OREGON YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION’S MONTHLY MAGAZINE
ISSUE #16
GOAL LINES
YOUR KID WILL QUIT! Inside is how to not let them become a statistic… Photo credit: Getty images
OREGON YOUTH SOCCER
U9/U10 DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE HISTORY The Oregon Youth Soccer Association Development League started 3 years ago experiencing phenomenal success.
What:
Oregon Youth Soccer Development League
When: Fall 2017 Games: 8
The spirit in which it was created has served hundreds of games, and thousands of kids every Sunday morning.
Where: ALWAYS at Delta Park. No scheduling conflicts, no long drives, plenty of parking
It’s easy for parents. It’s easy for players. Every Sunday. Always on turf, plenty of parking.
Refs:
USSF certified, development level
Who:
All 2008, 2009, 2010 birth year players
Day:
Always on Sundays. No guessing.
Turf:
No. More. Mud. Also, no more flooding, or field closures. The fields are also already setup
How:
Small sided, 25min halves, smaller goals, buildout line, no heading.
Simple rules designed to foster progression within the USSF Player Development Initiatives, and player inclusion, means everyone wins at this critical age group. Delta Park is the host, and nearly every club within driving distance has taken part over the past three years.
Only $475
CORNER MAY WAS ROUGH!
BY THE NUMBERS:
It would be fair to say, by any measure, May was a disappointing month for the Portland Timbers. It
6-5-3 record
started with a 3-0 loss on the road to San Jose, a draw against newcomers Atlanta at home, and
24 goals for
then 4-1 loss on the road to Montreal. Then the tough road loss to our biggest rivals, the Seattle Sounders, meant that we were without a win in three outings.
21 goals against
Thankfully, a revenge result against San Jose at Providence Park meant we didn’t go winless in May,
27.730 miles travelled this season so far
but even then, we struggled against 10-men for the majority of the game.
for away games (round trip)
Definitely work to be done going into June.
Top scorers - Valeri (8 goals)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Check out our favorite Timbers videos this month that you may not have seen
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS Here are the most recent match highlights from our favorite team
NEXT OPPONENT 

Saturday June10th
Providence Park
7:30pm PST
WHY YOUR KID IS LIKELY TO QUIT SOCCER (OR ANY OTHER SPORT) BEFORE THE AGE OF 12
There are some staggering statistics about player drop out rate in soccer (and other sports) for youngsters between the ages of 6 and 12. Why are they dropping out? Why are they not continuing on? The Aspen Institute has done a comprehensive study covering this very topic and we’d like to share some of the findings with you in the next few pages, and give you an opportunity to download the entire findings by clicking here or anywhere on the following pages.
SOCCER TOURNAMENTS: THE PLAIN AND SIMPLE TRUTH http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/ soccer_tournaments_the_plain_and_simple_truth/
There are key moments in adult life that act as epiphany times. Moments when the truth about certain events seem crystal clear. One such moment for myself was the first National Director of Coaching (DOC) meeting I attended which was being hosted by Dave Chesler, the technical director from US Soccer. All such meetings start with some form of ice breaker; I've sat through witty, entertaining, dull and truly educational ice breakers. On this occasion, Dave chose to pass around a magic wand which each DOC could take and announce one soccer wish. I was intrigued and fascinated as the wand passed around the room and 90% of all present wanted the same wish. An entire room of many of the most respected and educated names in youth soccer and almost in total agreement…Soccer tournaments banned. Some wanted this for three or five years and some forever. Thinking that over 90% of the 55 DOCs within the country could not all be wrong, I set about talking to a number of my colleagues to ascertain why this was such a passionate desire within the group. My conversations and research since have led to this article which I share in the hope that team managers and soccer parents can all gain a true understanding of the many issues that tournaments present. From a historical perspective, when there were no regional or sub-regional premier leagues, tournaments were a method by which better teams could play better teams. A good idea that would be supported by any professional coach. The problem at this time was simply the format they used. With all that has been learned about child development, rest and overuse injuries, the two or three games a day format for an incredible two days was the source of the concern. The vast majority of tournaments insist on using a format which ensures the games are simply and truthfully anti-development and dangerous to the players participating within them. If at age 14, a player needs 72 hours to recover before playing or training at maximum ability again, how is it realistic to ask they play four games within 48 hours? To read the full article, click here.
Good luck to all of our teams heading into the Far West Regional Championships in Seattle on June 19th. These are the winners of the State Cup Championship series and will go on to represent the state at Regionals. BOYS
GIRLS
U13: PCU 04B Red
U13: Eastside Timbers 04G Red
U13: Westside Timbers 04B Copa
U14: HSC 03G GPS Oregon Elite
U14: Eastside Timbers 03B Red
U15: WA Timbers 02G Red 1
U15: Westside Timbers 02B Copa Red
U16: Capital FC Timbers 01G Goodwin
U16: Westside Timbers 01B Copa
U17: FCSC 00G Nemesis Ellertson
U17: FC Portland 00B Navy
U18: Westside Timbers 99G Copa
U18: Westside Timbers 99B Copa
U18: Eugene Timbers 99G Athletica Black
U19: Westside Timbers 98B Copa
U19: Bend FC Timbers 98G Red
E & D LICENSES NOW AVAILABLE Oregon Youth Soccer is the sole provider of USSF coaching education in the state, and we are very proud to be offering both E and D licenses this Spring/Summer for coaches that meet the requirements. Details can be found in the Digital Coaching Center by clicking ‘Register’.
WHAT IS THE DCC? The U.S. Soccer Coaching Department was established in the early 1970s by famed West German teacher and coach, Dettmar Cramer. Each level of the U.S. Soccer Coaching License Pathway is designed to meet the needs of coaches ranging from the coach who is inexperienced in soccer to the former professional player who desires to coach in amateur, professional or international competitions. U.S. Soccer’s Digital Coaching Center (DCC), a state-of-the art online educational platform, allows coaches to create a personal profile, register for courses, communicate with technical staff, take part in online courses, create session plans with an online graphics tool, access an archive of U.S. Soccer training sessions and much more.
CALLING ALL YOUTH SOCCER CLUBS IN THE USA - AN OPEN LETTER FROM USWNT LEGEND TIFFENY MILBRETT
DEAR ANY STATE YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION IN THE USA (and the U.S. SOCCER DA AND ECNL): Thanks for your understanding in my need to reach out and request rule changes and policy formation that will go against recruiting and tampering with players from other clubs in season. I have been in the youth soccer club system now for 9 years as a full time coach. I am absolutely dismayed and angered about the utter lack of policies and rules to regulate what is absolutely rampant and wrong in youth soccer regarding clubs tampering with and recruiting players from other clubs during a competitive season. I have witnessed and been on the losing end of other clubs recruiting and taking my players. There is no denying the fact that youth soccer is an extremely competitive market. And in other competitive markets around the world there are major rules and policies in place against recruiting and tampering and penalties levied to those that break the rules. Please read to further your knowledge of how seriously the topic of tampering and recruiting is taken in the world of youth soccer. This is where the USA needs to get to as well, in my opinion. We have to do something to protect coaches and clubs. It cannot be okay for our players to be taken – and very easily, I might add. We have to give our clubs some protection and take a stand. U.S. Soccer and States and Leagues must adopt rules and policies, and clubs should have internal rules and standards too. Clubs who make it their policy to recruit and tamper should not have continued access to our players whenever they want them and with no reward given to the club they are taken from – especially after years of development. I hope we can all be on board with finding a solution. I literally cannot be most effective as a youth coach when a huge part of my limited time with the players is spent building off the weeks, months, season before in order to grow players and teams. And when it’s reset and restarted from zero every start to the fall season, it’s nearly impossible. To read the full article, click here.
CORNER CONTINUATION!
BY THE NUMBERS:
The Portland Thorns continued their great start to the season by going undefeated in May. Three draws and a win meant that they continued to shine where needed, and
Record: 4-1-3
kept in the tight race for the championship.
A fantastic game against Seattle Reign at home was 2-2 in the standout game of the
Goals For: 11
Goals Against: 5
season so far. This was followed by another couple of draws on the road against FC Kansas City and then again against the Boston Breakers at Jordan Field.
We finally got the win at home in a rematch against Boston in Providence Park with a 2-0 result.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Check out our favorite Thorns videos this month that you may not have seen
NEXT OPPONENT MATCH HIGHLIGHTS Here are the most recent match highlights from our favorite team
Saturday, June 17th
Providence Park
7pm PST
POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE RESOURCES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, COACHES AND PARENTS
Like many coaches and parents, you probably wonder how to help young soccer players get the most from the sport. Positive Coaching Alliance – a national non-profit organization developing “Better Athletes, Better People” through youth and high school sports – is here to help. Starting from the premise that youth sports (i.e., organized sports for children from pre-school through high school, whether at a school, a youth sports organization, park-and-rec, or club) should be fun, healthy, competitive, and character-building for youth, Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) provides training and education for coaches, parents, student-athletes and school/organizational leaders. Much of the training and education comes in the form of live, group workshops and online courses delivered in partnership with a given school or organization. OYSA member clubs that are among the roughly 3,500 that have partnered with PCA nationwide include Hollywood Soccer Club and Westside Timbers. PCA-Portland, the organization’s local Chapter, launched in 2015 with financial support from the Timbers and Thorns among others. Live workshops are facilitated PCA Trainers with a deep background in coaching and other related specialties, such as education and sports psychology, and comprise leading research in the field and advice from a National Advisory Board of 100-plus top pro and college coaches, athletes and academicians. The all-volunteer Advisory Board includes long-time PCA National Spokesperson Phil Jackson, as well as recognizable Oregonian sports figures, such as Lionel Hollins, Mallory Holtman-Fletcher, Rob Mullens, and Mike White. The Advisory Board also includes many soccer luminaries, including those you will see below, who appear within the collection of 1,500-plus free resources at www.PCADevZone.org. For more information on partnering a school or organization with PCA-Portland, email Jack Hendrickson or phone 503-444-3344. For now, though, enjoy thee following videos that are rich with information, inspiration, tips and tools to help you make youth soccer great for kids throughout the state!
POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE RESOURCES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, COACHES AND PARENTS
Public Service Announcement from Alexi Lalas
POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE RESOURCES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, COACHES AND PARENTS
World Cup winner Julie Foudy talks about coaching kids
POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE RESOURCES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, COACHES AND PARENTS
Alexi Lalas talks about parents on the sidelines.
POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE RESOURCES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, COACHES AND PARENTS
Kristine Lilly talks about club vs. high school
POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE RESOURCES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, COACHES AND PARENTS
Claudio Reyna: when to specialize and pursue competitive soccer
POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE RESOURCES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, COACHES AND PARENTS
Brandi Chastain on coaching your own child and does it work for you
POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE RESOURCES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, COACHES AND PARENTS
Kristine Lilly: Balancing development and winning
POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE RESOURCES FOR SOCCER PLAYERS, COACHES AND PARENTS
Chris Kline: The #1 priority for youth sports parents
GRASSROOTS COORDINATOR: ALY HOLLEWIJN All of our Grassroots Coordinators have extensive coaching background around the state of Oregon, and elsewhere so they bring unique experiences to their particular region.
Aly is our southern Oregon GRC and she recently had the opportunity to travel to Spain to take part in the TOVO training experience with Todd Beane, it’s creator. Aly describes what the sessions were all about and her overall experience here.
THE TOVO EXPERIENCE IN CATALONIA What is TOVO? I’m sure you have seen the name, heard the buzz, or taken a glimpse into this evolving concept. If you haven’t, that is ok, you will soon, in fact you are right now. For years I have watched Todd Beane create this concept and recently I watched in awe as he brought it to fruition. TOVO is much more than the Xs and Os. It is a true dive into all of the elements that we all strive to bring into our coaching philosophies. For over a decade of coaching I have loved teaching the game and connecting with my athletes. I dove into coaching education as young as I could. Today, I help facilitate and engage coaches in coaching education and also run my own programs. While doing all of this I have always felt a missing piece in what I was providing as a coach as a whole. TOVO gave me the piece that I have been fervently seeking for the past few years. The course elevated my game awareness but also brought me back to ensuring I focused on the human element when engaging with all players. We did not just watch demonstrations of rondos and small sided games. We watched them in action, discussed the impact of these games with leaders in the game, and saw the end result with the local youth and the Barcelona Youth. When we were not engaging on the field we were hosted in classroom sessions to discuss the application of the cognitive and human element. Facts, anecdotes, hands on demonstrations, and profound lectures helped us connect the potential that we all hold as coaches. The mastermind behind the course and concept, Todd Beane did not let anything escape him when making this program available. We were hosted in Sites, Spain, a small Catalonian beach town, fed three incredible Mediterranean meals a day, and were strongly encourage to use the beautiful walk to the breathtaking seaside stadium as a chance to connect and discuss what we were learning. In the evenings we dove deeper into the content while playing ping pong with Jon Van’t Schip, we did not have the weight of a test on our shoulders but the excitement of what questions and discussion points to bring the next day. In this course we had coaches who have coached successful national teams and coaches who have spent less than a year coaching. Everyone had something to offer and all of us gained greatly from the experience. This was not a vacation on the beach but a refreshing approach to coaching education. We had long days that flew by and we were pushed to think beyond where any of us ever had before. Despite what we all thought, we all opened our minds even further to the game and came back with more passion running through our blood.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NEAR YOU? Looking to improve your coaching knowledge base? Thinking of moving onto the next level, or maybe just a refresher course before the season? What about other soccer-related events?
Check out the schedule of events near you. Coaching and referee courses are asterisked in red!
To register for a coaching course, simply click the course listing to be taken to the registration page
PORTLAND METRO AREA ★Portland, 6/11 USSF ‘C’ License
SOUTHERN OREGON ★E-license 8/25-27 Location tbd
CENTRAL OREGON ★Willamalane Center, 6/13 Lane United FC vs. S. Oregon
★Portland, OR 6/9 D-License - Performance Wknd
★Willamalane Center, 6/22 Lane United FC vs. Timbers U23
★Oregon City, OR 6/16 D-License - Performance Wknd
★Willamalane Center, 6/29 Lane United FC vs. Victoria FC
★Portland, OR 6/23 D-License - Educational Wknd
★Corvallis, OR 7/28 D-License - Performance Wknd
★Portland, OR 9/1 D-License - Performance Wknd
★E-license 7/14 - 16 Eugene, OR
Click team badge for their full game schedule
“I CAN DO BETTER!” YOUTH SOCCER REFEREES NEED SUPPORT - NOT HARASSMENT
“Call it both ways!!” “You’re blind!!” “Blow your whistle!!” “Open your eyes!!” “You need glasses!!” Do these phrases sound familiar? They probably do if you’re a referee, or if you’re a parent trying to enjoy your child’s soccer game on the sidelines. Contempt and disrespect towards game officials continues to plague both sidelines, from disgruntled spectators who feel that everything is being called against their team; to screaming coaches who seem to have a better view from 60 yards away. Needless to say, there is a very high probability that the majority of these “sideline officials” have never bothered to take a referee class, or made an attempt to read the Laws of the Game. Being a sports referee is not an easy task; it is something that requires concentration, patience, excellent communication skills, fitness, and most of all judgement based on the rules of the sport. It is this judgement that usually comes under extreme criticism often regardless of the level of competition. Youth soccer referees arguably have one of the toughest officiating jobs in comparison with basketball, football, baseball, or hockey officials. This is due to the number of players involved (assuming an 11v11 game), the large area to cover, the continuous action, and the split second decisions which are usually correct only 50% of the time based on sideline remarks. To read the full article, click here.
MEANWHILE, IN EUGENE…
THE DECLINE OF PLAY
Published on Jun 13, 2014 In this talk, Dr. Peter Gray compellingly brings attention to the reality that over the past 60 years in the United States there has been a gradual but, overall dramatic decline in children's freedom to play with other children, without adult direction. Over this same period, there has been a gradual but overall dramatic increase in anxiety, depression, feelings of helplessness, suicide, and narcissism in children and adolescents. Based on his own and others' research, Dr. Gray documents why free play is essential for children's healthy social and emotional development and outlines steps through which we can bring free play back to children's lives.
The Federation Internationale de Powerchair Football Association (FIPFA), in partnership with the United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA) are pleased to announce the draw for the 2017 FIPFA World Cup. This took place on Thursday 23rd February, hosted in partnership with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in Chicago, IL. The 2017 FIPFA World Cup will have the following 10 teams competing to become World Champions: Host and current World Champions: USA- Argentina- Australia- Canada- Denmark- England- France- Ireland- Japan- Uruguay The World Cup will take place from 5 to 9 of July 2017 At the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida.
What are you doing around the state? What does your team look like? Got a crazy picture for us? Want everyone to see what it’s like playing at your club? Well, now’s your chance! Click the submit button and send us your pics.
US Youth Soccer TOPSoccer (The Outreach Program for Soccer) is a community-based training and team placement program for young athletes with disabilities, organized by youth soccer association volunteers. The program is designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any boy or girl, who has a mental or physical disability. Our goal is to enable the thousands of young athletes with disabilities to become valued and successful members of the US Youth Soccer family. How do you participate? Check out the list below of areas where clubs already have a TOPSoccer program running or contact your club about starting one. We can help you, too, to set up and run a program within your club, and ALL FEES ARE WAIVED for the TOPSoccer program by the Oregon
EXISTING PROGRAMS Click on any name to email the director of that program.
Albany
Beaverton
Clackamas
Eugene
Gresham
Medford
Milton Freewater
St Helens
State Chair (OYSA)
Youth Soccer Association.
WHERE’S VINNY? WHAT’S VINNY BEEN UP TO THIS MONTH? Vinny has been all over the place this month. It’s been a busy month full of more State Cup semi finals, Presidents Cup finals, and then the actual State Cup Finals. He’s also headed to the Regional Championships in Seattle soon, and the C-License. This month he had the Executive Director of the Positive Coaching Alliance, Ben Dudley in for an interview. Very cool piece on how to treat kids, parents, coaches, and spectators in every day sports.
ROAD LOG So far this month Vinny has logged over 400 miles visiting different places around the state.
CLUBS/PLACES VISITED:
Scappoose, Liberty Stadium, THPRD
Hillsboro, Providence Park, and Washington Timbers.
FOLLOW VINNY ON TWITTER