The Weston Soccer Club, Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization managed by volunteers. The Club delivers quality age and skill-appropriate soccer programs to boys and girls grades Pre-K through 12 and adults in Weston, Connecticut.
New Fall 2017 Game Size and Roster Caps: Beginning in Fall 2017, pursuant to CJSA mandate, the following game and roster size rules will be in effect:
U9 and U10: teams will play in 7 vs. 7 small-sided games and team game rosters will be capped at 12 players.
U11 and U12: teams will play in 9 vs. 9 games and rosters will be capped at 16 players.
U13 and U15: teams will continue to play in 11 vs. 11 games, with no change to roster cap rules.
Because of these new U9-U12 roster caps, where it is skill-appropriate, some children may be placed on a team one age-group higher. It is the intention of WSC to offer a skill-appropriate roster position to every Academy and Travel player who registers and pays in full by the seasonal registration deadline.
Welcome to the WestonSoccer Development Academy (“Academy”),your child’s first step into competitive soccer representing the town of Weston. The Weston Soccer Club, Inc., (“WSC”) is pleased that you have chosen to participate in our program, and we hope that you and your child will enjoy the experience and gain valuable knowledge about the game.
WSC believes that the establishment of a strong training program with a formal curriculum for young players is the necessary first step in ensuring that all of our players learn the skills they need to be successful on the soccer field. The creation of the Academy mirrors on a smaller scale the efforts of the U.S. Soccer Federation, which recently appointed Claudio Reyna to the post of national Youth Technical Director with the directive of creating curricula for young players. The concept behind the
Academy is also reflective of youth academies that have been established by major professional clubs around the world.
The Academy will span your child’s 3rd and 4th grade school yearsand is designed to help develop the individual soccer player by building confidence through a fun and challenging environment. Before this season starts, please be aware that winning is NOT everything, and the only GOALS that count are the individual goals set by the coach. Like all youth academies around the world, the Weston Soccer Development Academy emphasizes development of the individual player’s skills and confidence with the ball.
Starting with Fall 2010, all Academy teams will compete in the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association (CJSA) U9 and U10 travel leagues in both fall and spring seasons. These are developmental leagues in which standings and results are not tracked. All teams within the Academy will be balanced, and there will be no tryouts or cuts, as every player who attends will play. If there is a season in which there are too many players for one team and not enough for two teams, then the coaches will institute a rotation system. The rotation system means every Academy student will be at every practice but will miss one game during the season; this will ensure that every player has quality time on the field rather than a quantity of time per game. Teams are not set in stone from season to season; the spring teams will still be balanced but will have different players from the fall. We believe that playing with different players will also aid in player development and growth.
The Academy players will practice twice a week before they play a game on Sunday afternoon. All Academy players will wear the uniform provided by the Academy (T-shirt with Academy logo) at all practices. During games, the coach will encourage the players to use the skills that were taught that week in practice so that the players are not overloaded and have achievable goals. Each week the skill demand from the coach will be different but still attainable, as they would have practiced it twice during the week. Once a young soccer player feels that he or she can achieve, then the player will grow in confidence and will be able to keep lifting his/her own performance bar.
All Academy teams will play in one tournament per season, which will be paid out of Academy fees, and they will all attend the same tournament at the same time. The current plan is for all teams to participate in the Bethel tournament in the fall and the Newtown tournament in the spring. Both tournaments are within 25 minutes of Weston and are very well organized.
To ensure the success of the Academy and its players, every person involved must be on the same page. Therefore, we will ask spectators to know what the Academy players concentrated on during a given week and to cheer for the attempts and the achievements of the particular goals set for that week (the weekly curricula are set out below). Do not worry about what players should have or could have done and concentrate on what was successful. During your child’s time in the Academy program, you will be expected to exhibit good sportsmanship and encourage every player. Always remember - let the players play and let the coaches coach, and be encouraging at all times.
All Academy players and parents will be asked to sign the Academy Player and Parent Agreement, which sets forth the goals and objectives of the program, and asks for a pledge to work towards those goals. A signed Agreement will be required before any player may take the field as an Academy player.
Once again, welcome to Weston Soccer Club and its Development Academy, and we hope that you enjoy many years of happy soccer in Weston.
