KING GEORGE UNITED CLUB Policies 

Before making a commitment to join any club, both the player and parents should take into consideration all the factors involved, including what the club expects from the player and parents. The club has no desire to write rules covering every possible problem, but we expect players and parents to follow the club policies in this document and to behave in ways that reflect positively on the team and club. By either accepting the club’s offer of a spot in an age group or signing the Player Agreement, parents and players agree

Competitive Selection

-Each team is re-selected every year.

-Players are evaluated based on dimensions that may not be apparent to the bystander, including technical skill, tactical awareness, physical attributes, work rate, character, mentality, and fit within a particular age group or team. Evaluation is based on those factors only.

-The club will initially place players on a team that is best suited to their performance based upon the evaluation factors above. Players may be moved from one team to another during the year based on what the age group coaches determine is best for the teams and the player.

New Player Evaluation and Tryouts

-New players are evaluated during annual tryouts, practices, scrimmages and under game situations.

-Tryouts are held annually, at the end of May, and are open to all players who are eligible to play in the following fall's U8 - U18 age groups. Players will be evaluated by all the coaches with teams in a particular age group as well as the club Director of Soccer Operations.

·         Coaches may have one or more additional tryouts after the open tryouts to narrow down their selection.

Expectations For Players:

• Make soccer your #1 priority – outside of family and school – during the soccer year. If this is not possible or it is apparent to your coach that this is not the case, it may affect playing time.
• Make yourself a better player
• Focus on soccer during training and games
• Listen to your coach's constructive criticism and use it to make yourself a better player.
• Be mature enough to get proper rest before games, and eat well always.
• Know the rules of the game
• Respect your coach's and your teammates' time
• When you are given a time for training or warmups, that is when you are expected to be on the field, dressed and equipped, and ready to go.
• Contact your coach at earliest possible time if you will be late / absent from training, game, or other team activity.
• Be prepared
• Training: players are expected to train in club training shirts
• Games: you should have all necessary game items in your bag, which will stay in the technical area during games. This includes uniform(s), water or sports drinks, and sun block.
• Stay with your team during training and games
• Remain with your coach and team from the start of warmups until released by the coach after the game or practice. This includes half-time. Do not visit your parents, friends, family, or pets. If you are subbed during a game, remain in the technical area with the coach – the coach may need to make a quick substitution or an important coaching point.
• If there is an important need to leave the area, you should ask the coach for permission. 
• Represent your team and club positively
• Demonstrate sportsmanship and fair play in your words and actions. Keep your emotions under control and do not treat opponents, referees, or anyone else disrespectfully. 
• Excessive red cards will be grounds for disciplinary action.
• Help the club and the community
• Leave the field and sidelines cleaner that you found it at all practices and games.

Playing as a guest player on another team

• Within the club: players may be asked by other KGU teams to be a guest player at a league game or tournament. Coaches normally check with each other before asking the player, but the player or parents should still confirm with their own coach that this is OK and doesn’t create any problems for the player’s “home” team.

Outside the club: If you are asked to be a guest player by a team at another club for non-league play such as a tournament, you may do so. Your coach or manager may not hold back your card or VYSAID. However, the club strongly recommends that you discuss this with your coach before accepting the guesting offer.

Expectations for Parents & Guests

• As a parent, you must commit to supporting your child's participation in team and club functions.
• Please familiarize yourself with the rest of this document, especially:
• the “Expectations For Players” section above – please be sure you and your child understand it. 
• the “Communicating and Resolving Issues With Your Coach” section below.
• the “Game Day Behavior By Players, Parents, and Spectators” section below.
• Allowing animals to be within 15 feet of the field boundaries.

Travel

Communicating and Resolving Issues With Your Coach
 

Introduction

• Parents should feel free to arrange meetings with their child’s coach to discuss their son or daughter. As one of our experienced coaches writes to her parents every year, “at some point this season, you are going to disagree with me.” Sometimes you should communicate a perceived problem to the coach, and sometimes you should not.

As players mature, they are expected to try to resolve issues between themselves and their coach without parental intervention.

Guidelines and policies regarding these discussions:

• Keep the meeting focused on the player
• Good topics: the player
• what a player might or can do differently to earn more playing time (keeping in mind that, as noted in the “evaluation and selection” section, there are no guarantees with respect to position or a specific or minimum amount of playing time in games).
• problems that may affect the player’s training or game performance
• problems they might have with other players on the team
• injuries or other health concerns
• other issues concerning the player
• Bad topics: coaching decisions or other players on the team
• positions you think certain players should play
• playing time in the past
• your opinions about other players
• team formations

  Talk to the right person

• If you have an issue that should be discussed with the coach, bring it to them – and not other parents or the team manager. Don't burden the manager, whose role is team administration, with issues that are properly the coach's.
• Players and parents should recognize that it is always best to resolve issues directly with the coach. However, if they feel they can not discuss a sensitive topic with their coach, they should communicate with the Director of Soccer Operations.
• When to meet
• Please defer to the coach’s wishes about what times, places, and means of communication are appropriate. Immediately before, during or after a game, or during a practice, is not the appropriate time. Many coaches do not want to have parent conferences on game days, and may also ask that parents cool off for 24 hours before discussing an issue that arose in a game. Each coach should communicate their preferences to the parents at a team meeting, and parents should respect those wishes.
• Please respect your coach’s time

The coach has a limited amount of time to allocate to each of their players and each of their teams. Parents are asked to respect their coach’s time and not take up a disproportionate amount of it compared to other parents and players, or to keep revisiting the same topics. While the club expects coaches to respond promptly and professionally to a reasonable level of parent communication, a coach may limit their responses or take other action if they feel that a parent is placing undue requirements on their time. If the parent disagrees, they may follow the escalation process described below.
If the problem is not resolved by the coach, the parent should then contact the Director of  the club at [email protected]

Game Day Behavior by Players, Parents, and Spectators

Game days can be exciting, but we expect parents and other spectators to

• provide a positive environment for teaching the game
• understand that team and player development will be given a greater priority than winning

We know other clubs may not have or observe these standards for their players, coaches, parents or supporters, but we should be different.

• There will be no coaching by parents and/or spectators. Feel free to be supportive, but do NOT provide any type of instruction 
  ("pressure," "shoot," "wide," and so on). Although you may think you are helping, it is probably counter-productive to the players and is definitely disrespectful to the coach. Your coach may be looking for a more composed choice in that moment, want the player to learn by making their own decision, or use choices taught in practice. Please trust the staff.
• Never direct a disparaging comment at a player, coach, referee, parent or supporter. The best policy is to acknowledge positive play and otherwise keep quiet.
• Never get into a confrontation with anyone. 
• Do not complain to officials. Our players need to learn to overcome adverse calls and foul play or gamesmanship by other teams – they are part of soccer – and we expect our parents to do the same. Parents yelling at referees sets a poor example and can swing calls against our teams.

Leave every facility in better shape than you found it.
Follow the rules for each facility.

Team Management and Team Fees

Team management

Each team shall have a parent manager to handle administration. The manager can have several assistants to handle different aspects of the job. The tasks include:

• collect neccessary paperwork (Birth certificate, player photo, etc.) for league registration. 
• budget, collect, and manage team fees, and pay team expenses
• communicate information to the team, such as practice dates and times,
  information from the club, etc
• assist the KGU as necessary to collect club dues from players on the team
• organize team fundraising
• register for tournaments in coordination with club tournament schedule and coach
• handle game-day player check-in
• report scores as needed
• assist with uniform orders
• organize team volunteers for club events such as the tournament
• make overnight team travel arrangements
• and there’s more, depending on the team and its needs
• The manager is NOT a go-between for concerns that need to be discussed between parent and coach.
  Managers are nominated by their coach and approved by the Director of the club
  
  Team fees
• Risk Management and Coaches background checks
• League Fees and Governing Organization Fees (ODSL or NCSL)
• Pre-season Training
• Facility Usage Fees ($450 Monthly KGC)
• Technical/Functional Training Sessions (Fall and Spring)

• Goalkeeper Training

• Speed, Strength, and Agility Training (U13-U19 Travel Boys & Girls)
• VYSA/US CLUB Player Pass
• College Guidance Program
• Individual and small group College Research and Prep. Program
• Club Website Hosting & Development Fees
• Club Operating Expenses (insurance, online registration, additional club overhead)
  
  Please note that the cost for playing travel soccer in our club is about $600 over an entire year. Compared to other clubs, our fees are relatively low. Most clubs charge $2000 to $3000 for the entire year and do not include tournaments or other extra events.
  
  

Program fees do not include the following:

• Uniform items
• Optional off-season programs (futsal, summer training, etc.)
• Personal Travel Expenses

           Capital Fall Classic Tournament (or similar event with air travel/multiple hotel nights above  the typical event)

Payment

• Parents my pay in full or Monthly

Refunds of club fees

• Refunds of club fees are issued in only three cases:

1. no team
• If a team does not have the minimum number of players required for league play by July 31, the club will make every effort to place the players on other teams in the club. If it is unable to do so, it will refund fees on a prorated basis.
2. Season-ending injury
• If a player suffers an injury that requires a rehabilitation period of six months or longer, club fees will be refunded on a prorated basis.
• A note from a medical doctor (MD) may be required.
3. player permanently moves out of the area

• club fees may be refunded on a pro-rated basis if the player permanently moves outside Virginia or King George area. 

·         The club may require evidence, such as a report card from their new school, to support this.

Injury Liability: By enrolling your child in KG UNITED Soccer Club, parents and guardians acknowledge and agree to the following terms regarding player injury:

1. Assumption of Risk: Soccer is a physically demanding sport that inherently carries a risk of injury. By participating in any club activity, you acknowledge and accept that injuries may occur as a natural part of the sport.

2. Waiver of Liability: KG UNITED Soccer Club, its staff, coaches, volunteers, and affiliates are not responsible for any injuries that may occur to players during club activities at Sealston Sports Complex or any other field or venue. This includes, but is not limited to, injuries sustained due to accidents, physical contact, weather conditions, or the playing surface.

3. Medical Insurance: It is the responsibility of each parent or guardian to ensure that their child has adequate medical insurance coverage to handle any potential injuries. KG UNITED Soccer Club does not provide medical or accident insurance for players.

4. Emergency Protocols: In the event of an injury during a soccer activity, KG UNITED Soccer Club staff and coaches will follow appropriate first-aid and emergency procedures. Parents will be contacted immediately, and if necessary, emergency medical services will be alerted.

5. Parental Responsibility: Parents or guardians are responsible for transporting injured players to and from medical facilities and for covering any costs associated with medical care.

Cancelations
For Intramural, fall season, after September 1 there will be no  cancelation. 

For Intramural, spring season, after March 1 there will be no  cancelation.

You cannot cancel in the middle of the season.

The player will be banned from playing in the program for a period of two years upon leaving the team in the middle of the season without a serious reason (injury, moving out of the area, financial problem).

Consequences of Violating Club Policies
Failure to fulfill financial commitments (to the club or to the team)

• The player may be suspended from training and/or games until their account is current or acceptable payment arrangements are made.
• Single minor violation of team or club policies
• Examples: tardiness or lack of focus in training
• This should be dealt with between the player and coach. The coach will discuss the problem with the player, in private, and give the player an opportunity to correct the problem. 
• The coach may use tools such as withholding playing time in order to provide incentive for the player to fix the issue.
• Recurring minor problems
• If the player can not fix the problem in a reasonable period of time, the coach or Director of Soccer Operations will discuss the problem and the player's inability to fix it with the player's parents.
• The coach or Director of Soccer Operations may institute sanctions as described below until the problem is corrected

Sanctions

• Players
• Players are subject to reasonable discipline at the coach or club’s discretion (running laps, writing an apology, etc.).
• Players may be suspended from training or games for a length of time commensurate with the gravity of the offense.
• Players involved in a major violation of league or KGU rules may be referred to those organizations for further discipline.
• Parents
• Parents may be banned from fields during training
• Parents may be banned from fields during warmups, games, and post-game activities
• Parents may be subject to other reasonable rules that minimize or prevent the problematic parent behavior
  
  

Other policies:  Team Fundraising

Teams should not be involved with any activity that potentially brings disrepute to the club or the KGUnited brand.

Amine El hachimi
President & Executive Director
King George United