaments. These were all things the majority of the parents on my team did not want for the team. I realized my son and a few of my players had outgrown our youth soccer team. The best interest for everyone involved was to help my 4 more skilled players move on to teams better for their needs and to drop my team to a less competitive level that better met the majority of the teams skill level as well as the wants of the parents. Although it was not the easiest change, what kept my team mostly intact and has left me with a great relationship with my former players is that I was open, honest, and communicated with everyone involved. With that we will take a look at the next step in the Youth Soccer Tryout Process.

2. Have an open/honest/respectful discussion with the child’s current soccer coach about what you and your child wants from a team and ask the coach about his plans/expectations for the player and team

IF YOUR VISION and HIS ARE NOT THE SAME, TELL THE COACH ABOUT YOUR PLANS TO EXPLORE OTHER TEAMS AS SOON AS DECISION IS MADE AND PRIOR TO ATTENDING OTHER TRYOUTS.

The ideal conversation with your child’s current coach should be done face to face. Once you make the decision to change teams, give the coach a call and ask for a few minutes after the next practice. If the coach prefers to discuss the issue over the phone, he/she will let you know at that point. While discussing your decision to change teams with the coach, be respectful and honest. If the issue is that you feel your child’s soccer goals are different than what the current team is offering, let the coach know. He may have plans for the team you are not aware of and may influence your decision. Have the conversation with an open mind, because if the coach is able to address your issues, it is always best to keep your child on the original Youth Soccer team. Keep in mind that a player leaving a team can affect the team’s plans for the following seasons and sometimes can even mean the team will not be have enough players to field a team the next season. This is why it is so important to discuss the issue with the coach as soon as possible and allow him and the other parents the time to determine the best move for the team and their children.

Honestly, it is very common that players change teams due to conflict between the parents and coach. This should also be addressed with the coach as he/she should be given an opportunity to address any conflict you believe exists and even if your conflict can’t be resolved, if the coach knows what’s best for the team, he/she will keep in mind any complaints that parents have and evaluate if they are valid and need to be addressed. We are all human- parents and coaches- Youth Soccer can be an emotional and intense sport, and sometimes we let it get to us in a bad way and sometimes we need to be told how it affected others. (Except for me because as a soccer mom and coach I have NEVER lost my temper with another coach, ref or parent, and ALWAYS compose myself perfectly on the sideline)

Depending on your relationship with your child’s soccer coach, this may be the most difficult step. If the relationship is not a good one, it may be the most enjoyable step for you. I have said goodbye to players that I was saddened to see the soccer player and the parent leave, but I also had a few who although I was sad to see the player go, I had to smile in relief that the parent was gone. (Hey- I can’t preach honesty without being honest!) Tomorrow, I will take a look at the next few steps in the Soccer Tryout Process. As always, please comment; ask questions or share experiences below!