Why Play Soccer For Blackhills FC? As a parent, you want the best for your child, but when it comes to soccer (a sport many parents never played) how do you know what’s best? Teams vary in commitment and ability levels -‐ there are competing pressures to play with friends and in other sports. What is the difference between recreational, district and PDL soccer? The choices can be daunting. When it comes to finding “the best” soccer team it’s important to find a team where your child has a balance between success and challenge. Some factors for a parent to consider: • My child loves soccer. • My child likes being challenged in practice and games. • My child wants to play with equally talented players. • My child would benefit from better coaching. What is Select Soccer? Blackhills FC is a youth soccer club where players demonstrate their skills in tryouts and are placed on teams that are commensurate with their ability, interest and commitment levels. We strive to develop players and teams that want to reach their highest potential. Blackhills FC coaches are selected based on their experience in playing, coaching and teaching the game. Blackhills FC is A Player Centered Club Blackhills FC believes that player development is much more than picking players that fit into a predetermined “ideal team” setup. A player-centered model cites individual player growth as its primary metric. With the individual foremost in mind, all club decisions are aimed at appropriately developing each child to play their best soccer. In this effort club decisions look like this: • • • • • • Training opportunities are open to all players according to ability level, not segregated by team, age or gender. Younger players are focusing mostly on technical proficiency, so when they later develop their physical abilities they have a sound relationship with the ball. (Without first being able to solve the problems that controlling the ball presents, players will never be able to properly solve problems that the game sets before them as teens and adults.) Further along in their development, players become cognitively ready to think about group tactics and team tactics, thus a shift in focus to tactical topics makes more sense. Fitness is incorporated into training but never becomes the center of it. Personal character and sportsmanship is modeled throughout the organization. Our players do play other sports. www.blackhillsfc.org 360-‐943-‐8233 [email protected] What You Get for Your Money Age Practice Frequency League Seasons U10 Boys & Girls Minimum of 2* Fall & Spring Number of Tournaments Included in the Player Fee 2 U11 Boys & Girls Minimum of 2 Fall & Spring 3 U12-‐U14 Boys & Girls Minimum of 2 Fall & Spring 3 U15-‐U16 Boys 2-‐3 per week Fall 4** Includes out of State U15-‐U16 Girls 2-‐3 per week Spring 4** Includes out of State U17-‐U18 Boys 2-‐3 per week Fall 5** Includes out of State U17-‐U18 Girls 2-‐3 per week Spring 5** Includes out of State * This includes one night of lighted practice space and 1 night of Play shed practice space, ** Individual player travel and hotel expense are additional fees, All scheduled practice space; league and state cup field rentals are included in our fees • • • Committed Volunteer Executive Board, Technical Director, Coaching Director, Director Juniors, Club Bookkeeper, & Club Coordinator, Committed Coaching Staff, practices are rarely cancelled because of our Coaching Staff network, A Club committed to Player Development, Age group training curriculum; we also follow the Washington Youth Soccer model for Long Term Player Development, All Blackhills FC practices are open to all Blackhills FC members – you can train with different age/gender groups, Skills Training Center, Age Group Training, 2 player camps (summer and winter) and Core Strength Training available to all players at no additional charge, Individual coaches may add practices to prepare for specific events, Player pass can be used for all PDL Teams (Boys and Girls U10 – U17), Season lengths may vary, 6-‐10 games per season are normal, • • • We have a partnership with the Blackhills Community Soccer Complex (a separate non-‐profit), Our player fee covers the entire year – there are no additional fees and is paid monthly, We have a Financial Aid program • • • • • • • • • • • • Fall season starts in September Spring season starts January Travel for games changes every season and is dependant on the other teams in “your” league Blackhills emphasizes player development and we are proud of our player & team accomplishments Our Teams compete in the Player Development League (PDL), the most competitive league in the State, The Sounders FC ODP/RTC selectors have chosen more Blackhills FC players to play in the program than any other program in Thurston County, The Sounders FC Boys U16 USDA team selected a Blackhills player, Prince Gunderson to their team, More Collegiate soccer programs have selected Blackhills FC players than any other Thurston County program, Our players excel on the High School level: see website for related articles, OUR COACHES 1 Sounders FC / ODP Head Coach, James Charette and 1 Goalkeeping Coach, Willy Leiste 1 “A”, 1 “B”, 4 “C” and 11 “D” Licensed Coaches David Cross Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach at St. Martins University Tom Boatright Head Coach (2005) NAIA National Championships at The Evergreen State College, We value each child, family and our community: We are a supportive Club!