NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS | May 2, 2022 10:25 am | Matt Murray

Professional Development Program Continues for Fall 2022 4th Graders!

Needham Soccer Club is proud to announce that the “3rd Grade Professional Development Program” that was rolled out for this Spring 2022 season is set to continue into the Fall 2022 season for 4th graders! As a reminder, Needham Soccer Club announced this new “Professional Development Program” as a trial for this Spring 2022 season… View Article

As a reminder, Needham Soccer Club announced this new “Professional Development Program” as a trial for this Spring 2022 season for our current 3rd Grade boys and girls travel teams. Click Here for 3rd Grade Development Program Announcement!

After not only hearing all of the positive feedback but seeing the success of this program first hand, NSC has made the decision to continue this program into the Fall! In what feels like a natural progression, NSC will shift the professional coaching to work with the 4th Grade B teams on both the boys and girls side for the fall 2022 season.

Again, the primary objective of this program is to improve the overall Travel Team experience by having professional coaches create a developmental, hands-on educational environment for the players, coaches and parents on these teams in order to help this group with the transition into the competitive nature of the BAYS Travel League.

So how will it work? And what does this change mean moving forward?

To put it simply, not much changes about the process for tryouts and selections for our players and coaches. Any volunteer coaches that would like to be considered for a coaching position with either the girls or boys 4th grade travel teams for the Fall 2022 Season will still need to submit an application (and be fully registered/credentialed for 2022-23) in order to be slated for a coaching position and invited to attend tryouts this Spring. Our players will need to be registered and declare their intent to attend tryouts/be considered for a spot on our (2) boys & (2) girls 4th grade travel team for next fall 2022 – spring 2023 seasons.

What the change does mean... Needham Soccer Club is continuing their investment in our professional coaching resources by hiring coaches to be slated as the Head Coach for both the Girls and Boys 4th Grade B Teams next Fall! The professional coaches will take on the role of the top slated coach for each team: educate themselves on the current group of 3rd graders, attend tryouts, and guide the selection meeting to assemble the team for the Spring 2022 season.

Two of our parent volunteers will be selected as Assistant Coaches for each team to work alongside the professionals who will be expected to help develop our parent volunteers into potential head coaches for the spring 2023 4th grade B teams.

The professional coaches will work with our Director of Coaching to finalize rosters following our annual team selection meetings where all our coaches will continue to have the opportunity to speak to the level of the players in the grade. Volunteer coaches will take over the current 3rd Grade A team, with the professional coaches having significant input and recommendations on the selection of the 4th Grade A teams and be granted final decisions on the newly formed 4th grade B team for the the fall 2022 season.

As a club, we are excited by the developmental benefits that we have already seen this professional development program have for the players and coaches involved. It has brought about positive change in all areas from its impact on Travel Team Selection Process, where no longer our parent volunteers are responsible for the final selection of our first travel teams, to better connection, education and implementation of our core Coaching & Player Development Philosophies for our players and coaches. With more than half the season still to play in the Spring, we are looking forward to watching how this program continues to take shape to learn how we can create new opportunities for all our players!

Fall 2022 – Spring 2023 Registration is Set to OPEN at 2pm Today, May 2nd! More information on all of our core programs, deadlines & tryouts to follow!