2010 FALL REC SEASON INFORMATION - Program runs from Saturday September 11, 2010 to Saturday October 30, 2010 - THIS IS A SATURDAY ONLY PROGRAM - CLICK ON SCHEDULE -YOUTH REC IN THE LEFT MENU FOR THE ENTIRE FALL 2010 REC LEAGUE SCHEDULE

We have changed the Recreational Soccer Program for this year. We are offering a U5/6 Academy Program for $50, and U7 - U16 Recreational Soccer for $70. The U8 Advanced Recreational Soccer for $120 is a SUMMER ONLY PROGRAM not available for Fall Rec.

THE BENEFITS OF THE NEW U5/U6 ACADEMY PROGRAM:
-Eliminates the pressure on the parents to coach
-Provides parents interested in coaching with structured, skill-based training
-Exposes kids to a wide variety of players
-Gives all children equal exposure to a variety of well-trained coaches
-Develops developmentally appropriate soccer skills
-Stresses fun, health and cooperation instead of the win/lose pressure of specific teams
-Eliminates treats since there are no set teams

PRACTICE SNEAK PEEK:

Children will arrive at the Field of Dreams at their assigned time/day. They will then be randomly divided into groups of 10 and escorted to their field by a coach. All small groups will practice the same skills for approximately 1/2 hour, developing new techniques each week. Afterward, they play play 3v3 scrimmages.

U8 Advanced Recreational Program SUMMER ONLY PROGRAM:

Program Details:

This program is open to boys and girls age 7 and 8. They must be 7 or 8 years old by 7/31/2010 to be eligible. The program will run for 9 weeks on Mondays and Wednesdays on Field 14. All the players will train together on Monday and Wednesday with at least one professionally trained coach for each group of 12.

2010 U7/U8 Advanced Recreational Schedule
Monday and Wednesday nights: Girls play at 5:45, Boys play at 7:00
Saturdays: Girls and Boys play at 10:00

Saturday May 1
Monday May 3 Wednesday May 5 Saturday
May 8
Monday May10 Wednesday May 12 Saturday
May 15
Monday May 17 Wednesday May 19
Monday May 24 Wednesday May 26
Off Wednesday June 2
Saturday June 5
Monday June 7 Wednesday June 9
Monday June 14 Wednesday June 16
Monday June 21 Wednesday June 23 Saturday
June 26
Monday June 28 Wednesday June 30
Off Wednesday July 7
Saturday July 10

Questions can be directed to our hotline 715-381-7227 or by emailing us at askus@hudsonsoccer.com.

AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE IS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE BIRTHYEAR GUIDELINES AND A TENTATIVE SUMMER AND FALL SCHEDULE FOR 2010. ON THE RIGHT UNDER QUICKLINKS IS THE TEAM SCHEDULE SEARCH AND TEAM PAGE SEARCH. THESE WILL NOT BE UPDATED WITH THE SUMMER INFORMATION UNTIL THE TEAMS ARE FORMED. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE 1 WEEK PRIOR TO THE START OF THE 2010 SUMMER PROGRAM BEGINNING THE FIRST WEEK OF MAY 2010.

HSA ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS SUMMER 2010

HOW DOES THE U6 SCRAMBLE DEVELOPMENTAL LEAGUE WORK?
The players will show up at the Field of Dreams at their designated field (i.e. Field 10) at their designated time on their designated night of the week; they will then be randomly assigned to group of 10 players and escorted to a small sided area (i.e. Field 11a, Field 11b, etc.). At their small sided field there will be a trained and educated coach who will then coach the 10-12 kids. Like the existing classic recreational program the session will consist of 30 minutes of developmentally appropriate activities and then the group will be divided in half and play a 15 minute 3v3 game.

WHY NO DESIGNATED TEAMS?
U6's do not belong to a team. U6 players do not pass or otherwise participate as a team. U6 kids simply want to have fun. Having fun for a U6 player is to have the ball ALL THE TIME- which is developmentally appropriate. We should not treat U6 kids as mini-adults that need to play on a team because adults are more comfortable measuring team results. The lack of specific teams will promote a more appropriate emphasis on individual development rather than team development.
The lack of teams also makes it easier for HSA to assign a qualified coach who will facilitate their involvement in age-appropriate activities. With the scramble format HSA needs to only find 1 coach per 10-12 players rather than 1 coach per 5-6 players. The kids will be exposed to more coaches and more players which will allow them to learn from a greater number of coaches and a greater number of their peers. Lastly, the absence of teams will make the transition to the group training in the U8 Advanced Rec flow smoother.
The scramble format with qualified coaches will better emphasis and promote: (1) Each player's time with the toy/ball which leads to more fun for the kids, (2) more activity for the kids which leads to more fun for the kids, (3) more decision-making opportunities for the kids. The long term effect of "more fun" will eventually translate into more kids signing up and less kids quitting; the long term effect of developmentally appropriate activities and better coaching will eventually translate into better skilled soccer players who can creatively solve soccer problems.

WHEN ARE THE U6 GAMES?
There are not "games" in the traditional sense of one designated team (Red) plays against another designate team (blue). The 5 and 6 year olds will instead play more backyard-type games in which each player will have their own ball. Each session will still end with each small group of 10-12 players being divided into 2 teams with colored pinnies who play against each other in a 3v3 game going to 2 goals with one ball.

HOW LONG ARE THE SESSIONS?
U6: 45 minute session with last 15-20 minutes 3v3 game

HOW OLD ARE THE U6's?
Summer 2010 U6's are all players who will be 5 or 6 year olds as of 7/31/2010.

WHAT ABOUT REFUNDS?
If a player chooses not to play before the season begins a refund will be issued minus a $10 processing fee. Please send an email to askus@hudsonsoccer.com with information and the refund will be returned. Once the season refund requests are analyzed based on a case by case basis and determined by the recreational committee and/or the HSA board.

HOW WILL THE PLAYERS FIND OUT ABOUT WHAT TEAM THEY ARE ON?
Since the players are not assigned to designated teams they need not worry about a "team" or a schedule. The players need to arrive at the designated large field (i.e. field 10) at their assigned time; once at the field they will be assigned a smaller field. Each player will receive an email with their designated playing night, time and field assignment. The day of the week, time and field assignment will be the same for the entire season. The season begins the first week of May and lasts for 8 weeks ending the last full week of June.

HOW DO WE KNOW IF GAMES ARE CANCELLED FOR BAD WEATHER?
In general the games are played rain or shine unless there is lightning then the game must be discontinued until there has been no lightning for 15 minutes or the game is cancelled. The only way to determine if the games are cancelled is to show up at the fields. The Field Coordinator for the U6 teams may cancel games if it is unsafe to play. Again, the only way to know is to show up at the fields. There is no phone number to call or HSA board member or employee to contact, the Field Coordinator will make a decision based on the weather at the time of the game.

Hudson Soccer Association
Recreation Soccer: Are the Kids Having Fun
Author: Jacob Daniel, Georgia DOC

Coaching at the youth level, especially at the recreational level, can be summed up tongue-in-cheek as grown-up structure on a collision course with youthful spontaneity. If you ask many coaches, they will tell you of their constant battle to impose organization on a bunch of exuberant carefree kids.

Let us study the weapons used by both sides in this war on grass. The coaches arm themselves with whistles. The kids, who, I am sure, would love to get their hands, or lips, on some of those tend to rely on their complete range of vocal chords. The coaches use line ups with boring, repetitive drills. The kids use peer fighting, tickling, hair pulling, tears, and a complete lack of collinear principles. When the going gets tough, the coaches like to wear out the kids by resorting to long team talks, lectures, and dissertations. The kids, when cornered by lectures, respond with short attention spans and perpetual motion techniques. The coaches, in an attempt to convince the kids into believing that everyone is on the same side, initiate goal setting and seasonal objectives. The kids, once they read through this tactical maneuver, revert to goal climbing and seasonal objections.

Who am I rooting for in this inter-generation conflict? For the kids of course!! Call me a traitor, but I am on the side of playful abandon.

Seriously, when one considers the amount of structure disciplined organization inflicted on our kids in school and at home, one appreciates the need to balance it out with periods of play and fun activities without regard for results, provided, of course, that child safety is not sacrificed. Allow me to relate to you some real life examples:

HOW COULD YOU LET ME DOWN LIKE THIS?
In one 3v3 game between two U-6 teams, I witnessed a mother running onto the field to scream at her child and spank him on his derriere for scoring on his own goal (the poor child lost his orientation for a moment, dribbled towards his team's net and scored a beautiful own goal).

MY CHILD WILL GO ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP!
I frequently get inquiries from parents who are looking for a trainer for their child as a form of "individual soccer tutoring". In some cases, getting a trainer is not a bad idea. But when a parent wants to find out what his/her seven-year-old child's weaknesses are so that the child can work to improve on these weaknesses, I tell him/her that seven-year-olds have not lived on this planet long enough to develop strengths and weaknesses. Does the parent of a grade 1 student ask the teacher what weaknesses should he/she work on to enable his/her child to become a lawyer??? A seven-year-old child should play soccer for one purpose and one purpose only: to have fun!

At this point, most of you reading this article are probably saying to yourselves that the above examples are but extreme cases of overzealous parents whose behavior does not resemble yours, I hope so. But below this extreme level of unrealistic parental expectations exists a multitude of more subtle examples of misplaced priorities of well-meaning, but misguided, coaches and parent. Read on.

POST GAME INQUEST.
Your nine-year-old son plays goalkeeper and has just conceded a soft goal with two minutes left in the game, which caused your team to lose 2:1. On the drive home, you can't help yourself and start dissecting the play that led to the goal. You are extra careful to sound calm, friendly, and not accusing. After all, you are merely trying to help your son learn from the experience, learn from his mistakes. Your son bursts out crying and says: "I don't want to talk about it!" I am no child psychologist, but the above incident suggests to me that this keeper is under too much pressure to perform and is not enjoying himself.

ORGANIZED CHAOS.
Some coaches, when they want their teams to work on passing, use drills with line ups similar to this one: They place their players in two parallel lines about ten yards apart. The two players in front of the two lines move up the field inter-passing the ball while all the other players watch and wait for their turn. In one such practice session that I observed, each player touched the ball about once every four minutes. Suggestion: Why not give one ball to each pair and let all the pairs simultaneously inter-pass while moving randomly in a large area. Some coaches do not like this suggestion because it's too messy - balls flying all over the place, players bumping into each other, balls hitting the wrong players (sounds much like the real game, doesn't it?).

My point is that at the recreational level, the game is kind of messy and the suggestion mentioned above is a lot more game-like than standing idle in a line waiting for your turn, and then, when your turn comes, passing the ball while running in a straight line.

PLAY YOUR POSITIONS AND DON'T BUNCH UP!!
We have all seen the 'swarm'. Six-year-olds all bunching up on the ball. We have all screamed at them: spread out! Play your position!! Now, if I was a six-year-old, I would also go after the ball and disregard my position. After all, the ball is always up for grabs. Nobody really has any control over it. Does anybody really expect me to believe that my six-year-old teammate is going to control the ball, look up to see me on the other side of the field and switch play by placing a 30- to 40-yard pass to my feet?? There is no point in worrying about positions if your players have not yet mastered the technique of passing the ball under pressure. Let the swarm be. You cannot artificially speed up the learning process. It's for this reason that modified soccer and 3-a-side soccer exists: to reduce the size of the swarm, because you cannot eliminate it before its time.

In closing, I do believe that the coaches at the recreational level are getting better all the time. There are many coaches and parents who are in sync with the sensitivities and needs of their kids. I hope that through the coaching courses and clinics, we can get more coaches to stop and ask themselves: Are the kids having FUN?

PRACTICE/TRAINING SESSIONS U6 SPRING 2010