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[tgaroutte]

Fire Soccer Academy, playing out of the Spanaway/Graham area of south pierce county, is an entirely new type of girls youth soccer program and we are posting this information here to announce this birth of a new club and generate discussion about this new opportunity for south puget sound teenage girls.  If  you are interested in learning about this, read on or go to our website at www.firesocceracademy.com .  This is a long post but then it is not easy to fix youth soccer in a few paragraphs now is it

This new program was made possible by the development, growth, and support of US Club Soccer and the PSPL and we are especially thankful for all of their support and advice.  We felt this type of innovation would not have been possible within WSYSA with it's rigid pyramidal structural and exclusive RCL control of the top of that pyramid.  We are not good at or interested in power politics or making a living from this, we just love to coach kids   FSA is a model based on CHOICE and is the result of 10 years experience in youth soccer at the rec, select, and premier levels and as club administrators for many of those years.  At FSA, the coaches run our club.  There is no “board” in the traditional sense and we intend to stay small so we have no politics.  We feel we have developed a better model.  Over the years I have read many great posts on this site from parents and other coaches with a deep understanding of the good and bad parts of youth soccer so our model incorporates a lot of those ideas as well.   FSA was started in a transition last year by 2 long time premier teams in to one college prep team playing all US Club Soccer with a select team being added last fall.  We grew to 4 teams and over 60 players in our first round of 2011 tryouts in March. By next year we hope to grow to 6 teams which will be our final size offering 3 levels of play and commitment for each of our two age groups of players (9th to 12th and 6th to 8th grade).  FSA is different in many ways from any other club we know of.   

1) Players are arranged in multi-age teams at 3 levels of play (select, premier, and a College prep level).  Players are assigned to teams not just by age but by commitment level, playing ability, and goals of the players and parents.  We have learned that mixing ages is more productive than mixing players with different commitment levels and goals and results in happier players, parents, and coaches.   FSA already has 3 teams at the HS age (9th grade to 11th grade) that will play at U18 next year then keep playing U18 every year after that.  We have been playing with mixed age teams now for 2 years at the premier level of play and there are no negative issues with the younger players in our groups, in fact the younger players have improved at double the rate they would have playing in on-age teams.  Perhaps we win less games than our all 1 age opponents but we all know winning is not the measure of success now don’t we and we are competitive enough.   Our older girls, all of whom are going to college have been excellent social mentors for our younger players as well.  We offer a college prep premier team, a mid level select team (roughly equivalent to a state league team) and then a lower level select team for those players that can’t make regular practices and even games due to other commitments but still want to play on a club team.  So we have a team for every level of interest, ability, and commitment.  US Club Soccer’s high roster limit and flexibility allows for us to have more than 18 players on the team roster and then assemble 18 that will play each game day.  The select teams also play on Saturday instead of Sunday so we have several great players and great kids who are not able to play on Sunday due to church conflicts in our program for this reason.

2)  Our coaches work with the different FSA teams, with the A team coach fostering, mentoring, and coaching the B and C team players as well, not JUST focusing on the few best players on the top team.   We invest ourselves in ALL of our players.  Players move between the teams as their interests and abilities grow.  The teams practice together, scrimmage together and will do activities together throughout the year so the players all know each other and all the coaches.  We have found this “academy” style approach is the best way to have girls teams that permit movement of players between the teams without upsetting the chemistry of the teams.  All the teams are coached in a similar manner with the same formations, communication signals, and coaching philosophies to minimize the walls and barriers between teams.   On the surface the RCL programs would appear to be setup this same way but in reality there is often virtually no cross involvement between the A,B, C teams and very few programs have the A team coach working with the B team or C team.  Often the A and B team coaches do not get along and egos prevent a unified “community” between the teams. We see value in helping a player to develop and enjoy the game even if they may never move to the A team.  I believe that is where we differ fundamentally from many of these other programs.

3) We are doing everything possible to minimize the cost of our program with no paid coaches or administrators and careful limits on team gear costs, and travel tournaments.  That is how we are able to offer select soccer for as low as $350 per year.  No thousands of dollars to travel for ECNL games for example!.  Our coaches don’t coach for money, they coach only and soley to make a difference in the lives of the players, giving their time and sharing their passion for the game. 

4) The CPT team also offers a chance to play in a fall premier league and indoor soccer, so the players continue to develop and grow as a unit, focused on their college soccer future.  A few players in that group do choose to play school soccer but the majority do not want to leave each other. The select teams stop play 8/15 and then resume 11/15 after the end of school soccer.  So all the players can get the experience THEY want. 

5) For the CPT players, the CPT coaching and management team produce soccer resumes, individual highlight game videos, assistance in writing letters and communicating with college coaches.   Next May, the Fire CPT will even be playing a game against Eastern Oregon University!  This college advising process has been very effective for the current CPT 11th graders who are now all communicating with college coaches, with several already offered spots on college teams. Many of our players never considered college before coming to us, some will be the first one in their family to go to college.  Ultimately the measure of success for the CPT is the result of getting players to go to college with the opportunity to play soccer in college.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE ON AN RCL TEAM TO PLAY IN COLLEGE!  For those that just want the select level, playing on their high school varsity team is typically their goal and that is perfectly fine with us.   By helping them as well we are sharing our premier coaching abilities in helping the local school teams become better by training more of their players from November to August.  Helping raise the level of school soccer and expose more kids to the beautiful game the way it is meant to be played is one of our several goals.  We believe more of us coaches with this ability and the experience to do this need to give back to our community in this way.  Having a very low cost select program is the key to this working.  I ask you, what good does it do to have $400 in team gear if a kid can’t even play because of the cost of that designer team gear???   They are many great kids and great players that cannot afford the thousands of dollars it costs to play for an RCL team.

6) We coach in a personal way, mentoring the players in their lives as well as in the game, especially the Fire CPT, the college prep team.  Coaching girls at a high level of play is not easy and takes a lot of years to learn.  They are very complex and male coaches coaching teenage young women like men just do not understand how to get the most of young women.  FSA coaches have spent many, many years learning how to coach young women and help them realize their full potential.  We follow Tony Dicicco’s book “Catch Them Being Good” very closely.  That book describes our coaching style in general.  Coach them like men technically, but treat them like women!  We do not yell at our players or use humiliation and fear to motivate them.  That demeaning coaching style simply does not work for most teenage girls!  We do push them to excel, especially the CPT and challenge them but in a sensitive, respectful, and caring way.  I have never met or worked with a teenage girl that didn’t care what we thought of their effort so why is it necessary for so many coaches to throw tantrums and scream at their female players?  Motivating your player to be the best they can be is the “art of coaching” we have learned, adopted methods, and are still learning from the mentoring college coaches we have formed great relationships with over the last 5 years.

So with Fire Soccer Academy moving forward, we now offer south pierce county players a chance for something different, something better in our opinion.  By talking about it here, perhaps other coaches and groups like ours will try similar ideas and help make the youth soccer options in other areas of WA State even better for kids.  Some players and parents may do better sticking with the established WSYSA system that has been around for so long and can afford it. We wish them well.  It is our hope that every player finds a great place to thrive, grow and develop as a person whether it is our program or the traditional WSYSA program!  Choice will maximize the number of kids playing youth soccer which is good for kids and for society.   After all is said and done, the life lessons that a young person learns through sport and the team experience is the REAL purpose of youth sports!  Sometimes I think the real purpose and meaning of all of this gets forgotten!   

Tim Garoutte
Director, Fire Soccer Academy
www.firesocceracademy.com

[swinginrichard]

I like it. +1 for you!

[Drive]

With the New Economy this may just be setting a New pattern.

Could very well be for the better!

Best of luck.

Keep up the Drive!

[Left Foot]

good luck. but please lose the whole premier level shtick. it ain't premier an you know it.

[Soccer Wonk]

The word "premier" has been co-opted for so many uses that one may as well start talking about "premier rec teams". It has lost all semblance of meaning.

[Hit_the_Heifer]

It looks like, from a distance, a very motivated dad is at the helm of the ship.  Kudos to him for making something special for his daughters (both are whom appear to be on his team), but not sure his ideas are "new" and I doubt there will be highly qualified coaches willing to work pro bono for his Club.

[Left Foot]

Is there an additional charge for these services?

"5) For the CPT players, the CPT coaching and management team produce soccer resumes, individual highlight game videos, assistance in writing letters and communicating with college coaches."

Not sure if the whole "we know there is a difference coaching girls/women is new." Every coach at select and premier levels my DD ever had knew this -- yes, even at a big club.....

And I notice that the link is a .com rather than a .org. Is there a for profit angle here anywhere?

 

[goldengoal]

It looks like, from a distance, a very motivated dad is at the helm of the ship.  Kudos to him for making something special for his daughters (both are whom appear to be on his team), but not sure his ideas are "new" and I doubt there will be highly qualified coaches willing to work pro bono for his Club.

Another problem I see happen sometimes is that once the kids are done with soccer, the parents generally give up. Which is why small club teams have problems growing- If they can find good coaches who stay longer at the club for a small fee, parent or no parent, then it changes, but rarely happens

[goldengoal]

Is there an additional charge for these services?

"5) For the CPT players, the CPT coaching and management team produce soccer resumes, individual highlight game videos, assistance in writing letters and communicating with college coaches."

Not sure if the whole "we know there is a difference coaching girls/women is new." Every coach at select and premier levels my DD ever had knew this -- yes, even at a big club.....

And I notice that the link is a .com rather than a .org. Is there a for profit angle here anywhere?

 

maybe they have connections with Greg Ion

[tgaroutte]

Answers to the questions:

“good luck. but please lose the whole premier level shtick. it ain't premier an you know it.”
THANKS FOR YOUR WELL WISHES, AND OUR CPT GROUP CERTAINLY IS PLAYING AT A PREMIER LEVEL SO I DON’T THINK WE WILL DROP THAT.  SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE NOT CLEAR ABOUT THE DEFINITION WHICH IS TYPICAL SO I UNDERSTAND YOUR COMMENT.  IT IS JUST NOT CORRECT.  I AM GUESSING THAT IT IS UNLIKELY THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT THIS SO I WON’T WASTE ANYONE’S TIME TRYING.  I WLL JUST SAY THIS, IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT REAL PREMIER SOCCER IS, YOU CAN DO SOME RESEARCH AT OUR WEBSITE AND SEE ALL THAT OUR YEAR-AROUND FIRE CPT GROUP DOES AND READ THE TESTIMINIALS FROM PLAYERS, PARENTS, AND COLLEGE COACHES WE HAVE DEVELOPED CONNECTIONS WITH.  THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT A PREMIER TEAM CAN BE.  ONLY 1 OF OUR TEAMS FITS IN THAT CATEGORY ACTUALLY AS OUR OTHER TEAMS ARE SELECT LEVEL TEAMS WHICH IS JUST PERFECT FOR THE GIRLS ON THOSE TEAMS.

“It looks like, from a distance, a very motivated dad is at the helm of the ship.  Kudos to him for making something special for his daughters (both are whom appear to be on his team), but not sure his ideas are "new" and I doubt there will be highly qualified coaches willing to work pro bono for his Club.” 
YES I AM COACHING MY OLDER DAUGHTER IN THE CPT GROUP WHO WILL GO OFF TO COLLEGE AFTER NEXT YEAR.  MY YOUNGER ONE DECIDED SHE DIDN’T WANT TO KEEP PLAYING, WHICH HAPPENS AS THEY GO THROUGH THEIR TEENAGE YEARS.   WE INITIALL STARTED COACHING NEARLY 10 YEARS AGO NOW BECAUSE WE WANTED SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR OUR DAUGHTERS.  THE COLLEGE POTENTIAL OF A WPFC WITH THE RELATIONSHIPS AND VALUES OF A CLOSE FAMILY LIKE TEAM, LIKE IN THE OLD DAYS.   YES IT WILL BE HARD TO FIND A LOT OF OTHER COACHES THAT WILL DO WHAT WE DO FOR NOTHING IN RETURN.  WE HAVE 4 COACHES NOW, ALL LIFETIME PLAYERS, GOOD PARENTS, AND EFFECTIVE COACHES SO WE ARE GOOD THERE.



“Is there an additional charge for these services?
5) For the CPT players, the CPT coaching and management team produce soccer resumes, individual highlight game videos, assistance in writing letters and communicating with college coaches."
NO THERE IS NO EXTRA COST.  I DO MOST OF THIS WORK FOR OUR CPT PLAYERS DIRECLTY MYSELF WITH SOME HELP FROM VOLUNTEERS. WE COACH BECAUSE WE LOVE TO COACH, WE HELP PLAYERS WITH THEIR COLLEGE GOALS BECAUSE WE WANT TO SEE THEM SUCCEED AND WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE INTHEIR LIVES.  I KNOW THIS MAY BE HARD TO UNDERSTAND BUT UNTIL YOU WORK WITH THESE YOUNG PEOPLE FOR A LOT OF YEARS, YOU REALLY DON’T REALIZE HOW REWARDING IT ACTUALLY IS TO SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED AND WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THEM.  I HAVE LITTLE LEFT THAT I FEEL I MUST  ACCOMPLISH FOR MYSELF AT THIS POINT IN LIFE, SO I CHOOSE TO GIVE A LOT OF MY TIME TO HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE FIND THEIR GOALS AND SUCCEED IN THEIR LIVES.  GOD HAS BLESSED ME WITH A FORTUNATE LIFE AND IT IS MY TURN TO GIVE BACK.  IT IS VERY REWARDING IN WAYS OTHER THAN MONEY.  I DO JUST FINE FINANCIALLY AS AN ENGINEER AND DON’T NEED TO MAKE MONEY FROM THIS, NOT THAT I FAULT ANYONE WHO IS COACHING AS A CAREER AT ALL.  I KNOW SEVERAL AMAZING COACHES, WHO I CONSIDER GREAT FRIENDS, WHO ARE PAID COACHES BUT ALSO COACH FOR THE SAME REASONS THAT I COACH.  I JUST BELIEVE THIS IS WHAT GOD WANTS ME TO DO AND ALL OF THOSE HELPING AND WORKING WITHIN FSA FEEL THAT WAY AS WELL.  FOR US IT TRULY IS ALL FOR THE KIDS!   


”Not sure if the whole "we know there is a difference coaching girls/women is new." Every coach at select and premier levels my DD ever had knew this -- yes, even at a big club.....”
TRUE, THERE ARE MANY GREAT COACHES OUT THERE, EVEN AT SOME BIG CLUBS.  I HAVE SEVERAL WHO ARE FRIENDS ACTUALLY.  HOWEVER THERE ARE ALSO SOME, EVEN AT BIG CLUBS, THAT HAVE NO BUSINESS COACHING YOUNG WOMEN DUE TO THEIR COACHING PHILSOPHY WHICH TEARS GIRLS DOWN RATHER THAN BUILDS THEM UP.  I KNOW THIS BECAUSE THAT IS WHY SOME OF OUR PLAYERS CAME OUR WAY.  THEY DIDN’T WANT TO BE YELLED AND SCREAMED AT ANYMORE.  NOT WANTING MY DAUGHTER TO PLAY FOR ONE OF THOSE COACHES HAD A LOT TO DO WITH WHY I STARTED COACHING HER 10 YEARS AGO.  THIS IS ALSO ABOUT MORE THAN JUST SOCCER AND I WANTED MY DAUGHTER TO GET MORE OF THE POSITIVE THINGS THAT I DID NOT GET AS A YOUTH SOCCER PLAYER MYSELF.  NOW I WANT THAT FOR ALL THE YOUNG LADIES WE COACH. THEY ARE AMAZING AND THEY ALL DESERVE THAT J NOT JUST OUR OWN DAUGHTERS.

”And I notice that the link is a .com rather than a .org. Is there a for profit angle here anywhere?”
NO THERE IS NO PROFIT IN THIS FOR US AND ALL OUR COACHES AND ADMINISTRATORS ARE VOLUNTEERS, NO SALARIES EITHER.  NO TRAINING FOR $ ON THE SIDE.  EVERY $ COLLECTED IS SPENT ON THE PLAYERS FEES AND DIRECT COSTS.  NEVER LOOKED IN TO A .ORG ADDRESS ACTUALLY.

“Another problem I see happen sometimes is that once the kids are done with soccer, the parents generally give up. Which is why small club teams have problems growing- If they can find good coaches who stay longer at the club for a small fee, parent or no parent, then it changes, but rarely happens”
UNDERSTANDABLE CONCERN.   HOWEVER WE SEEM TO BE HAVING NO PROBLEM GROWING!   WE ARE NOT COACHING TO JUST SPEND TIME WITH OUR DAUGHTERS.  THAT IS A PLUS FOR US, FOR NOW TO BE SURE, BUT IT IS NOT THE MOTIVATING FORCE BEHIND WHAT WE ARE DOING.  SEE THE ANSWER ABOVE ABOUT WHY WE DON’T COACH FOR MONEY.  I AM COACHING THE YOUNGER FSA JUNIORS TEAM WITH NO CHILD ON THE TEAM AND ANOTHER COACH IN OUR GROUP DOESN’T EVEN HAVE A DAUGHTER PLAYING IN THE PROGRAM AT ALL.   WE ONLY HAVE AMBITIONS TO GROW TO A TOTAL OF 6 GIRLS TEAMS AT THE MOST, WHICH IS ALL OUR AREA NEEDS OR CAN SUPPORT.  WE ALREADY HAVE 4 TEAMS AND LOOKS LIKE MORE GROWTH WILL HAPPEN AT THE YOUNGER AGE.   OUR MODEL IS SMALL AND LOCAL AND INTENDED TO STAY THAT WAY. WITH 4 COACHES FOCUSED ON THIS LONG TERM AND ALL ON THE SAME PAGE AS COACHES, WE CAN SEE THIS GOING FOR MANY MORE YEARS AHEAD.  OUR GOAL WILL BE TO KEEP BRINGING NEW PEOPLE IN, DELEGATING TASKS TO VOLUNTEER PARENTS WHICH WILL EASE THE WORKLOAD ON OURSELVES.  I KNOW IT MAY BE HARD TO BELIEVE I UNDERSTAND YOUR DOUBTS, BUT THAT IS WHAT MAKES OUR GROUP DIFFERENT.  THE DIFFERENCE IS IN THE MOTIVATION BEHIND WHAT WE ARE DOING.  WE WILL CONTINUE TO COACH AND HELP YOUNG LADIES ACHIEVE THEIR DREAMS LONG AFTER OUR DAUGHTERS ARE GONE BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT MORE THAN THAT FOR US.  THERE ARE GOOD, SELFLESS PEOPLE OUT THERE.  THEY ARE JUST HARD TO FIND J   THEY ARE INDEED RARE SO WE WILL BE CONTINUOUSLY SEARCHING FOR THEM J  THIS IS ONE REASON FOR OUR POSTING ACTUALLY.

“maybe they have connections with Greg Ion”
I HAVE NEVER MET GREG OR EVEN SPOKEN TO HIM.  WPFC HAS BUILT A STRONG ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPS STRONG SOCCER PLAYERS SO I I AM SURE THAT HE MUST BE QUITE A CAPABLE PLAYER, COACH, AND BUSINESS LEADER.  WE JUST COULD NOT AFFORD TO SEND OUR DAUGHTERS THERE BECAUSE THE COST IS SO HIGH AND WE ALSO WANTED OUR DAUGHTERS TO HAVE “COMMUNITY” AND LIFE LONG FRIENDSHIPS WITH THEIR TEAMMATES AND ALSO LEARN MORE ABOUT LIFE AND THE FUN SIDE OF THE GAME AND WHAT BEING ON A “TEAM” REALY MEANS TO US.  SO WE CREATED AND BUILT OUR OWN ORGANIZATION TO GET OUR DAUGHTERS, AND OTHERS WHO WANT THE SAME THINGS, TO THEIR COLLEGE TEAMS FOLLOWING A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PATH, AND ONE WE COULD FINANCIALLY AFFORD TO GIVE THEM.  US CLUB SOCCER HAS PROVIDED THAT PATH FOR US.  THE WAY WE SEE IT IS THAT PLAYERS THAT WANT WHAT GREG HAS CREATED WILL GO THERE AND THOSE THAT WANT WHAT WE ARE DOING WILL COME HERE.  BECAUSE WE ARE SO DIFFERENT, I DON’T THINK WE REALLY COMPETE WITH THEM DIRECTLY.  PLAYERS AND PARENTS WIN IN THIS BECAUSE THEY HAVE CHOICE AND CAN END UP IN A GROUP THAT SUITS THEM THE BEST.   

THANKS FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS/COMMENTS AND WE WISH EVERYONE WELL IN THE 2011/12 SEASON!  AND THANKS TO WPS, SQUASH, AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS WHO MAINTAIN THIS WEBSITE!  I AM SURE IT IS A TON OF WORK AND YOU GUYS NEED TO KNOW THAT WHAT YOU ARE DOING SERVES AN IMPORTANT PURPOSE SO KEEP IT UP!  I FIND IT VERY VALUABLE TO HEAR PARENTS IDEAS, THOUGHTS, AND CONCERNS. 

Tim Garoutte
Director, Fire Soccer Academy
www.firesocceracademy.com