AYSO U5 Program Introduction
Location: TBD
Days: Fall 2009, Saturdays
Time: Boys: TBD
Girls: TBD
Dear Parents,
Thank you for enrolling your child in the new Under 5 AYSO program. We will do everything we can to make our soccer program a positive experience for players and parents alike. We would like to give you a little information about our approach to preschool soccer.
First things first:
- Learning soccer techniques and tactics is completely unimportant at this age level, however, that doesn’t mean we don’t teach kids to play soccer!
- Kicking the ball in a given direction, running and moving the ball with your feet, stopping the ball without using your hands, shooting at the goal and blocking shots.
- These are the basic elements of soccer that we aim to teach children by leading them in various exercises and by simply letting them play the game.
However, we consider it just as important that they learn the following skills in our program:
- Interacting comfortably with a group of one’s peers.
- Working together as a team toward a common goal.
- Dealing with both victory and defeat.
- Respecting opponents.
- Accepting and obeying the rules of the game.
In addition, your child can:
- Develop his/her own style of handling the ball.
- Learn how to move in a variety of situations.
- Improve his coordination (mobility, agility, reaction speed).
- Have FUN playing the game of soccer and being part of a team.
So don’t be surprised if we are doing exercises that may seem like they have nothing to do with soccer. Developing basic skills like climbing, balancing, hopping, throwing, jumping and so on plays a valuable role in the long-term development of soccer skills. However, practice sessions will center the game of soccer.
Of course, we will also play matches against other teams! But for all of us, the point should not be to win as many games as possible. We want every child to be physically active and to have fun playing the game. Preschool children are not good at sticking to assigned positions or duties – for them; the drive to play is much stronger. We don’t want to restrict them to positions yet anyway, just as you wouldn’t want to decide yet what your child should be when he grows up.
Children learn best when they can experience playing the game without worrying about what position they should be playing! At this age level, we only distinguish between “up front” and “in back”. So it’s natural to change positions from game to game, and even during a single game to either score goals or to stop the other team from scoring.
During the Saturday morning sessions, all children must have a parent present for the whole duration. There will be two sessions, each 1 1/4 hours long. The Boys session will be from 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM and the Girls session will be from 12:45 PM - 2:00 PM. Please make sure that you arrive 15 minutes ahead of your scheduled time. Parents will be invited to participate in the sessions as required by the coaching staff. It is critical to the success of the program that all parents remain positive and encouraging during the session. Inappropriate action could result in the parent and child having to leave the field and not participate in future sessions.
This is a pilot program for AYSO, and the future inclusion of this program will depend on how well the season works out for the regions participating. Region 630 is committed to making the program a success. We believe we have assembled a great program and with your support the season will be a great success.
Thank you for participating.