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Post by devilwentdown2ga on Aug 25, 2017 8:45:31 GMT -5
Hello everyone,
I live in an area that's rural with no select teams/academy teams close by. It's also an area that's new to soccer. Soccer is really growing here, but it's not supported from a competition standpoint like football and baseball. So, I've been pondering the idea of perhaps starting a U9 select team for the surrounding area. But I'm not really sure if that's possible. I'm still a couple of years away from doing that (I'd want my son to be part of it), but want some advice. Here's my current situation.
1. At the moment, I'm not really qualified to take on this responsibility. I coach U6 rec soccer, but that's really my only experience with soccer other than being a huge fan of the sport. I got into the game late (2010) and played other sports. If I were to do this I'd plan on getting coaching certified. Other than the obvious lack of personal skills, would I face any hurdles having not played?
2. My only interest is providing younger kids with some better competition and more structured practice. I don't really want to lead a soccer "club" with multiple teams, but rather just a select team. Is this uncommon? Perhaps if someone with more knowledge of soccer comes along and is interested in coaching then expansion could be possible, but really atp I'm only interested in one select team.
3. Would I have any issues getting other select teams on our schedule? What's the process of become a part of gasoccer?
Again, I'm in the initial stages of this. Just wanting to know of possibilities and any steps or hurdles that I'd face along with way.
Thanks!
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Post by devilwentdown2ga on Aug 28, 2017 13:55:52 GMT -5
Sorry for bumping the topic, but doesn't anyone have any thoughts on this?
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Post by paterfamilias on Aug 28, 2017 14:13:09 GMT -5
1) Coaching is not about having played but understanding the game. Tophat has an extraordinary coach, who never played that game and was focused on basketball until he came to the sport. He does amazing things coaching those girls though
2) yes uncommon, but not unheard of especially in the rural areas. Scheduling similarly skilled teams can be a challenge. Players develop at different rates, the pool of talent is thin.... so those are other challenges you run into
3) yes you would have difficulty. It is mainly an insurance issue, unless you go to tournaments, only. For information about becoming an affiliate of Georgia Soccer, per their website you should talk with
Director- Membership Kim Bowen kbowen@georgiasoccer.org Ext. 107
Hope this helps.
DM me if you would like.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Aug 28, 2017 14:50:50 GMT -5
3) yes you would have difficulty. It is mainly an insurance issue, unless you go to tournaments, only. For information about becoming an affiliate of Georgia Soccer, per their website you should talk with Director- Membership Kim Bowen kbowen@georgiasoccer.org Ext. 107 Hope this helps. DM me if you would like. The "tournaments only" could be a good option... Rural teams or teams that don't have a lot of populations around them often do this in place of a regular season. For instance, I have a buddy that has son playing in Destin, Fl. ... It's a big enough city to have a team but not many other cities or locations nearby that make it feasible for a regular league. Instead, they play only tournaments (which there are plenty of) so their team club fees are minimal and most of the cost goes to tourney entry fees and such. I would also assume its a lot less headache having to find equally matched teams, scheduling out a season, getting referees assigned, etc.
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Post by spectator on Aug 28, 2017 20:49:48 GMT -5
Is there anything you could affiliate with - local YMCA, Boys Club, a 'Junior' program in your local high school? That would be easier than starting from the ground up. Plus it may give you a place to practice - what was your plan for that - field wise? If you were to host a game or two, do you have enough referees in your area? My obvious question is who do you play rec with - could that league or organization start a small select program - they already offer rec. Other age teams may be interested in this as well so talk to the organization or other coaches
Affiliating with GA soccer as a new club is tough - what's the nearest true soccer club near you and could you possibly be an offshoot team of that club? Would that be a driveable distance to host games (still practice locally but on game day, are your parents willing to drive a bit)? Cities that come to mind immediately are Augusta, Macon, Savannah and Athens - further outside Metro Atlanta so if you were within 45 minutes of any of those clubs, it may be an option to approach them to be an additional team.
In Academy, it would be very hard to schedule games due to the fact you'd only have the one team and the larger clubs won't just schedule one team's game against a small club or team - the big clubs have to schedule enough so that all their teams can play and when you have metro Atlanta programs with 4-5-6 Academy teams, that gets almost impossible. We spent our Academy years in a small club and usually had to only play other small clubs with just 1-2 teams but we did tons of tournaments so that is an option for you as well
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Post by forsythsd on Aug 29, 2017 7:43:46 GMT -5
I've no experience in this area, but I'd try reaching out to existing clubs. See if one would be willing to partner with you. They have the procedures, expertise, insurance, websites, relationships, etc. already in place.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Aug 29, 2017 7:48:14 GMT -5
Your best bet is trying to partner with a club that is closest. Happens a lot where single teams are kind of adopted by a club for purposes of using the clubs name and access to GA soccer and tournaments etc.
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Post by devilwentdown2ga on Aug 29, 2017 18:33:40 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! Very helpful stuff. I'm acutally about 2 hours from the nearest club (that I'm aware of) I'm basically 2 hours from everywhere. I'm thinking that my best bet may to be doing the program through the rec department in some way. If kid wants to play for the select team (u8 and u10), they still play with the rec dept. but practice extra and play in some tournaments. That makes sense, but I'm still pondering a bit. Are most of these tournaments invitational or can you usually just sign up?
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Post by newposter on Aug 29, 2017 19:21:16 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! Very helpful stuff. I'm acutally about 2 hours from the nearest club (that I'm aware of) I'm basically 2 hours from everywhere. I'm thinking that my best bet may to be doing the program through the rec department in some way. If kid wants to play for the select team (u8 and u10), they still play with the rec dept. but practice extra and play in some tournaments. That makes sense, but I'm still pondering a bit. Are most of these tournaments invitational or can you usually just sign up?
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Post by newposter on Aug 29, 2017 19:25:10 GMT -5
Most will allow any teams into their tourney. They want the money. Based on the teams skill level and history the teams are placed in playing groups so like skilled teams play like skilled teams. Showcase tournaments i.e. Disney only are by selection only.
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Post by SoccerMom on Aug 29, 2017 23:38:22 GMT -5
Im pretty sure if you're not affiliated with another registered club or registered as your own you can't participate in tournaments. In order to play at a tournament you need player passes which you can only get from an association like Ga Soccer. Im not familiar with rec but i think their passes are different if any?
Atlanta Eagles had to affiliate with Norcross and now UFA in order to enter tournaments.
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Post by mightydawg on Aug 30, 2017 10:03:29 GMT -5
There are rec tournaments as well but even to sign up for those you have to have player passes.
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