For Players

It's hard to know what to expect when sports season comes around, even when you've been in it for a while.

Communication

Teams use GotSport to communicate. We coordinate the teams and rosters there, but your coaches will send you messages there. Additionally, when the season begins we will put the full schedule into GotSport and your coaches will update practices and games to reflect any changes.

Fields

We often make use of the Wells Rec multi-purpose field. We've also had the privilege to use the back field area at Tilcon. Depending on the number of teams and the requirements of the club, we'll schedule practices wherever makes the most sense at the time based on availability.

Scheduling

For the fall, you can typically expect 2 practices a week with games generally on Saturdays. There are sometimes scheduling conflicts or weather-related issues that cause games or practices to be rescheduled, but this is usually rare in the fall. For higher age groups, practices may vary dependent on the coaches and whether the players are also playing school soccer. We leave this up to the coaches to decide what is best for their team based on all factors involved.

For the spring, we usually have between 1-2 practices a week with games generally on Saturdays.

Equipment

We expect that kids come prepared with water/water bottles, shin guards, cleats (Tied cleats are a plus!). We provide most of the gear for practices and games such as nets, balls, cones, pinnies, and so forth.

If you wish for your child to use a mouth guard they can, however, I've never seen a child keep it in their mouth. This is something that you'll need to coordinate with them, so they understand your expectations.

Injuries

While we do everything we can to create a safe environment for the players, soccer is a physical sport that requires a lot of demand on the body and physicality from players. They will almost definitely come home with bumps and bruises. But if you cannot attend a practice or game, as noted above, please pay attention to GotSport or your phone while your child is playing. We will contact you if something more serious occurs.

Please contact your head coach if your player has any medical needs or restrictions about which they should know. Coaches can tailor parts of their practices to accommodate if needed. Also, please add your contact information to your GotSport account. While rare, we may need to reach out to you for any number of reasons and it’s important that we can while we’re working with your children. 

Sideline Expectations

Please help prevent referee abuse. You, your kid, and coaches can be dismissed from multiple games or worse, and the club can be fined. Let coaches and the club manage poorly refereed games and continue to put your focus into cheering for your player and their team, brush off anything else. Feel free to raise your concerns to the club or coaches after the game. Infractions to this may require action from the club not limited to removal from the club. 

Additionally, let your coaches coach. When you’re on the sidelines you are welcome to observe, cheer your kids and their teammates on, and be generally supportive. However, when you interject coaching from the sidelines it confuses the kids. In a sport where every second matters it makes them indecisive and delays their actual development. If you’re unhappy after a game or practice then please reach out to the coach, director of coaching, or any other board member.

We welcome volunteers. However, once the season has started only our vetted and trained coaches are allowed on the field whether it’s a game or a practice to work with the kids. All of our coaches go through background checks, sport specific training, and various safety training. It is for everyone that we have this policy in place.