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Dear
WSC and prospective WSC parents and players:
Each year
with the approach of annual tryouts for the Williamsburg Soccer Club we
receive a number of questions regarding the club, its policies,
operations, etc. We hope that the following information will address the
majority of the questions that arise. However, if you have further
questions, or this information doesn’t address a topic or issue that
you are interested in, please feel free to call us at 757-220-3794 so that
we may speak with you personally.
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The
Williamsburg Soccer Club is a non-profit organization whose primary
mission is the development of youth soccer in our community. The WSC
gives back to the community by providing scholarships, playing
opportunities, free clinics and coaching. It also provides support to
JCC Parks & Rec. Department, certified training for coaches at all
levels (house and travel) and personally helps to maintain facilities
utilized by the entire community (line fields, maintain goals, etc.).
Our staff is compensated.
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The
WSC’s primary goal is to develop a player’s tactical, technical,
physical, and psychological abilities with the intent of preparing them
to play at the college level. Our system, in place now for the last 10 years, has been proven to be tremendously successful with over
110 graduates having played or presently playing college soccer. While these
results speak for themselves we are constantly seeking to improve the
system. From the very beginning WSC’s developmental programs emphasize
a strong technical and tactical training syllabus. We also stress that
winning and losing at the beginning of this development stage is not as
important as developing the requisite skills to achieve at a high level
over a playing career. History has repeatedly proven that if these
developmental objectives are achieved success invariably follows. I
encourage you to ask our graduates and their parents about their
experience with the WSC system. For example, one U-13 team was losing at
the 4th division in SEVYSA yet progressed to five consecutive
Final Four state appearances at the U14, U15, U16, U17 & U18. Today,
these same players are playing for programs such as William and Mary,
Virginia Tech, University of Delaware, University of Kentucky and other
Division II and III schools.
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The
WSC Directors of Coaching and team coaches participate in coaching
certifications and training clinics, attend national coaching and soccer
conventions, investigate how similar clubs throughout the United States
operate their organizations and conduct internet and periodical research
of youth sports and soccer in America. We are full time soccer people
dedicated to making Williamsburg Soccer better everyday.
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The
WSC strives to have fully certified coaches for all training sessions
and games. Our coaches are encouraged to attend coaching courses,
workshops, etc. and are compensated for attending.
All coaches are also asked to work together during training
sessions and support each other should a practice or game conflict
occur.
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The Directors of
Coaching are committed to providing equal support for all girls and boys
classic and premier teams. We
are involved in training sessions for all teams.
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The
WSC Elite teams play in the VCCL (Virginia Club Champions League), the
premier youth soccer league in Virginia. The VCCL was created by full
time soccer professionals and is run by full time Directors of Coaching,
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Because
of our commitment to the long-term development of our players we believe
that their development is best achieved by playing in the most
competitive leagues and tournaments available. Winning in lower level
leagues and tournaments will not help to maximize a player’s
potential. We strive for excellence at all levels of our programs.
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The
WSC Premier and Classic teams do not presently play in the VCCL because the league
does not yet include classic divisions.
For the near term, and until such time as a better forum becomes
available, SEVYSA provides the appropriate league for these teams. The
goal for our classic and premier teams is to allow them to compete at a
challenging level for their ability and to improve as individual soccer
players and teams.
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All
funds generated by the WSC through tournaments, player fees, camps,
developmental leagues, etc., directly support the club’s many programs
and daily operations. The Directors of Coaching are salaried employees
whose compensation is established by the Board of Directors, the seven
member governing body of the Williamsburg Soccer Club.
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The
WSC is a Co-Sponsored Organization with the James City County Parks and
Recreation Department. This
affiliation helps provide the WSC with preferential use of county
facilities, second only to the JCC Parks and Recreation programs.
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A
Club Event Structure was created a few years ago to ensure; 1) that our
teams had a uniform development program; 2) to facilitate the
opportunity for our teams to travel together; 3) to help eliminate
confusion regarding what each teams seasonal schedule is; 4) for our all
of our teams get accepted as a club into tournaments; 5) to ensure that
every player is not deprived of quality playing opportunities because
the minority doesn’t want to participate and 6) to maintain a cohesive
CLUB atmosphere not one of a disparate group of individual teams
under a club umbrella.
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The
WSC purchases a new set of uniforms every two years alternating between
white and dark each time. These purchases ensure club uniformity and
provide players with a sense of pride. It also ensures that styles are
not dropped before we stop using them and lowers total costs because of
bulk club purchase initiatives. All
uniform costs include logos (2), numbers (2), shipping and handling,
& taxes.
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Nike
is our club sponsor. In exchange for wearing their brand NIKE provides;
1) a substantial discount on uniform pricing; 2) free and discounted
gear for our coaches; 3) tournament and camp t-shirts and balls; 4)
training equipment for staff and coaches; 5) premier tournament
participation at NIKE sponsored events; 6) and unified Club identity.
The WSC is one of only 25 clubs nationwide that has a true
sponsorship agreement with NIKE.
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The
Williamsburg Soccer Club uses the same referee association that every
club on the Peninsula uses and the same individual on the Peninsula
assigns all referees. Referees
are not assigned by the WSC for any games involving WSC teams or
developmental programs. The WSC plays an active role in continuous evaluation of all
referees that work our games and improvement, when warranted, is
demanded.
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WSC Board of Directors voted to make a responsible donation to the
Albert/Daly Field fund at William and Mary. This contribution was in
some small way an appropriate thank-you to William and Mary whose
faculty played a founding role in the WSC and served as hands-on staff
during our early years. The new facility will provide a state of the art
arena where our boys and girls teams can experience first class college
and professional soccer in Williamsburg. We believe that our donation
will help contribute in a positive way to the community and enhance the
soccer environment in Williamsburg. In turn, William and Mary will allow
us limited use of the new complex and Busch Field.
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