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The Abbotsford Way...
 The beginning of this season also starts a new era in our club.
We have now put together a group of coaches which will allow us to offer
extra program to all our players, who want to try to excel in the game.
All players and coaches will have a staff coach who will be responsible
for the development of that particular part of the program.
Our soccer experience begins with the Wee Kickers program which is based
on the concepts of street soccer. A minimum of coaching is introduced
and all activities are aimed at getting kids as comfortable as possible
on the ball. They are encouraged to experiment and most formalities are
ignored. We try to recreate the fun of playing with their pals on the
street with a minimum of adult interference.
The Wee Kickers program lasts for two years, U6 and U7.
At the end of the U7 year parents and players are offered two
alternatives, the Mini Kickers program, and the Academicals.
For parents and players who just want to join a specific team and play
games on Saturdays the Mini Kicker program is ideal. Training is usually
once weekly.
The Academicals program is for players who want a little more out of the
game. All the players attend training twice weekly where paid qualified
coaches concentrate on technique, coordination, balance, and appropriate
ball skills. The players come together and play games at the weekends
but there are no set teams, players are mixed up weekly and play .
Academicals is co-ed and an extra charge is made for that program.
Academical programs run at U8, U9,
The U10 Academical program interlocks with U10 teams from Chilliwack but
there is no “league” or standings etc. Players who want to learn and
have the correct attitude to the game may join the Academicals, there is
no selection process
Mark Byrne is in overall control of the whole Mini/Academical
program, along with his coordinators coaches and facilitators. Jeff Hall
is overseeing the Wee Kickers program this coming season.
Academical coaches for the upcoming season are Sean Crocker, Simon
Crocker, Tiffany Spenard, Laura Kustaski and Joe Deacon. Sean Crocker
will be conducting Mini Clinics for Mini Kicker coaches
At U11 players are selected and formed into teams. We do however back
the B.C. Soccer plan to legislate U11 and U12 soccer to become 8 a side
in the near future.
We select approximately 45 boys and girls at U11 to form 3 teams which
will form the basis of the development groups over the next few years.
These players will be selected by three coaches working together in an
effort to make sure that that all players are playing at the appropriate
level by the time they are U14. There obviously will be a lot of player
movement in the first couple of years. We encourage these coaches to mix
up their players when it is possible, such as tournaments, exhibitions
etc.
This year we will be starting a U11 and U12 Academy.
We have 2 very experienced coaches in the club, Terry Hill who has
coached with youth systems in England, and Bob Poole who has been a B.C.
Provincial coach will be forming an Academy for U11 and U12 players.
During the first few weeks of the season Bob and Terry will be looking
at the teams to form the Academies. There will be a charge for this
Academy .
The object of the Academy will be to prepare the players for the Schools
of Excellence which begin at about U13 to U14.
These are under the direction of our Head Coach Shaun Lowther and players
train 4 times every 3 weeks, as well as working with their club team.
Our development teams train twice weekly on grass fields and under
lights.,
These are 27 of the top teams in the club. Our head coach rotates
throughout these teams during the season working with the coaches and
players. It is normally but not necessarily the top two teams in each
age group up to U16 and the top team at U 17 and 18 for each gender.
Players making these teams pay an annual fee to cover extra expenses.
This year we have hired Doug McKellan to oversee the technical side of
the boys ‘house” program including the bronze teams.
Doug has gone through the club as a coach and has experience dealing
with the ongoing problems in the house system. During this first year he
will put together a strategy to ensure that all house players are
playing at the level appropriate for their talent level and will be
recommending players who may have slipped the net to higher level
coaches. He will recommend to the board any changes he may feel
necessary to improve the enjoyment of all players and coaches. The board
has been advertising for a girl’s house coach but at this time has been
unable to find a suitable candidate.
We will have our challenges finding training space for the first few
weeks of the season.
The City of Abbotsford have provided for us two new lit fields at Upper
Sumas but they will not be ready until November.
Until then the development teams will have to work in the early evenings
at Bateman Park. This does mean that the rest of the club is a little
restricted with training fields until November but at that time we hope
that they will be able to get time at Delair under lights. Coaches will
be given the option of training on the Mouat Gravel or at Delair for a
small fee to offset the lights costs. There also will be options of
paying for one of the club staff coaches for an occasional session.
If anyone has any questions regarding our programs please write to
gm@abbotsfordsoccer.com
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