January 22, 2011

 

 

In 2010, a total of 86 courses were conducted and attended by 1,358 coaches.  These numbers are down from 2009, when we conducted 109 courses for 1,613 coaches. 

 

But on the positive side, the number of free coaches’ clinic requests has increased dramatically, from 12 in 2009 to 25 in 2010.  All together, we conducted 25 free coaches’ clinics and 11 free parent excellence seminars last year in front of over 500 coaches and parents.  The parent excellence seminars have been a great success and are highly recommended.  Clubs who wish to host a free clinic or parent seminar should contact Jacob Daniel at [email protected] any time of the year.

 

We have also increased the menu of free coaches’ clinics in an attempt to improve the Continuing Education Program. Coaches who have already taken the certification courses can continue to enjoy educational opportunities through attending the free clinics and symposiums. There are 12 field topics and 6 classroom topics that cover the whole range of playing levels and age groups from technical to tactical topics and attacking and defending aspects.  For a complete list please check the COACHES section of the web site.  These free clinics are ideal as Continuing Education for your coaches since they offer many topics not covered by the traditional certification courses.

 

Last year we hosted, as we always do, a USSF ‘C’ course in April in Oglethorpe University and a National Youth License Course in August at NASA’s Metro North Park.  Both courses sold out.

 

We have continued the coaching education program for high school coaches and college players and offered 2 ‘D’ courses for high school coaches in January (Duluth H.S.) and December (Richmond Hill H.S.).  We also offered ‘D’ courses for college players at reduced fees in Oglethorpe U. and Columbus State U.  These initiatives are part of our strategic plan to reach out to all the soccer communities in the state, including the middle schools, high schools, and colleges.

 

As part of the closer relationship with college programs, we launched a series of Regional Coaching Symposiums in March and April at four college locations.  A total of 100 coaches attended the four symposiums at Mercer, Armstrong Atlantic, Valdosta, and Southern Poly universities.  Each symposium was 4 hours long and had 2 field sessions and 2 classroom sessions.  The feedback was very positive.

 

We also conducted a Player Clinic in September as part of the September Youth Soccer Month.  The clinic was hosted by Georgia State university Varsity Soccer teams.

 

US Soccer also conducted 2 Coaching Symposiums in conjunction with a couple of international games in Atlanta.  The symposium in September around the USA-China game was attended by 20 coaches and the symposium in November around the U-20 Men’s tournament was attended by 40 coaches.

 

Additional coaching education opportunities are in the form of Club DOC Seminars and Staff Development Workshops.  The Club DOC seminars, which we do once per season, are geared towards to needs of the professional coaches who lead their clubs.  The Staff Development Workshops are conducted each winter in January and are geared towards our course instructors and/or ODP staff.

 

Another noteworthy item is the revision of the Club/Player Development Manual on our web site.  The manual was first posted in 2001 and the new 2010 revision is an expanded version of around 100 pages.  It is a great resource for club leaders as it offers recommendation on Board structure, Coaching structure, Role of Board and DOC, how to evaluate a club’s performance, how to evaluate a team’s performance, how to implement a club wide curriculum, how to educate parents, training priorities for all age groups, how to create a mission and vision statement, ethics in youth soccer, and many other club issues.

 

 

We continue to do very well in this program that identifies the best players in the state and prepares them for Regional Pool tryouts each summer.  In 2010, we placed over 60 boys and girls into Regional Pools.   Around 30 of them have been involved with Regional Team and National Pool events throughout the year.  For example, we had 3 GA boys in the U-18 National Team trip to Israel recently.

 

In September, US Soccer held its first Training Center event in GA, led by Juan Carlos Michia, the US Soccer Staff Coach for GA.  GA’s ODP staff assisted in identifying the best boys and girls in the state and the top players were invited to the event consisting of training and games.  The next such event will be held in January 2011.

 

Our ’93 Boys won the ODP National Championship in March 2010.  Our ‘95 boys and ‘94 girls won the ODP Regional Championship in Region Camp and will be traveling to Phoenix, AZ in March 2011 for the ODP National Championship.

 

With the help of GA Soccer and revenue from the ODP tryouts, we have implemented an ODP scholarship program to keep gifted ODP players with financial needs in the ODP program.  The ODP Committee is in charge of allocating scholarships towards region camp fees and region team events.  Each April, players selected to attend region camp can apply for financial help to pay for region camp if they meet the criteria of region caliber play and financial needs.

 

Even with competition from US soccer’s Development Academy program and other national identification programs, our ODP is continuing to thrive and is rightly regarded by many of our players as a great vehicle to enhance their ambitions and improve their level of play.  In the fall, we had over 1,300 players try out for the ODP in addition to the 150 trying out for the DTC.  These numbers are higher than ever and demonstrate the appeal of the program and its effectiveness.

 

Our deep gratitude to the volunteer ODP administrators, headed by Melissa Brooks and Chris Wagnon, and to the Coaching Staff for all their commitment and dedication to the ODP.  Without them the program would not exist.

 

 

This program is a feeder system into the State ODP and is entering its 11th year.  This is a great stepping stone for players who live in the outlying parts of the state and who want to progress through the system into the highest level possible.  Over 20 players have advanced to the State and Regional ODP through this program.

 

We had around 150 players try out in Warner Robins, Tifton, and Richmond Hill and we selected around 100.  We could not continue the Rome DTC due to field availability issues.

 

The program runs weekly training sessions for 3 months, from November to February.  Tryouts are held every November in Rome, Richmond Hill, Tifton, and Warner Robins.

 

Another player program started in 2009 is a joint project with the Latin American Association for an after school program.  We send a staff coach to an Elementary School each Thursday from November to April to conduct soccer clinics from 3pm to 5pm.

 

The writer would like to thank the ODP and Coaching School Staff for their efforts.  Our staff is the reason why GA Soccer is regarded as one of the leading states for developing coaches and players.  Our member leagues are urged to continue to take advantage of the educational opportunities we offer.  Many leagues use our programs on a regular basis, but there are still many other leagues that could benefit.  Feel free to contact Jacob Daniel any time.