What to Expect

NGS Juniors First Grade (J1) program sessions meet in Newton once per week on Saturday mornings for 75 minutes. In this age group, we continue to work on individual skills, ball control, and basic game understanding through creative activities, guided questioning, and scrimmages. Each session includes time to practice and time to play a game. (There is not a separate practice day.) Session plans are adapted around weather, number of players, energy levels, and fun occasions such as Halloween.

Our framework incorporates the developmental goals, needs, and abilities of children under 8. Even children of the same age will differ greatly in maturity, socio-emotional skills, and behavior. In addition, some of the players may be brand new to soccer this season, some may have played in other soccer programs, and some may have grown up playing alongside older siblings. Our aim is to create a FUN and safe opportunity for all children to increase their comfort with the ball. We emphasize exploration, experimentation, and ball mastery in game-like situations. Dribbling, turning, receiving, and striking the ball are taught through dynamic activities with simple instructions.

During a typical session, volunteer parent coaches greet each player as they arrive and help them jump into an activity. For the first half of the session, players engage in soccer learning activities led by the NGS Professional Coaching Staff with assistance from high school counselors and parent volunteers. During the second half of the session, teams play small-sided (4v4) games. Once games are complete, teams will high 5 in lines then gather for a snack time.

Coaching Team

The Juniors K / 1 program uses a combination of professional trainers and volunteer coaches to provide the best soccer learning environment and opportunities for our children. Each week, our professional coaching staff plan, implement, and oversee a session plan with assistance from high school counselors and parent volunteers. All session plans start with FUN soccer related games with simple instructions and end with small-sided (4v4) games refereed by the trainers.

Parent volunteers serve as assistant coaches to support our staff in implementing the session plans. The role of the parent assistant coach is meant to be a simple and enjoyable experience. Volunteers do not need to have significant knowledge of the game to help provide a positive, fun and safe environment for kids to play soccer. NGS provides any necessary coaching resources and training, along with instructions for completing national coaching requirements such as registering with the MA Youth Soccer Association and passing a background check.

During a typical session, parent coaches have four primary responsibilities:

• Make and communicate a plan for weekly team snacks.
• Greet players as they arrive at the field and help them jump into a pre-planned activity.
• Participate enthusiastically in the activities led by our pro trainers and make sure that players are engaged and understanding the instructions.
• During games, parent volunteers rotate subs, provide positive encouragement to players coming off of the field, and get players on the sidelines involved in cheering their teammates and the opposing team.

The ideal assistant coach will be enthusiastic, provide positive encouragement, promote good sportsmanship, and energetically join the players on the field each week. This is your chance to enjoy the game with your child, as well as to observe professional coaching to learn strategies that you can use if you continue coaching.

If your team’s roster does not list two parent assistant coaches, please consider getting involved!

Team Assignments

J1 players are assigned to grade-level teams for organizational purposes. To the extent possible, we place players on teams with at least one schoolmate. Teams are somewhat flexible; if a team is short on players, they may borrow players from another team to balance teams during scrimmages. If necessary, instructions will be given on the field each week by our professional coaches.

Fall teams are announced in late August. Spring teams are announced in late March. Rosters are uploaded to TeamSnap and include contact information for coaches and players.

Team Size

NGS has an open roster policy — everyone who registers on time is placed on a team. One of our most challenging tasks is dividing the total number of registered players into teams that have sufficient numbers for practice and games but are small enough to maximize playing time. To address this issue and create the best learning and playing environment for our girls, NGS has established minimum and maximum roster sizes for each age group that are in line with US Youth Soccer guidelines. Exceptions may only be made with approval from the Juniors Program Committee. Coaches do not decide how many players are placed on their teams.

Matches

During the second half of each session, JK and J1 teams play 4v4 games. Games are refereed by NGS Coaching Staff while parent assistant coaches rotate subs and manage the sideline. The rules of play are simplified to encourage more running, more touches on the ball, and lots of goal scoring opportunities in these age groups:

• Players do not have set positions.
• Substitutions are unlimited and can occur at any time.
• Goalkeepers are not used.
• The offside rule is not used.
• Scores and standings are not kept.

The “home team” wears ORANGE and supplies the size 3 game ball. The “away team” wears WHITE.

The weekly match schedule – which teams are playing against each other – field assignments, and jersey colors are posted in TeamSnap just before the season starts. Check the schedule each week for any changes.

Spectators stand or sit on the sideline opposite to the players. The role of the observer is to let the kids play, make independent decisions, and learn from mistakes. Please model good sportsmanship by staying positive, cheering encouragingly for both teams, and respecting the coaches.

NGS has partnered with TeamSnap to provide all of our coaches and families with a top-rated team management app for communication, attendance, scheduling and more! TeamSnap can be used from a web browser or with mobile apps for iOS or Android. An invitation to join a team is sent to the primary email provided during registration. This person should accept their invitation, setup or log into an existing TeamSnap account, and then add email addresses for any other contacts who should receive team updates. To login to your TeamSnap account, click on the icon above.

What Does Your Player Need?

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NGS Safety Policy

Players may not wear jewelry during practices or games. This includes, but is not limited to bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings, beads, barrettes and other hard or sharp items. Newly pierced ears may not be taped. Earrings must be removed. (Tip: Remove all jewelry at home so that it does not get lost on the field.) Players may not participate with casts or splints of any kind. If a player refuses or is unable to remove a prohibited item upon request by a coach or referee, she will be asked to sit on the sidelines and may not participate in the soccer activity. There are no exceptions to this rule for the safety of all our players. Please do not put coaches and referees in an uncomfortable position at the field by asking for special permission.

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Session Location

Teams will be using fields 1 – 4 at Hamilton Field. Field numbers are posted on sideline signs.

Weather Cancellations & Field Closures

The decision to open or close fields is made by the City of Newton’s Parks & Recreation Department, in consultation with Newton Girls Soccer and Newton Youth Soccer officials.  Field status is posted on the NGS home page, Facebook, and X (follow @NewtonFields). Every effort is made to update our social media, as needed, by 3:00 PM on weekdays, 7:00 AM on Saturdays, and 11:00 AM on Sundays. Be sure to check the status just before heading to the field as conditions sometimes change.