Latest News including tournament times

Great job coming from behind to tie up the game on Sunday! Roberto and David both had great goals. Our defense was solid except for two great goals by their top players. Too bad about Jake getting two yellow cards. Hopefully there is no suspension involved, I'm waiting to find out. But the team showed me they can come from behind and stay strong in the stretch. And our boys didn't let themselves get pushed around. We gave back as good as we got. The extra substitutes really helped in the last two games.

We are still in second place in the flight. Clarkston, the team we tied last week has a record of 5 wins, 1 loss and 1 tie. We have 4 wins and two ties. They have played one extra game. But we end the season strong. Our boys will have come off a tournament and finish with a three game home stand. We play the teams in 3rd and 4th place and the team one from the bottom.

What does this all mean? Our destiny is in our hands. If we win each game, we finish in first place because Clarkston will have one loss and one tie versus our two ties. We win on points. So let's focus on that.

I have the tournament schedule. Here is the link.  We definitely play on Saturday at 10:00 AM and 3:30 PM. The semifinal game depends on how we do in the first two games but will be on Sunday at 9:15AM, 10:30 AM or 1:00 PM. The final game is Sunday at 6:00 PM but only if we win every  game prior. Hopefully there is little conflict with baseball and we can have most of the team there. If not, we'll be playing short and everyone will get plenty of playing time.

Regarding the end of the season and moving into next year, here is what I know. All but one of the parents I have spoken to has voted to stick with the status quo and keep paying $500 - $600 per child and not using the extra trainer time. Jarib would prefer to pay more for more training. Jack and Liam, Ned and Nayef, Sam, Roberto, David, Brandon, Freddy, Zaeem and Sebas all prefer the status quo. I have yet to speak with Joey, Jake, Joel, or Dario about their plans.

So, the most likely scenario is that we continue in the fall with the status quo and those players who wish to get more training either get it on their own or play also for another team or join an academy-style team. I hate to see this team broken up but I knew that this choice would likely make some people unhappy. I was willing to go with the majority and it looks like that is the status quo. I'll be looking to speak with the last few parents about their choice today if practice is on.

Speaking of practice, I think I've been too quick to pull the trigger on cancelling practice in the past and will not make that decision prior to 3PM from now on. As I type, the rain has ceased and we still have a chance. With the practices we have canceled, I don't think I'll need to ask any more trainer money from the parents who paid extra in the fall, perhaps a little from those who joined in the spring.

I'd like to host an end-of-season party at my house after our last game. It is an 8:30 AM Sunday game at Barbour Pond so we could all go straight over to my house after the game and let the boys swim and have brunch. Hopefully we'll be distributing trophies at the same time. (I'm not sure when we get these) If that's too early and you need to get the boys to church, I understand and we could host an afternoon party, though this will be tougher for those who live out of town. I'll put a poll about this to the left, please vote on your preference.

Wayne Soccer Club Direction

Parents,

I just returned from the monthly coaches meeting with some important news, which concerns you as parents. Read the story below and let me know how it affects your son's future with the team.

When the Wayne Soccer Club (WSC) was formed 30 years ago, it was created to compete with Boys and Girls club and the PAL. All organizations had a goal to provide a higher level of soccer than recreational for the better players in town. The organizational was mostly voluntary and fees were pretty low, spent on paying dues to organizations like Northern Counties and referees. It grew and added professional trainers and tournaments but dues were pretty well in line with the other clubs in town.

But there were academies and elite clubs nearby that charged more and provided more training and better tournaments and more games. These clubs have been poaching some of the better WSC players. So the WSC has decided to combat this by becoming an elite club. Rene Moran's U-11 team is an example of what they want the entire club to become. They practice three times a week using Red Bulls trainers. They go to about five tournaments a year, sometimes out of state. They play all winter long. And the parents happily pay about $1200 a year per child.

The WSC is mandating that all teams U-11 and younger, starting in the fall, will follow this model. Note that we are grandfathered in and don't have to do so. But I wanted you to see what is happening so you see the direction the club is taking and how some peripheral actions will affect us. If your child was U-11 or younger in the fall they would have the following schedule mandated by the club:
40 practices a year with a Red Bulls Trainer

• 20 games a year coached by a Red Bulls Trainer
• 12 practices a winter with a Red Bulls Trainer
• 2 tournaments a year coached by a Red Bulls Trainer

Dues for this team would be $950/player

They also have an elite division with an extra 20 practices and full-side winter training for $1,200 a year per child.

This sounds extreme but, since this is a non-profit organization, the kids pay about half what some of the local academies are charging yet receive better services.

Now this is a far cry from what our team and what many of the other WSC teams are accustomed to. This is a much higher commitment of time and money by the parents and a higher level of professionalism in the coaching. If you remember, I did all the winter training and most of the game-day coaching for free. We will end up paying about $600 after you add in the extra training dollars and tournament fees I added to the $425 I collected at the beginning of the year.

Whenever a change like this happens, there is some turmoil. Parents who didn't sign up for this leave and parents who were thinking about leaving the club because it didn't offer this stay. And parents who are searching for this level of play arrive. What will be the net effect? I'm not sure. I hope for the best.

But what does it mean to us? We are not mandated to go this route. It goes against my own coaching philosophy but I'm just one parent. I'd like to find out what you think. Rather than run an anonymous poll, I'm going to ask you to make a comment below this post about what you think of this change and which direction you want this team to go.

So here are your choices:

• Stay the course, play the hand we're dealt, accepting players as we need them and training them at the same level. Dues will be about $600 a year all told.
• Jack up the winter training with the existing players, add game day coaching and charge about $1,000 a year.
• Increase the training to three times a week, add game day training and more tournaments for about $1,200 a year.
• Or some combination of the above.

I know some of our existing players are looking around at other academies to find a higher level of competition and training for their boys. If we don't change, those boys will leave the team.
On the other side of the coin, there are those who don't want to pay $1000 a year per child and will leave if the dues increase.
Either way, I doubt all parents will reach a consensus so we will need to recruit more players after those who are unhappy with the group's decision leave.

I want to do what's best for the team. So please weigh in and let us all know what you are thinking. We have many options, including leaving the club en-masse and joining another club.

Tiago, our new trainer.

The Red Bulls Organization has provided us with our new trainer, Tiago. He met all the boys with the exception of Jake and Sam on Friday so that was a great start. The boys seemed to like him, he seemed organized. Here's his background. He has:
- played soccer for over 20 years at various competitive levels
- worked for Red Bulls for about a year
- his NSCAA GK level 1 and NSCAA Junior V Licenese
- coached the past two years girls varsity at Morris Tech in Denville Township  NJ
- a BA in Business Management from Berkeley College
- been coaching for 4 years now, working with various age groups from U9 to U18
Tiago is currently in the process of obtaining his MBA from Montclair State University

I have estimated his training schedule to be 20 practice sessions and two game-day training sessions. That should use up all our training money, including the extra we collected in the fall. 

I'd like him to attend the next game day so he will have had a chance to assess the boys outdoor in practice before he sees how they do in the game. That should allow him to make any adjustments he requires in the practice schedule. Then we'll have him observe another game after that to see how his adjustments are working.

One of the questions I'll be asking you is if we want Tiago to attend more game days and if you're willing to pay for that. It costs $113 a game, so that's about $7 per game per child. Let me know your thoughts on that.

Schedule is out!

First game is Sunday March 25th at 3:30 PM at Hotspur. Check the calendar for links to the map etc. The two games scheduled for April 22 and 29 are TBS by the other team's request. That means we have until April 7 to work with the other teams to get them rescheduled. The good news is that we can schedule around baseball games so the whole team can be present. The bad news is that fields in Wayne will be difficult to obtain on days other than Sundays so we may be forced to play at the opponent's field.

We have one more indoor practice session, 4PM on Friday at Turf City

We hopefully get a Red Bulls trainer assigned to our team soon and will start outdoor practices.

Five new players have expressed interest in the team, four have attended practice and one signed up. We should have a roster of 15 before the first game.

Coach's Meeting News

I attended the coach's meeting last night and heard some interesting news. The good, the bad and the ugly.

First, the good:
Rene provided me with a new player who will hopefully try out with the team on Friday by the name of Nayef. Let's welcome him to the team.
Rene also promised me three players who will practice with his team but can also practice with us if possible and play for us unless there is a conflict. Their names are Ryan, Joe and Matthew. Hopefully we'll see them at practice soon also.
That brings our roster to 16 if they all work out. That should get us through the days when baseball costs us three players.
Schedules for Spring season come out next week

Now the bad:
Nobody U-12 showed up to the specialized tryouts on Sunday. So thanks to Dario, Joel, Zaeem and Liam for coming and I hope they enjoyed the extra hour of practice time but we didn't get any new players from here.
WSC has not yet received permits for the outdoor fields so we cannot practice there yet. Though I'm thinking about using the field behind my house for some informal practices that won't get us in trouble with the school district. Let's talk about it on Friday.

And finally the ugly:
WSC has signed a three-year contract with Red Bulls giving their organization exclusive rights to train our boys. I was not consulted on this decision and was shocked and dismayed by it. That means he effectively fired Leo who has been with us from the inception. I am understandably upset about this.

The details are that the $1750 dedicated to trainer fees for the spring MUST be spent on Red Bulls trainers.
I did collect a little extra in the fall to cover extra trainer fees so we could use the $400 odd on Leo. I'll talk to him about if he even wants to do this.

The roles of a coach

When you see the opposing teams we play you'll notice something different. They all have two or more coaches on the sidelines. As a parent you may wonder why this is so. What does a coach really do? I know when I was a parent I was unsure. So let me list it out for you so you can see why I am asking for help from you all. I don't necessarily need another person to get their F-license and join me on the sidelines, you'll notice that all the roles that have an asterisk next to it can be done by the civilians amongst you.

• *Attend monthly coaches meeting (Every first Monday night of the month)
• *Communicate with the parents via e-mail, blog or phone, when and where the games and practices are
• *Attend practice twice a week
• Train the boys
• *Set up scrimmages with other teams
• *Sign up for tournaments
• Attend games
• Coach the boys from the sidelines
• Deal with injuries
• *Communicate with other coaches prior to games
• *Warm up the boys before games
• *Print out match day forms
• *Gather players from other teams if we are short
• *Print out rosters updated with players moving up for the day
• *Enter the scores
• Evaluate the referees
• Pay the referees
• *Get reimbursement for referee fees
• *Get reimbursement for trainer fees
• *Scrounge up money from parents when we go over training budget (Thanks Josephine)
• *Coordinate the fundraiser (Thanks Josephine and Janice)
• *Manage the finances
• *Enter all the children in the USClub soccer website, (Birth certificates, photos, etc,)
• *Get the passcards from Northern Counties
• *Get photos from the parents
• *Generate photo ID for the boys
• *Get the passcards laminated
• *Drive up to Ridgewood to retrieve cards when our players get red-carded
• *Recruit more players
• *And write all these messages

So think about these roles and decide if you could help me out on some of them. I need a manager or even a group of assistant managers who can lift the burden from me. Remember, I didn't ask for this job. I stepped up so that the team wouldn't collapse on Marios and Roland's exit. But I'm doing it almost all myself and letting important things like recruiting more players slip due to a simple lack of time.