WESTON SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY - New for Fall 2010 Incoming 3rd and 4th Graders

 

OVERVIEW 

Welcome to the Weston Soccer 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 years and 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. 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 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 (see below), 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.
 

ACADEMY DIRECTOR

• Kevin Fitzsimmons, Soccer Extreme Coaching Director and WHS Boys’ Varsity Head Coach

COACHES

In any field of learning, the best teachers and coaches should work at the younger ages so that the early

learning experience is productive, fun, and challenging. Therefore, the best coaches for this age group

within the town will coach in the Academy.
 

All coaches selected for the Academy will only work with 3rd and 4th grade players or until the Academy

Director sees otherwise. Once the teams reach 5th grade, they will be passed on to other coaches or again

until the Academy Director sees otherwise.

COST

The cost of the Academy is $325/season. This fee includes a practice T-shirt as well as tournament fees.

REGISTRATION

Registration will open the week of June 1. All players wishing to participate in the Academy must register and pay online at

www.westonsoccer.com by June 30th. Registration fees are non-refundable once the season begins.

We will accommodate late signups through July 15th, but a late fee of $35 will apply.

UNIFORMS

Academy players are required to purchase a complete game uniform set (one blue jersey, one white

jersey, blue shorts and blue socks). Warm-ups and backpacks are available, as well, but are optional.

Jersey numbers will be assigned by the Club.

Uniforms and equipment are available at:

  

An email explaining uniform procedures will be sent to parents following registration.

VOLUNTEERING

The Club operates through the involvement and commitment of its member families. In order to ensure the

quality of its programs, the Club requires that all members participate in Club operations through a

selection of defined jobs.

3rd GRADE

Practices will be held on Mondays and Thursdays at either 3:45pm or 5:15pm, and games will be

played on Sundays, not Saturdays, as scheduled by our travel league, the Southwest District (SWD)

of CJSA.

The 3rd grade teams will be balanced for both the fall and spring seasons, with new teams being formed in

the spring so that all players get the chance to play with different players. Whenever possible, two or three

teams will be encouraged, but if the numbers are too low for multiple teams and too many for one team,

then a game rotation system will be employed. There will be no tryouts or cuts for the Academy, so every

child interested in soccer will play and learn.

All 3rd grade Academy players must not exceed U9 years of age as of August 1st of the season year in

accordance with CJSA guidelines (please see the CJSA Age Group Requirements Chart found under the

Travel tab).  Therefore, all players in the Academy will practice and play together according to age and not grade;

however, 3rd grade players who fall within the U8 age group will still play U9 Academy soccer.

Any 3rd grade student who will be too old to play 3rd grade Academy soccer when attending 3rd grade in

school should and must be encouraged to play 4th grade Academy soccer (below).

Any 2nd grade student who will be too old to play 3rd grade Academy soccer when attending 3rd grade in

school is encouraged to join the Academy while still in 2nd grade. This may be done in the fall or in the

spring, depending on the individual readiness of the player. Any parent with questions in this area is

encouraged to contact the Academy Director.

Every 3rd grade student will receive a player evaluation form written by his/her coach at the end of both the

fall and spring seasons. The evaluation forms will be reviewed by the coach with both the player and

his/her parents/guardians.

3rd GRADE (U9) CURRICULUM

The fall curriculum is designed to encourage players to be comfortable with the ball and to be able to use a

series of moves that will enable them to avoid a challenge, change direction or get past an opposing player.

To help achieve these goals, the coach will run1v1 and 2v1 drills during practices, as this helps encourage

players to keep the ball rather than pass. By the end of the fall season, Academy players will be

comfortable dribbling and should be able to execute at least two of the moves during a competitive game.

The spring curriculum is designed to continue developing the individual’s techniques. To aid this

development ten minutes will be allocated at the beginning of every session for juggling practice, with the

player with the most juggles being announced by e-mail to the whole team or by being posted on the

Weston Soccer Club website. The competitive element of juggling will encourage the kids to practice with

the ball more and, in turn, help them with their first touch and control.

4th GRADE

Practices will be held on Mondays and Thursday at either 3:45pm or 5:15pm, and games will be

played on Sundays, not Saturdays, as scheduled by SWD CJSA.

The 4th grade teams will be balanced for both the fall and spring seasons, with new teams being formed in

the spring so that all players get the chance to play with different players. As in 3rd grade, whenever

possible, two or three teams will be encouraged; but if the numbers are too low for multiple teams and too

many for one team, then a game rotation system will be employed. There will be no tryouts or cuts for the

Academy, so every child interested in soccer may continue to play and develop.

All 4th grade Academy players must not exceed U10 years of age as of August 1st of the season year in

accordance with CJSA guidelines (please see the CJSA Age Group Requirements Chart found under the

Travel tab). Therefore, all players in the Academy will practice and play together according to age and not grade;

however, 4th grade players who fall within the U9 age group will still play U10 Academy soccer.

Every 4th grade student will receive a total of three written player evaluations, completed by their

respective coaches and reviewed with player and parent/guardians present.

The first evaluation will occur at the end of the fall season. The second evaluation will be completed at the

beginning of the spring season so the player has a chance to work on improving the areas highlighted by the

coach before the final evaluation. The third and final evaluation will be completed near the end of the

spring season.

4th GRADE (U10) CURRICULUM

As the Academy players enter their second year, more emphasis is placed on understanding the roles and

demands of positions on the field. Learning how to defend and how to use different parts of your body to

play the game is essential at this age. Weekly juggling before every session should still be in place and

results should be posted weekly on the website.

During their final season, 4th grade Academy players will focus on how to possess the ball as a team.

Working on getting open and looking for space when not in possession of the ball will be the main

coaching point during this season. Weekly juggling before every session should still be in place and results

should be posted weekly on the website.