Mission
Statement
To promote the game of soccer to
all interested kids within Coupeville and neighboring
communities. To provide a safe, educational, and
supportive environment where kids can be free to explore
and challenge their physical, emotional, and
intellectual beings through competitive play. To ensure
our program is available to all kids regardless of skill
or ability to pay. To support and encourage parents to
participate in teaching the game to our community
youth. To give kids all the developmental benefits of
regular physical activity.
Overview
Central Whidbey Soccer Club is a
non-profit charitable corporation organizing youth
sports in the Coupeville community that has been in
existence since 1977 under the name CWYAA. It is all
voluntary and anybody is welcome to participate by
attending organizational monthly meetings. In 2006
CWYAA applied and was accepted into the Whidbey Island
Youth Soccer Association (WIYSA) which is the local
member association of Washington Youth Soccer (WYS). At
that time the club’s name was changed to CWSC.
Board of Directors
The governing body of CWSC is the
Board of Directors. These are voluntary elected
positions.
Elections are held each winter at the Annual General
Meeting (AGM). Each
elected officer is entitled to a two year term without
being contested if they are a member in good standing
with the club. For board members to
maintain their position in good standing with the club
they need to attend ¾ of scheduled meetings. The Board
is responsible for the enforcement of the Bylaws,
Procedures and Policies of the club, and the decisions
necessary for the operation of the club. The board
discusses and votes on all changes to the Bylaws and
Procedures and Policies as well as addresses appeals by
program participants. Any community member is
eligible to run for a position on the board.
Currently the CWSC Board of
Directors is as follows:
President
Jim Copenhaver
Vice-President
Fawn Gustafson
Secretary Irene Echenique
Treasurer Heather Kortuem
Registrar Kali Barrio
Photos/Trophies Ann
Merriman
Uniforms Heather Kortuem
Sponsorship
Cheridan Eck
Director of Coaches
Sean Levine
Director of Fields
Jim Copenhaver
Monthly Club Meetings
Each month the club Board of
Directors meets to discuss relevant issues pertaining to
the operations of the soccer club. These meetings are
open to the public and parents. Interested
community members are encouraged to attend. They are
held on the second or third Tuesday of each month at 7 pm
at Windermere in Coupeville.
An agenda is generated by the club President to guide
topics of discussion. If new ideas or modifications of
current activities seem favorable to our club, then a
vote is taken to incorporate these into our program.
Annual General Meeting
Each year in January we have an
Annual General Meeting which is intended as a means to
elect new Officers and Directors, as their respective
terms end, and approve next year’s budget. Nominations
for officers will be taken from the floor at the
meeting.
The 2010 AGM was on January 19th, Windermere office in
Coupeville.
Volunteers
All Officers of the club, program
directors, coaches, assistant coaches, team managers, or
any parent that assists in team activities are required
by the Kid Safe program instituted by the National Risk
Management Committee to be screened and a background
check performed prior to participating in club or team
activities. Within CWSC this is automatically done
through the online volunteer or coach registration.
This process needs to be repeated every 2 years.
Website
CWSC will use their website (coupevillesoccer.org)
as the primary means to provide accurate and current
information to interested families regarding the details
of the upcoming season, fees, playing opportunities and
format, club policies, club representative contacts, as
well as schedules and field directions as each season
unfolds. This information will be updated regularly
throughout the year so families are encouraged to check
back often throughout the season to get up to date
information.
Player Registration
This is done online by families
through the club website using WYS sponsored ‘Bonzi’
internet software. Each family creates an account which
can be accessed with a private password at any time to
check registration data for accuracy and account
balances. This 'member account' is active year after year and
saves time because it just needs to be reviewed,
updated, and submitted each new playing season.
Online registration is open for
specific periods before the beginning of each season.
Specific dates are published in the newspaper,
distributed with flyers at school, and available on the
club website. Additionally banners and posters will be
displayed around town when registration is open.
“Early
registration” runs for 2 weeks at the beginning
of each registration period, and offers discounts to all
who register during that time. An additional ‘Family
discount’ is offered as a reduction in fees for each
player after the first.
“Open
registration” lasts 8 weeks and ends about 4
weeks before the season begins. Jerseys for players are ordered immediately
following the close of registration so they will arrive
prior to the first game.
“Late
registration” is defined as any registration
completed after the season deadline and may be allowed
depending upon team availability. All late registrants
will need to contact the club registrar directly for
'assisted registration' as
the online system closes for players after the
deadline.
All
late registrants will be responsible for providing an
appropriately numbered and colored jersey to match the
preexisting team they will be joining.
CWSC can provide contact information for the
vendors that supplied the jerseys for that particular
season so late registering players can receive identical
team uniforms but will require some effort.
All new players to CWSC must
provide a copy of an official birth certificate to the
club registrar so age can be verified prior to the first
game. Hospital and religious certificates are not
acceptable.
The
registration process is complete when payment has been
received and proof of age verified.
Birth Certificates
The club is required by WYS bylaws
to verify proof of age with official birth
certificates. This only needs to be completed once
while playing anywhere within WYS. Any registrant found
providing falsified birthdates during registration to
achieve placement onto specific teams will be referred
to both the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of WYS
where warnings, suspension, or permanent exclusion may
be called for.
Age Divisions
Registered players are divided into
teams based on their age. Age divisions for the
spring 2010 season will be U-7, U-9, U-10, U-12, U-15,
and U-17. The "U" means under. For
example, U-9 is intended for players under the age of 9.
For each playing season, CWSC follows the state
guidelines which assigns playing age by by how old the
player is on the last August 1. For example, to
determine the correct age group for your child for this
spring simply ask yourself how old they were on August
1, 2008. If they were 12 then they would not be U-12
(because they are not under 12) so they would
play U-14. U-6 and U-8 soccer are coed, and U-10
and above are divided into boys and girls teams.
Playing Up
For the right player this is a good
option and is supported in CWSC. Caution should be
exercised in making these decisions as errors are easy
to make and often not identified until it is too late.
Emotional and social maturity and technical skill
proficiency are equally as important as physical
ability. Too often it is physical ability that drives
these requests. Please email the
CWSC Director of Coaches if you would like to
request having your child moved up one age division.
These requests will be considered on a case by case
basis.
Club Expenses and
Fee Reductions
Fees will change
slightly for each season and will be different for
different ages. CWSC is non profit and all participants
are volunteers, except licensed referees. For fall 2008
the breakdown of player fees were as follows:
$11.07
Washington Youth Soccer insurance
$5.00 WIYSA
dues
$14-25 Jerseys
$4.05 Referees
$7.02 Field rental +
paint
Or roughly $50 is incurred by the club for each child
that plays. The remainder of the fees go to the
purchase of equipment such as balls, pennies, cones,
goals, pumps, first aid kits, and coaching materials.
Many families request scholarships based on financial
need and this is only made possible by community
business sponsorship.
Discounts are available to early registrants
and to families with multiple participants. For
the spring of 2010 season, a $10 discount will be offered
for those registering between Jan 4 and Jan 18. Also a
$10 discount is offered to all players registered within
one family after the first at regular price.
Scholarships for families are available by
discrete request and will be considered on a case by case
basis. Speaking directly to the club Registrar by phone or
email is how the process is initiated.
Scholarship requests must be completed by March 13 for
the spring 2010 season.
Payments
CWSC encourages all registering
families to pay on line with credit card, debit card, or PayPal.
Paying with checks created much extra work and
introduced difficulties getting players rostered on
teams as checks were waiting to clear. This spring
season we will only be accepting checks on Soccerday,
March 13, if presented in person. Players
are placed onto teams on a first come first serve basis
as determined by date payment is marked as received.
Unpaid Balances
These occur when players are
registered online but CWSC has not received payment. Do not
assume payment was received unless you see confirmed
payment on your member account or you receive a
confirmation email from the club Treasurer. It is
important for parents to be aware that players will not
be placed onto teams until payment has been received or
a family has requested and been granted participation in CWSC’s scholarship program.
Medical Releases
These are required by Washington
Youth Soccer for all players. They are to be notarized
and given to each coach before play is allowed. These
documents contain important medical and insurance
information that may be required to be given by the
coach to medical professionals in the event urgent
medical care is required and the player’s parent(s) or
guardian(s) cannot be reached.
Jerseys
As we are committed to bringing
soccer to community youth players and families at the
lowest price possible we purchase jerseys that we feel
are comfortable and the kids will enjoy without paying
premium prices. This means buying in bulk and avoiding
overnight shipping. Thus jerseys are ordered
immediately following the close of registration or about
4 weeks before the season starts. Any player
registering after the registration deadline will be
responsible for providing a properly colored jersey that
is similar to the team jersey color. For players
aged U-10 and above their jersey will also require a
number on the back that does not duplicate another
player on their team.
For spring 2010 the club will only
be purchasing jerseys. Families will be
responsible for shorts, socks, shin guards, and cleats.
For any problems or concerns please contact Heather at
678-3338.
Please be aware that it is our
experience that youth soccer jerseys seem to run a
little small and these kids seem to grow pretty fast.
As jerseys are ordered based on registration information
provided by families, be sure that you update jersey
sizes every season as team jerseys that are found to be
too small are the responsibility of registering families
to replace.
Rostering Players
Rostering is the placement of
players onto teams. CWSC will do its best to
accommodate special requests that recognize rideshare
opportunities and other special circumstances. If
enough players register in any division to create more
than one team, our first responsibility will be to make
teams of approximately equal strength. Team rostering
will be supervised by the Director of Coaches and is
usually completed within a day or two of registration
closure as this information is needed to order
uniforms. Please email the
Director of Coaches if you would like to make a
special request. Once players are rostered onto teams
and jerseys ordered it becomes very difficult to make
changes.
Players
All CWSC teams are recreational by
WYS definitions so all players are entitled to play at
least half of each game and playing opportunities should
be similar for all players. Coaches may give
players who express more enthusiasm and drive more
playing time, but all players are entitled to play at
least half of each game. Attendance at practice and/or
games is optional but highly encouraged. There is
a direct relationship between soccer skills learned and
number of touches on the soccer ball. Practices
are designed to give players lots of touches. If
your child is unable to attend a practice or a game
please notify your coach ahead of time by email or
phone. Always bring water or appropriate fluids to
all practices and games. Soda is not an
appropriate choice. Players are encouraged to
learn the rules and demonstrate good sportsmanship in
winning and losing.
Players Equipment
Players are required to wear shoes,
shin guards, socks over the shin guards, and a numbered
jersey of the same color as the team to all games.
Coaches will communicate equipment needs at practice.
Parents
Proper registration and payment of
fees is your first responsibility. Payment needs to
be completed by the registration close date or your
child may not be able to play and will not receive a
team jersey. If you are having difficulty please
ask for assistance. Transportation to practices and
games can be challenging for busy families so be willing
to consider ride pools with other parents that live in
your area. If email is not a reliable channel of
communication with your child’s coach, please
specifically discuss other arrangements. Notify your
child’s coach if they are going to be missing a team
activity. Be supportive in winning and losing and try
to focus on your child’s positive effort and
accomplishment. The club will not tolerate yelling
anything negative to coaches, refs, players, or anybody
from the other team. If this behavior is identified you
may be asked to not attend games and possibly take away
your child’s opportunity to play. If an adult
disagreement should arise this can be dealt with in a
setting other then the public play field in front of
children. Our mission is for kids to have fun and for
you to have fun watching them play the game. Your
participation in this mission is appreciated!
Coaches
All coaches within CWSC are
expected to be supportive and positive in their coaching
style. Additionally they are highly encouraged to
attend coaching clinics to improve teaching skills for
the age that they intend to coach. Both the club and
WIYSA offer timely, local, and age appropriate training
that meets and exceeds this expectation. The club
emphasizes player development over the continuum of the
program and each coach is given a set of fundamental
skills that should be taught and practiced at each age
division. Coaches are also encouraged to use their own
creativity and coaching philosophies to model healthy
decision making, good sportsmanship, and challenge kids
to give the game their best efforts.
Coaches are encouraged to find
player opportunities in each game that challenge each
player to experiment with new learned skills. This
is the basic principle of player development and it at
times will compromise team success. Coaches are
instructed to always focus on improving your child as a
player and to regard winning games as a secondary
priority.
Communication with parents is very
important and coaches are encouraged to use email or
phone to communicate with parent regarding practices,
games, and other team appropriate communication. Email
is preferred as it is the most efficient way to
communicate with multiple families.
Practices are to be organized and
should be focused on fun activities that are designed to
teach and practice the fundamental skills of soccer.
The CWSC Director of Coaches, the WYS Coaches Manual,
coaching clinic materials, and the internet offer vast
amounts of age appropriate practice ideas for coaches.
Coaches Equipment
Each coach will be provided a bag
of appropriately sized soccer balls enough for each
player on the team. These balls will be in good
condition, properly inflated, and labeled CWSC. Players
are allowed and encouraged to bring their own
appropriately sized soccer balls to practice. Coaches
will also be given enough scrimmage pennies for each
player on the team, a first aid kit, cones, and a ball
pump. This equipment will be returned to the club at
the completion of each season.
Practices
Practices are expected in
recreational soccer and are an essential part of the
player’s skill development. Coaches receive
specific training and guidance on how to organize
practices and methods for teaching kids using different
techniques based on skill and age. For the U-6 and
U-8 ages practices are arranged the same day as the game
and start 30 minutes before the games start.
For the U-10 and above ages two
practices per week are encouraged with each lasting
about 90 minutes. The location and exact times are to
be chosen by each coach. As fields suitable for
teaching soccer are in very short supply here in
Coupeville these may need to be completed at less than
ideal times for family activities. Please try to be
flexible and supportive of your player’s coach on this
issue. Volunteer coaches also may have unpredictable
work schedules making practice times change each week.
For players U-14 and above it is
also okay to have three practices a week as the kids at
this age can benefit both physically and technically
from these more intense training routines.
Discipline
Coaches are encouraged to use
discipline in a manner that is consistent with achieving
and maintaining a fun, organized, and educational
environment. Physically touching players as a
form of discipline is not tolerated. Asking a player to
sit and observe is supported. The coach will be given
some freedom to decide if punishment such as running
laps is needed to communicate to players that certain
activities cannot be tolerated. All coaches are
instructed to contact you the parent if a pattern of
activity is interfering with the coaches’ ability to
teach the team the skills and tactics of soccer. We
have also encouraged the coaches to ask parents to
attend practice so that an intervention plan can be
arranged that is consistent with family values and
agreeable to the coach. If problems and difficulties
continue, then the Director of Coaches may be asked to
step in and assist in finding suitable solutions.
Supervision
A supervising adult is required to
be present at all organized team activities. All
supervising adults are required to register with the
club and complete the form required to obtain a Risk
Management Assessment (RMA) card. Both can be completed
by simply registering as a volunteer online at the club
website. This takes only a few minutes and is free of
charge.
Games
Each season will consist of at
least 8-10 games. U-7 and U-9 will play games on
Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5 to 6:15pm for 6
weeks with all games played here in Coupeville and
likely on the Coupeville Elementary School playground.
U-10 and above will play home games on Saturdays here in
Coupeville, and away games in either Oak Harbor or
Langley. Traveling off island to play games will only
be considered in U-12 or above if no playing
opportunities are available here on the island. Game
durations will vary by age and have been determined by WYS as follows:
U-7 8 minute quarters
U-9 20 minute halves
U-10 25 minute halves
U-12 30 minute halves
U-14 35 minute halves
U-16 40 minute halves
It is the philosophy of CWSC that soccer
games are great opportunities for kids to make their own
decisions regarding the many complex situations that
arise in the game. Many times their decisions will be
good and at times their decisions and execution will not
achieve desired outcomes. It is very important to let
kids feel comfortable to make their own decisions and to
learn from the results.
For coaches we encourage
observation during gamers and to take notes on what areas can be
improved upon and to use practices to addresses these
areas. For parents we encourage you to sit back and
enjoy kids playing freely. The exercise is healthy and
the complexity of the game will challenge their
cognitive and physical skills at every ball touch opportunity.
Excessive roughness introduces some risk of injury and
it is the responsibility of coaches and referees to see
that these behaviors are controlled and eliminated
immediately.
Injuries
All injuries are to be reported to
you the parents and all injuries that you identify
should be communicated to the coach. The club strongly
advises parents to obtain a medical evaluation by a
healthcare professional if an injury is identified and
it is unclear how that injury will impact the player’s
ability to participate in soccer. All registered
players are covered by the WYS insurance plan, which
includes a $100 deductible for each occurrence. Medical
accident claim forms are available on the WYS website (wsysa.com)
or from the
CWSC
secretary.
Fields
Growth in youth soccer here in
Coupeville has been amazing over the past 20 years
especially when you consider the fact that we have no
community fields specifically designated for youth soccer
play. Island County allows CWSC to line soccer fields
and place portable goals in the baseball outfields at
Rhododendron Park each fall. This facility is very
small and does not allow the lining of one full sized
regulation youth soccer field. Coupeville School
District has very limited space available for organized
soccer play, further challenging our local options. To
meet our field requirements and to address our
growing community youth needs, CWSC has entered into
contracts with Camp Casey Conference Center and Oak
Harbor School District to provide extra playing space.
CWSC is thankful to these
organizations for their assistance. Community
support is badly needed to address the severe shortage
of play fields for kids here in Coupeville.
Unrostered players
It is possible for a player to
register to play but request to not be placed onto a
team. Please contact the club registrar if this
situation fits your child’s needs. A good example of
when this has been used in the past is if your child
would like to practice during the week with a team but
is unable to play on weekends or your child is not the
correct age to play in games on a team but would like to
practice with that team anyway. The registration fees
in these settings are unchanged. If you do not order a
jersey we can refund $15 off the registration fee.
Please contact the club treasurer if this situation
applies to you.
Rules of the Game
All games and competitions under
the jurisdiction of CWSC shall be conducted subject to
FIFA “Laws of the Game”. Youth
modifications of these rules are discussed below by age
division.
U-7
The field is a
rectangle approximately 12 by 20 yards. These kids play 3 v
3 with small portable goals at each end. No goalies, so all
kids are encouraged to dribble the ball up the field and
attempt to score. The game is divided into 4 eight minute
quarters, with 2 minute breaks in between. Coaches are
encouraged to be on the field and to keep play flowing. It
is not necessary to stop the game unless somebody gets hurt
or they are playing too rough. In this case stop the game
and let the aggressive player know that they need to play
for the ball and no pushing or shoving of other players is
allowed. Using hands (‘handling the ball’ in
official soccer terms) is not allowed but allow them to keep
playing and just say ‘no hands’. To help keep the ball in
bounds communicate to the youth players that they are
playing on a ‘soccer island’ and to keep the ball on
the island. Coaches are instructed to rotate players so
everybody gets equal playing opportunities. Size #3 ball.
No score is kept.
U-9
The field is
approximately 30 x 40 yards. They play 4 v 4 with 5’ x 8’
goals on each end. Soccer educators are uncertain if
using goalies at this age represents a training advantage.
Most argue against but the tradition here in Coupeville is
to have goalies so this spring we will be playing both
systems to see how the players do. The game is divided into 2 twenty minute halves with
a 5 minute half time. A youth referee will be on the
field keeping the game flowing and teaching the rules to
players. The correct
technique of throw-ins is taught at U-9 but we do not expect
perfection and rethrows to get it right are encouraged.
Corner kicks should also be taught and this occurs if the
defending player kicks the ball over his own goal line.
Play should again be stopped for excessive roughness and the
rules explained about pushing and shoving. All players
should receive equal playing time and no score is kept.
Size #4 ball.
U-10
These teams
play in the WISL league. They play 6 v 6 on a field sized
35’ x 55’ with two 25 minute halves. Goal size is
approximately 6’ x 18’. Size #4 ball. No slide tackling and
no penalty kicks. To review the complete WISL rules please
follow this hyperlink.
U-12
FIFA rules
apply and each league within the state will have slightly
different rules governing methods of player substitution.
U-13-18
Same as U-12.
Awards
The club will purchase a medal or a
trophy at the end of each playing season for each
registered player in ages U-12 and under to be
handed out by the coach at the end of the season.
Photos
Purchasing team or individual
photos is optional. Photo Day will be arranged during
the first half of the season to ensure they are
available and passed out prior to the end of the
season. Attendance for the team photo is highly
recommended by all players.
Cancellations and
Refunds
If you decide that your child does
not want to play soccer after you have registered then
we do allow refunds. If you have paid and request the
refund prior to the close of online registration, then
we will provide a complete refund. If a jersey has been
ordered for your child but he or she has not begun to
play then we offer a refund of your registration fee
minus the cost of the jersey which ranges from $10-$25.
If they start playing then decide to stop we refund the
registration fee minus the jersey fee and the insurance
premium fee that we pay WYS which is exactly $16.07 per
child. No refunds are offered after the second game of
the season.
Appeals or Grievances
If you observe anything that does
not make sense or is unreasonable we would like to hear
about it. This can be related to practices, games,
fields, coaching, spectators, or referees. The CWSC
Board of Directors is willing to review and comment upon
all such communication if placed in writing and
submitted to a club representative. No player, parent,
coach, referee, or club representative who has a
grievance involving CWSC shall engage the services of an
attorney until all avenues of approach of the judicial
procedure within WYS are exhausted through the regular
channels of organized soccer.
Unsporting Behaviors
All participants within CWSC are
expected to demonstrate responsible and sportsmanlike
behaviors and conduct. Foul or abusive language
will simply not be tolerated. Anyone demonstrating
these behaviors will be asked to remove themselves
immediately. These actions will be reviewed at both the
club and association level and will likely result in
exclusion from any future activities within the club and
the association.
Sponsorship
CWSC awards approximately $1000 in
waived registration fees each season to families to
sponsor players in need. This money comes directly from
private and corporate sponsorship. Player registration
fees are unable to support this tremendous level of
generosity and CWSC is indebted to the many community
individuals and businesses whose donations help us to
offer playing opportunities to all the kids in our
community!
These Policies and Procedures
were reviewed and approved by majority vote of the CWSC
Board of Directors on 2/4/09. This version will be
named version #1. Each time a change to this document
is approved by the CWSC Board of Directors the version will
be renamed by sequential numbers.
Jim Copenhaver
President, CWSC
February 4, 2009
