Hampton Soccer Club is established to provide ‘recreational’ soccer to children in our area. Within that premise, we also attempt to provide competitive soccer opportunities.

Every year, we review with age group commissioners and coaches the possibility of establishing teams to play in either Division 1 or A (boys and girls designations, respectively) in age groups of U-12 and above, as currently allowed by vote of the board of HSC. Outside of playing in the ‘Classic’ league division, this is the highest level available for our club soccer program.

If the group believes that we have sufficient numbers of players with the interest and skill level capabilities to play in Division 1 or A, we arrange for ‘Evaluation’ sessions for the particular age group. This year, for the season beginning in the fall of 2008, a decision was made to have evaluations for players coming into our U-12 boys and girls groupings.

Attending the Evaluation session is not mandatory. However, if a player does not attend the, we will not be able to place them on a division 1/A team. The player will be placed on a team in another level, either division 2/3 or B/C. The evaluation process give us another means to place players at appropriate skill levels.

The brief day of evaluations allows a group of volunteer evaluators to catch a glimpse of the players competing side-by-side with their peers in small sided games (This game scenario is per the recommendation of our PaWest governing body). Each player is awarded a comparative score by each evaluator. The scores from the evaluators are tabulated and averaged, allowing the players to be ranked by total score.

In addition to the Evaluation, we have each player’s current coach(es) provide rankings and assessments of the players based on their skill levels. The belief is that the current coach(es) should have a solid knowledge of the player’s capabilities.

The scores from the Evaluations are reviewed and combined with scores gathered from the rankings and assessments provided by each player’s current coach. The players are then ranked by highest combined scores. Any inconsistencies between evaluation scores and coaches rankings are discussed between the appropriate HSC Vice President (boys or girls), the age group commissioner and the coaches from the player’s team, as well as other previous coaches, if available.

In conjunction with the compilation of the rankings, we attempt to determine whether we have a sufficient number of players to form a team (s) to play in division 1/A. Normally, the top 14-16 players in the rankings are considered for positions on the division 1/A team(s). The maximum number of players allowed on a team for this age group is 16.

Evaluators:

Evaluators are all volunteers. This process depends on time availability for these people. We attempt to invite evaluators who have coaching experience and/or playing experience – this includes classic league coaches, high school coaches, high school and college players, and coaches that have attained certain soccer licensing levels. Additionally, we try not to have evaluators attend when their children are participants, although sometimes they might be in attendance to organize the game activities (usually due to lack of available volunteers), and we do not allow evaluators to evaluate or score their own children.

Compilation of Evaluation Results and Ratings from Coaches:

Scores are compiled and ranked by the club President, Vice President(s) or other board members with the requirement that they do not have a child in the age group under review. The rankings are then reviewed with the age group commissioner, as well as coaches to determine team assignments. This process is taken very seriously, and frequently takes many hours of discussion. We don’t like to miss out on any potential candidates in the process.

Decision Timetable:

Normally the decision process to establish a division 1/A team may take several weeks – sometimes into July. The lengthy period of time may be determined by overall registrations for a particular age group. If we have the makings of a division 1/A team, the number of overall registrants may determine whether to take 14, 15, or 16 on the team, in order to leave enough players to fill other teams.

Commitment Necessary for Division 1/A:

If a player is selected to play at this level, they must be able to commit to playing in both the fall and spring sessions, practicing sometimes twice weekly, as well as playing indoors in the winter, and the parents must be willing to spend some of their Sundays on the road traveling to Wheeling, Erie, State College, etc. The other divisions typically play only in the North Hills area.

Selection of Coaches for Division 1/A:

In conjunction with the President and several board members, including the age group commissioner, we attempt to find the best available volunteer coach(es). Preferably the coach for these teams will have a coaching license (usually ‘D’ or above) and/or playing experience. However, most of all, we want coaches who understand that we are in this to develop the skills of ALL of the team members, and to provide them with an enjoyable experience, while understanding that winning and losing is part of the game and needs to be kept in appropriate perspective.

If you don’t make the Division 1/A Team:

Not making a division 1//A team should not be considered as any negative to your child’s soccer playing. Again, the main purpose of our club is to provide recreational soccer, but as a club, we also fight the battle of trying to provide competitive soccer levels for ALL players. We attempt to put your children in the appropriate division levels to keep them stimulated and interested, while having fun. There is enough competition in the world already – this should be a recreational outlet for the kids.

ANY Questions:

Please contact me via email: janovskys at verizon.net

Sincerely, Jim Janovsky, President, Hampton Soccer Club

(9/23/2008)