Multi-sport athletes

We are getting emails from parents worried about their son missing tryouts because of their winter sports.  They have all been told that the current season sport comes first.  And we expect the same from their other coaches when soccer season is in progress.

Here is my thing... if your son's upcoming coach tries to force you to miss your current season commitment, you need to find a new coach.   Parents should never be afraid to declare that their son has a commitment in progress.  NEVER.

When the time comes to make a decision and decide on a sport, you will know.

Letter sent to parents to start 2012 season

I am very excited to get back at it.  I don't enjoy the actual selection process but I enjoy working with the boys.  Every year I like to give as much info as possible as sessions progress.  This year I wanted to have a mission statement to work around, to serve as a guide against which I can test the validity of any program decisions.

We sent this letter out to all the candidates' parents for our sessions that start on Tuesday:

January 10, 2012

Dear parents,

Welcome to Soccer 2012 and U13 soccer. 

We hope everybody had a relaxing holiday with the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. 

Here is the timeline we will follow for selections:

After January 19, we will reduce the list of candidates.

After February 2, we will have the first and second teams selected.

For the group of practices leading up to January 19, we require $20.00/player.  Please provide this in an envelope with their name written on it (with the $20.00 inside) and hand it in before your son takes the field.  There will be an assigned individual who will be collecting money.  Please make their job easy by finding them and not waiting to be found.

Please do not ask us to give you answers of your son’s status outside of our timelines.  We understand that some boys are trying out for other teams but it would be unfair to the group if some candidates were given information in advance of others.

All information during tryouts will be posted at http://www.iaw.com/19999boys .

We congratulate the boys in advance for their desire to play to travel soccer.  It’s unfortunate that there are more candidates than spots because an athlete who wants to play soccer and push himself should be given that opportunity.  We will help all the boys feel at ease during the process and treat everybody with respect.   You can help by encouraging them to be themselves and allow them to make their own decisions while on the field.

Our mission statement for the program this year is:

“To provide an enjoyable, safe and respectful experience where each
player feels they are included, improving and contributing.”

The commitment this year will include 2-3 training sessions plus game per week, 3 tournaments plus pre-season friendly games.  The approx budget per player will be approx $200-$250/player over and above club registration.  Registration will probably be in the range of $350.00 again.

After the teams are picked we will begin to approach parents for various roles on each team (treasurer, party organizers, equipment, game day crew, etc).

If you have any questions please feel free to ask a coach before or after the practices or contact me by email at frankd@iaw.com .

On behalf of Coaches Paul, John, John, Crane and Dave,

Frank DeChellis

LTPD in Hockey

Holy Cow!  It was so exciting to see the Dec 2011 OMHA magazine "Hometown Hockey" print a story on LTPD .  The digital version of the magazine is not up yet.

If there is any group out there opposed to this, it's the "traditional" hockey people.  They would be shocked to know hockey was one of the first sports on board.

Hockey Canada has a link to their LTPD structure but the OMHA does not.

A previous post on this site "An article I wrote defending LTAD/LTPD " (Dec 10, 2011) addressed this issue.

The funny thing about LTPD is we had to give it a name to sell it.  Other countries call it "the way we've always trained our athletes and win medals and continue to beat Canada at everything" program.

Thursday Clinic 8 of 8

I had to miss the last session of our Thursday clinics for a funeral visitation.  I did not know him personally but he was the grandfather of somebody very close to us.   I discovered the deceased was a football man and die-hard Celtic supporter, so might have forgiven me for going to the clinic.

Assistant Coaches

To be an effective coach I require a suitable assistant who fits my requirements and be able to offer an worthwhile experience to them in return.

I am amazed at how people underestimate the importance of a good assistant coach.

There is nothing I've cherished more over the years than a good assistant coach.  I've been blessed over the years because I've been picky.

I've always hand selected them and never just asked for a volunteer.  At the same time, I've never walked into a situation where an assistant was selected for me.

All of my assistants over the years have brought something of value to the team.  One year I went half a season without an assistant until I found one suitable for the situation.

My current assistant, Paul, has been great.  He has a very decent understanding of the game.  He has good vision and he respects the boys' efforts.  When you are watching the game, the clock and the bench you tend to miss things.  Paul notices and makes suggestions.  Paul has taken good care of himself and that lends to credibility with the boys when it's time to demonstrate a new task.  He's a police officer and a good family man, so he also serves as a solid role model for the boys.

I have several criteria when I am searching for an assistant:

• Honest enough to not just say "yes" to everything I suggest
• Something to offer the team/players
• Knowledge for me to learn to from
• Willing to learn
• The team must have something to offer the assistant (soccer knowledge/experience/enjoyment)
• Compatible with me (humour/attitude/philosophy)
• Committed

I've seen coaches call early season parent meetings and ask "Who wants to be an assistant coach?" I watch in disbelief when it happens and hope everything works out.

Over the years I've seen some disgruntled assistants undermine coaches' efforts and watched teams implode as a result, but that has been the exception and not the rule.  Fortunately, I've never had that problem.