Alternative To Club

Hello Parents!

Mike Renshaw and myself have put together an alternative to club for those who are looking for something different. This is not meant to compete with clubs. It's meant for those who might not have the time (money) for club but are interested in maintaining their skills for High School soccer.

Question & Answers

What will the practices be like? Mike played professional soccer in England / US and he did not have a coach until he was 15 years old when he signed with Blackpool FC. Mike learned the game of soccer by playing the game almost every day in the street or down at the park. If you look at most of the best players in the world, they all came from similar situations. Mike’s philosophy is “You learn the game from playing the game.” Practices will primarily be 4v4, 5v5, and 6v6. Girls will be split up into smaller teams to maximize touches on the ball and movement. If there are enough girls we might occasionally play full field - 12v12 since we’ll be practicing on some of the nicest soccer fields I’ve ever seen Dallas! The idea is to keep the game fun while giving girls a chance to develop touch, off the ball movement, and decisions making skills while playing smaller sided soccer.

Who’s the coach? Most of you know the coach is Mike Renshaw, but for those who do not know ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Renshaw )

Can I go join another team / club? Yes, since there are no contracts and we’re not in any league – anyone can go join a team or club if they want.

What type of players are out there now? We currently have girls who have played D1, D2, and D3. We also have one or two girls who are new to the sport.

What days will we practices? Most of the time we’ll practice on Wednesday and Sunday evening.

What time will we practice? We’re still working on this, however it most likely will be in the evening. During cold weather or rain, we might practice on basketball courts and we’re thinking about 7:00 to 8:00. When we practice on the grass fields we might have to make it earlier depending on sunset and ESD rules.

Where will we practice? All practices will be at ESD. The grass fields are being shut down for July as they perform maintenance, however we will have access to them after that. We’re currently checking to see if we can use one of the three basketball courts for a practice. In college we used to play on a basketball court and it was a lot of fun! We played with a soccer ball that looks like a giant tennis ball!

Where is ESD at? http://mapq.st/KN2PMP

How many girls do you currently have? We currently have 15 girls committed and I’m hoping we can get more! The more the better! (please forward this email to your friends)

How long will the season be? We’re tentatively planning to start July 8th. (We’re checking with ESD to see if we can use their basketball courts) We will practice up until October or whenever the Private School season starts. We will not practice during the winter when most of the girls are playing for their High School and we’ll start back up in March or April.

Will we play any games? Yes! There are a couple of teams who already want to scrimmage us.

How much will this cost? We’re currently looking at ~ $600 for the entire season! Almost all of this is going to field fees.

What age groups can practice? This is open to all girls. As you know, our core team is primarily 96, but we already have numerous 97, 98, and 99’s wanting to join this team. Older girls can join as well.

Is this club or team? This really isn’t a team or club. It’s a bunch of girls who are coming together to play 4v4, 5v5, 6v6 and scrimmage occasionally. There are no contracts.

Who can play? Anyone can play. Since we’re not a team or club, anyone can come out and practice with us. I suspect girls from other teams/clubs could come practice with us if it’s okay with their coach. Again, since we’re not a team or club and we’re not participating in any league, I’m not sure they even have to get permission.

Who would you recommend for this team? Most of the girls on the team are involved with other sports, academics, or cheerleading. Almost every one of the girls plays for their High School team and use this as a way to keep their ball skills up for High School season. This would be a good fit for anyone who does not have the time (money) to commit to a club but would like to be competitive for their High School team. If you miss a practice here nobody is going to be yelling at you. Basically, this is an alternative to club soccer.

If you have any additional questions or ideas, feel free to contact me.

If you are a coach and would like to scrimmage us please contact me. We can provide goals and soccer fields that are nicer than what FC Dallas plays on.

Brad Kennedy
brad.kennedy@verizon.net
214-783-9990
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