DIS Soccer Winter Schedule 08

links updated to the right.

CP U7 Chamber Champs

CP MiniTigers 10.11

Dallas International School Soccer Program

October 1, 2008

Dear Soccer Parents,

With a program now involving almost 140 participants, we want to remind you and your child of certain policies and procedures attached to DIS Soccer:


1 – PLAYERS DISCIPLINE

The Soccer program is a school activity, and therefore the DIS policy and rules regarding discipline apply, regarding respect of other students, coaches, administration personnel and facilities or equipment, along with proper dress code as decided by Coaches. This extends to remote practice fields and gyms, associated transportation by parent as well as game fields.
Coaches will enforce discipline with the following measures:
- Verbal caution
- Yellow Card, recorded as a warning
- Second yellow card leads to sit out or suspension for one practice (red Card)
- Consecutive yellow cards the same week would lead to practice and game suspension (Red Card)
- Straight Red Card would lead to immediate suspension for the rest of practice, the next and a minimum of one game.
Red cards given by Referees during a game can lead to additional suspension by DIS, depending on the cause.
A sanction committee made of the Soccer Director, the Team Representative and the head Coach will examine and validate any sanction from a Red card taken during a game or practice.
Players suspended during practice will be returned to afterschool care with associated charge, if no parents are present.
Unplanned absence or tardiness at games and practice could result in game time reduction; however, the DIS soccer program is very flexible regarding its practice schedule, and has a guest option for some players, especially non DIS students, who cannot practice but display the required level of skills, team spirit and experience, subject to coach appreciation.


2 – PARENTS BEHAVIOR

Parental cheering, not coaching is what players need during games; Parents naturally tend to intervene, and therefore interfere with coach management of the game, especially in tense situations. Considering the level of skills among parents, the advice and instructions could be right, but the confusion in our young players mind would be even greater. Please make sure you are sitting or standing at the appropriate location on the sidelines and that your communication with the children does not present a risk of conflict with coach instructions.

Remarks to referees can create a difficult situation for the coach, who is in charge of dealing with unfairness or safety issues on the field. Parent to parent conflict will not be managed by coaches, nor referees, and would have strong negative repercussions among players, so restrain of your reactions and respect of the opposing team parent group is absolutely necessary.

If you disagree or would like to make a recommendation to your coach, games are usually not the right time to do it, so we encourage to use the TeamRep channel to address certain situations; however, any information regarding a participant to the game and possibly affecting or helping coaching decisions is welcome during or before the event.

A key to the success of our team is your commitment to take your child to games at the right time, a minimum of 15 minutes before kick-off, and verify the equipment, but moreover, to inform your team representative of any absence, either planned or last minute.


3 – INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY

The DIS Soccer program intends to allow each team to practice at least once a week, and will use the school Gym and rent Indoor facilities when required, the latter with a not-to-exceed budget of 25 sessions per semester (2 weeks per month per team). Therefore:
- Monday, Thursday and Friday practice will be cancelled
- Tuesday and Wednesday will be transferred to the DIS Gym and the Churchill Recreation Center.

For Maternelle II, a succession of cancellation would lead to make up sessions being organized to guarantee the minimum per semester (16 weeks)
Game cancellation is decided by League officials, not teams, so do not assume it has been decided before hearing from your team rep or verifying the Hotline and appropriate websites.
Remember also that inclement weather does not only affect outdoor soccer at the time of the event, but can also render the fields improper to play for several days, even with clear sky then.
Another frequent cause of closing fields is the damage caused by sprinkler system breakdown or reconstruction. Dallas North Soccer is usually quick to cancel or postpone for quality grass preservation, but light rain is not such a reason.
A hotline has been set up for DIS (214-283-8478) in English and French to give you the information regarding practices and games.
As far as practice is concerned, a decision to cancel or move to the Gyms will be made and communicated the previous evening as much as possible. However, we strongly recommend players to bring equipment suitable to both indoor and outdoor at all time.



Sincerely,

Sophie Davis,
Director, DIS Soccer Program

Jesse Llamas,
Soccer head coach

DIS at FCD 9.28

DIS at FC Dallas

Dear Parents,

I will stop tomorrow at about 8 AM to drop the FC Dallas tickets in the Lobby for you to pick up. If you haven't paid yet, please take the opportunity to do so at that time (check to the order of PTO for $18 each ticket).

I have put your tickets in an envelope with your name as it appears in the Directory, and also provided one Free Ball voucher per child, and a voucher for one adult t-shirt (instructions to redeem are on it).

However, I have included some single tickets, and the associated voucher, with families as follows:

Sergei Pelletier with the Vilaclaras
Valentine Habrard with the Sarrazins
Harold Sorel with the Gassins

If you want your child to cheer the pros from really close, please remember to be no later than 1:25 PM at the Top of section 122 (east Sideline) very close to your seating section (124 rows 4 to 9), and of course wear your DIS Tiger Uniforms (hopefully, everybody will have one, especially Little Zoe...) Antoine and a couple of volunteer parents will accompany the group to the field, and I expect at least a few pictures for my Newsletter and the website.

For those who have never been to the stadium, allow 45 minutes from Inwood/I-635 to reach Main Street in Frisco, using the Dallas Toll way. As there is a painful traffic jam at the Main Street tollgate on game days, I strongly recommend to go another mile north to the next exit, and backtrack south on the Pizza Hut road, even if you pay an extra buck. Parking is free and you can enter by the North Concourse, then walk to your left until you reach section 122 or 124.

Let me know if you haven't got your tickets on Saturday or if you do not have the envelope content as expected.

Enjoy!

Philippe HABRARD

7-6 Tigresses

Hat Trick for Valentine

Brace for Deidra

1 goal for Anais

1 goal for Mara

1 " That's what I'm talking about " from Achillas

DIS at FC Dallas on 9/28 - ticket update

Only 9 tickets left!

I believe we can reserve more tickets if these go fast.

Remember, if you would like you child to participate in the parade of champion before the game, please arrive at 1pm

RSVP

Maurel
Loudon
Glass
Roberts
Stock
Jaramillo
McDoniel
De Orta
Fitzpatrick
Shidid
Suarez
Gachelin
Sarrazin
Cote
Gassin
Sorel
Vilaclara
Pelletier
Elhamadi
Nedelec
Habrard
Barbosa
Dufrasnes
Moebel

DIS Soccer 9/20-9/21

9/20
DIS Mini Tigrettes - Coach Hayat 2 pm at Marsh Small
DIS Tigers I - Coach Sergio 12 pm at Hillcrest II
DIS Tigers II - Coach Antoine 2 pm at Hillcrest II
DIS Royal Tigers - Coach David 2 pm at DIS Field
DIS Mighty Tigers - Coach Shanae 11 am at DIS Field
DIS Tigrettes Coach Shanae 4:45 pm at Town North Red
DIS Tiger Cubs - Coach Antoine 10 am at Town North Blue
DIS Tigresses - Coach Shanae 2 pm at JCC
DIS Tiger Youth - Coach Jesse 2:45 pm at Campbell Green
DIS White Tigers - Coach Jesse 1:30 pm at Breckenridge
DIS King Tigers - Coach Sergio 4:30 pm at Moss #3

9/21
DIS Mini Tigers - Coach Sergio 2:30 pm at Nathan Adam #2
DIS King Tigers - Coach Sergio 4:30 pm at Nathan Adam #1

FC Dallas Ultimate Games

Dear Soccer parents,

The FC Dallas is entering the closing phase of its regular season and invite DIS players to come and support its struggle for playoffs at the Pizza Hut Park on Sunday, Sept 28 at 2 PM, against DC United.

We have already 46 tickets reserved in Section 124, row 5 to 7, for $18 each and a free soccer ball to each young player. In addition, our Tigers will be allowed to parade on the field with full uniform until the pros arrive.

Let me know who is interested so we can reserve the best seating for our group.

Thank you,

Philippe HABRARD

All Chamber league soccer games cancelled for 9/13

From: CCSAI Executive Director

Subject: Games for Sept 13 Cancelled for the day

As of 8:00am games for Saturday, September 13 have been cancelled for the day at all North Dallas Chamber Soccer fields. If your game was at Lake Highlands or Richardson fields, please check their hotline before leaving to the fields. Weather has moved in faster than expected and we want everyone to be safe. Rescheduled games will be posted later next week and an email update sent to the coaches and managers to notify the teams.

All YMCA Games are cancelled for tomorrow

http://www.quickscores.com/Orgs/index.php?OrgDir=townnorthy

9/13

Soccer Games

Are cancelled due to pending weather conditions, these games will be rescheduled

DIS Sept 13-14

DIS Soccer Hotline 214-283-8478 (due to the Hurricane Season, I will try to update every practice & game day)

YMCA Website:www.quickscores.com/townnorthy


Weather report as of Thursday evening

Tonight: A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Humid. Low 74F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Tomorrow: Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. Humid. High 92F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph.

Tomorrow night: Partly cloudy in the evening with more clouds for later at night. Humid. Low 74F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday: Windy with occasional showers or thundershowers. Humid. High 84F. Winds NE at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Quite high chance of overall cancellation!

PH

Overheard in the DIS locker room

language warning :)

NDCS Fall Schedule is out!

DIS Mini Tigers (CP Boys - U7 - 12 enrolled - Chambers U8 Boys) = Margie Nussbaumer
DIS Tiger Youth (CE2 Boys - U9 - 12 enrolled - Chambers U9 Boys) = Greg Loudon
DIS White Tigers (CM1-CM2 Boys - U10/U115 - Chambers U11 Boys) = TBD
DIS King Tigers (6th-7th-8th Boys U12/U13 - Chambers U13 Boys) = Philippe Habrard

Town North YMCA Schedule is out

Click logo above



DIS Mini Tigrettes (Mat2 Girls - U4/U5 - YMCA Pre K Girls) = Margie Nussbaumer
DIS Tigers I (Mat2 Boys - U4/U5 - YMCA Pre K Boys) = Riccardo Lamon
DIS Tigers II (Mat2 Boys - U4/U5 - YMCA Pre K Boys) = TBD
DIS Micro Tigers (Mat3 Boys - U6 - 8 YMCA K Boys) = David Martinez
DIS Mighty Tigers (Mat3 Coed - U6 - YMCA Pre K Girls) = David Martinez
DIS Tigrettes (CP-CE1-CE2 Girls - U7/U8/U9 - 9 YMCA 2nd Girls) = Jennifer Woods
DIS Tiger Cubs (CP-CE1 Boys - U7/U8 - 12 enrolled - YMCA 1st Boys) = TBD
DIS Tigresses (CE2-CM1-CM2 Girls - U9/U10/U11 - YMCA 5th/6th Girls) = Albert Chia

Wanted: Soccer Girls

DIS Girls Soccer:

Our Tigresses (CM2 to 6th grade) and Tigrettes (CP to CE2) are looking for more players.

Please contact Albert Chia (albertchia@ti.com, or Jennifer Woods (jennifw@gmail.com) if you are interested and want more information. Season starts at the Town North YMCA on Sept 13.

Meanwhile, we are pleased to announce the first all-girls Mat2 soccer team.

Thank you

PH

Have a Great Summer. Remember to practice anywhere and everywhere

In honor of ManU and Ryan Giggs

The Galaxy scorches FCD

Parent-Teacher game this Saturday

Dear Soccer parents and students,

We will renew our DIS Community game routine this Saturday at Anderson Bonner Field #3, reserved from 9:30 to 12:30. We'll try to begin at 10AM, after setting up the nets. Students from 10th grade and up are welcome, if they don't run too fast...

Anderson Bonner is off the Hillcrest ramp south of I635, on 12700 Park Central Blvd 75230

Philippe HABRARD

For the Moms

Happy Mother's Day


For the boys....

Ok, this has just become my favorite commercial

living the dream

FC Dallas May 18th

Confirmed Reservation:

Wear Blue!

Name
Papakostas
Patterson
Sarrazin
Habrard
De Papp
Steinberg
Miller
Fraser
Madhavapeddy
Damez
Webb
Nedelec
Chia
Sauvage
Voyiatzis
Moebel
Benavides
Catrevaux
Allen-Kettle
Fitzpatrick
Sorel
Gassin
Loudon
Carbajal
Myny
Sadek
Reynolds
Ramsay
Préaux
Brown
Priam
Mellon
Garcia
Dewannain
Gachelin

Story of Emo

I post this because this an interesting example of soccer development in the US. We sometime worry about size but if you take a moment, you can hear some interesting insights to this issue.

What is not talked about in this story is Emerson is pondering a deal with Newcastle United in England. He might be youngest US player to sign a professional deal.

HYNDMAN SOUGHT BY NEWCASTLE

Family time helps refine special qualities for Hyndman...link to complete story on topdrawersoccer.com

“The basis for everything ahead is to develop skill at a young age,” he said. “There are so many kids bigger and faster who just get by with size and speed, but it doesn’t take long until they are 14 or 15, and the technical players, the ones we hope to see later, have caught up. The problem is I think we lose a lot of those kids because they get discouraged with what goes on. Coaches spend all their time trying to win games and keep those big players around, they don’t really train, they just keep running and running. So the small players are not as effective (in that style) and they lose interest or whatever.”

Tigressess 4.12.08

Mini Tigers 4.08.08

DIS at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco May 18th

Do you want to have your child see David Beckham live?

A new chance is coming with the FC Dallas hosting the LA Galaxy on Sunday, May 18, 2PM at the Pizza Hut Park in Frisco. For $20 in the east Sideline, Section 124, Row 27 and 28, you will be able to watch a genuine MLS game with its stars; check the location on www.pizzahutpark.com, these seats are really close to the center, almost at the top of the section.

I have 40 seats reserved until Tuesday, April 15 for this event, that I want to propose to DIS Tigers first. Let me know before Tuesday as they are flying fast and the FCD won't hold them much longer!

Unfortunately, we won't be given a chance to access the field, as they give priority to teams buying a second set of tickets for another game, which I think we can commit to. However, we shall return later in the season to do it with much less restrictions and crowd.

Also, our coaches will perform the usual School Break Soccer Camp next week. Contact Yohannis Guirmahi fo more info, if you didn't get the camp brochure (yguirmahi@dallasinternationalschool.org)

On behalf of Sophie,

Philippe HABRARD

Tigrettes 4.5.08 by J. Woods

Football Development

Player Pathway"Scientific research has concluded that it takes eight to twelve years of training for a player / athlete to reach elite levels. This is called the ten year rule or 10,000 hour rule, which translates to slightly more than three hours practice daily for ten years. Unfortunately, parents and coaches in many sports still approach training with an attitude best characterised as "peaking by Friday", where a short term approach is taken to training and performance with an over emphasis on immediate results. We now know that a long-term commitment to practice and training is required to produce elite players / athletes in all sports. A specific and well planned practice, training, competition and recovery regime will ensure optimum development throughout a player / athlete's career. Ultimately, sustained success comes from training and performing well over the long term rather than winning in the short term. There is no shortcut to success in athletic preparation. Rushing competition will always result in shortcomings in physical, technical, tactical, mental, personal and lifestyle capacities". Source "Building Pathways in Irish Sport" the National Coaching and Training CentreBased on this framework, fun, fundamental motor skills and soccer specific skill development should be strongly emphasised at an early age. Competition for younger children needs to be balanced with the need to develop skills. At present in Ireland there is an overemphasis on competition to the detriment of opportunities to practice. If younger players are to develop their skills and decision making, they need to be exposed to enjoyable practices to develop their capacities on a regular basis. There is a need to review existing competition structures to ensure that the right balance is achieved between training and competition at the different age groups. The FAI in consultation with the NCTC and international player / athlete development expert Dr. Istvan Balyi have developed a six phase model of long term player development (see figure 3). The main elements of these phases are presented below in a modified form;



Phase 1 - The FUNdamental PhaseAge: Males 6 to 9 / Females 6 to 8 yearsThe main objective of this phase is to learn all the fundamental movement skills using a well-structured, positive and fun approach. Soccer skills should be introduced, with an emphasis on fun, skill development and small sided games. Appropriate and correct running, jumping and throwing techniques are taught using the ABC's of athletics. Participation in as many sports as possible is encouraged. The development of these fundamental movement skills will contribute significantly to future at achievements.



Phase 2 - The Learning to Train PhaseAge: Males 9 to 12 / Females 8 to 11 yearsThe main objective of this phase is to learn the specific soccer skills in conjunction with FUNdamental skills from a range of other sports. These skills form the cornerstone of all player development. An emphasis on technical development should be a key part of this phase, with the 7 v 7 game being introduced, progressing to 9 v 9.



Phase 3 - The Training to Train PhaseAge: Males 12 to 16 / Females 11 to 15 YearsThe main objective of this phase is to consolidate basic soccer skills, introduce the basic elements of tactics and to address the two critical periods of physical development namely the aerobic base and strength of players. It should be noted that both aerobic and strength trainability is dependent on maturation levels and not solely chronological age.



Phase 4 - The Training to Compete PhaseAge: Males 16 to 18 / Females 15 to 17 yearsThe main objective of this phase is to optimise fitness preparation and soccer, individual and position-specific skills as well as performance. More advanced tactical elements of the game are introduced. During this phase, high intensity individual, and position-specific training is provided to players. Soccer specific skills are performed under a variety of competitive conditions during training. Special emphasis is placed on optimum preparation by modelling training and competition.



Phase 5 - The Training to Win PhaseAge: Males 18yrs and older / Females 17 yrs and olderThis final phase of player preparation aims to maximise fitness preparation and soccer, individual and position-specific skills as well as performance. All of the player's capacities are now fully established and players are trained to peak for major competitions. Training is characterised by high intensity and relatively high volume with frequent periods of rest.



Phase 6 - The Retainment PhaseThis phase refers to the activities performed after a player has retired from competition permanently. The aim of this phase is to retain players for coaching, sport administration, officiating or recreational participation in the game. For semi professional and professional players this phase will include career planning and transitionAs part of the implementation of the Technical Development Plan an outline of the key capacities that should be developed at each phase of the development of players was developed in consultation with over 150 of Ireland best coaches operating at all levels of the game. These capacities were then subject to a final review by national and international experts before their adoption and publication. The model now forms the basis of a comprehensive Player Development Manual that guides the development of the FAI Coach Education Courses and Emerging Talent Programme.


To download the Player Development Model Click Here PDF (51KB)

Soccer Drills & Articles

The articles, drills, exercises and tips listed below are part of the most comprehensive soccer coaching library on the internet. There are many, many thousands of articles linked here.

This just in.......

After this weekend of make-up games

Your Winter 1 Sole Roll Champs!

Mat III

Team
1: DIS MINI TIGERS 02B
2: GENIUS
3: FC DALLAS
4: DALLAS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DIS III TIGRES
5: WHITE LIGHTNING

Winter 1 season at sole roll..

Congrats to all the players. We saw a lot of improvement in this short season.

WAY TO GO MAT2,
Looks like the winter league has officially ended and the overall results have been posted.
With the DIS Tigers taking a well deserved 2nd place finish.

Team
1: SOLE ROLL
2: DIS II
3: GENESIS '03
4: BEARCATS
5: THUNDER 02
6: SHARKS
7: KICKING PRINCESSES
8: SHARKIES S.R.


Detailed results maybe viewed online at:
http://www.gotsport.com/events/results.aspx?EventID=1964&Sex=Boys&Age=5

Congratulations and thank you all for playing.

-Ryan

U7

Team
1: SPFC 01
2: LHSA WHITE WILDCATS
2: NONE FC HUSKIES
4: BARBIE GIRLS
5: DALLAS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DIS TIGRETTES
6: NTX STRIKER - LAWSON
6: UNICORNS

U11 DIS Tigresses

Team
1: PURPLE THUNDER
1: DIS TIGRESSES
1: SOLE ROLL GORDON
4: FC LAKEHILL
4: CFBSA FIRECRACKERS
6: YMCA STRIKERS

Goalie practice at DIS this Monday

Jesse Llamas will hold a Goalkeeper practice this Monday, January 14 from 3:45 to 4:45 (Maternelle to CE1) and 4:45 to 5:45 (CE2 and up) at the DIS field.

This weekend in DIS Soccer

Futsal 3-5



Indoor Mat 2



Futsal DIS CM1



Mini Tigers



Indoor CM2-CM1



Futsal DIS CM2 - 6éme

How We Develop Players Article 4: The Proper Role of Parents

How We Develop Players Article 4: The Proper Role of Parents
by Elaine Mendelssohn 2/27/2006

(Editor’s Note: The author has been a parent and coach of high-level college and club players.)

The proper role for parents in elite youth soccer is an important issue facing the game today. It’s not an exaggeration to say that failure to understand that role, is one of the biggest problems facing youth soccer in America.

Because we have a pay-to-play system, parents are likely to feel that they have special rights compared to parents of youth players in the rest of the world. That is ironic because most parents here are probably less likely to understand the game very well, compared to parents in other countries who do understand it, but generally don’t get involved.

I think there are three things parents should try to remember as their kids go through the elite youth soccer experience: 1) The importance of being realistic; 2) The importance of supporting the coach in his mission TO DEVELOP PLAYERS; and 3) Knowing the right way to make a change, should the time come for change.

The importance of being realistic

As great as it is to see how popular soccer has become around the country, popularity is not necessarily a better thing when it comes to understanding what the proper role of parents in elite soccer really is. Years ago, when you were on a Select/Travel/Elite soccer team it really meant something. You truly had to be of a certain caliber to be on this type of team.

Today, as long you pay, pretty much anybody can be on a Select team. It would be pretty unique if you wanted to have your child play Select and couldn’t find a team to take you on. So this “popularity” pretty well dilutes the idea of being on a Travel team.

If player development was truly going on everywhere, it would be wonderful to have all these teams, but you have to be realistic and say that’s not the case. Neither coaches nor players are automatically high quality just because they are playing on a Select or Travel team.

I think by default a lot of parents think their child is the next Mia Hamm or Pele when they get started. When kids are 8, 9, 10 and you ask them where they’re going to college, any boy says Indiana or UCLA and any girl says North Carolina – but a lot of parents at that age really think that’s what will happen. But in reality, even very good players may not get that chance.

You can choose to support your coach in making your child a better player, or you can decide that your child is better than all of that. It’s not hard to find parents from the latter group and they have a way of making their presence felt on sidelines and on road trips that is not always very pleasant.

And to be fair, there are a certain number of coaches coaching travel soccer simply because there are parents willing to pay for their child to be involved in travel soccer. It’s important to find a club that knows the difference.

So parents need to be realistic about where their kid really fits in. They need to be honest about what they can realistically expect their child to achieve, and that should tell them something about how much time and money to invest. It’s important from that end to make sure they can find an honest coach who is not just going to tell them what they want to hear – and it’s important for them to accept an honest answer.


2. The importance of supporting the coach in his mission TO DEVELOP PLAYERS

Soccer teams set out to win matches. They always have and they always will. But at the youth level the primary mission of a good coach is to make his players better. That’s not a completely separate concept from the goal to win games. Good players are who help teams win games after all, but at these younger ages, coaches should mostly be teaching and players mostly learning.

A common problem with parents is that the only way they know how to judge what the coach is doing is to see if the team won or lost, and that’s a big mistake.

One of my sons played on a very successful team that won the national championship for an older age group. What people probably don’t know is that some times when the team was younger, the team’s coach made it clear that them learning how to play the game was more important than their winning a given game. The team did win a lot, but I remember the coach would sometimes tell the team as they came off the field in a game where they had beaten, that had done well because they worked on the very thing he wanted.

He told them he would rather see them lose the game and play well, then to kill a team and sacrifice what he was teaching them. He made that clear to those kids, and this all paid off in the end. That team learned how to play, the players learned and they won a national championship. As many players as wanted to were able to go on and play college soccer.

But if the parents had gotten all worked up about the scores of some of those games when they were younger, it never would have worked. At our club there is an unwritten rule about how parents are to act, and you don’t hear much on their sideline. So the club has to set the tone. But again, you have to find the right coach and trust him.

Now along with not worrying so much about winning, compared to learning, a parent also needs to make sure he or she is not interfering in the real nitty gritty of the coaching decisions. Again, parents often feel that because their child is so great (in their eyes) and because they are paying the bill, they have some natural right to get involved, but in truth, that is the worst thing they can do. The parent’s job is to support the coach in his efforts.

In our family, our kids have played for us and for other coaches. My husband and I both have a good soccer background. If we really want to, we could coach, but if you make the decision to let someone else coach your child, you had better go all the way and let them do it. We’ve told coaches “You are the coach, we’d just like to watch.” You have to get to a point where once you make a decision to put your kid on the team, you are going to trust the coach.

You can do this both within the parent group on your team and with your own child.

We see parents complaining about this or that decision all the time. A common complaint is over what position the child is playing. I’ve had parents try to get me riled up as a parent because my child wasn’t playing as much or wasn’t playing a certain position.

I try to answer by saying things like “I like him being versatile. I‘m impressed that he can play more than one position. Now we both had coaching backgrounds but we didn’t want to be interfering in that role. I think it’s logical to think that parents who don’t have any soccer background should also let the coach do their job. Yes you’re paying a lot of money, but that’s just the way the game works in this country. It still doesn’t help if parents are getting involved with the coach’s decisions.

You can help set a tone as a parent by not getting involved in these little beehive discussions where a coach’s decision in a U12 game gets treated like a decision to double the income tax or something. Remember, his job is to coach, and you need to support him in that.

Otherwise, you’ll drive yourself crazy over ‘my son should play a different position’ or ‘my daughter should play more,’ or whatever the case may be. You have to remember that the team plan does not revolve around your child.

As I said, the other way you can really help support the coach is in reinforcing his work with your own child. You should encourage your children to whatever potential the coach is encouraging them toward. If your child gets in the car after practice and says “coach said I need to do this and that, then you need to trust it and say that’s a good thing.

So many times, I’ll hear a parent leaving the field with their child and saying something like “He’s an idiot. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Now how is a coach going to have a chance with a player if his parents are talking about him like that?

3. Knowing the right way to make a change

Ultimately you have to have faith in your child’s coach, or your child shouldn’t be playing. Letting go of that level of control is one of the hardest things for a parent.

But it’s also true that there are very real reasons for a player to leave a team. You may have a genuinely talented player whose ambitions lie above those of his teammates. With there being so many travel teams now, some teams may have a foot firmly planted in rec soccer mentality, while others may be looking for every competitive and developmental opportunity. As your child gets older, you don’t want to be unequally yoked.

But there’s a right way to go about this. It’s a good chance to model something for your child as far as handling yourself professionally, being honest and sincere. Too often soccer team switches are conducted by parents like some political deal in a smoke-filled back room. Too often team moves end up being like nasty church splits, business breakups or messy divorces. If you are looking after the best interest of your child you can be discreet without being sneaky.

The best rule of thumb to follow is to be up front about everything. If you have different goals than your teams, just recognize it and find the right opportunity. You also should concentrate on your own child. If another situation is better for your son or daughter, you don’t have to try and convince half of the team you are on to do the same thing. Let people make up their own minds.

If people on the team you are leaving start sniping over your decision, just let it go. To do otherwise is simply to get your child embroiled in a controversy that will only detract from their enjoyment of the game, and their chance to succeed at it.

Summary

Now I know none of this is as easy as it sounds. But it really is a pretty simple formula You need to be realistic about goals. You need to find a coach who can do the work of training a player, and trust them, and always remember that there is a right way of going about it when changes have to be made.

This experience should be a healthy thing. Let yourself and your child enjoy it. If the child can feel good about the role they are playing, they are going to learn more and play better. You should see yourself as much more of a custodian than a driver in the process. They are still “your” kids of course, but that doesn’t make you a soccer expert.

It’s so much more simple and enjoyable for you to watch your child play when you’re taking it a year at a time and keeping it in perspective Yes there are exceptions when you know something is wrong and you have to move on, but you have to trust for it to have a chance. It’s very sad how so many parents it takes until their kids are 15 or 16 before they realize they were spending all this time stressed out.

If we’re going to spend all this time and money on this, we might as well enjoy it along the way.