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(revised 11/20/03)
Objective
NYAA Goals
The Club
Coaching
League Affiliations
Seasons
Team Formation and Qualifications
This document’s objective is to provide information on the NYAA Soccer Program, also referred to as the Northwestern Soccer Club.
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It is the goal of the NYAA Soccer Program to provide the children of the Northwestern Lehigh School District the opportunity to learn and play the game of soccer in a safe and constructive environment.
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As a non-profit club, Northwestern soccer does its best to help children develop soccer skills using volunteers. There are regular monthly meetings to update volunteers on all aspects of the soccer program. Volunteer opportunities, summer camps, coaching clinics, etc. are discussed at these meetings. Meetings are usually held the first Thursday of every month at 7:30pm at the Rec. Fields Office Building. Soccer coaches are highly encouraged to attend these monthly meetings. Minutes of each meeting are sent out via e-mail by the soccer director.
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The coaching staff is usually recruited from the parents of the children on the team. Occasionally a high school age soccer player will coach for his/her Senior Project under the supervision of a responsible parent. Occasionally there is a situation where no one steps up to coach. The soccer director and league representative will make every attempt to find a volunteer, but if no one is willing to volunteer, that team will be dissolved and parents will forfeit their sport fee to cover fees paid out by the club.
Coaches are encouraged to attend coaching certification and licensing courses, paid for by the soccer club.
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The NYAA Soccer Program is affiliated with two leagues: the recreational Northern Valley League (NV League) and the competitive/travel Lehigh Valley League (LV League). Both leagues are governed by the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association
(EPYSA).
The NYAA also coordinates its own “in-house” league for the Under 7 and Pre-K programs.
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There are two seasons of play: fall and spring. Sign-ups for fall are traditionally in April and the season runs from about August- November. Sign-ups for spring are traditionally in January and the season runs from about March –June.
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Players are divided into age groups depending on their birthday, not their grade in school. Birthdays on August 1 through July 31 constitutes an age group. The NYAA forms teams for children ages Pre-kindergarten through high school as long as there are enough players to form a team.
Players falling into the Pre-K and Under 7 age groups are assigned to a team in the “in-house league”, meaning they play other teams within the NYAA. This is a non-competitive environment based on skill building and developing a love of the game.
Players falling into the Under 8 age group are assigned to a team in the Northern Valley League and play other local teams in a non-competitive environment.
Players falling into the Under 9 and above age groups, have the opportunity to tryout for a travel team in the Lehigh Valley League. Information regarding tryouts are available at the time of fall registration. These teams stay together for one fall and one spring season. The following fall, teams are reformed with open tryouts, where no player is guaranteed a spot. Players who tryout and are not selected for the LV League team are automatically placed on a NV League team. Players may choose to play in the recreational league without trying out for a competitive team.
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