In order to maximize the potential of every player, and to create a great development environment, parents, coaches, and players must be on the "same page."  This means, at a minimum, that there is a consistent understanding of the priorities within the club, the environment and culture of the club, and the philosophy and methodology used in teaching and training.  In the best situations, there is even discussion about what parents should expect along the pathway, and how to positively approach the challenges in the process. 

At FC Wisconsin, we believe it is incredibly important that parents are engaged and educated in all of these topics.  To accomplish this, the club provides a variety of different services and resources.

• Every parent in the club recieves a free membership to the Soccer Parenting Association.  This organization provides articles, webinars, interviews, and other resources on topics from the basics of soccer, to nutrition, to perspectives on development, and more.
• The club hosts multiple presentations throughout the year on mission, values, philosophy, methodology and more.  These presentations outline a wide variety of topics:
  • The mission, values, and philosophy of the club
  • The environment and priorities in the club from U6 to U18 - in training and games
  • Parent, coach, and player expectations
  • The club's game model (what is a game model, why it is important, and how it is implemented at FC Wisconsin)
  • The club's development process and curriculum
  • Representative training activities - and why and how these activities are used within the club
• From U11-to U14, coaches provide regular updates on what is happening in training, why training is focusing on certain areas, and what players are being asked to do in training, competition, and on their own.  A sample from one of these updates is below:

  • "With the U11 and U12 age groups we are still focusing on possession themes ... In the past few training sessions we have been focusing on the goal of “breaking lines.” Generally speaking, this refers to passes in a forward direction, through or behind the opposition, that advance the team up the field.  In order to accomplish this goal the players are focusing on the individual actions of:

    • Awareness to make decisions before receiving the ball

    • Body position to face your next pass

    • Playing in fewer touches

    • Showing for the ball behind defenders

  • The activities we are using are similar to the possession games from previous weeks, only now we add direction and some positional play. The playing areas are usually split in to zones, with the goal of playing passes from one zone to the next. Some example of these sessions are below..."

At FC Wisconsin, we attempt to engage and educate everyone involved in the player experience, and we have found it helps create a better, more sophisticated, and more rewarding environment!