|
Matt Noah
home: 701.282.9344,
Purpose This web site is meant to convey information about a U11 Boys competitive/traveling soccer team for Summer 2009. It should give prospective soccer parents enough information to make an informed decision about involving their son on a competitive soccer team.
History In the Summer of 2007 there were 4 traveling U10 boys teams in the FM Area; Moorhead, West Fargo, Red River and Fargo. For the age group definitions, please click here. The Fargo team, aka Fargo Soccer Club, began fielding teams in 2007 with a single U10 team made up of U6, U7, U8 and U9 players. While very young, the boys were 14-8-1 and only lost 2 games by more than 1 goal. For 2008, we fielded a U10 team with mostly U9 and U10 players. The boys were 20-4-4 and were undefeated against North Dakota U10 competition. The 4 losses were to a ND U11 team and 3 Minnesota teams. The boys outscored their opponents 158-56 despite being the youngest team on the field in all but a couple of games. We are looking to add a few players for 2009 as our roster size can expand from 12 to 14 players. We lost a few boys to other baseball, to our younger team and to a waning interest in soccer. In 2008 we had 2 traveling teams (U10 boys and U12 girls). For 2009 we will probably have 3 teams (U11 boys, U10 girls, U9 boys). One of the underlying reasons we are growing is that we offer a less expensive, higher quality soccer program than the other local clubs. See www.fargosoccer.org for a comparison between our Summer team, Red River and a prototypical Twin Cities team.
Rec Soccer Recreational soccer in the Fargo area typically involves 2 soccer events per week; a practice and a game. The Fall season is 6 weeks long while the Spring season is 5-6 weeks long. Everyone plays equally at every position and for the same amount of time. Coaching is typically done by parent volunteers who may or may not have any soccer experience or soccer coaching training. The cost is minimal.
Competitive Soccer Competitive, aka traveling soccer may involve a try-out and team placement. At the U11 level, we have already conducted try-outs for the 2009 team and selected 9 players. We will add 3-5 more players. A high proficiency and motivation are required to participate successfully at the competitive soccer level. Boys who are obviously suited better for recreational soccer will be directed towards recreational soccer. Only the top 10-20% of recreational soccer players will be comfortable at the competitive soccer level.
Competitive soccer will involve 3-4 soccer events per week during the peak of the season on average. However, when a weekend tournament includes 3-4 games, the preceding week may also include 2 practices. Pre-season training and practices typically only involve 2 practices per week. Players are expected to commit to soccer as their primary sport and forgo other sports when conflicts arise, e.g. baseball. Soccer games can start in early May but typically start in mid-May and end by June 30. If we have July games, we will take a 1-2 week break around July 4 so families can enjoy other family activities. Boys playing on our U11 traveling team can play on a rec team in Spring 2009 if they are currently registered on the rec team.
Pre-season and Season Pre-season indoor turf training can start anytime but we anticipate twice a week training for 4 weeks starting in mid-March, twice a week practice outdoors starting in mid-April. May practices will be 2-3 per week and the team will decide on dates, places and times.
Games The Fargo Soccer club will schedule weekday games with teams within a 100 mile radius; both home and away games. This will cover about 50% of our season. The other 50% of our season will be 2-3 weekend tournaments. In 2007, we played in the Twin Cities, Grand Forks and Detroit Lakes for our weekend tournaments. In 2008 we played in 4 weekend tournaments; 1 early June tournament in the Twin Cities, 2 in Fargo (June & July), one in Grand Forks (June) and a 1-day tournament in Detroit Lakes on July 19. Our weekday games were played in Jamestown, West Fargo, Fargo, Detroit Lakes and Alexandria. Other Fargo competitive soccer teams do not compete in local soccer leagues. Instead, players compete in weekend tournaments both locally and in places like Bismarck, Sioux Falls, Grand Forks, Duluth and Minneapolis/St. Paul. For 2009, we anticipate 10-12 league games on weeknights and another 12-16 games in 3-4 weekend tournaments. The reason the Fargo Soccer Club is so much less expensive than RRSC, for example, is that we try to avoid hotel stays and long trips to tournaments.
Pre-Season Meeting Usually in January or February, the team holds a pre-season meeting to discuss expectations, schedules and go over the ground rules for the upcoming season.
Expectations At the U11 level, each player is expected to play every position in the 8v8 playing format. Every player will play close to an equal amount of time each game. U11 is the first time unequal playing time occurs. Typically, every player will play at least 40% of every game. With 14 players and 8v8, most players will play 45-50% of each game, some players playing up to 60% of a game. Since development is an essential element of soccer at this age, we will strive to get every player equal playing time by playing less skilled players more during games where we are either way ahead or way behind. Small variations to this philosophy may occur due to player absences, attitude issues, behavior issues, position assignments or other variables. Winning is secondary to other goals such as player development, team morale, sportsmanship and enjoyment. Players will be evaluated at least twice during the season based upon (1) attendance at all team events (practices, games, meetings), (2) coach evaluations.
Costs There are 3 elements of cost; (1) Club registration fee and (2) uniform fee and (3) travel fees. The Club registration fee is $295/player/season. Our uniform fee is $70. We try to minimize travel fees as much as appropriate but food, lodging and transportation are the responsibility of each family.
Coaching Trained coaches will conduct pre-season training, practices and season coaching. US Soccer certifies coaches at the A, B, C, D, E and Youth level. Youth-trained coaches receive the least amount of training; usually 3-6 hours. E-certified coaches receive 18 hours of on field and classroom training. D-certified coaches receive 36 hours of on field and classroom training. A small number of D-certified coaches are allowed to obtain C or higher coaching licenses run at national coaching camps. A coach with a C license typically has a full week of training at a national coaching camp. Most competitive traveling coaches have personal soccer experience but some do not.
Personal Coaching History I hold a D license and have coached the U10 FSC team (Summer 2007, Fall 2007, Summer 2008, Fall 2008), a U9 Boys team (Summer 2006) in Chanhassen, MN which was made up of 6 U7 and 5 U8 players. I co-coached many of the same boys on a Fall U9 team (Fall 2005) in Chanhassen. I have coached rec soccer for 6 years from pre-K to 5th grade soccer.
U9/U10 Playing Roles (Formation): www.mattnoah.com/soccer/u9u10/roles.jpg
Formations (all age groups): www.mattnoah.com/soccer/u9u10/formations.pdf
Videos: Footwork | Sumo | Great Goals, Tricks, Moves | Greatest Miss Ever | Goalie - Ooops
|
