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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 allows us to offer
a exciting 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 may possibly interlock 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 are encouraged to join the Academicals, there is
no selection process.
Mark Byrne in cooperation with Ian Knight the Club Head Coach is in overall control of the whole Mini/Academical
program, along with his coordinators coaches and facilitators. Dave
Ashcroft
is overseeing the Wee Kickers program this coming season.
Academical coaches for the upcoming season will be announced very soon
as will the program outline.
We select approximately 24 boys and girls at U11 to form 2 teams which
will form the basis of the development groups over the next few years.
These players will be selected by one paid coach and one volunteer coach
who will work 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
introducing a School of Excellence for players at U11 and U12.
We have our Head Coach Mr. Ian Knight and 10-12 very experience coaches
in our club now who have work at all levels of the game from youth to
Head Coach for the Canadian Men's National Team in your club. These
coaches will be selecting players from the top teams in each age group
to participate in the various School of Excellence Programs that will be
offered throughout the coming season.
The Schools of Excellence are under the direction of our Head Coach Ian
Knight and players
train 2-4 times every 2-3 weeks, as well as working with their club team.
Our development teams train twice weekly on grass fields and under
lights.
These are 18 of the top teams in the club who all have a paid coach. 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 U11 up to U18 for each gender. Players making these teams pay
an additional fee that covers the entire cost of the program from
coaching to field expenses. Any team gear purchased is an additional
expense born by the players on that particular team.
Our Competitive Recreational U11 to U18 (House to Gold teams) will train
once per week and play a game on the weekend. All teams must now be
prepared to play on any Saturday or Sunday. At the start of each season
teams will not have access to a specific training field until early
October as the City of Abbotsford does not release the fields to the
Abbotsford Soccer Association until then.
If anyone has any questions regarding our programs please write to
gm@abbotsfordsoccer.com
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