NSCAA Designated as Premier Source for Higher Level Coaching Education in Alabama

The NSCAA and the Alabama Soccer Association (ASA) have teamed up to provide youth coaches in Alabama with top-rated education clinics, courses and opportunities.

This collaboration makes the ASA the latest member of the NSCAA Official Education Partnership network.

“The NSCAA Education Department is proud to add the Alabama Soccer Association into the NSCAA fold,” Ian Barker, NSCAA Director of Coaching Education, said. “Alabama is a marquee location for talent and we look forward to providing the players of Alabama with top-tier coaches.”

ASA Director of Coaching Gwynne Williams added: "A way to change the soccer environment is to change the mentality of the coach, and the only way to do that is through education. The Alabama Soccer Association is delighted to partner with the NSCAA and looks forward to growing the game and changing our environment through education."

The ASA and NSCAA will work together to groom highly-trained coaches by equipping them with the tools they need to be effective leaders. ASA will offer its members NSCAA courses ranging from Level 1 through 6, Special Topics, Goalkeeping Level 1 through 3 and High School diplomas.

Currently, registration is open for the Goalkeeping Level 3 diploma course in Decatur, Ala. This 18-hour course will focus on the tactical role of the goalkeeper within the team framework.

ASA coaches can also benefit from other NSCAA educational resources such as the Online Resource Library. This database is full of training sessions and articles (similar to the one ASA has provided below) coaches can use with their teams.

Click here to download PDF

“The Alabama Soccer Association is thrilled to have an alliance with the NSCAA and expand the educational opportunities for our coaches,” ASA Executive Director Tom Condone, said. “This type of programming will add credibility to our state, giving quality instruction to our coaches.”

 About Alabama Soccer Association

As the Alabama affiliate of US Soccer and US Youth Soccer, the Alabama Soccer Association (ASA) is a non-profit and educational organization whose mission is to foster the physical, mental and emotional growth of players of all ages, by creating and increasing opportunities for wholesome participation. ASA has a current membership base of over 15,000 registered players’ statewide, youth and adult, and approximately 2,000 active coaches, referees, and administrators. For more information about the Alabama Soccer Association, call (205) 991-9779 or visit www.alabamayouthsoccer.org.

Alabama Soccer Association and the City of Decatur have just been awarded the 2013 Presidents Cup tournament for the D2 state cup winners ages U13-U17 for June 6-9, 2013.

Each D2 state cup WINNER in these age groups will advance to the Presidents Cup event being hosted in Decatur.

This is an honor for Alabama and our teams to not have to travel out of state to compete in a great tournament.

3:02:03 Tryouts for Division I and Division II

1. Tryouts for AYSA affiliated member teams may be conducted anytime during the AYSA

designated tryout period. Tryouts being conducted prior to the start of the tryout window are an

illegal recruitment violation for each team conducting an early tryout.

2. Players must complete an AYSA Division I or Division II Player and Parent Commitment Form

to indicate their decision to play for a specific team.

3. The period of player commitment is defined as the time from the date the AYSA Division I or

Division II Player and Parent Commitment Form is correctly executed up to the day prior to the

start of the tryout period for the next seasonal year.

4. Open recruitment can occur during the tryout period.

5. The AYSA Division I or Division II Player and Parent Commitment Form cannot be executed

prior to the tryout period.

6. New team formations comprised of players not previously registered and rostered to another

team can occur at any time during the seasonal year.

7. Tryout Advertise: General tryout advertisement may occur beginning February 1st for the

upcoming tryout period. Tryout advertisement may contain:

(a) Team and or Club Name, age group(s) and association affiliation;

(b) Geographical area served;

(c) Dates, times, and location;

(d) Coach or contact person’s name and phone numbers;

(e) What to bring (i.e. water, ball, shin guards, etc);

(f) Club/Team fact sheet/information;

(g) Coaches’ resumes/bios;

8. Distribution of tryout advertisement:

(a) Advertisement is defined as but not limited to, any notification of tryouts on television,

radio, and periodical, newspaper articles, notices posted in public places, flyers, mass

mailers, or circulars.

(b) Flyer/mailers can be sent to individual players, but can only have a specific name on the

outside of the envelope. All information in the envelope must conform to the above rules, and may not be addressed to any specific player. Beyond the address envelope, there may be

no personalized information for the receiving player.

link:  Goal of the Year

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• NEW SPORTS CONCUSSION MANTRA:
• EXPERTS
• DOCS:  BE AWARE OF SYMPTOMS

Return To Play After Concussion -- The Latest Info

By Dev K. Mishra, M.D.

It seems we are bombarded with new information about concussions on an almost daily basis, and here is even more information to cause us to stop and consider the best time to return a young athlete to play.

A recently published study showed that cognitive and functional deficits persisted in young athletes after sport-related concussion out to 2 months after the concussion.

A group of concussed athletes were followed after girls soccer header concussion and tested at certain intervals. The concussed athletes were compared to a normal group of athletes also tested at the same time periods. The study showed statistically significant deficits in the concussed group compared to the control group in attention and task-switching at all time points tested, although the concussed group did improve over time.

Based on these study results as well other study data, the researchers suggest that adolescents may require an extended recuperation time to completely recover brain function following concussion, and that specific concussion tests can provide valuable information for physicians carrying out follow-up assessments and determining proper time points for return to play.

“If a person goes back to the playing field without a full recovery, that person is put into great danger of being re-injured,” emphasized study author Li-Shan Chou quoted here. “In any given season, if you suffer a concussion, the chances of your suffering a second one is three to six times higher and suffering a third is eight times higher. There are accumulations in this kind of injury. It doesn’t go away easily.”

“The differences we detected may be a matter of milliseconds between a concussed person and a control subject, but as far as brain time goes that difference for a linebacker returning to competition too soon could mean the difference between another injury or successfully preparing to safely tackle an oncoming running back,” said co-author David Howell.

What Can We Take Away From This Study?
This was a well-conducted study that adds to our knowledge base about concussion. Sophisticated testing can often find differences that are very subtle, even to a properly trained physician skilled in concussion management.

The field of concussion testing is evolving and we don’t yet have a consensus on which of the various test methods is best. Most physicians at the college and professional team level use some form of the paper-based evaluation known as SCAT2.

Ideally, the athlete has had preseason testing when he or she was functioning normally. That baseline is then used later to determine the amount of deficit when compared to the post-concussion tests. Ideally you want the player back to their normal baseline before returning to play.

The key takeaway for me is that young athletes may have deficits in brain function far longer than we would otherwise suspect from our standard office-based exam. More reason to be cautious in return to play after concussion.

Further Reading:
YSI (Oct. 3, 2012) “Crucial Concussion Evaluation Info for Coaches.”
Sports Concussion Library (includes downloadable Pocket Sports Concussion Assessment tool).

(Dr. Dev K. Mishra is the creator of the SidelineSportsDoc.com injury management program for coaches. He is an orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Burlingame, Calif. He is a member of the team physician pool with the U.S. Soccer Federation and has served as team physician at the University of California, Berkeley. This article first appeared on SidelineSportsDoc.com.)

Contact:
Phone: (205) 991-9779
Fax: (205) 991-3736

tom@alabamayouthsoccer.org
lynn@alabamayouthsoccer.org
gwynne@alabamayouthsoccer.org
martha@alabamayouthsoccer.org
trish@alabamayouthsoccer.org
 

Office Hours:
Monday through Friday
9:00am-5:00pm

Please go to, "Concussion Awareness & Certification".

Please complete the above, print the Certificate in PDF or JPEG and email to your club registrar.

Please read The Concussion Procedure and Protocol and keep copies available of the Notification form at all practices and games.

USYSA Concussion Procedure and Protocol

Concussion Notification Form

The Mid-Alabama Recreational Soccer League