Dear Parents:

Welcome To Spring Intramural Soccer.  My name is Patrick Larkin and I will be the head coach for the Team this upcoming season. Your child has been assigned to my Team and we will be meeting twice a week for practices and games.  Michael Graybeal is the Assistant Coach for our Team.  The Team t-shirt color is maroon and t-shirts will be passed out at the first game.

Soccer Practices will be once a week, on Tuesdays at 6pm, beginning next Tuesday, April 15th, 2014 at the South Row Field, located at 250 Boston Rd. Chelmsford. We will be on that field for all practices and games.  Here is a link with a picture of which field we practice/play on: http://clubs.bluesombrero.com/Default.aspx?tabid=270541

The games will also be once a week, on Saturdays.  The times for the games will vary, but will be either at 9:30 or 11:00 a.m. depending on the posted schedules. Our first game will be on April 12, 2014 and will be at 11 a.m. on Field 1.

The season runs from April 12^th to June 14th.  Soccer is not a drop off event, so a guardian is expected for the duration.  Schedules and Cancellations due to rain will be posted on the Chelmsford youth Soccer Association website:  www.chelmsfordyouthsoccer.com.

 A few points about the practices and games:

1. Bring a size 4 ball and a bottle of water to all practices. All you need to bring to games is a full bottle of water.

2. Your child should be dressed in comfortable, weather appropriate clothes such as shorts and/or sweatpants. In colder or wet weather, extra layers, hats, and gloves are fine too but for games please make sure their outermost layer is the Team t-shirt.

3. They need to wear shin guards covered by soccer socks.  (Shin guards need to be next to the skin and covered by socks.  They can’t put the shin guards on top of the socks and then fold socks down over them.) Also, cleats are recommended but need to be soccer cleats and not baseball or football cleats.  Sneakers are allowed but not recommended.

4. No jewelry.  Please take items off prior to practice/games.

As a reminder the Soccer Program would like to reinforce the following:

1. Be Positive At All Times! Be positive to all players, parents of both teams as well as referees.

2. Please keep very young children in control, do not let them wander onto a soccer field that is in use.

3. Remain three feet minimum away from touchlines.

4. The goal of the U8 league is simply to "Have FUN, get some exercise and learn the game of soccer!" We aim for each player to have so much fun that they continue to come back and play each season! At this level we do not keep score or standings.

5. Please keep in mind that all referees at this level are very young and just starting to learn. There is an absolute "No Tolerance Policy" - Parents, spectators and coaches should never talk to a referee from the sidelines.

6. Please leave the coaching to the Coaches. We ask that parents and spectators do not coach from the sidelines. When cheering, use only positive words such as "nice play", "good hustle", "great try", "excellent job", etc. Also be sure to cheer for all the kids on both teams.

7. Just reminder that parents and spectators are not allowed on the team side of the field.

As a coach in U8, I will be facilitating exercise, sportsmanship and soccer skills.  Most important is that our team has fun playing soccer together.  In order to ensure that we enjoy soccer to the fullest, please contact me with any questions or concerns. 

Thanks
Patrick Larkin
[email protected]