As a youth soccer club we must have consistency, reliability, cooperation, leadership and accountability from everyone.

Coaches must do so much more than just coach. A lot can be delegated to managers and assistant coaches but much will still remain for the coach to do. It is a time consuming job. You will be repaid mostly by the pleasures of doing the coaching, which are many.

Below is a guide for you to follow. It addresses the major elements of developing and maintaining your team. All coaches are free to use their personality and individual strengths to develop their team but they must adhere to the guide below as well.

Follow Scorpions Soccer Tryout guidelines . Prior to tryouts coaches must familiarize themselves with Scorpions Soccer procedures and adhere to them. Procedures will be forwarded to coaches before tryouts. The clubs Director of Coaching is in charge of tryouts and will be assisted by staff coaches and team coaches. Tryout procedures are not negotiable and not subject to a coaches circumvension to change them during tryouts. If a coach wants to change something they should propose a change prior to tryouts. A lot happens during tryouts, predictable and unpredictable, we depend on the coaches to be good leaders and reliable at this time.

All coaches are expected to be at their age group tryouts. They will be primarily responsible for choosing their own team.

Attend Coaches Meetings and Training Sessions. Scorpions Soccer has coaches meetings periodically, and will meet for coaches training sessions from time to time. We expect the coaches to be there. Coaches who will not be able to attend are kindly asked and expected to give us advance notice so that we can reschedule if necessary. Failure to attend these meetings causes a fundamental breakdown in our ability to communicate effectively with coaches and managers, and consequently with parents and players.

Aggressively develop players. OK...this is it. This is what we do. We aggressively develop youth soccer players. We are in a competitive environment. We of course treat them humanely and have fun with the development but we do not lose sight of the bottom line. We aggressively develop players and teams. We determine what it is we need to focus on and we go for it. In the younger age groups we emphasize and stabilize all the basic skills. As they get older we continue skill improvement and we start tactics. We are a competitive youth soccer club. The parents of the players you are coaching want their children well trained, not pampered. They want their children to get as much development as they can and they want them treated respectfully. That is also what the club wants so your direction here is very clear. The club will be forwarding a curriculum to you for you to follow.

Parents prevailing loyalties are to their daughters. Member Scorpions Soccer families will have loyalty to Scorpions Soccer if we are giving them efficient training for their child and are treating them well. If we are not aggressively and efficiently training their child some will look for a 'greener' pasture. This will happen in some cases whether you have a close relationship with them or not.

Aggressively develop team. Are you noticing a pattern? We hope so. Just as you develop players you need to develop a team. Every player should know that the team comes first, above the individual players preferences. That's what makes it special. Seek opportunities to develop your team during practice, by scheduling competitive scrimmages, entering challenging tournaments etc.... Be aggressive and proactive. The team will not develop itself, it is up to you. Consider the use of team and personal goals. If you decide to use goals develop a plan that will logically bring you to achieve those goals.

Be on time for training, games and gatherings. Being late shows disrespect. Train the players for the time you have allowed.

Begin training each year by August 1 (for fall season teams). Earlier if the team goals warrant it. Have your team prepared for the season and any tournaments.

Use Tournaments to develop your team. We are not a 'MAPLE' club. We are a youth soccer club. Our club attends Columbus Day and Memorial Day tournaments as 'givens'. Beyond that you should be researching and planning an aggressive schedule of play outside of MAPLE league play for your team. Two or three tournaments per year are not enough. Four should be the minimum number you should be attending.

Read the website of the tournament you are attending thoroughly before you apply and again before you attend. The State Cup website is particularly important.

Keep a positive attitude and atmosphere around your team. There are so many examples of undefeated and championship teams who lose players or completely split up due to an unpleasant atmosphere. Be 'aggressively positive' with your team.

Keep in mind that you represent Scorpions Soccer. Harshly criticizing players, screaming at referees, losing your composure, emotional outbursts...that doesn't work for us. Scorpions Soccer considers it important that we are not thought of as the sort of club that condones those sorts of behavior.

Be mindful of this as well as your positive attitude in your communications with opposing coaches.  Scorpion coaches should not address opposing coaches during games unless it is brief and polite conversation.  Bickering coaches (and worse) are one of the worst reflections of a coach and a club possible. Nothing is gained and there is much to be lost. Any issues with the management of the game or issues with play on the field should be addressed as professionally as possible through the referees.

In the event that an opposing coach attempts to initiate a negative interaction the Scorpions coach should ignore the opposing coach.

Return all phone calls and emails in a timely manner. Within a day preferably. Scorpions Soccer insists on this. This isn't negotiable. The failure of coaches to return calls is one of the most frequent complaints we get. If you are having a difficult time with a person or an issue consult with the liaison assigned to your group. Common courtesy and professionalism (and Scorpions Soccer) require you to answer questions from the trivial to the difficult. Effective communication in advance could help limit the number of questions you are asked. A well-informed manager or assistant coach can be invaluable as well.

Follow clubs training guidelines and philosophy. We have to have all our teams, coaches and players moving in the same direction. We must have some consistency while still allowing for individuality. Within reason stick to the training guidelines provided by Scorpions Soccer in the curriculum you will be provided and always keep the clubs philosophies in mind.

Use a year long plan. Prior to tryouts outline what the years plan will be. Research and tentatively (or definitively) outline plans for tournaments, league play and other soccer opportunities. Include the expectations you will have of the players on your team. This will be distributed at tryouts. After tryouts meet with the parents or communicate with them by email exactly what the plan will be including practice frequency, days and times. Parents who will be able to plan will appreciate your effort in this area and in addition conflicts with your plan will be discovered early.

Forward your yearly plan to the Scorpions Soccer Executive Board. We will include the outline of your plan in the information given to players trying out for your team(s) at tryouts.

Timely requests. Remember to ask for checks for tournament applications and tournament rosters themselves in a timely manner, not at 11PM the night before you leave.