Membership Update - August 7, 2020


Dear CSA Membership,

I wanted to take this opportunity to send everybody a new update following Governor Cooper’s announcement yesterday to extend Phase 2 for another five weeks. With this extension, the following policies and procedures will be in place as we officially start the fall season with practices next week.

CSA will continue to follow a practice plan similar to this past week with our preseason team camp. Training throughout all of our sections will predominantly remain a technical based environment and this will continue through the month of August. As preseason progresses, however, some of our programs will slowly integrate more of a competitive type environment into training with activities and small sided games of 4v4 and 5v5 similar to our plan in June. By progressing our training, we will ensure that when we get back to full field activity, our players will have transitioned back to more of a match environment.

Any of our programs or sections that integrate these small sided activities will follow the characteristics/points listed below:

• Defending will be light.
• No tackling from behind or slide tackling.
• Any scenario where several players collectively gather around the ball, the coaching staff will stop the game and spread the teams out before restarting.
• When defending, players will be encouraged to either cut out passing lanes, block shooting opportunities and intercept the ball if an opponent is penetrating on the dribble.
• Players should bring two shirts to training; one light and one dark or their new grey training shirts and gold pre game shirts.
• If training bibs are used, they will not be used between players. Coaches will wash them after each practice.

Please note that these games are not required or mandated throughout the club. Our staff are aware that some families may be hesitant to engage in these activities. If you do not feel comfortable with your son/daughter participating, please let your respective coach or DOC know and they will ensure they only engage in the technical based training until we move out of Phase 2. Your son/daughter’s position on their respective team will not be in jeopardy if they opt out of the competitive activities. CSA will ensure all the guidelines are in place with our staff regarding our back to play policies and procedures as our mindset is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of players.

At this point, the anticipated start date for competitive games for our NCYSA teams will be the weekend of September 12. Our National program teams are starting a little earlier based upon the guidelines set forth by their governing body under the ECNL. Our goal now is to prepare players for this official competitive start date. We are excited to get back on the field for the fall season. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our staff, your respective Director of Coaching or myself.

Regards,



Brad Wylde
Executive Director
Charlotte Soccer Academy