2016 Chittenden Soccer Practice

Dear Athletes, Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers:

On behalf of the entire volunteer coaching staff let me welcome you to the Chittenden Delegation’s 2016 Soccer Program.

Special Olympics requires that a current medical be on site at every practice and competition. Please contact Dave Bogdan (dbogdan@ieee.org or 802-865-3840) to pre-register so that we can have your medical at practice. We no longer allow athletes to begin practice without a current medical. Medicals are good for three years from the date of exam.

We are happy to announce that this year’s program officially begins on Tuesday, August 16th at 5:45 pm at our practice field located at the Willey Family Farm in back of the Fairgrounds in Essex Junction. Take the back entrance to the Fairgrounds (also road to St James Church) right to the Fairgrounds gate and park in the stone parking area.  The fields are just to the right of the access road – roughly ¼ mile up from Route 2A.

Practices will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:45 pm – 7:00 pm right up to the Special Olympics Vermont Statewide Tournament at Norwich University on Saturday, October 15th.

You can expect that our coaches will be working with each athlete to have fun, to teach the game, to build a sense of teamwork and most importantly promote good sportsmanship in practice and in competition.

You can expect that our coaches will treat all athletes, parents, guardians, and caregivers with respect and ask you to provide that same level of respect to our coaches and to other athletes.

We ask you to comply with the Special Olympics of Vermont’s Spectator Guidelines which is attached. In addition, we ask you to review with your athlete the Special Olympics Vermont Athlete Code of Conduct form then sign and return it to me as soon as possible.

Like last year, we will be organizing athletes into three groups to maximize their skill development while maintaining our focus on safety for all athletes.

As coaches, we have an expectation that athletes will arrive on time for practice and will be are picked up on time at the conclusion of practice --- as our volunteer coaches have commitments as well. We will also make an extra effort to end practice on time.

As coaches, we have an expectation that each athlete will arrive wearing a team purple practice t-shirt, black shorts, soccer cleats, shin guards, with a water bottle, and a soccer ball --- ready to play.

If you have an issue of concern, please call me at 802.598.3123 so we can resolve it as soon as possible.

Dedicated to keeping it fun, safe, and respectful,

Head Coach Giles Willey

PS.
With regard to inclement weather, please go to the Chittenden Delegation website/blog located at http://sovchittenden.blogspot.com to learn if practice is canceled. Once practice has been canceled for the day, it will not be changed even if the weather improves later in the day!

PPS.
In order to keep expenses down, we will again be car pooling to the Statewide Tournament at Norwich University. So please consider helping us in this regard, if possible.