NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS   |     September 24, 2021 5:02 pm   |     Matt Murray

New 3rd Grade Travel Team Development Program For Spring 2022

We are delighted to announce a brand new format to our 3rd Grade BAYS Travel Team Program beginning this Spring 2022 season. To help our Parent Volunteer Coaches better transition… View Article

We are delighted to announce a brand new format to our 3rd Grade BAYS Travel Team Program beginning this Spring 2022 season.

To help our Parent Volunteer Coaches better transition from coaching in our Junior Academy and ‘in-town’ NSCCL programs to the BAYS Travel level, Needham Soccer Club is planning to implement a new “Professional Developmental Program” for both our boys and girls 3rd Grade Travel Teams for the coming Spring 2022 season.

The primary objective of this plan is to improve the overall 3rd Grade Travel experience by having professional coaches create a developmental, hands-on educational environment for both the players and coaches on these teams in order to help transition both groups 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 our players and coaches. Any volunteer coaches that would like to be considered for a coaching position with either the girls or boys 3rd grade travel teams for the Spring 2022 season will still need to submit an application (and be fully registered/credentialed for 2021-22) in order to be slated for a coaching position and invited to attend tryouts this Fall. Our players will need to be registered and declare their intent to attend tryouts/be considered (details below) for a spot on our (1) boys & (1) girls 3rd grade travel team for next spring.

What the change does mean is that the Club is investing in hiring professional coaches to be slated as the Head Coach for both the Girls and Boys 3rd Grade A Teams next spring! 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 fall 2022 4th grade A teams. With that said, it is NOT guaranteed that these selected parent volunteer assistant coaches would automatically take over in the fall as they will once again have to go through the registration and slate process for the fall 2022 season.

As a club, we are excited by the developmental benefits that a program like this can have for the players and coaches involved, and by its potential impact on other areas like our Travel Team Selection Process. No longer will our parent volunteers be responsible for the final selection of our first travel 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. For the Fall of 2022, as usual, two 4th grade teams will be selected for each gender. Volunteer coaches will take over the 4th Grade A team, with the professional coaches having significant input and recommendations on the selection of both the 4th Grade A and the newly formed B team.

While Needham Soccer Club is very excited about all of the positive benefits that this new program can bring to our members, we ask that everyone be mindful that it will take time for us to figure out how to perfectly implement this developmental plan; nevertheless, we remain confident that it will only add more value to our players and coaches in the seasons to come.

3rd Grade Travel Tryout & Selection Information

Players currently in 3rd Grade are eligible to be considered for one of our 3rd Grade Spring BAYS Travel Teams. Teams are selected with the intent of fielding the strongest possible teams. Tryouts, run by our Director of Coaching, and independent coaching staff from New England Revolution Academy are held during the Fall in order to aid the selection process.

Tryout attendance is NOT mandatory in order to be considered for one of these teams, but recommended. Existing team coaches are asked to submit player evaluations, and attend a selection meeting with the opportunity to advocate for players being considered. NSC Club coaching staff and DOC also have input before the team coaches finalize selections.

In order to be considered and/or tryout, players in 3rd grade must:

• Be registered with NSC for the Spring 2022 season by October 22nd
• Complete an online tryout form

Both steps can be completed, and full instructions/info will be posted after registration opens on October 1st.

Please note, we do not hold tryouts for other grades for Travel Teams in the Fall. The next opportunity to tryout for 4th-8th Grade BAYS Travel team will be in the Spring to select teams for 2022-23.

Spring 2022 Registration for all NSC players, Grades 1-12 will open on October 1st @ 12pm.