Goal Differential

It is important for coaches to be aware of the goal differential during a game to prevent the score from getting out of control. The differential is not a concern only at the end of games but should be front and center during a game. Kids (and parents) do not like to be on the losing end of a lopsided victory and these differentials have lead to many kids leaving the game of soccer. If it’s not fun kids will not play, after all who wants to play a game that’s not fun.

As coaches we can work to prevent this from happening by recognizing the game trends early on and working with your players to challenge them more and to keep the score under control. Coaches can move players back from an attacking position to a defensive posture while also preventing defenders form passing half. At the same time require that all players must pass the ball a minimum number of times before they can shoot. This will vary based on age group, U10s 4 times, U12 6 times and U14 8 times. You may also want to have them work on other skills such as crossing or passing back to reset the attack. In the end please be aware of the score and work to keep it under control. You can take a negative situation (no competition) and turn it into a learning experience.

If you need suggestions contact a fellow coach or any member of the travel subcommittee.

Dracut BU10-3 vs Lowell

A dominating performance by the young men from Dracut was lead by stellar goal keeping and a powerful offensive attack. Multiple players joined in the scoring which allowed the boys to work on passing and team play. The final score was Dracut 5-1.

Request for Spring 2010 Travel Coaches

We are currently accepting coaching applications for the Spring 2009 season for all travel coaching positions including U9 teams. We will be appointing “1” team coaches for U9/U10/U12/U14/U16/U18 before tryouts and will be appointing other coaches after tryouts. If you are interested in coaching teams lower than the “1” team please submit your application now while indicating on your application that you are not looking to coach the “1” team.

I know it’s early but we need to have coaches in place to administer tryout sessions. Tryouts dates and times will be announced soon after the September board meeting. We request that all coaches volunteer to help conduct the tryouts.

If you are interested in applying for a coaching position in the travel program, please fill out the attached application and submit it to the travel subcommittee (travel@dracutsoccer.com) by noon on Sunday, October 11th. The applications are reviewed by the DSA Travel Subcommittee and recommendations from the committee are approved by the board of directors. If you have any questions on coaching, feel free to contact Dennis Goodine (Travel Head Coach), Mike Balous (Boys Director) or myself (Girls Director).

GU12-1 Tie Game

Wow! A great game with a fantastic finish. The game was a scoreless tie until the first few minutes into the second half when Wakfield slid one past the keeper. Dracut tied the game on a penalty kick by Emily Tierney. Then with one minute left in the game Wakefield again took the lead with a break away. Less than 45 seconds later Dracut was awarded another penalty kick when a Dracut player was taken down in the goal box. Once again Emily put the ball in the back of the net as time expired. It was fantastic to see a team never give up.

Field Changes

With the latest (and hopeful last) field changes we have been given access to the Dracut High School JV soccer field by the Dracut School department. Now that access to the field has been restored we will be making a couple changes. First we will be moving all U14 games and practices to Dracut High and secondly we will be moving the U6/U7 fields to the front half of the Veterans soccer fields. The move of the U7 fields was needed to avoid Saturday morning conflicts with Pop Warner. Through this process Lori Cahill at the Rec Department has been very helpful and has worked to find us the space we need. If you see her thank her for helping us provide soccer to the kids of Dracut.

Picture Weekend

What a beautiful weekend for team and individual pictures. It was great to see all the kids from 4 to 14 posing for the pictures and making their moms smile.

GU14-1 Coach Change

The DSA travel subcommittee has appointed Carey MacDonald to serve as the coach for the remainder of the fall season. Carey has a long history of coach in Dracut soccer and in MAPLE.

Follow Dracut Soccer on Facebook

You can now follow Dracut Soccer on Facebook. I encourage you to post pictures, videos and help us build our online community. If you have any other ideas on how to promote DSA, I encourage you to let us know.

Fall 2009 Travel Coaches Appointed

The Dracut Soccer travel sub-committee has recommended and teh DSA board of directors has approved the appointment of the following coaches for the Fall 2009 travel season. All these teams will be submitted to play in Middlesex Youth Soccer. The appointment of 2 and 3 coaches will occur after tryouts.

GU09-1 - Mike Balous
GU10-1 - Julie Jones
GU12-1 - John Lane
GU14-1 - John Phaneuf
BU09-1 - John Lane
BU10-1 - Jim Streeter
BU12-1 - Tom Mullins
BU14-1 - Dennis Goodine

We wish all the coaches good luck for a successful tryout and fall 2009 season.

Dracut Soccer Night at the Boston Breakers

Professional women's soccer returns to Boston this spring. Join Dracut Soccer for a night at the Boston Breakers on Sunday, June 14th 6 pm at Harvard Stadium. The Breakers have put together a great experience for families and teams including space to tailgate and player autographs after the game.

Discounted tickets can be purchased on line at www.breakersgroups.com and the login is DracutSoccer.

Field Clean Up & Safety

Dracut Soccer needs you to help us in keep the fields clean but making sure we leave the fields cleaner than when you arrived. Please pick up that extra bottle or wrapper that may have been left behind by another player of family. It’s great way to teach youngster about respecting the environment and public property by having them help in keeping our fields clean.

Also please make sure your kids are not hanging on the nets or goals. This behavior is a danger to kids and adults that could result in serious injury or worse. If you see another child (or unfortunately sometimes another adult) hanging on the nets or goals please ask them to stop. I had the experience of seeing and adult (not a young one) participate in hanging on nets this past Sunday. He didn’t understand the risk and was very cooperative in stopping.

Finally we are using fields permitted by the town of Dracut and the Dracut School system and it is important that we treat them properly. It is our responsibility as an organization to make sure the fields are kept clean. All of us including parents, players, coaches and board members are members of the Dracut Soccer organization and we need your help to keep the fields safe and clean.

Dracut Soccer Needs You

Dracut Soccer is an entirely volunteer run organization and we are in the process of forming the board for the next soccer year that will start in July. Over the past year we have had 3 new board members join us and it's always great to have new members join us. The fresh new perspective they have brought is always helpful and refreshing. To be honest there is a lot of work to be done but it is rewarding when you see those smiling faces on the pitch. We meet once a month and do many things in between to make sure the kids of Dracut have a spot to play the game.

We have many different positions that have a varying level of commitment. If you are interested in learning more or joining us please contact Mike Balous (vp@dracutsoccer.com) or John Lane (president@dracutsoccer.com) and we would be happy to discuss them with you.

Dracut Soccer in the News

Mark Cockroff our new media coordinator has been hard at working snapping photos at games and gathering travel game scores for submission to The Valley Dispatch. Check out the first installment at http://www.thevalleydispatch.com/ci_12218060. There are many scores and some great photos. We hope to have many more weeks of results.

If you see Mark and have any questions or suggestions on other ways to promote Dracut Soccer please feel free to stop him.

Spring Season 2009 Underway

Our Spring 2009 season is completely underway now with the start of the U6/U7/U8/U10 recreation programs this past Sunday. It's always a joy to see the young kids and their families enjoying the game on a perfect spring Sunday. Our travel teams started the season on the first Saturday in April but as usual April weather hasn't cooperated for our teams. We have many weekday make up games, so we ask that all coaches please move practices to other open fields.

Spring Season Around the Corner

Greetings Dracut Soccer Nation. It has been a long winter with lots of snow and the spring season is just around the corner. Our travel teams are preparing for the start of the Middlesex travel season on April 4th and the rec season will be getting under way Sunday, April 26th. Parents of U06, U08 and rec U10 will be contacted by a coach by middle April. If you have not heard from a coach by April 19th please contact the appropriate age coordinator. http://www.dracutsoccer.com/FAQs.aspx#who



All coaches are reminded that fields (and parking lots) are not available for practice until you are notified by Dracut Soccer. We are using fields permitted by the Town of Dracut and the Dracut School department and we must follow all permit guidelines. In addition we may restrict the use of fields at times in order to prevent excess wear and damage. We ask every ones help to keep our fields in good condition.