Week 4

Week 3 - soccer is on...

Soccer is on today

Week 2 + Futsal balls

I hope your first week went well!

If anybody is interested in hearing about coaching, let me know.  There are a couple teams who could use an assistant coach, and I will be looking for some coaches for the expanded spring season in the next few weeks.

A question was asked to me about the balls we use for the game...  In the winter season, we play with a smaller, less bouncy "futsal ball".  These are great for indoor, and change the game a bit by enabling better control and keeping the ball vectors more appropriate for the smaller field.

Please keep me updated on how your season is going!

Here's the lineup for this week:

U7 Winter - Week 1

Welcome back to Soccer!

We have our first winter soccer session today at Salemwood School.  U7 starts at 10:00.  If you already have your team uniform, please be sure to bring it with you.

Here are the field assignments this week.  It changes every week.

See you in a bit.

Welcome to U7 Winter Soccer

Welcome back everyone!

Winter soccer starts this Sunday, January 10.

If you have registered, you should receive your team welcome email shortly.  We still have spots available, but there will be a strict limit on the number of players accepted and remaining kids will be wait listed.  If you have not registered yet, you should do it asap.  If you know somebody who would like to play, please let them know soon.

You can register here:
http://www.maldenyouthsoccer.org/register.html


UPDATE 1/16/2016:  Corrected dates in the season schedule.

The Season

Our season runs for 10 weeks.  U7 plays every Sunday morning from 10:00 to 11:20 AM at the Salemwood school in Malden.

The Blog

This Blog will be the primary source of information for schedules, cancellations, etc. Please bookmark it.  Feel free to use the comments to discuss the league and let us know what we can do to improve any aspect of U7 Soccer.

http://MaldenSoccerU7.blogspot.com/

Cancellations due to weather will be posted to the blog... please check it within an hour of the start time on game-day morning.  If you do not have access to the internet on Sunday mornings, please let me know.

Parents will need to supply...

1. If you already have the correct uniform, please use it.  If not, the league will supply a shirt, shorts and socks on the first day
2. Appropriate shoes.  We play on a gym surface.  Indoor shoes are required.
3. Shin pads are required.  Your child may be excluded from the game if this important piece of safety equipment is not used.
4. Players must come to the game with their own size 3 ball with the players name on it
5. Long pants and long sleeved shirt worn under the team shirt if desired
6. Water - for frequent breaks
7. A snack for between the practice and game may be desired
8. Players must not wear earrings
9. Parents must remain at the field with their children during the entire session 

Our Philosophy

At the U7 level we continue focusing on basic skills, and begin incorporating more of the basic rules into the experience.

Our primary focus remains providing a fun and healthy environment for the kids to discover their emerging soccer skills.  We do not focus on winning.  We don't keep official score, celebrate wins, or mourn losses.  We strive for every player to get equal playing time, and try to keep the number of players on the field small in order to maximize opportunities to play.  We reward skillful play, good attitudes and sportsmanship.

Here are some additional notes about the U7 format:

1. For this outdoor session we will play 5v5 plus a goalie.  We will use the bigger nets. Coaches may decide to change the structure as needed for a fun and fulfilling game depending on attendance.
2. Coaches may decide to balance teams at game time if there is a need to equalize the number of players on each team.
3. Substitutions should be made when play stops and should occur approximately every 5 - 10 minutes
4. We will play with throw-ins, goalie kicks and corner kicks.
5. The game will start with a kick-off at the center, as will the second half of the game
6. After each goal, the team scored upon will start again by kicking-off at center.  A successful kick-off means that the ball needs to roll 1 revolution forward and be touched by another player
7. Hand balls result in an INDIRECT kick to the opposing side
8. No slide-tackling allowed, results in an INDIRECT kick to the opposing side
9. No pushing with the arms or hands allowed, results in an INDIRECT kick to the opposing side
10. No tripping from behind allowed, results in an INDIRECT kick to the opposing side
11. No checking with hips allowed, results in an INDIRECT kick to opposing side
12. No off-sides called
13. The coaches may decide to break for half-time

Basic Rules for Parents

1. Players must play within their designated age group.
2. Players must play on the team they have been assigned to.  Requests for specific teams will be honored if availability permits.  Requests made close to the start of the season are often hard or impossible to accomodate for.
3. At least one adult supervisor must stay during the entire session and is responsible for watching kids if they wander away from play
4. Parent involvement is appreciated and encouraged when appropriate but please try not to interfere with the session
5. Due to insurance rules players who are not registered with the league cannot play
6. Players must not wear jewelry such as earrings, watches, necklaces, etc.  

10 Week Schedule

Date	Home Team	Away Team	Field
1/10/2016	New York City	LA Galaxy	Fields 1&2
	Portland Timbers	Montreal Impact	Fields 3&4
	Colorado Rapids	Chicago Fire	Fields 5&6
1/17/2016	Chicago Fire	Portland Timbers	Fields 1&2
	LA Galaxy	Montreal Impact	Fields 3&4
	Colorado Rapids	New York City	Fields 5&6
1/24/2016	New York City	Portland Timbers	Fields 1&2
	Montreal Impact	Chicago Fire	Fields 3&4
	LA Galaxy	Colorado Rapids	Fields 5&6
1/31/2016	Chicago Fire	LA Galaxy	Fields 1&2
	Portland Timbers	Colorado Rapids	Fields 3&4
	Montreal Impact	New York City	Fields 5&6
2/7/2016	LA Galaxy	Portland Timbers	Fields 1&2
	Chicago Fire	New York City	Fields 3&4
	Colorado Rapids	Montreal Impact	Fields 5&6
2/14/2016	New York City	LA Galaxy	Fields 1&2
	Portland Timbers	Montreal Impact	Fields 3&4
	Colorado Rapids	Chicago Fire	Fields 5&6
2/21/2016	Chicago Fire	Portland Timbers	Fields 1&2
	LA Galaxy	Montreal Impact	Fields 3&4
	Colorado Rapids	New York City	Fields 5&6
2/28/2016	New York City	Portland Timbers	Fields 1&2
	Montreal Impact	Chicago Fire	Fields 3&4
	LA Galaxy	Colorado Rapids	Fields 5&6
3/6/2016	Chicago Fire	LA Galaxy	Fields 1&2
	Portland Timbers	Colorado Rapids	Fields 3&4
	Montreal Impact	New York City	Fields 5&6
3/13/2016	LA Galaxy	Portland Timbers	Fields 1&2
	Chicago Fire	New York City	Fields 3&4
	Colorado Rapids	Montreal Impact	Fields 5&6

Salemwood School Gym

We will play indoors at the Salemwood School in Malden at 529 Salem St, Malden, MA 02148.