RULES FOR PARENTS

Redefine winning ! Losing can be a triumph when the team has given it's best! Help your child to see a game well played as a win! Encourage them win or lose. The focus should be on doing their best while always getting better, not the results of a single game. Emphasize improved performance, not winning.

Learn the game - Many parents attend soccer games for years without really understanding what is happening on the field. Read your Soccer 101 guide (ask your coach for one if you don't have it) and make an effort to learn the soccer terms. Volunteer with the coach to learn the game and become a coach yourself!

Participate! Buy a ball and play! Have fun with your kids while they learn soccer skills and play with them. You will see just how hard it is to get the ball to go where you want it to! Encourage neighborhood games and your child to play soccer with their friends. A portable goal is a great item to have as well as some of the orange cones for practicing at home.

Attend - Stay and watch the games and practices! Some coaches only recognize the parents by the make of their car as when they drop their kids off at the practices and games. Soccer is not a childcare service. Make sure you get your child to practices and games on time. It is embarrassing for your child to be late and missing warm-ups can put your child at risk of being injured. Be courteous of the coach's time, call if your child will miss a game or practice. Don't forget the kids or be late to pick them up. The coach's time is valuable too!

Make soccer available - Have soccer balls around the house! Watch soccer on TV, watch the movie “The Big Green”, check out videos and books from the library, go to soccer games (call the local high school and get their game schedule), subscribe to a soccer magazine, search the internet, learn to be a referee or coach.

Create a positive environment – Don't yell! Soccer is supposed to be fun and no one likes to be yelled at. Don't lecture your child about their performance. Don't withhold love when they performed poorly. That is when they need your love the most. Before a game tell them. “I love you, Good Luck, Have Fun!” After the game tell them “I love you, It was great to see you play, What would you like to eat?”

Be positive and supportive of the team and Coach ! Don't be the team's critic, be their biggest fan!

If YOU show respect, your child will learn by example. Encourage fairness! Praise all of the kids on the team, even yours! Let them be kids. Your enthusiasm for each practice and game will be CONTAGIOUS to your

child.

Support the kids! This means all kids. Make positive comments to players, not negative ones. Don't groan when someone misses the ball. After a loss or a mistake, don't malign the other players. They are children too. Make a rule for yourself – say one positive thing to an opponent each half! Applaud a great save by the opposing goalie, a wonderful pass or a beautiful defensive play.

Support the team! This can be as simple as bringing the oranges and the after game snack. Wear your teams colors to the games, and attend all games. Don't criticize ANY player on the field (yours or others). Remember your child's teammates are not the opponents. Don't hassle the referee, and don't argue with the coach (call in private if you have concerns).

Prepare your child - Have the proper equipment and have it ready. See that your child eats properly before the games and practices, make sure your child gets a good nights rest and always bring their water bottle to every practice and game. 

Support the program, get involved! There are lots of things to do. Be a coach, an assistant coach, team parent, board member. Offer a hand when they need some one to help line the field or put up and take down the nets. The more parents that volunteer the better our program gets!  

Remember the game is for the players. Keep sports in perspective! Soccer should be fun for the players and their parents. If not it will be hard for either to stick with it.

HAVE FUN FIRST, TEACH SOCCER SECOND, SCORE GOALS THIRD.

What makes soccer the world's favorite sport?

Soccer is the number one sport in the world. There are over 100,000,000 people playing it in over 150 countries! Soccer is rapidly rising in popularity in the US with the numbers of our youth that are playing soccer quadrupling in the last 11 years. Many of us anticipate that, in the future, America 's favorite sport will be the same as the favorite sport of the rest of the world –soccer. Soccer's popularity has taken hold in the United States .

Why is soccer so popular?

Players can have normal physical attributes and be successful in soccer. There is no need to be physically huge to be successful. Youth with typical size, strength, and speed can master the sport and enjoy playing it. This partly explains soccer's popularity with girls. Over 45% of US youth playing soccer are girls.

It's inclusive. In the United States , over 40 million children and young people participate. Soccer teams are everywhere. Children of all ages and varying ability can enjoy the game. Soccer doesn't require a huge amount of cash or expensive facilities. One can practice soccer almost anywhere. A group can play soccer in almost any sized open space. The only genuine requirement is a ball.

It's truly a team sport. In soccer, only the goalie is subject to ongoing individual scrutiny as she prevents the ball from entering the goal. This means that soccer can be a less pressured sport for children than baseball, for instance, in which the individual skill of batters and pitchers is constantly on display. This is particularly appealing to kids who may not have superior athletic ability, but who enjoy participating in team sports. Of course, there are opportunities for individuals to shine, but truly successful teams build themselves as a group of players who coordinate their activities throughout the entire match. The coach doesn't run the game. The coach is on the sideline and really doesn't have the opportunity to tell the players what to do next. It is too late to coach! The players are out there, independent of the coach's immediate control and dependant upon themselves and their teammates. Because passing the ball is essential to success in both offense and defense, players must communicate well and be consistently mindful of their team members' whereabouts on the field.

It teaches social coping skills. Because it is so focused on group participation, playing soccer can teach children good sportsmanship. Playing on a soccer team coached by a caring adult can help children learn to cope successfully with challenges like winning and losing, group decision-making, and getting along with kids of varying backgrounds and temperaments.

Soccer is fun to play and aerobic. Soccer has a clear goal, continuous action, lots of interaction with one's teammates and lots of opportunity to mix it up with the opposition. Children who play soccer regularly are getting in the habit of incorporating regular exercise into their lives.

It's international. Encouraging children to share in the excitement generated by soccer around the world can help them learn about other countries and experience the United States as being part of a larger diverse community of nations.

Soccer in the United States is booming. Though the older generation of Americans may remain clueless about this king of sports, younger Americans are flocking to it in numbers unimaginable only a few years ago. The future of American soccer looks bright.