CLUB SOCCER PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Club soccer program (also called the Recreational soccer program) provides playing opportunities to children from seven years old through eighteen. Club is the largest program in all of Green Hornets soccer, with some 1,100 players each season. The Club program plays in the fall only, from September through October. On occasion, due to rainouts, some leagues may play into the first weekend of November, but this is very rare. Practices and games are held at Severna Park Middle School, with practices on weekdays and games on Saturdays. Depending on the league and the number of teams in a league, fields may be shared. Usually 2 practice sessions a week are expected.
The Club program is made up of leagues, and further divided by gender. The specific leagues are boys and girls 7’s, 8’s, 9-10’s, 11-12’s, 13-14’s and 15’s and older, where these numbers represent the qualifying birth year ages to play in that league. Leagues are administered by a very important person – the Coordinator. Coordinators recruit coaches, and work with the coaches to construct teams, modify rules, and establish practice and game schedules.
While this is considered an in-house, recreational league, in fact, this program meets three specific objectives.
One objective is to provide any child with an opportunity to play soccer. In this regard, the program is truly recreational. The goals are to teach all aspects of the game – technical, tactical, emotional and athletic – from the perspectives of an individual player as well as a team. Naturally, there will be a spectrum of abilities in every age group, and the teams are formed so as to balance the talent. Club rules specify that the teams should be as balanced as possible from a competitive perspective.
A second objective which the Club program addresses is the so-called gap years between the end the Clinic program and the start of the Select program. The Select program starts at the U9 age group. There are, therefore, the ages of seven and eight where the Club program is the only soccer this is offered, no matter what a player’s skill and commitment levels are.
The third objective which the Club program meets is to provide a bridge for players who aspire to play Select level soccer or who tried out previously but for whatever reasons were not able to qualify for a Select team.
No matter the objective, the goals of the program are the same:
To achieve our goals, coach and parent involvement are crucial. The Green Hornets Soccer Council recognizes that the better trained a coach is, the better the soccer experience for a player. Prior to the start of the 2006 season, a number of Club coaches participated in a 2-session mentoring program lead by some of our more experienced Select coaches. This past season, 2007, we offered a special course through the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association to our Clinic and Club coaches that awarded a “G” License. For the 2008 season we will again offer the Parent Coach “G” License, the pre-season mentor program, and if the interest supports it, also the “F” license. All of this training is provided free of charge to the coaches.
- To encourage and challenge every player at every age to become the best soccer player they can be.
- Provide a fun, competitive and safe atmosphere where winning is secondary to improvement, sportsmanship and enjoyment of the game.
- Provide an alternative to Select teams for those players not wanting to participate in Select play. The Club program is home to some outstanding athletes who have chosen other sports to pursue more seriously and competitively yet want to continue to participate in soccer and be with their friends.
The Club program has long benefited from the leadership of some remarkable volunteers, including Directors, League Coordinators, Head and Assistant Coaches, and Team Managers/Parents. I hope you will enroll your children in our Club program and consider being involved in one of these capacities.
Melvin Novak
Club Program Director
Last updated on March 4, 2008.
