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Mission

The Downers Grove Roadrunners, Inc., soccer club (Club) will provide a competitive soccer experience for the committed player. We will strive to create an environment that will provide each player with a valuable learning experience, an opportunity to have fun, and a chance to be part of an improving program. We will support these principles by improving individual skills, increasing the tactical elements of team play and by using soccer as a vehicle to promote fair play, self confidence and good citizenship. Our organization's success will be measured by how well we accomplish our objectives, not by win/loss records. We will abide by the rules and regulations of the IYSA (Illinois Youth Soccer Association), USYSA (United States Youth Soccer Association), and FIFA, as well as the leagues in which our teams participate, e.g., NISL (Northern Illinois Soccer League) GCSL (Greater Chicagoland Soccer League) and IWSL (Illinois Women's Soccer League).






Player Development Philosophy

Our approach to coaching soccer helps our athletes learn skills and tactics more effectively than with the traditional “drills-first, play-later” approach. The approach begins with kids playing in situations. As they play, they learn and appreciate the skills and tactics needed to play the successfully. Situations are modified to strengthen individual technique and team play. Kids have more fun and are more motivated to practice in these small-sided rather than standing in boring drill lines. We find that our approach emphasizes:

• particular skills and tactics in a situation;
• the need to adjust the difficulty depending on our athletes’ needs;
• assessment of players as they play;
• actively involvment of players in the learning process; and
• refined soccer skills and strategies.




Coach Development and Licensing

All Roadrunner coaches and assistant coaches must have a license/certificate for U8 thru U14 at the time they register a team for the Fall season and apply for a coach’s pass.

Roadrunners follow IYSA's coaching program requirements. For U8 thru U12 the minimum requirement is a Youth Module for the specific age group, or an F license. For U13 and U14 a minimum of an E license is needed. Also accepted are NSCAA and AYSO license as equivalents up to U12.

Coaches complete these requirements on their own time by registering through the Illinois Youth Soccer Association’s (IYSA) web page at www.iysa.org. These courses provide our coaches with the basic tools they need to construct practice plans and team objectives for the season.

We encourage you to speak with one of our coaches to learn more about coach development at Roadrunner soccer!



Community Activities

See how our Club is involved with our communities!
Annual July Fourth Parade

A Positive Club Culture

In order to develop, our young players need a tremendous amount of support and positive encouragement. This one minute video emphasizes the importance of creating a positive environment for our players:

Creating a positive environment for our players


The Roadrunners’ has established its partnership with PCA as part of a targeted effort to provide the most positive experience for its athletes and to foster coach and parent education in the community. “Working with hundreds of youth sports organizations around the United States, PCA has developed a number of practical tools and guidelines to help young athletes, their coaches and parents realize that winning is not only reflected in game scores, but also in the effort players give, the learning and improvement they achieve, and the ability they develop to bounce back from mistakes,” said Bob Lemke, President of the Roadrunners Soccer Club. “We’re excited about our ability to bring PCA to our community and help emphasize the importance of a positive club culture for our players, coaches and parents.”

About Positive Coaching Alliance
Positive Coaching Alliance, a Stanford University-based non-profit organization, works with coaches, organizational leaders and parents to more effectively teach young athletes not only how to win, but also how to learn about teamwork, discipline, respect and goal-setting through their sports experience. Since 1998, PCA has conducted more than 1,700 research based training workshops for 68,000 coaches, parents and leaders, helping to create a positive sports environment for more than 680,000 young athletes.

For more information on PCA, visit www.positivecoach.org.

Positive Coaching Alliance



Printed from the ActivMindz website (www.ActivMindz.com).