Juniors

 

Overview of NGS Programs

Juniors Program: Kindergarten

NGS Juniors Kindergarten (JK) program sessions meet once per week on Saturdays in the late morning / early afternoon (usually at 11:30 am). The 60-minute program emphasizes fun, touches on the ball and positive encouragement. Players engage in soccer learning activities led by the NGS Professional Coaching Staff during the first half hour, then play small-sided (4v4) scrimmages.  Goalkeepers are not used and there is no scorekeeping. Players are placed on teams with a parent coach for organizational purposes and may submit one friend / teammate requests to NGS. Parent coaches assist the Pros in implementing the session plan, help the kids stay engaged, and keep the team organized.

JK Schedules

Juniors Program: 1st Grade

NGS Juniors Grade 1 (J1) program sessions meet once per week on Saturday mornings (usually at 8:30 am or 10:00 am) for 75 minutes. At this age, we emphasize fun and learning. Players engage in soccer learning activities led by the NGS Professional Coaching Staff during the first half hour, then play small-sided (4v4) scrimmages. Goalkeepers are not used and there is no scorekeeping. Players are placed on teams with a parent coach for organizational purposes and may submit one friend / teammate request to NGS. Parent coaches assist the Pros in implementing the session plan, help the kids stay engaged, and keep the team organized.

J1 Schedules

Juniors Program: 2nd Grade

NGS assigns Juniors Grade 2 (J2) registrants to grade-level teams led by a volunteer parent coach. Players may submit one friend / teammate request to NGS. J2 teams hold one weekly 60-minute practice session, in addition to games which are played on Saturday afternoons. Players are asked to be on the field 20-minutes prior to kick-off time to warm up. Teams play 5v5 with goalkeepers against other NGS J2 teams. Games are four 12-minute quarters with a 2 min break at each intermission and are officiated by NGS referees-in-training. There is no scorekeeping.

J2 Schedules

Team Placements

Juniors are placed on grade-level teams with the goal of creating equally balanced teams.  NGS is a community program, not a school-based program. Therefore, we purposely create teams with girls from multiple neighboring schools and honor only one mutual friend request per player.  To the extent possible, we place players (who register on time) on teams with at least one schoolmate.  Teams are generally mixed up from year-to-year and sometimes season-to-season so that players have the opportunity to:

  • Develop good sportsmanship skills, winning some games and losing some games
  • Develop social skills, playing with friends and making new friends
  • Develop soccer skills, learning from multiple coaches

Families are notified about their fall team placements by email in late August and their spring team placements in late March. Please help your daughter have a positive soccer experience by supporting her assigned team.

Roster Size

NGS has an open roster policy — everyone who registers on time is placed on a team.  (See late registration policy.)  Therefore, 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.

Grade K – 1 (4 v 4):  Min 6 – Max 9

Grade 2 (5 v 5): Min 7 – Max 10