ACADEMY (4U-8U)
GCAA has academy divisions (U4, U5/U6, and U7/U8). We provide a coach who runs the academy practices. The coach explains the drills to volunteer coaches and assists the volunteer coaches in executing the drills. This helps the players to understand the game and also allows parents with no prior soccer experience to volunteer as a coach at the academy level!
All practices and games are held at the GCAA Complex.
All academy divisions have one practice a week and with one game on Saturdays (U4 only has 2 Saturday Showcases per season).
GET TO KNOW YOUR ACADEMY OPTIONS
ABOUT U4 ACADEMY
U04 Academy - 1 weekly practice (Monday Night), NO Saturday game. (Under 4 - for children under 4 years of age) instructional soccer league. This league is an attempt to introduce preschoolers to the concept of a team sport in a fun and non-threatening environment. The 4U Academy will meet for one night each week for 8 weeks. Each Academy training session will last 45-50 minutes. A training coach, with the assistance of several volunteer Parent Coaches, will lead the players through several small group sessions of fun games and drills for approximately 30 minutes. These games and drills are not always "about soccer." Teaching hand-eye co-ordination is also important at this age. Some drills or games in practice may be simple every-day games like... follow-the-leader or chase the coach or other silly games to keep the kids excited and tuned in. We all understand these are all kids under 4, so these sessions are kept short and fun. Each Academy session will end with about 15 minutes of scrimmage-like games. These scrimmages are less about learning the rules of soccer and more about learning to participate in the game.
The primary focus of this league is simply to get the kids excited about soccer and to get them to understand that it is primarily a sport where you use your feet to move a ball in a particular direction. By the end of the 4U Academy, players should be comfortable moving about with a ball at their feet.
In the fall each player will be provided a shirt, socks, and a size 3 soccer ball. In the spring, only new players (those that did not play in the fall at GCAA) will be provided a shirt, socks, and size 3 soccer ball.
All kids are required to wear shin guards to every session. Soccer cleats are optional... however, no metal cleats or cleats that have toe-cleats (like baseball cleats) are allowed.
ABOUT U5/U6 ACADEMY
5U-6U Division - 1 weekly practice one Saturday game. The 5U-6U Academy is for children under 6 years of age. The focus of this Academy is mainly on ball control and ball movement. There is typically very little passing in this league and not something that is focused on in practices. Each Academy session is limited to 24 - 32 players and will meet either on Monday or Tuesday nights each week for 10 weeks. At this age, players will be assigned to a team and coached by two parent volunteers. There will be 7-8 Saturday games.
Each training session will last 60 minutes. A training coach, with the assistance of several volunteer parent coaches, will lead the players through practice but parent coaches will be responsible for coaching their own team on Saturdays. The staff will provide training session plans prior to each practice which will include a warm up, two skill focused drills and each session ending with small sided "scrimmage" type games. The lead coach will warm up the group with fun games that concentrate on ball skills as well as demonstrate each skill focused drill. Parent coaches will then take their teams and execute these drills and scrimmages with the lead coach assisting all coaches as needed.
Our goal in this league is for all of the kids to become familiar with the rules of the game, have confidence with the ball and learn a bit about being aggressive on the field and going after the ball when others have it. Player choice of practice day will also influence team assignment. The teams are co-ed and will have a roster size of 6 to 8 players. Teams will play 4v4, without a goalie, on a field size of 20 yards x 30 yards with 4’ x 6’ goals. The coaches are the referees in these games, which allows the games to be run very simply, in turn reducing any stress the kids may feel about playing in a "real" soccer game. Scores are not kept, and no season standings are maintained. There is no focus on wins and losses only on having fun and learning about the game of soccer, sportsmanship, and teamwork.
In the fall, each player will be provided a shirt, shorts, and socks. In the spring, only new players (those that did not play in the fall at GCAA) will be provided a shirt, shorts, and socks.
All kids are required to wear shin guards. Each player should bring their own size 3 soccer ball to every practice. Soccer cleats are optional (but recommended)... however, no metal cleats or cleats that have toe-cleats (like baseball cleats) are allowed.
ABOUT U7/U8 ACADEMY
7U/8U Soccer League (Modified Academy) - 1 weekly practice and 1 Saturday game. The 7U-8U Academy is for children under 8 years of age. The focus of this Academy is mainly learning about the team aspect of the game. If the players have learned a good foundation of ball handling skills, then the next step is to teach passing and positioning. The goal in this Academy is for all of the kids to start to become true soccer players. They should start to learn to look for passing opportunities when they have the ball and when they don't have the ball to learn to move into positions to receive a pass. Also the players should become more aggressive on the field and really start attacking the ball to gain possession. Each Academy session is limited to 24-40 players and will meet either on Tuesday or Thursday nights each week for 10 weeks. At this age, players will be assigned to a team and coached by two parent volunteers. There will be 7-8 Saturday games.
Each training session will last 60 minutes. A training coach, with the assistance of several volunteer parent coaches, will lead the players through practice but parent coaches will be responsible for coaching their own team on Saturdays. The staff will provide training session plans prior to each practice which will include a warm up, two skill focused drills and each session ending with small sided "scrimmage" type games. The lead coach will warm up the group with fun games that concentrate on ball skills as well as demonstrate each skill focused drill. Parent coaches will then take their teams and execute these drills and scrimmages with the lead coach assisting all coaches as needed.
Our goal in this league is for all of the kids to master the rules of the game, become skilled ball handlers, and possess the knowledge of passing to teammates and moving into space. The 7U-8U division will have an assessment day (Feb 26th 9am/10am) so the GCAA staff can make teams as fair as possible. Player choice of practice day will also influence team assignment. The teams are co-ed and will have a roster size of 6 to 8 players. Teams will play 4v4, without a goalie, on a field size of 20 yards x 30 yards with 4’ x 6’ goals. The coaches are the referees in these games, which allows the coaches to work together to ensure the games remain fun for all the kids. Scores are not kept, and no season standings are maintained. There is no focus on wins and losses only on having fun and learning about the game of soccer, sportsmanship, and teamwork.
In the fall, each player will be provided a shirt, shorts, and socks. In the spring, only new players (those that did not play in the fall at GCAA) will be provided a shirt, shorts, and socks.
ASSESSMENT DAY INFO
Assessment Day: Saturday, February 26th 2022
Welcome to the 2022 Spring Rec Soccer Season. We are excited to have your son/daughter playing with us this year! First and foremost we would like to thank all the parents who volunteer to coach, without parent coaches our children would not have a program in which to participate, so THANK YOU!
We have made changes to our Academy program in hopes of creating an environment where your child can learn and grow by playing with players of similar size and skill level. In an effort to better our evolving program, GCAA staff decided we must ALWAYS have 2 tiers in the 7U-8U division due to the age range and wide range of skill.
ONLY 7U-8U (2014 & 2015 Birth Year) players need to attend Assessment Day.
Assessments are designed to help the GCAA staff determine the tier the players needs to be in and make teams as fair as possible. Players will be placed on a team based on size and skill through a series of stations...
1. Speed and Agility
2. Dribbling
3. 1v1 & 2v2 square
4. Short Scrimmage - 4v4
Assessments will be held Saturday, Feb 26th 2022 at the 15U field at the GCAA Complex. If you cannot make the Assessment, then your child's placement will be based on the answers you give during the registration process.
7U 9:00am
8U 10:15am
We hope the 7U-8U age group being based more on developmental/competitive ability will make for a more enjoyable soccer experience. Please be patient with us in this process and if you have any questions please feel free to inquire at soccer@gcaasports.org and we will do our best to address your concerns.
Thank you
Wendy Welsh
Director
GCAA Rec Soccer