|
To our
players and parents
You and your child are
about to begin a new season with the Southern Chester County Soccer
Association Travel Team program.
For those who have participated in the travel program before, some
of what follows may be repetitive; however you need to carefully read and
understand the information in this letter. If you have any questions, please
send them by email to
travel@scssasoccer.com
SCCSA has provided
children with an opportunity to participate in this wonderful sport since
1977. As many of you know the
club provides an in-house instructional program as well as a travel
program – together there are more than thirteen hundred children
participating in the club.
The Travel
Program has grown from 8 teams seven years ago to 20 teams this year. This sustained growth has only
been accomplished through the extensive and sometimes exhaustive efforts
of the many parent volunteers associated with the program. To them we owe our continued
thanks for their countless hours on and off the field.
This past spring we hosted our 8th annual SCCSA Spring Into Summer Classic Tournament
for travel teams. It was
an outstanding success and did much to improve the visibility and
recognition of our program.
To those of you who helped make this a success, my heartfelt thanks
and appreciation for all your efforts. We will host a tournament again
next spring and will again require all parents support to ensure its
success; your child’s coach will keep you informed as plans are
developed. If you are
interested in taking a more active role, please let me know by
email.
U.S. Club Soccer and United States
Youth Soccer Association (“USYSA”) are the national governing bodies our
teams play under. Most of our teams play under U.S. Club Soccer rules. A
few teams, play under Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association (“EPYSA”), which is USYSA’s recognized governing
body for our geographic area.
Many of the rules and regulations that we must adhere to are
established by these two bodies.
The two primary leagues that our children participate in, DELCO for the boys and PAGS for the girls, provide additional
structure, rules and requirements.
These two leagues are highly regarded and offer some of the highest
levels of competition in youth soccer in the East. We as a club fully support and
agree with both the letter and the intent of these rules and
regulations.
SCCSA’s
Travel Program has several goals and objectives. These
are:
To provide the
necessary training and coaching staff so your child can develop their
skills and knowledge of the game.
To teach our children
good sportsmanship in both theory and practice.
To provide interested
parents an opportunity to become actively involved in the growth and
development of our youth within the context of a structured sports
program.
To provide support
for parents interested in developing their coaching skills and
capabilities.
To provide an
appropriate level of competition for each child – in both their placement
on a specific team and that team’s selection of an appropriate competitive
environment.
To make each
child’s experience as positive and enjoyable as possible and to
continually foster a passion and love for the game. In a word – have
FUN.
It is sometimes
difficult for us as parents and coaches to understand and fully comprehend
perhaps the most basic underlying truth about our children – especially
when it comes to their development as soccer players. Within the limits of their
athletic abilities, they will become the player that they want to
be. The time and effort
they spend learning the skills required to play the game, developing an
understanding of the game and learning to be part of a team effort will be
the primary determinant of their success. The coaches and trainers
associated with the program, the leagues and tournaments that they
participate in, the summer camps and clinics they attend provide the
framework and instructional support – but in the end the success they
achieve is entirely dependent upon the efforts they put forth.
As with any
human endeavor, the more joy we take in an activity the more frequently we
want to do that activity. It
is therefore imperative that as parents, coaches and administrators we
seek to maximize our children's enjoyment. At the same time we must
recognize that our children have varied interests, must attend to
schoolwork, family and church commitments and equally important, have time
to just be kids. Within
the structure of the club we try to meet these needs in many ways from the
free clinics we offer to the summer “pick-up” games.
If we are
successful in achieving our goals, our children will have fun, take pride
in their club and become the soccer player they want to be – for some this
could culminate in playing for their middle and high school teams and for
others it may lead to playing at the collegiate level and beyond. As coaches we take particular
pride in the scholastic accomplishments of the players coming out of our
club program.
Travel Soccer is a
competitive game – it’s why we keep scores and standings, have playoffs
and reward champions. A
primary objective of SCCSA as well as EPYSA and USYSA is to develop
players to the highest level that they have the athletic ability and
commitment to achieve.
However, great players do not develop from only practicing twice a
week and playing a game on the weekend. They become great players because
they develop a passion and love for the game, but not because their
parents push them or constantly ride them to work on their skills. We can nurture and support them,
but we can’t do it for them and applying undue pressure only serves to
eventually turn them away from the sport. As the saying goes: “you can lead a horse to water,
but you can’t make them drink”.
Each child
is unique and develops according to the lessons that they learn within the
family, school, church and every activity that they participate in. It is incumbent upon
us to provide our children with proper example for it is from us that they
learn most of their behavior.
Unfortunately, there has been a growing problem in the USA within
youth sports related to the behavior of players, coaches and parents. The causes for this can be debated
at length; the reality is that actions must be taken to end it. Within our sport and our primary
competitive leagues, DELCO and PAGSL, there has been extensive discussion
about these issues and actions have been taken to address them including
an improved reporting system for notifying league officials of problems
and random observations of behavior at games.
We have
developed the following guidelines governing the behavior of players,
coaches and parents within SCCSA.
These guidelines are consistent with the goals and objectives of
the club and must be adhered
to.
GUIDELINES
FOR PLAYERS
Good sportsmanship and
respect is to be shown at all times to parents, coaches, teammates,
opponents and referees.
Players are to follow the rules and
training regimens established by their coaches and trainers.
Players must adhere to
all league rules and regulations.
Foul language and
taunting will not be tolerated.
Fighting or playing
with an obvious intent to injure will be dealt with appropriately by both
the league and the club.
Players are free to
ask any question of their coaches; they should not have their parents ask
on their behalf.
Coaches should be made
aware of any illnesses or injuries or planned absences from training
sessions or games.
GUIDELINES
FOR COACHES
Good sportsmanship and
respect is to be shown at all times to parents, teammates, opposing
coaches, opponents, spectators and referees.
Foul and abusive
language will not be tolerated.
Player safety comes
first and foremost, before the need to win.
Players are to be
given equal and fair treatment at all times. This does not, however, mean equal
playing time.
Training sessions
shall be well organized and structured to maximize participation and
touches on the ball for all players.
Players shall be
encouraged to develop all aspects of their game and given the opportunity
to play multiple positions.
Questions by players
shall be honestly answered in a manner suitable to their abilities to
comprehend them.
Questions by parents
about their child are to be answered promptly, forthrightly and in a
confidential manner.
Questions about another player shall be deferred to that player’s
parents or guardians.
All SCCSA, league,
EPYSA and USYSA rules and regulations must be adhered to: This includes player and team
registrations, filing of game reports, attendance at required meetings,
and following established procedures for dealing with
problems.
Coaching from the
sideline should be kept to a minimum. Players must learn to communicate
among themselves and “figure out” the game as it is being
played.
Coaches are encouraged
to continually improve their knowledge of the game and their coaching
skills by participating in advanced coaching licensing programs, clinics
and independent study.
Coaches are
responsible for the sideline behavior of their players, parents and
other spectators associated with SCCCSA. To this end, coaches may remove
any parent or spectator from the field during a game or training session
for failure to adhere to these established
guidelines.
GUIDELINES
FOR PARENTS
Good sportsmanship and
respect is to be shown at all times to your child, your child’s coaches,
teammates and their parents, opposing coaches, opponents and parents,
spectators and referees.
Derogatory or abusive
language is expressly prohibited.
Parents are not to
address the referees under any circumstances. That is the role of the speaking
captains on the field and the coaches. Parents are also prohibited
from addressing the referee away from the game. Questions about calls and game
situations shall be directed to the coaches; coaches may, at their
discretion, seek clarification from the referee.
Parents, regardless
of any playing or coaching experience, are not to coach the team from the
sideline under any circumstances. Involvement as a parent/fan must
be limited to positive statements that encourage fair play and
sportsmanship without providing specific instructions to players during
the play of the game.
Parents can discuss
any problems and questions pertaining to their child with that child’s
coach. However, players
should be encouraged to ask their coaches any questions they have and not
filter them through their parents.
Parents cannot discuss
another child with the coach; such questions must be directed to that
child’s parent or legal guardian.
Parents and spectators
must follow the instructions of the coach and/or referee during a game
– including leaving the area if their behavior or actions so warrant
it.
While some of the
rules laid out above may seem obvious, these are the guidelines that we
operate under as a club. It
is my sincere hope that no SCCSA parent or spectator will ever have to be
prohibited from watching his or her child play; however, we will take such
action if necessary.
Please
review these Guidelines with your spouse and your
child.
Wishing all
our children success and enjoyment during the coming year,
|
