Thursday, August 12th, Grand Park, Westfield: Indiana Soccer hosted the US National License Course at Grand Park starting August 12th - 16th. Turnout was great at the in-person meetings, as 32 coaches took to the classroom and field to demonstrate their developmental growth throughout the previous 16 weeks.
Various local players from the IFJ programming participated in the field sessions. The workshop kicked off to a great start with a solid field session with a presentation from Illinois Technical Director Marek Radziszewski on Skill acquisition and use of the Coaches Toolkit. Special thanks to Coach James Carson IV, Josh Lindeman, Shane McIntyre and Peter Baah Indiana and the Fire Juniors boys and girls for participating in the candidates' coaching sessions, and IUPUI athletic trainer Karlee Kolb for overseeing the health of the participants.
“Indiana Soccer has always been at the forefront of offering Coaching Education programming to its membership, be it Grassroots courses for our novice or volunteer coaches - through the National level courses,” stated Steve Franklin, Indiana Soccer Director of Coaching Education. “This course provides a number of our Indiana coaches, as well as those from around the United States, with a holistic learning environment which will pay dividends in their coaching for years to come.”
About The U.S. Soccer National C License Course
The National C License is an online and in-person course, that begins with an online experience and has either one or two in-person meetings.
The goal is to assist the Candidate in their development, focusing on:
- To create a series of progressive game-like training sessions that encourage players’ ownership (decision-making).
- To create a game-day environment linked to training session goals
The Learning Objectives are:
- To observe the game, recognize formations and systems with players’ roles and responsibilities.
- To observe and analyze one team – identify trends in the game
- To create a game plan and coach players based on training session goal(s)
- To create a safe, fun, inclusive game-day environment.
- To demonstrate an understanding of how to structure the training session
- To demonstrate an understanding of Orientation-Learning-Implementation methodology (O-L-I)
- To plan, organize, execute, and reflect on four (4) training sessions based on two (2) different goals over 2 weeks.
- To demonstrate an understanding of the influence of developmental stages & age characteristics on player development.
- To create a team development process
- To define and implement a child safety and risk management plan within the team.
- To apply a parent engagement process
- To develop an understanding and process of self-assessment
Coaches who register for this course can expect weekly learning opportunities that will feature a mixture of independent learning using online modules and live virtual meetings led by a licensed U.S. Soccer Instructor. Coaches will be asked to participate in discussions so each person should have access to the internet and a web-camera/live video capabilities. The virtual meetings will take place agreed upon days and times (see below). Coaches may be asked to participate in the field component as either coaches or players, so please come prepared to actively learn.
Eligibility Requirements:
In order to be considered for the U.S. Soccer C course, all candidates must meet the following prerequisites:
- At least 18 years of age
- Have held a U.S. Soccer D license for at least 12 months OR meet the waiver guidelines and currently coaching
Waiver Guidelines:
Applicants who hold certain foreign licenses or have a minimum amount of professional playing experience may be considered eligible without holding the U.S. Soccer D License.
Minimum pre-requisites:
- Certain foreign licenses (subject to review by U.S. Soccer) -OR-
- Applicant has two-(2) years playing experience with a Senior National Team and/or two-(2) years playing experience on a FIFA recognized “1st Division” outdoor professional team.