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Post by docnfulton on Sept 28, 2023 9:04:22 GMT -5
Different clubs handle Academy age groups differently. More and more clubs have gone to player pools in academy, especially U10-9 ages. Some coaches and clubs focus more on winning in games, others more on player development. On the boys side, most clubs can add games on playdates to increase playing time. I am the academy scheduler plus coach our 2014 boys. I use an app to document playing time so that I know each player has at least 50% game time unless there is a reason (showing up late, unexcused absence, behavioral issues, etc). That is from years of games where I’m trying to manage a lot of things on an gameday. Academy should be about development and improvement, which primarily comes from practices and training. I would still encourage you to speak with the coach. Let him/her know it seems like your player is playing less than 50% on game days and what does the coach recommend. If the team has fixed rosters from tryouts a Gold roster, a Silver roster, etc, you may ask if your player can play down on a lower level team to have more playing time. If you are at a typical academy then you won’t be able to transfer unless you have paid in full but many clubs handle this on a case by case basis. Can you help me understand what the benefit is for the Academy and for the kids to have player pools within the same age? I'm noticing that is becoming popular but don't see the benefit for kids. To me it's a way to attract more kids to the academy to make more money and make everyone feel they are part of the TOP team but in reality it's a disguise because instead of saying for example Top team (top) and Second team (second) they now say Top 1 and Top 2. Parents and players prefer to hear and say I'm part of the Top team......but if the child is in Top 2 and is never or rarely invited to play with the Top 1 team then this is misleading. I get the impression this adds confusion and uncertainty for players and parents while it must be very challenging for a coach to truthfully make a new roster each week depending on how each kid trained and stood out from the pool. I hope I'm wrong, so please help me understand the benefits. Thank you I have found over the years that players change a great deal over one soccer year (fall/spring). Pooling allows a coach to adapt to that when it comes to games. I typically force rank players on a spreadsheet monthly, just a raw subjective 1-15 players. My data shoes movement through the year, especially U10-9 but really the Academy ages. Some players stagnate or decline due to a wide range of reasons not limited to soccer and athletic development. Others improve steadily. Fixed roster teams often produce better teams but may sacrifice player development. Not always but sometimes. It depends on the philosophy of the club. Academy soccer is to prepare each player for 11v11 play at U13. Boys and girls change so much from 8 to 12 years of age.
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Post by docnfulton on Sept 27, 2023 12:14:02 GMT -5
Different clubs handle Academy age groups differently. More and more clubs have gone to player pools in academy, especially U10-9 ages. Some coaches and clubs focus more on winning in games, others more on player development. On the boys side, most clubs can add games on playdates to increase playing time. I am the academy scheduler plus coach our 2014 boys. I use an app to document playing time so that I know each player has at least 50% game time unless there is a reason (showing up late, unexcused absence, behavioral issues, etc). That is from years of games where I’m trying to manage a lot of things on an gameday.
Academy should be about development and improvement, which primarily comes from practices and training. I would still encourage you to speak with the coach. Let him/her know it seems like your player is playing less than 50% on game days and what does the coach recommend. If the team has fixed rosters from tryouts a Gold roster, a Silver roster, etc, you may ask if your player can play down on a lower level team to have more playing time. If you are at a typical academy then you won’t be able to transfer unless you have paid in full but many clubs handle this on a case by case basis.
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Post by docnfulton on May 16, 2022 14:00:05 GMT -5
That is not the intent of the rule at all. The intent of the rule is to keep a high school coach from coaching the players outside of the high school season. GHSA has very strict rules about when teams can begin practice. For soccer, the earliest date for soccer practice in 2022 was January 3rd and the earliest date for a match was January 24th. Now if I want a really good high school team, I go coach at a club and get my entire team to play for me at that club. I coach them throughout the fall and through the winter at the club. All of the other schools are waiting on the practice window to open but my team has a head start because I am practicing for "club" not high school. I can even play games in January for the club while other high school teams can't. See the problem. This rule applies to all sports, not just soccer.
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Post by docnfulton on Aug 19, 2021 9:36:36 GMT -5
We have had an injury and are looking for full time goalkeeper for 2005 SCCL team. The team is coached by Paul Campbell, former starting goalkeeper for Jamaica Men’s National team. Paul is arguably the most accomplished goalkeeper coach in the Southeast having coached two MLS Goalkeepers of the year (Donovan Ricketts and Philadelphia Union/Jamaica Men’s National Team Andre Blake). Email Craig.cunningham@GeorgiaExpressfc.com to schedule an evaluation
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Post by docnfulton on Aug 26, 2020 13:41:16 GMT -5
We would like to add 2-5 more 2006 Boys players for Georgia Express SCCL-Premier 4 team. Please email at Craig.cunningham@georgiaexpressfc.com. Team trains in Johns Creek meat McGinnis Ferry and Bell Road
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Post by docnfulton on May 24, 2020 9:17:14 GMT -5
We are extending payment plans, partial refund or larger credit for next year (average is $325 for Academy/Select). We also are including Sports Fee Insurance for the entire club to cover season injury injury or death of a parent. Players will be able to upgrade the policy to include coverage for parent job loss, player partial season injury/illness, mental illness, a few other things. It doesn’t cover league suspension but we will spell that piece out
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Post by docnfulton on May 15, 2020 18:05:26 GMT -5
Demo that we did last weekend
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Post by docnfulton on Jul 10, 2019 17:14:59 GMT -5
Biggest changes are doing away with R8, R7 etc now called Grass Roots referee. Other big bombshell is minimum age of 13 to become a referee. As a club director, it continues to be frustrating to see US Soccer shoving these changes down the throats of youth soccer. Laws of the Game changes we have seen on the recent televised tournaments for example ball in play inside 18 on goal kicks, cautions for coaches, etc, all of that is fine and can be communicated to existing referees. It’s just hard to have faith that these decisions are data-based when it comes to the age minimum.
im personally unsure what the impact of the age change on new referees. We use ARs on all 7v7 games, one of the few clubs in our area. U14 players being the start of your potential referee pool is tough to swallow. The number of players drops in the conversion to 11v11 with team formation players required. Declines continue every year after that.
Referees have to be recruited then nurtured in a very difficult environment. From what I was told, the Georgia referee association has no say in this.
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Post by docnfulton on Apr 8, 2019 16:10:55 GMT -5
Different point to make, take this for what it's worth. Be creative to prepare your son or daughter for adversity. Players head to universities with their scholarship in hand, many are unprepared for what they walk into. Most will not have meaningful minutes until they are juniors or seniors if that. Obviously not all, but most. Rosters have grown in international players, and that trend will only continue.
on recruiting side, budgets are small and not growing at universities for their recruiting so the more creative you can be individually the better. Your player should be looking to attend 1-2 summer camps at universities that are in their wheelhouse as well as allow them to figure out what kind of school they woul want to go to. Big school vs small. Top D1, struggling D1, D2. These camps get your player in front of assistant coaches and other school coaches who can give them realistic feedback and help them network.
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Post by docnfulton on Sept 25, 2018 15:05:05 GMT -5
Typically the two teams would work out start time before moving a game. Sounds like this wasn't done. Your Team Manager can still reach out to opponent and request an earlier time.
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Post by docnfulton on Jul 10, 2018 15:36:11 GMT -5
Deadline for team declaration is this weekend then will be early to mid August
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Post by docnfulton on Jun 8, 2018 14:35:22 GMT -5
Regarding the hierarchy of tryouts - Is there a situation sometimes that a certain level team has to keep most of that team in place in order to keep their place in a league? I would assume that players getting cut from DA would have first look at the next level team down unless that roster is mostly set for that reason. I can see players getting cut from DA that might want to move on to another club on their own, but I'm not sure why a player would be moved two levels down. Roster continuity if 50%+1 at the same or higher play level. It can get complicated when there is significant turnover in a roster and/or if the coach/admin isn't transparent with the changes.
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Post by docnfulton on Jun 8, 2018 9:16:04 GMT -5
Georgia Express has makeup tryouts on June 11-12 (7:00-8:30PM) at Shakerag Elementary School, 10885 Rogers Circle, Johns Creek. We've seen significant growth this season and have added teams to accommodate the growth. Click here to register for a tryout, no cost for tryouts. For Academy players, we pool teams so openings on all levels of team (2007-2010 Boys and Girls). Two-four teams on the boys side, one-two teams on the girls side per age group. See current open spots below for Classic/Athena teams with likely placement.
2006 Boys CL-IV (three spots) 2005 Boys CL-IV (three spots) 2004 Boys CL-II, CL-III, CL-IV (open spots on all teams) 2003 Boys CL-III, CL-IV (open spots on all teams) 2002 Boys CL-IV (three-four spots) 2000/2001 Boys CL-II (three-four spots)
2006 Girls ATH-C (three spots) 2005 Girls ATH-B (open spot for 2nd goalkeeper, one other open spot) 2003/2004 Girls ATH-D (three spots) 2001/2002 Girls ATH-C (three spots)
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Post by docnfulton on May 17, 2018 14:22:23 GMT -5
Funny that the champion league is 400$ more than playing in Athena A or Classic 1 but lower level of competition. SCCL is most definitely higher level than Athena A/Classic 1. The debate is about SCCL vs. NPL and where clubs are slotting them in their hierarchy. Pay attention people. It varies based on the age group. Most are RPL/ATH-A/CL-I, with some divisions all RPL and some lower (for example, 2004 Boys will be a mix of CL-I/II teams).
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Post by docnfulton on May 17, 2018 6:49:14 GMT -5
On a side note regarding goal scorers listed in the Classic/Athena stats, I tell all of our coaches not to record any goals (it is optional for Team Managers to do this). Why would any coach want to tell opponents who scores and who does not score goals if it is elective information to input?
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Post by docnfulton on May 16, 2018 19:00:57 GMT -5
ECNL is US Club, not part of Georgia Soccer so not regulated by the same rules
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Post by docnfulton on May 16, 2018 18:58:45 GMT -5
AGC - Thanks for being open for questions. This was buried in another discussion.. I am interested in your perspective as to where oversight comes from(or should be). Comment 1 Funny enough, KSA has a chance to tie for the lead if they beat Norcross. But it will not actually be the KSA team playing the final game. Instead it seems that all Spring season KSA has brought in players from the GA Storm RPL team in order to finish higher in the standings and use this to recruit.' If you look at the scoring statistics, KSA has scored 40 goals in the spring. Their top goal scorer though only shows 3 goals. Plus they list 38 players on their roster. It seems that it is not illegal for GA Storm players to guest play with KSA since the clubs are affiliated and RPL is considered a different league than Classic 1. It helps figuring this all out when the u13 boys age coordinator is associated with GA Storm and KSA. Comment 2 [KSA/ Storm are up to a lot of tricky stuff with their new alliance. Rumor has it they are also playing much older in age players down. Not cool ] Comment 3/Question I believe this to be 100% true as well - a)shady stuff between GA Storm/KSA + b)older players playing down. Real question - what triggers some oversight for club actions like this? AGC's aren't police just admins and helpers. It is up to individual/team/club to file E&G complaint which then is ruled on by a committee. To the 38 players on roster there is limit on roster in system much less than 38. I'm not familiar enough with RPL vs Classic/Athena rostering in system to speak to that piece
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Post by docnfulton on May 16, 2018 18:53:41 GMT -5
Are placements decided by committee or individuals? Draft is individual then routed through Select committee who provide feedback for revisions
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Post by docnfulton on May 15, 2018 9:56:46 GMT -5
Feel free to fire away at any questions for an Age Group Coordinator. I'll do my best to answer from my point of view. What exactly is your role and responsibility/areas of oversight as an AGC? Age Group Coordinator handles placement, schedule creation, and rescheduling coordination. Initial placement process basically is a draft created by the previous records, roster continuity, declaration requests, and the quantity/geography of teams. Once we create a draft, that is routed to the other AGC's/members of the Select Committee for input. After that catchball process, we then generate schedules using the AGC/Affinity system. This system uses blackout dates submitted by team admins then generates a schedule. There is a good bit of manual work during this process (games that the system doesn't schedule after running it a few times). Unfortunately, we are a bit of a first line of defense for basic Athena/Classic questions. This is probably one of the greater frustrations that I have with the role. Team Managers or Coaches often come to me with questions or requests that would be better suited for their club's DOC. Probably the majority of these types of requests come from clubs that have multiple DOC's within their club (e.g., Athena DOC, Boys Academy DOC, etc).
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Post by docnfulton on May 15, 2018 9:50:41 GMT -5
Any idea how many Georgia Athena A clubs will be added to the different divisions of Girls National League, as an example currently only LSA 05 has qualified from Georgia I haven't focused much on the discussions other than the criteria are being defined for National League and the other Georgia Soccer affiliated programs.
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Post by docnfulton on May 15, 2018 9:49:29 GMT -5
For all that you do, are you compensated by GA Soccer? No, we aren't compensated by Georgia Soccer. I have two age groups this Spring (approximately 190-200 teams).
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Post by docnfulton on May 15, 2018 7:56:00 GMT -5
Feel free to fire away at any questions for an Age Group Coordinator. I'll do my best to answer from my point of view.
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Post by docnfulton on May 15, 2018 7:54:32 GMT -5
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Post by docnfulton on Feb 13, 2018 22:31:12 GMT -5
U15 Spring season is a no-promotion season last year and this year. Players can dual roster with other teams if their team doesn't play
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Post by docnfulton on Feb 13, 2018 22:29:16 GMT -5
I am an Age Group Coordinator team admins can see schedules we are fixing any errors. Clubs will receive soon to work fields and times. Is it true the 15U girls is a debacle with over half the teams from fall not declaring this spring? Ps thanks for being an AGC, you volunteers do so much for us!!!
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Post by docnfulton on Feb 11, 2018 21:36:44 GMT -5
I am an Age Group Coordinator team admins can see schedules we are fixing any errors. Clubs will receive soon to work fields and times.
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Post by docnfulton on Nov 14, 2017 21:46:15 GMT -5
Sorry for the newbie question, but just looking for clarification on pro/rel at the lower levels of GA Soccer.
I understand that the top two teams in B get promoted to A and the bottom two teams in A drop to B. But how does it work when C and D are split into East and West?
Do the top two teams in D East get promoted to C East? Do the bottom two teams in C East get relegated to D East?
Thank you for any clarification you can provide. Tried searching the GA Soccer website but couldn't really find the answer. Top team is promoted in each division everything is left to the AGC to work through. AGCs work to get to 12 team max divisions, although it can become a math problem. Teams are added and disbanded which also has an impact.
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Post by docnfulton on Nov 6, 2017 12:47:34 GMT -5
Just to be clear, I'm speaking specifically about spectators screaming "Yellow Card" or "Red Card" during games, typically more at 11v11/older games although I have heard at younger ages. To pater's point, most at younger ages are collisions/awkwardness (I had an opposing coach a couple weeks ago verbalize that my 2009 Girl playing up at U10 should be yellow carded when she stumbled into one of his 2008 Girls who were beating us around 5-0 at the time...)
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Post by docnfulton on Nov 6, 2017 9:53:52 GMT -5
One of my pet peeves on our youth soccer scene is when parents vocally call for a yellow card or red card during a game. As a club director, coach, parent of a player, parent of referees, and an AGC I wish parents from each team would come together and discuss this among themselves. Discuss how do they want to be seen as a team, how do they want to support their sons or daughters.
For the referee crew, it often gets in the way of their immediate and future decisions in the game being played. It is one of the causes of referees refusing games or dropping out entirely of working as a referee. You can definitely have the opinion that there has been a decline in the quality of the refereeing. That is subjective; however, I have alot of confidence that there has been a decline in the number of referees while there has been an increase in the number of youth soccer games.
It escalates tension and issues at a game as parents are yelling about someone's son or daughter, often in a derogatory fashion. For the players involved, it can influence them often in a negative way. For coaches, it is a distraction that hinders what they are trying to do on the field.
And there is no real threshold for this behavior, I've seen it as early as U8 Pre-Academy.
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Post by docnfulton on Oct 27, 2017 10:59:49 GMT -5
I was there, so didn't get to here the broadcast of the game. What was Twellman saying about the game and the atmosphere? did he question any of the substitutions? I watched starting around 75th minute after practice. Twellman was frustrated by the defensive shape of Atlanta that led to dangerous counter-attacks, he was out of breath and marveled at how open play was so late in the game by both teams. He wasn't stunned by Martinez sub and stated that Petersen had made late magic before as a sub, many times. I do think I'd rather Martinez had been there til the final kick. They did say Columbus had quieted the crowd so would be interested if that was the case. Compare that game to the Chicago hosted loss in front of 7500 fans Wednesday night. I think it is easy to forget that MLS is more like a Silverbacks gameday experience in many parks than the Bobby Dodd/Mercedes Benz experience. I think to the earlier points, you can chalk the last four games up to the roof design and construction delays, which led to the compressed fixtures. Will be interested to see if we lose anyone to transfer window.
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