Guidance to Coaches

Bellaire Soccer Club

Coaches,

We have tried to summarize most of the information that you should need to help you get your new team started and through the season.  Even if you are not in your first season, there is plenty of important information for you here.

Club Meetings

The club meets at 7pm on the first Sunday of every month at 7pm. Location is the Optimist building at Horn field. Every team should have a representative.

Tip: Have a second person attend all meetings with you. It is a great way to spread the work around, develop more volunteers for the club, and is an efficient way to circulate information back to your parents (they can talk to the other parents while you are busy coaching the game and running practices).

Resources Listed on our Website

From the BSC website homepage, www.bellairesoccerclub.org, go to "Coach Resources" for HYSA and STYSA rules, and access to training.

Also, check out "Links" from the home page.

Glossary of Association Names:

Team Sponsor

Every team must line up sponsors by the end of July.  Each team is required to obtain $750 worth of sponsorships. This is one $500 "Gold" sponsor, plus $250 in any combination of $250 "Silver"or $125 "Bronze"sponsors or $25-$50 "Friends of the Club" contributions. All are acknowledged in our annual directory. Gold sponsors are also recognized on the website.

The club has a letter for potential sponsors. A copy is at our website.  See the Coach Resources page.

The club president can send you a letter to potential sponsors.  Your $500 sponsor receives a half-page ad on the team page in the annual directory and receives a team picture-plaque.  You should ask your sponsor for a computer-ready space ad or graphic image suitable for placing in the directory. Specifications are: up to 7" wide x 4.75" tall (it can also be square - no problem). Black and white only. .PDF, .TIF, .GIF or Microsoft Word document. NOT .JPG, which does not print well, even if it looks good on the internet. If we don't get an that ad we can put in, we will design up a clean, attractive text-box ad.

We also have "Silver" ($250) and "Bronze" ($125) sponsorships which are vital to maintaining our excellent fields.  $250 sponsors will get a half-page ad in a different area of the directory, and $125 sponsors get a quarter-page ad, also not on the team page.  Finally, individuals who contribute $25-$50 receive recognition in the directory as "Friends of the Club."

Bellaire Soccer Club is a 501(c)(3) organization and contributions are tax-deductible.

Team Referee

Every team is required to designate one individual who can provide referee services to the club. This person would not referee your games. The club has to provide referees and assistant referees for a great deal of home games. Additionally, we have a quota of games that must be met for home and away games.  Referees receive full paid training (USSF license), reimbursement for shirt and are paid for their work. Certification classes are held in August and January. See our Referees page for more information.

Get Required Coach Training/Licensing for Yourself

All BSC coaches, assistant coaches, trainers and managers are required by S. Texas Youth Soccer (STYSA) to obtain an appropriate license level and have this information on file with STYSA effective the for the spring 2008 season.  This is required to be on the sideline with your team. 

The club will pay for your US Youth Soccer licensing courses. If you are coaching Under 10 or younger, you should take the U8 or U10 modules. If you are coaching U11 or older, you should take the U12 module, or better yet, take the 2-day course and get the "E" License clinic. Clinics can be found at this page on the STYSA website: http://www.stxsoccer.org/CoachingEducation/index_E.html

Get Your Required Adult Participation Pass through South TX Youth Soccer Assn.

This a no-cost registration which will result in you having the required adult pass for games. It also includes a built-in required background check. All coaches, assistant coaches, managers and club referees must get this.  Register as an adult through the club's online registration process, found elsewhere on our website; the Kid-Safe registration process is integrated there. 

Once you receive your Adult Participation Pass, you must always have it at games and practices in case it is requested.  While awaiting for your pass, you should keep the confirmation number you receive when you finish your online application.

Get Organized

Your success as a soccer coach is measured by player development. Your longevity is measured by your organization. Some hard learned lessons:

• Communicate early and often with your parents so they are on the same page as you. A team meeting at the beginning of the season is well worth the time spent.

• Set up an email list. Send out a letter communicating your plans. Its better to be told you send out too many emails than too few.

• Figure out your tournament schedule early and communicate that to your parents.

• Use a service like www.callingpost.com  to help you get voice messages out. The last thing you want to do is make 20 calls at 8 AM advising your players that the game is cancelled. CallingPost allows you to record a message and have it sent to a list of phone numbers. It’s the best $0.05 you will ever spend.

• Get a zipper-binder with lots of space for team information, club information, schedules, practice ideas, blank forms, etc. A waterproof binder is better.

• Keep your player cards and medical releases in alphabetical order. Nothing irritates a referee or tournament official more that wasting their time sorting through your mess.

• Get a team treasurer, especially if you have a trainer. Your job is to coach. You have enough to do coaching. Don’t handle the money too.

• Get a team mom – see above! Somebody needs to organize halftime drinks/snacks, parties and all the other little details that make this fun. You are not that person!

• Come to the club meetings – there is no better way to know what is going on than investing one hour once a month.

Get your practice dates set

Contact the V.P. for Operations (currently George Humphrey) to be sure you get two weekly practice dates set.  See our Club Officials page.

Paid Trainer?

Paid trainers can do a tremendous amount to develop fundamental skills and build tactical proficiency of our players and teams. It is your job as a coach to determine if your team needs and wants a trainer, who that trainer will be, and the fees that you will pay him or her. U10 and younger teams have special requirements per HYSA, so contact a club officer before making any commitments. Please note that all trainers must be approved by the club.

When to Start?

Registration for the fall occurs in late April. Player evaluation and team formation occurs in early May. Teams may be set in early May, or it might stretch out into early June. Please contact your parents as soon as you have your roster settled. Please also have one or two practices right away to let everyone meet each other and find out what the plans are for the summer. Some teams are fairly inactive until early July or August. If that is your plan, be sure to communicate this to your families.

Practice Schedule

Practice times are scheduled by the club. Most teams practice twice per week, for 90 minutes per day. Communicate your preferences to our practice scheduler, but please encourage your parents to be flexible.

Goal Locks (Practices and Game Days)

Please  keep the locks secure. When they are unlocked to move the goals, the locks should be re-locked to a fixed location (light pole, fence, un-used goal, etc.). They should never be left unlocked lying on the ground. Otherwise people will either take the locks or re-set the combinations; and if they are locked when not in use, this cannot occur. Please help your coaches ensure that we limit the chances that we lose locks. Also, if you see anyone tampering with the locks or walking off with them, please notify our VP for fields.

Practice - Coach Rules, Ethics and Etiquette

You are practicing on a BSC field. You and your players pay over $30,000 a year to maintain those field and equipment. Treat it as such. That means:

• If you get a goal out – put it back and lock it up, unless you confirm that the coach coming after you will use it and put it away.

• Don’t give the goal combinations to the kids – we do not allow them to unlock the goals for “private” practice sessions.

• When you unlock a goal, be sure to put the lock back around a goalpost, and lock it, so it won't be lost, stolen, etc.

• If you see trash on the field – pick it up.

• If there is a bad area on the field, adjust your training so you don’t make it worse.  Avoid using the goals in their game-day locations.

• If the field looks abnormally dry, send an email to one of the club officers; the sprinklers may not be working.

• If you are the last ones on the fields at night, turn off the lights. Learn how from another experienced coach or club officer.

• If there is a thunderstorm – GET OFF THE FIELD – see the HYSA lightning policy for specific details. This policy applies to practices as well as games!

• In case of rain, see our rain practice procedure later in this document.

• DON’T INTERFERE WITH Pin Oak Middle School school events (practices, games, etc.). It's their field, so if they are using it, stay clear.

• Get off the field when your practice time is done. Unless you have the last practice, somebody is waiting for the field.

• If there is a baseball game/practice – keep the soccer balls off their field.

• Don’t park in the Pin Oak Middle School driveway, and don't let your parents do it. Yes, we know the school parents do it. No, they aren’t supposed to. Yes, a club officer will yell at you if we see you or one of your parents do it. Yes, we could lose privileges at POMS if this becomes an issue.

HYSA Bracketing

Bracketing is the process of placing your team with others of supposedly comparable skill and experience level for the upcoming season. In June or July you should fill out a HYSA "bracketing form" which is designed to help HYSA officials place you in a group for play. For the spring season this occurs in February. Seek assistance from an experienced coach as you fill out your form. Be honest in evaluating your players' abilities.  This is for the good of your players.   Get a bracketing form from the HYSA website. Find all HYSA forms at the HYSA website.

Tip: Plan to attend the actual bracketing meeting conducted by HYSA. It will be the only time you will get to see the teams you are proposed to be placed among. Also, depending on how many teams have put in for certain age and  strength groupings, moves could be proposed and MADE without your knowledge or input. Bracketing meeting occurs in the first week of August for the fall season.

Player Passes

There are four steps to take with you player cards. Start a couple of weeks before your first game

1. Have your players sign both ID card and membership card,

2. Tape or glue a picture of the player to the card

3. Laminate the card, and

4. Put all your cards on a ring in alphabetical order.

The second set of passes ("membership cards") should go to your assistant coach or responsible parent in case you have a problem getting to your game. These may be used in a pinch. They must have photos attached and be signed and laminated to be valid.

Tip: Start collecting player photos as soon as you have your roster set. Better yet, take your own photos at practice. Put your players in small groups. Take two pictures of each group. Develop your film (twin prints) and you instantly have four pictures of each player - enough for two fall season passes and two spring season passes!

Tip: Buy letter-sized adhesive lamination sheets, from the office supply store, arrange your cards on one sheet, then carefully place a second sheet on the top. Or, Kinko's has large lamination pockets and a heated lamination machine.

Tip: You will have two sets of passes. Give your second set to your assistant coach in case you are late to a game or have some other unplanned disaster.

Violations Regarding Player Passes

Read your preseason HYSA materials (given to you at the time you receive your schedule). Any HYSA fines that the club is assessed for improper playing cards will be passed on to the team.

HYSA Game Report Forms

There are very specific HYSA rules regarding game report forms. You must have a game report before each game to give to the referee with your passes upon check-in. You must have your player numbers, game number, field and time on this form.  A new report must be printed from the club's internet player registration site each week.

If you add a player, you cannot write that player in on the form. You must register the player properly and then obtain a new report form from the club registrar. (This takes time. Contact our registrar for details.)  The only write-ins allowed are for an assistant coach.  Still, this coach must have a valid pass.

You may hand-write assistant coaches onto the report form if they are not pre-printed. No more than four adult coaches/assistants/trainers, and all must be registered with a yellow adult pass (with photo and laminated).

The coach's package ("Rules of Play") you receive from HYSA before the season with your game schedule has extensive information about game report requirements.

New HYSA policy for printing of game reports 2006 Fall Season - Each coach will be required to print a new game report each week for their weekend games. 

Here is the link for e7 login: https://www.e7sports2.com/E7/Registration/Soccer/DB/Login/Soccer_login.php?lg=1301  Once a coach has logged in and selects teams from the main menu - he will select "Print Team Game Report" - please remind coaches that they will have to select landscape in the preferences area of the print screen. You can also direct a coach to the HYSA web site - www.hysa.us  in the top left hand corner under HYSA News more detailed directions are listed for printing game reports - please also direct your coaches to the HYSA web site for directions.  It is very important to work hard to make sure this prints landscape and fits on one page.

Just a little tip to help coaches print their game reports. If a coach has a team that has 18 players and 4 coaches listed on the game report - which is the maximum allowed - he needs to make sure that before printing he goes to page set up and changes the margins for the page to .1 on all sides - this will allow the game report to print on one page and not spill over into a second page. (also change page layout to landscape).

Adding Players

After week five of the season, you cannot add new players. After bracketing, you cannot switch players from one team to another within the club.

Game Day!

When heading to a game make sure you have:

• Player cards signed, with photos, laminated and in alphabetical order on a ring

• Game Day report

• Game ball (if home team)

• First aid kit

• Medical Release/Consent for Medical Treatment forms

• Balls for warm-up

• Watch with timer (to monitor time)

Additionally, if you are the home team you are responsible for:

• Setting up the goals* and corner flags if you are the first team** playing

• Stowing the goals* and corner flags if you are the last team** playing

• Picking up trash and other debris from the field both before and after your game

• Setting up the goals is not a huge effort, but does take several minutes, plus the time to get the equipment from Feld. Make sure you have adequate help lined up in advance. The last thing you want to be doing is setting up the goals when you should be supervising warm-ups.

• Stowing the equipment if you are the last team playing is just as important as the setup. Remember, the club could be liable if somebody is injured when the goals are left out. Additionally, the goals are expensive. If they are damaged because they aren’t properly put away and locked up, we all suffer.

• At the end of the game you are responsible for calling in the score. You may delegate this to a trustworthy parent, but YOU are still the responsible party. Remember, a game that doesn’t get called in is a game you may forfeit.

* Setting up the goals and corner flags means getting the equipment from Feld field house, moving the goals to the right position, staking down the goals with the heavy duty stakes, staking down the nets with the lighter stakes and placing the corner flags appropriately. Stowing them means returning the goals to their positions off the field and returning the flags and stakes to the Feld field house.

**So how do you know if you are the first or last team scheduled on the field? You can arrive early and observe.  You can go the the HYSA website www.hysa.us and go to the link for "Schedule." Or for teams U11 and older you can also check the HYSA Referees page www.hysa.us and go to the "Referees" and "Assignor" links for the day to see the schedule.  You can email our club referee assignor.  Obviously, you are the last team playing if there isn’t anybody warming up when you are done playing.

Representing the Club

The actions of you, your staff, your players and your parents all reflect on our club. Maintain a professional demeanor, don’t harass the referee, keep the parents from getting unruly and above all maintain a positive attitude with the kids. And if all else fails, remember, any fines assessed by HYSA due to the actions of you, your staff, your players or your parents are YOUR responsibility to pay. The club will do what we can to defend your actions (if they are defensible), but HYSA is pretty strict.

Playing Time

HYSA has a rule that everyone plays at least half of the game. This rule applies to everyone who arrives at a game on time and attends practice or has a reasonable excuse for missing practice. HYSA provides some leeway for discipline problems, children who are late for games, or children who miss practice regularly. Just remember this is a game. None of you are playing for pro contracts or professional coaching jobs. This should be fun. In spring soccer, records are not maintained, so in the spring you are not playing for trophies or playoff spots.

Rainout Procedures, HOME GAMES

If you have a home game, call the club hotline 713-664-2802. Do not give this number to parents. Information about canceled fields will be posted by 8:00 AM on Saturdays and Sundays. After 8:00 AM, cancellation of games due to weather is up to referees and club representatives.

Coaches can not cancel games because of rain. Once a field has been designated as closed, all games for the rest of the day are cancelled, even if the sun comes out and it dries up.

You may end up playing games in the rain; our teams have done it before. Unless you get information that a game is canceled, show up, or you may end up with a forfeit, and the club will be fined - and your team will be responsible for paying the fine.


Rainout Procedures, AWAY GAMES

If you have questions about an away game, call your opponent's rainout hotline number. You received a list of club hotline numbers in your coach's package from HYSA ("Rules of Play"). It came with your game schedule. Also, the HYSA website has a "clubs" section and you can find out the other clubs' websites, which will also have their rainout number.  If you did not get this list, let our registrar know.

Rain and Practice Procedures

The club rainout number is 713-664-2802. Check it whenever the weather looks threatening. Even if it is a sunny day following a period of rain.

Serious problems arise if coaches practice when the fields were closed.  When this occurs, the coach is causing damage to the field as well as to the club's reputation.   Our activities are continuously monitored by both the administration of Pin Oak Middle School and by the City of Bellaire Recreation Department, so we need to be proactive in our care of the fields.

The Exec. Board has put into effect the following policy:

Any coach who practices on a field that is closed will lose his/her next
scheduled practice.  Coaches who habitually abuse the system will risk
losing all practice privileges.

The Field Coordinator will attempt to update the phone message on closing the field by 3:30 pm each day that the field needs closure.   However, if a coach goes to a field and it looks wet or muddy, the coach should call the phone message center for an update.  Also, if you have a special need to practice due to an upcoming event and the fields have been closed, please feel free to contact either of us and we can try to work something out to assist your team (no promises that we can, but we will try).

I realize all of you want to get in as much practice as possible, but lets try to take it easy on our fields. In 1-1/2 hours of practice you can mess up the field for weeks to come, particularly if you practice in the goal box. If a field is closed for HYSA games because of rain, it will be closed for practice as well. During weekdays, call the rainout hotline number if you want to find out if fields are open.

Games are canceled because the fields are considered unsafe for the kids. I can tell you from personal experience that there is nothing more disheartening than taking a kid with a torn ligament to the hospital because he or she slipped on a soft field.

If the fields are open for practice, please do everyone a favor and stay away from the goal area if it is at all wet or  muddy. The best practice in all cases is to set up your goals for practice away from the goal line anyway. Consider practicing cross-field, or set your goal well ahead of or behind the goal line.  Weekdays are the time for our goal areas to recover from the weekend games.

Game Rescheduling

In the fall season, HYSA is responsible for rescheduling games. Do not attempt to reschedule a fall game with another coach. Rescheduled dates will be posted at the HYSA website usually within a week. (Exceptions are U10 and younger, which are rescheduled by the home team club.)

In the spring season, if you have a canceled game, the coaches should reschedule. Before you schedule a game at home, check with the club club referee assignor for ref availability and field coordinator for field availability. If you can not work out a solution with the other coach, contact our president, who will contact the HYSA administrator.

Cancelling Games

Under no circumstances can coaches cancel games during the fall season. If you have a huge conflict on a game day, such as all of your team has the chickenpox, call our club president, the HYSA administrator and HYSA president Delay. If you cancel a game without telling anyone your team will be fined a minimum of $150 by the club, possibly more, to pay for all the HYSA fines.

Pre-game Field Preparation

The club pays a high school student to paint the fields prior to games. He will not set up goals or corner flags. That is the responsibility of each team. Stakes for the goals and corner flags will be stored at Feld Park like last year.

If you have the first game at a field, you are responsible for:

* Getting the stakes and corner flags from Feld Park,

* Moving goals to the proper location,

* Staking down the goals,

* Staking down the back of the nets, and

* Setting up the corner flags.

If you have the last game of the day, you are responsible for:

* Locking up the goals,

* Packing up the stakes and corner flags, and

* Returning appropriate items to Feld Park.

The combination to the upstairs room at Feld Park can be obtained from the president or either vice president.

The equipment for each field will be placed in a clearly marked bucket. The equipment will include: a can of spray paint for field touch ups, stakes for the goals and nets, and corner flags. Take the bucket and keep everything together. If you use up an item or if something is missing, let the club VP for Operations know.

I recommend that your team field maintenance volunteer be in charge of field set up. However, you as coach should review it yourself. If you do not set up the field correctly, the club will be fined by HYSA.

It is not the responsibility of the referees to set up the field.

Red and Yellow Cards, Poor Conduct

Coaches don't receive yellow cards (cautions) or red cards (send-off), as those are for players. However, a referee may dismiss a coach from the field for behavior.  Any coach who is dismissed from the field by a referee automatically serves a one-game suspension from HYSA.  Bellaire Soccer Club will evaluate the cause for the this and potentially increase the suspension.  Coach behavior can also result in additional fines and sanctions from HYSA.   In other words, we expect coaches to set an example for the team and parents of players. If a coach receives a card because of the misbehavior of a parent, that parent will be asked not to attend games while the coach is serving a suspension.

Tournaments

Tournaments, while optional, are a great way to get extra experience.  And the kids like tournaments for a change of pace, to maybe get out of town, and measure themselves against more teams.  HYSA builds in at least one open weekend so teams can play in a tournament if they want.  There are preseason tournaments (Labor Day), Memorial Day tournaments, and many others.  Go to the STYSA website for ideas, and ask other coaches.  You collect fees from your own players and register on your own.  Most tournaments allow a certain number of guest players who are not on your regular roster.

STYSA Medical Release Forms

Tournaments will require you to have a signed medical release form before you can play your games. Be sure you get these from the STYSA website in plenty of time before the coaches meeting. Check out our "Forms" page.

Thanks for your help with the season. If you need items, give any of the board members a call. We will try to help. You should also feel free to call any of the other coaches in the club to see how things are going for them.