Pre-Season Meeting
February 14th
The following is a recap of
items discussed at our Pre-Season Meeting:
Purpose Of Meeting –
Plan for Spring 2009 Season.
Team
History
Predators soccer team
has been playing for 12 years. Originally a Rec team the
boys moved to Premier division in 2004 – The boys have Won
and Placed in Premier Divisions – ODP – 5 Predators have
represented Kansas in tournaments and inter-state friendlies. Our goal is to get the boys ready for
high school teams and college for those who wish to play at
the next level.
Fundamentals
We play possession
soccer as contrasted with the Whack-Ball style seen in lower
division club play and many high school teams.
Number of touches means
little if you constantly turn the ball over to the opposing
team.
Gifted athletes do not
necessarily make great soccer players. You need to work on
your "total skills" package. We work on eliminating "playing
out-of-control" that may look exciting from the
sidelines.... but constant breakaways and long misdirected
clearing kicks do not do much for your team if the ball is
turned over, goes out of play, or you can't get back to
defend.
Soccer speed is more
important than "Track speed". You may be the fastest
sprinter in the World ... but that doesn't help if you
over-run the ball, can't pass the ball to teammates, or
can't shoot accurately. We work on improving breakaway
speed, ball control and delivery.
On field communication
helps your teammates know when they are under pressure, have
an opponent closing in, or when they have time to settle the
ball and make a move.
Responsibility
Players are responsible
for all aspects their involvement with our teams, not
parents
You are not in
Kindergarten – It’s Premier Soccer not Rec Soccer – Your Mum
and Dad are not on the team… You are!
Parents
Parents are welcome to
watch any practice sessions and we hope you will attend our
games to encourage the team.
Please be positive with
your comments and do not call instructions or comments on
their play to players during a game. Keep in mind....The
coaches and players know our plan for any game. Spectators
do not.
This is particularly
important when college coaches are at games to scout
players.
No
Tolerance Policy
You will be treated like
you are playing on a college team.
No drugs. No alcohol. No
legal problems. (No Discussions - Off The Team)
No failing grades.
(Suspension from games until grades are satisfactory).
No inappropriate
behavior at practice. (Suspension from practices and games
after apologies to coaches and teammates).
No Red Cards during
games. (One game suspension from league play. Plus...
Possible additional games suspended by team depending on the
offense).
Injuries
Serious injuries should
be referred to a doctor or physical therapist. At this age
injuries can be or become career-ending if not treated
correctly.
Concussions
are a serious injury. Anyone suffering a concussion during
the season will need a doctors clearance before resuming
practice or playing in games.
Anyone suffering a
concussion will be expected to wear protective headgear at
least through the end of the season.
Communication
Web site
– Email –
I need player email
addresses and any new email addresses for parents.
Broadcast Text Messages (2 lists)
Please email me cell
phone numbers for players and parents.
We will set up separate
lists for players and parents.
Uniforms
Jerseys are supplied
Buy Adidas shorts asap
Links to Suppliers are on our
Uniforms Page
Players are responsible
for their team uniforms and will be expected to replace lost
items or anything damaged through neglect.
These uniforms are
expensive to replace... approx $70.00 per Liverpool jersey
and $65.00 for warm-ups.
We suggest removable
tape is used to put your name on warm-ups so they are not
mislaid or lost at practice sessions or games.
Sponsor Patches
Sponsors have generously
donated some items of our uniforms. Please sew on any
sponsor patches that come loose. We
could use a volunteer with a sewing machine to take
care of patches. Sending them out to a tailor for repairs is
costly.
Two
Teams – To accommodate HS team
players and provide challenging level of competition.
Combined State Roster -
One Select Team – One Development Team
KSHSAA 6 Player Rule –
Team/Practice
Heartland Seedings –
Liverpool D1 - Celtic D2
Tournaments where we
will play Select, D1 and D2 teams become very important for exposure to college coaches.
Observations on HS
Season – While some team placements seemed inappropriate you
could see reasons why the coaches placed you where they did.
– It gave us an opportunity to sit back and study what you
have to work on individually – First touch, ball control,
playing out of control, defensive turnovers, getting back on
defense.
Team
Placement
Will be influenced by
KSHSAA 6 player rule – Practice Conflicts (other sports) –
Availability for Sunday games
Celtic – Full Roster – Div 2 – Players can play-up in
Div 1 as reward for outstanding performances. Could play on
Celtic and Liverpool same day/same weekend if schedule
permits.
Liverpool – Div 1 – Roster probably 14-14 – Can have 3
“guest players” per game. KSHSAA 6 player rule limits.
Liverpool Teams will be
announced by mid-week for following weekend games.
Team
Captains
When team rosters are
finalized players will elect two captains for each team. The
coaches will select one coach (who may be one of the players
elected by the team).
Team Captains will be
responsible for organizing kick-arounds and warm-ups before
practices and games.... and help determine penalties for
anyone breaking team rules.
The team captains for
Celtic also provide suggestions on who is ready to play up
on Liverpool based on performances in games and at practice.
Kick-Arounds
These are not official
practices. Should be organized by players. Get together as
much as possible. Work on Skills… Conditioning.... and
having fun.
Pre-Season Conditioning
Don’t come to practices
out of condition and expect much playing time in games.
Jogging with surges will build endurance. Work on footskills.
Become A Student of The Game
Watch EPL games on Fox
Soccer Channel. Watch the “highlights of the week” show.
Study the position you
play. Watch positioning. How they set up plays. How they
defend. When the goalie comes off the line. Varying disposal
so you do not become predictable.
Practices
Tuesday and Thursday
5:30-6:30 and 6:30-7:30 at Overland Trail Middle School.
Practice Squads – Based
on Teams with adjustments for practice conflicts
Practice Field assignments
allow only two one-hour sessions each week.
Arrive early so you have
plenty of time to stretch and warm-up and are ready to get
started as soon as practice sessions begin.
Come prepared. You should wear practice -t-shirts to
all practice sessions. Make sure you have shin-guards and
bring a ball to use in warm-ups and individual drills.
Non-attendance at
practice without a valid excuse will impact your playing
time.
Trainers Fees
Please pay your Trainers
Fee before our first practice session.
Coaches
Danny McGaw will be head
coach for both teams this season.
Eric Kronberg will be
our goalkeeper coach
Special App Coach
Max Jorgensen will work
with the forwards.
Season Schedule
Should be released first
week of March
Limited Fields because
of fields under construction at 135th Street will put a load
on Hertiage.
We can expect one
weekend where we play Back-To-Back Games.
We have requested
Saturday games whenever possible.
Spring Break. - We can
expect to play league games during Spring Break.
Tournaments
We will play several
tournaments this year.
Preference will be for
Showcase Tournaments attended by College Coaches scouting
talented players.
College Prep
Check the list of
Colleges and links on site
College Prep Seminar
Brian Roberts and
college coaches will be holding a session for players and
parents.
College Coaches Invited to Games/Tournaments
We will invite selected
College Coaches to our games again this year to see the boys
in action.
State ODP Teams
One way to test your
talent and challenge yourself is to try out for our state
ODP (Olympic Development Program)
team.
Teams are based on age
(birth year) starting with U13's and continue through to
U17's.
Each year we recommend
several players to tryout. We only recommend players with
the ability and dedication necessary to compete at this
level.
It is great if you are
selected on a State team, but there is a huge benefit in
training and playing with the best players in Kansas for
your age group.
Summer Teams
We plan to have a Summer
Tournament Team again this year for all those who are
interested to play Showcase Tournaments during summer
vacation.
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