Easton Youth Soccer News

PARENT TRAP

In the Fall Season families who participate in our Recreational Soccer program were given the opportunity to complete surveys. Though not all families completed the survey-we did receive many responses and some great comments and feedback that we want you to know we are addressing. Three of the biggest areas for comments we received were in regard to Teams/Scores, Fields and Pool Training.

Teams: Since 1975 Easton Soccer has had a fall recreational soccer program primarily devoted to the enjoyment and development of soccer players without the emphasis on travel or high level competition. The purpose of recreational soccer is to provide an opportunity for the participants to have fun, learn the sport and develop life skills including a life-long love of the game. Rec soccer is for everyone. Are your players having fun? Recreational soccer is for the players and we see some really happy kids every weekend.

Finding balance on teams is another question that arose a number of times, and frankly it is something we deal with each year. With our younger teams there are many children playing so our numbers are such that we can have more teams and each grade is represented by many players. As we get into the older elementary grades and Middle/High School grades, our numbers tend to decline due to other activities; most often travel soccer, so we need to be more creative in how we balance out the teams. We have grades 3 /4 on a 6 v 6 field both girls and boys and for boys we have grades 5/6 together on an 8 v 8 field and grades 7/10 for the boys on the 11 v 11 field. For the girls, we tend to have even smaller numbers. For the past few seasons, we have had grades 5 through 10 playing together. While we know this is not the most ideal solution, we make this decision based on registration numbers-we don’t go into registration thinking we’ll have to do this. Our goal is for the players who sign up to play.

One thing to remember as well, all of our teams are coached by volunteers. We appreciate the time and effort that goes into coaching and we know it is not always easy-we’re coaches too. As a league we offer assistance to our coaches, there are online practice programs and anytime a coach has a concern or is looking for help with training, there are great resources right here in our own league, just ask.

Fields: Did you know that Easton Soccer is one of few towns that own their fields? The lower fields at the High School belong (meaning they are currently being paid for by EYSL) to your soccer program. Easton Soccer pays for the land and the maintenance. Volunteers make sure that they are in playing condition-during the season they are out there each weekend lining the fields, checking nets for safety and making sure the overall area is safe for our children to play on. The other fields that we use belong to the town and schools. We get permission to use these fields in the fall and spring for our programs. We treat these fields as our own, helping to line them and prepare them each weekend in the fall (and spring) and keeping them litter free, so that we may use them for our programs. We are grateful to have the space offered by the schools as it enables us to run so many programs simultaneously in the fall and spring on a Saturday or Sunday.

“Pool Training”: What is this? Not done in a pool, once and for all let’s get that straight! Some of you asked. EYSL is always looking for ways to improve and expand our offerings to our players so they can get the most out of playing soccer. Part of this effort is trying to expand our development opportunities for our recreational players. ‘Pool training’ is a term used to describe a training done with a group of same aged players. We offered this for grades 2 and up on different days of the week last fall. Having pool training for our older grades is similar to what happens before Kindergarten or First Grade programs on Saturdays. We have the whole group working on the same skill and they finish with a game. This additional training is great if a player cannot make a rec team practice, last fall it was beneficial due to the EEE crisis that dictated how late teams were able to practice, and it’s always a great opportunity to play with friends, even if you are not on the same team. While coaches are not required to attend, it’s great when they can; just another way to learn more activities for your own practice. The responses were overall very positive, though we know there is always room for improvement. As a board, we want our families to know that we are working on improving the soccer experience for the town and always welcome your comments and questions.

-- Kirsten Holmes

VOLUNTEERS

Families and friends of EYSL please email us at volunteer@eastonsoccer.com to get involved. We can always use your help keeping the league running smoothly.

The Neutral Perspective: A Word From Our Refs

Our referees are doing a fine job this Spring season. The Grade 9 refs had a busy weekend at the Friendship Tournament in Raynham for the U10 teams. 

Please continue to abide by the Zero Tolerance Policy for any verbal communication directed towards or at the refs.

For the Spring Season, Assignor Jodi Meade will be responsible for all U10 games played in Easton and SSSL will assign all refs for U12 and higher. Please support our referees as they represent our town!

If you have any issues/problems/concerns with referees or as a referee, please contact the Easton Referee Coordinator/Assignor Jodi Meade at jodipickup@yahoo.com

Before you head out to the fields – take a few minutes to watch the videos "Attitudes are Contagious" from the link on the SSSL website under the Coaches Corner - http://www.southshoresoccer.com

ZERO TOLERANCE. WE POSITIVELY SUPPORT ALL INVOLVED. WE NEVER ADDRESS THE REFEREE.