PELE ACADEMY FOR U9-U10 PLAYERS AT VHSC

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1 To All Current 2008 and 2007 Recreational and Competitive Players: We would like to thank everyone who attended our meetings and would like to follow up with more information about our NEW Pele Academy and Competitive Soccer for U9- U10 players at Vestavia Hills Soccer Club in the calendar year. Starting next fall, the Alabama Soccer Association will launch a U9-U10 Academy. The Academy will include both Under 9 s and Under 10 s. The goal of the Academy is to put the focus on player development and away from game day results. Many states have been in the Academy system for many years and have a great results in developing players to reach high school, college, regional, and national teams. With long term player development at stake, Alabama & Vestavia Hills Soccer Club are extremely excited to bring this highly beneficial program to Birmingham and Alabama! Vestavia Hills Soccer Club, along with nearly all competitive clubs in the State, have agreed to join the Academy format with Alabama Soccer Association. Our 2007 (U10) and 2008 (U9) players (and maybe a few 2009 s!) will take part in this new exciting Academy structure which is player-centric vs team-centric. What is the Academy Program? Academy programs have emerged as a 21st century alternative to the frustrating shortfalls in soccer development displayed by most pre-teens. This void is heavily influenced by coaching quality and the pressures to win at critical periods in the development process. The Academy program seeks to improve individual player development, satisfaction and retention, and to build a less pressured youth soccer environment for coaches, adult spectators, and match officials. The Pele Academy Program focuses on the total development of each player. The Academy will provide a properly organized educational environment for boys and girls to learn through playing and training. The main goal of the Pele Academy is to promote player development and a LOVE FOR THE GAME in a child centered environment. Why we need the Academy Program? To create a fun and dynamic atmosphere for players. Pool training and pool rosters allows the players to be challenged at their own individually DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE levels. To emphasize player development and focus on the technical development of each child without the pressures of short-term wins/losses/results. To develop ball skills, technical proficiency, and improved decision making in the game. To help educate parents on how to understand the sport and their role as a supporter of their child s development. To prepare younger players for the transition into competitive soccer at the older ages. To offer a program that will follow recommendations and guidelines from US Youth Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation for small-sided play. To help reduce travel and lower the expense for younger players and their families. Last Updated: May 3,

2 What Does This Mean? Gives the coaches and programs the freedom to structure teams and move players so that all games are competitive with no blow-outs If a player is dominating a game and not challenged he/she can be moved to a game where they are with other players of the same ability, size, and speed If a player is not engaged and cannot compete with the other players the player can be moved to another game with other players of the same ability, size, and speed Players are still part of a team. They are part of a larger team, an Academy! Playing other sports & commitment to program Within the new Academy system, there is greater flexibility in training and games for players, the teams, and the Program. The Pele Academy Pool allows for free flowing rosters for games and increased fluidity and flexibility inside the training groups during the week. At these ages, we encourage players to play other sports to create balanced and healthy individuals and players. With the new Academy system, the Program has greater flexibility with players participating other sports and activities. Certain sports and activities will overlap the soccer season. The Club works with players and families to participate and play in other sports and do activities outside of soccer to develop. The Program focus is long term player development... The Club understands there will be conflicts for many players who participate in other sports. For players, families and Club it is more important to participate in the Academy program at these crucial developmental ages than to deter players from playing soccer who have minimal conflicts and overlaps at certain times of the year with other sports and activities. To maximize physical development, players should participate in multiple sports. Our goals include INCLUSION and not EXCLUSION of players! We will work with players and families who communicate overlaps and conflicts in a timely manner to create a balanced program for individuals. We don t want players to have to choose a sport at this age due to overlaps in activities Vestavia Hills Soccer Club and the Pele Academy will operate 2 sites: Central Field (off of Highway 31 near the Vestavia Civic Center) Liberty Park Soccer Complex At Vestavia Hills Soccer Club, we believe in excellence, hard work, planning, personal and player development, and leadership. Both Central & Liberty Park will operate with Professional Staff and a professionally designed curriculum to grow and develop the best soccer players in the State and Region. We will form training groups in the U9 and U10 age groups for both boys and girls at each location. With the Academy format, we can accept more players into the program, as we are no longer restricted to team roster mandates and quotas. Pools of players are now allowed without team designations. A professionally designed curriculum will be implemented for the Pele Academy to create, grow, develop and cultivate excellently skilled players who are confident, total soccer players who will be able to compete at the older age groups with great technical proficiency. At this age, it s essential to long term development that players develop a LOVE for the game, learn how to enjoy their soccer, operate with and demonstrate confidence on and off the ball, and become a great person dedicated to being their best in life and on the soccer field. Last Updated: May 3,

3 GAMES & TOURNAMENTS ASA will set play two dates per season. Specific dates and locations of these play dates will be determined by ASA as we near the season this Fall. In addition to these play dates, the Club will be scheduling inter-club and intra-club matches throughout the Fall and Spring seasons. ASA Youth Academy members are allowed one tournament per season outside of their own club hosted tournament. Vestavia Hills Soccer Club is home to numerous teams and players from U9-U10 allowing us the ability to host in-house training dates and games to further our development goals. These intra-club matches will be named Twin Matches and will help us gauge the progression of the players and place players in the appropriate environment and level to create a positive atmosphere for development. In addition to regularly scheduled play dates amongst other clubs in the Greater Birmingham Area and our intra-club Twin Matches and other scheduled play dates, teams and players will attend 1-2 tournaments each season. Teams for tournaments and training groups will be determined by the Academy Director coordinating through the site leaders and staff coaches: Top tier players will primarily train together and attend a more advanced tournament 2nd tier players will primarily train together and attend an appropriate level tournament Our final group will primarily train together and attend an appropriate level tournament On game / event day, Academies can play games in o Jamboree format (3 30 minute matches) o Traditional format (2 25 min) Pele Academy guidelines with ASA guidelines o Players are not allowed to play over 100 minutes on event day o It recommended by ASA that when playing multiple games on a day the games are structured as follows: Game 1: balanced teams with parity Game 2: option to divide teams by ability To sum up, the Pele Academy is tentatively set for 6-8 play dates along with 1-2 tournaments in the Fall season and 1-2 tournaments in the Spring season. The number of games is consistent with current regulations and guidelines passed down from US Youth Soccer and ASA. An event calendar will be published early in August and as early as possible throughout the season for families to adequately plan. EVALUATIONS Vestavia Hills Soccer Club will be holding Pele Academy evaluations on May 16 & 17 for Central at Central and Liberty Park evaluations at Liberty Park. After the second night of evaluations, all players will receive a phone call letting them know about their placement. If you are accepted into the Pele Academy, players and families need to attend mandatory registration night on May 19 th at at the SHAC to try on uniforms and hand in all the applicable forms. Please see website for details: Last Updated: May 3,

4 STAFF & TRAINING PELE ACADEMY FOR U9-U10 PLAYERS AT VHSC The Pele Academy will train three times per week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. Games will typically be held on Saturday mornings to early afternoon. On Monday s, everyone will report to the SHAC at 5:00 PM. Bringing Central and Liberty park teams together on Mondays and allow the Pele Academy staff greater to evaluate progress and placement of all players. On Tuesday and Thursday, players will train at their respective home site (Central or Liberty Park). Liberty Park boys and girls will train from 5:00-6:30 PM, while Central training times will be published at a later date. During training, players will primarily be divided into their respective age groups and birth years. However, the Pele Academy is designed with flexibility in order to allow players the opportunity to train and play in the best appropriate environment for their development as a player. The Pele Academy will have two leaders at each site. Here is quick look at the structure of the Pele Academy with the venue leaders listed: Liberty Park Girls Rocky Harmon Central Field Girls Shannon Lathrop The Pele Academy for U9-U10 Academy Director Jason Woodall Liberty Park Boys Gerard Barbero Central Field Boys Jason Woodall Vestavia Hills Soccer Club is proud to have a young, enthusiastic, energetic and experienced staff with a teachers mentality and mindset in the Pele Academy Program! The Pele Academy will have multiple trainers for each site and age group respectively. Staff to player ratios will be low to increase attention to details and the players themselves. Learning under such a staff and exposure to other coaches is great for player development and keeping it fresh! PRICING Club fess for are $1150. This includes everything except your team fees and uniforms. Team fees are around $200-$300 for the year, which include tournaments and coach s travel. Team fees will be determined by the amount of tournaments they attend. Players interested in playing in only Fall or Spring due to other activities at a prorated rate, please contact Academy Director Jason Woodall at Jason@vestaviasoccer.com Last Updated: May 3,

5 CALENDAR PELE ACADEMY FOR U9-U10 PLAYERS AT VHSC Pre trout camp is May 10-12, from 6:30-8:00 PM. Evaluations are the week of May 16 th, please check online for schedules and times: Pre-Tryout Camp is a great way to meet the Staff and keep the ball rolling moving into evaluations. The players all have a great time getting to know each other and the Staff! After evaluations and after the mandatory Registration Night on May 19 th, players and families will break for summer. The Club offers 3 great camps that all players will love and keep their foot on the ball! July 11-14, 2016: Got Skillz 1, 9 AM 12:00 SHAC July 18-21, 2016: Got Skillz 2, 9 AM 12:00 SHAC July 22-24, 2016: Keeper-Striker Camp 1 run by Coach Rocky Harmon! August 1-4, 2016: University of Soccer (Preseason Camp for all U9-U10 Players and included in Club fees when registering as a member of the Pele Academy) All information can be found at As part of your club fees, you are automatically enrolled in the University of Soccer as team camp for all U9- U10 Pele Academy players: University Soccer is preseason camp for the Pele Academy U9-U10s is Aug 1-4 & goes from 9:00 AM 3:00 PM at the SHAC! Players are to register online for the University of Soccer like any other registration, except players and families will select the Pele Academy U9-U10 selection as this camp is included in your Club fees. FALL SEASON August 1 - November 19 (Tentative End Dates) WINTER - OFF SEASON November, December, January Other sports & activities SPRING SEASON February - May (Tentative Dates) FALL: The fall seasons starts right after camp and runs for 13 straight weeks. WINTER: Players will be able to train in December & January in the Winter Training Program run by Jason Woodall. This is not mandatory for players, but highly recommended for players wanting to grow and further develop their soccer skills and prowess! There is an added fee for the WTP if you participate. More information coming in August. SPRING: The spring season in 2017 begins the first week of February for 14 weeks (one extra due to Spring Break). QUESTIONS? Please contact Pele Academy Director Jason Woodall. On behalf of the VHSC family, thank you! Jason Woodall Pele Academy Director for U9-U10 Jason@vestaviasoccer.com Last Updated: May 3,