How to kick off your season with the right foot?
1. Review League Rules
Get ready for emails from your league or club registrar regarding updates to the registration process for the new season. Take the time to follow the details in order to prevent delays. New seasons often come with updates and processing changes that demand time to figure out hiccups. Your league registrar is your ‘been there, done that’ contact. Stay in contact. Reaching out to current and former coaches/managers is a great way to gain invaluable advice and to bounce ideas off.
2. Roster & Team Seeding
Your players are the reason why you are there. Make your roster ASAP following tryouts. Know the dynamics of your team’s age regarding celebrations which can affect attendance at games or practices. When you select a division consider challenging your team in all areas – physical, technical, tactical, and mental, not just wins and losses. What’s more important, division champions or lifelong lessons?
3. Registrations
Have you realized it’s the end of the week and you don’t have all players registered? In order to play in the new season, your players, coaches and managers must be registered on the league platform before the deadline date. You may need to find an extra coach and/or manager to make the process easier. If you have a group of 3 – 4 duties can be shared. Track down your new parents early for their child’s proof of age (birth certificate or passport). Submitting this to you registrar can be via a scanned copy for email or by a ‘hard’ copy.
4. Team Uniform
Find out the steps for your new uniforms and how to submit your order. Ordering online or by phone are common practices. However, before you place your order check that your player(s) are registered and they have a uniform number. Before placing your order make sure you match your player’s size correctly with your manufacturer.
5. Background Check & Certification
Imagine your an ex-con coaching your child. I have experienced this being on the board of directors for a club. In today’s youth sports you have to undergo background screening and safety sport training. Check with your registrar to know your expiration before the end of the soccer year (8/31). You may not be able to obtain your coach pass if these are not satisfied.
You can obtain your grassroots entry level coaching credentials from US Soccer Federation or your local state association. Gaining education is invaluable when working with kids. You will learn the fundamentals of the coaches’ role, child psychology and game/team management.
Your grassroots course can take between 4 to 6 hours.
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