Preparing for your sports training season A season in the life of Pat

This is Pat Pat is a local coordinator Pat is really excited for the upcoming sport season Pat has a lot of athletes and coaches waiting on them for instruction! It’s August and the SONC Leadership Conference just happened. Pat needs to let his coaches know about the new updates! But how to tell them….? Lindsay

Getting coaches trained First Pat needs to make sure coaches that need to attend a training school do so. Pat checks the SONC web page for coach training schools dates. Pat is amazed to find that there are three dates for training schools and coaches could receive training for two sports in one day! Lindsay

Coach Training Schools Three multi-sport training schools; east, central, west In-season sports in morning, next season sports in afternoon Coaching SO Athletes WiFi so coaches can complete other trainings August 26 (Asheville), September 9 (Smithfield), September 24 (Greensboro) Set locations (no TBD) Andrea

Coach Certifications Levels bringing SONC more in line with other sports organizations Sport Assistant – NEW - chaperone requirements plus GO & Concussion Level 1 – like certified coach but without CSOA Level 2 – like advanced certified coach, but with CSOA Level 3 – NEW – POC, CPR/First Aid, NGB certification New SWAG 2018! Andrea

Gather everyone together! August 15 (ish) Hold a pre-season meeting with coaches Let them know of updates and direct them to the sport web page Have athlete rosters from previous year ready with athlete participation form expiration dates and contact information Collect VSF for all coaches and ensure PB training is completed/updated Discuss what competition opportunities will be offered for each sport (invitationals, scrimmages, etc) Find out sport needs: equipment & uniforms Inform coaches of local program fundraisers, or collect ideas from coaches on making the program sustainable. Lindsay

Coaches in pre-season Between August 15 and August 29, Pat should have the coaches contact their athletes and let them know about the first pre-season meeting on August 29. They should also talk to parents or caregivers about any APF’s that are expired, or will expire during the season so they can make arrangements to renew them by the start of training. Andrea

Pre-Season Meeting August 29 (ish) Collect all APF’s needed for the season Communicate expectations of athletes and families Not all athletes will attend the state-level event Expectations of athletes to attend practice Discuss competition plans for the season (scrimmages, league play, competition opportunities, etc.) Needs from families or caregivers Health & fitness plan Pat needs to send all collected APFs and VSFs to SONC Lindsay

First practice week! Start fall sports practices no later than September 9 or 10 to get in at least 8 weeks of practice. Pat’s coaches should collect all athlete and coach names for the roster. Andrea

Training Rosters Due to SONC It’s September 12 and Pat needs to collect training rosters from coaches and athlete participation forms and submit to registration@sonc.net. Pat knows that athletes not on the training rosters be eligible to attend the state-level event. Andrea

Deadline for all APFs and VSFs It’s September 26 and Pat needs to submit any changes or updates to the training rosters as well as submit any outstanding APFs, VSFs, or Unified Partner forms to registration@sonc.net. Pat knows that athletes or Unified Partners not on the training rosters and/or lacking updated forms will not be eligible to attend the state-level event. Andrea

Competition for all It’s mid-season and Pat’s coaches have set up some scrimmages for their teams to get some friendly competition. Some teams are even participating in leagues and invitationals. See Pat’s schedule: Soccer league with Cumberland and Bladen every third Thursday Level 4 and 5 golfers going to Johnston county for golf invitational Golf skills from Bladen coming to Pat’s county for practice on a Friday for a friendly competition Basketball invitational hosted by Durham county for 5v5 in October; Pat will host 3v3 invitational in February Tennis athletes playing in parks and rec league with Unified Partners. They will also travel once to Cumberland county for a scrimmage. Athletes not participating in fall sports play on Unified Sports league with local UNC campus recreation team By working with surrounding counties, Pat and coaches have secured more competition opportunities for the athletes, some even go past Fall Tournament so athletes get to keep playing. Andrea

Requesting Quota Pat knows that the quota request is due September 26 as well. Pat has checked with the coaches and has decided how many athletes and teams they want to send to Fall Tournament. Pat requests quota for only the slots the program will send to Fall Tournament because Pat knows there is a $100 quota drop fee for each athlete not registered for Fall Tournament! Andrea

Selecting Athletes Pat learns how many athletes will go to Fall Tournament. Everyone is reminded of the selection process where quota is limited since they were already told at the start of the season. Pat and the coaches hold a selection party (at practice or separate), where athletes selected are announced. Andrea

Registration due Pat now knows which athletes and coaches are going to attend Fall Tournament and has received the spreadsheet from SONC on October 3. Pat makes sure the coaches have the sport registration forms so they can fill out the paperwork. Pat makes sure they get it back before the October 10 deadline to registration@sonc.net. Andrea

Getting ready for Fall Tournament With everyone registered, Pat holds a coaches meeting to go over expectations for the tournament. Pat also makes sure all non-athletes have completed all necessary certifications like Protective Behaviors. Pat and coaches should hold meetings with their athletes and parents/caregivers to go over expectations as well as the schedule for the Tournament. Lindsay

Congratulations to all! Because of all the preparation Pat and the coaches did ahead of time, everyone has a great time with great memories of the season. Pat and the coaches hold an end of season banquet with all athletes, parents, caregivers, and coaches to thank everyone for their dedication! Lindsay

Looking ahead…. After a season well-run, Pat starts again by checking the SONC web page for any more updates or items on the calendar. Now it’s your turn to be like Pat. Get together in your groups and schedule some fun competition opportunities for your athletes. Please make sure you record future plans on the form at your table. These will be collected and a prize for the table with the most activity! Lindsay