ANZA Soccer - Update on Saturday Sessions: NO Soccer on 6 November

Dear ANZA Soccer Parents,

We have been pleased to hear that ANZA Soccer players joining weekday trainings under our professional coaches have been enjoying their sessions. If your child would like to join a weekday training, please note the reminders at the end of this email about when and how to register.

We are writing today to update you about the Committee’s decision regarding resuming Saturday sessions. Although AGCs found that most parents who provided feedback were positive about having their children attend Saturday sessions even under current restrictions, most volunteer parent coaches were NOT enthusiastic about running such sessions. In addition, the Committee noted that significantly more organising would be necessary by our volunteers, and there would be increased possibility of rules being breached, putting our programmes at risk.

Therefore, the Committee came to the following decisions:

Saturday sessions will NOT resume on 6 November, in hopes that within the next week the government will relax the rules, allowing us to restart on 13 November with groups of 4 or 5 and more usual organisational requirements and risks.
If the government does NOT relax its rules within the next week, we will consider starting with groups of 2 on Saturday, 13 November for most players, with the following exceptions and conditions:

No sessions for players (girls and boys) playing in Group 2014 and younger groups: Committee members unanimously agreed that for children aged 7 and younger, playing in groups of 2 would be too difficult for players and parent coaches alike. Furthermore, such young players are more likely to unintentionally breach the rules, which could result in penalties and/or shutdown of ANZA Soccer programmes. Therefore we cannot restart Saturday sessions for these groups until group-size rules are relaxed.
Any age group (or team within an age group) that is unable to secure the necessary number of volunteer parent coaches to make the groups-of-2 format feasible WILL NOT be able to have sessions as usual.
In these cases, depending on the number of parent coaches available, sessions may be cancelled entirely or partially, or players may be rotated weekly to fit the number of coaches available. Coaches’ children, however, will participate in each session along with their parents.
As always, ANZA Soccer depends on parents to put up their hands to volunteer. If the groups-of-2 rule continues, we will need more parent coaches than usual for sessions to occur. Our pro coaches will provide a suggested plan for the session, and sessions will be 45–50 minutes (not longer). Mothers and fathers who are enthusiastic but not particularly knowledgeable about soccer are welcome to join, as we will help you get through each session!
Sessions that have been missed will be made up later in the season or after mid-April, when our season was originally scheduled to end.

In preparation for each eventuality, AGCs will be in touch with parents to ask for help where needed. Please volunteer generously!

Weekday Trainings: When and How to Register

Weekday training sessions are ongoing under our professional coaches, and players have been excited to get back on the pitches! If your child would like to join a weekday training, please note these reminders about when and how to register.

Registration: As before, comp teams will organize their sessions directly, while for general trainings parents must register through the online registration page:

Matildas Tuesday trainings registration

General Thursday trainings registration

Schedule: Please click here and scroll down to “Training and Season Schedule” to see the weekday training schedule.

Thank- you for your understanding,
ANZA Soccer Committee