QVRA Online Registration
This requires the user to create a Userid and Password that will allow the family to update information unique to the family, sign-up for specific programs, pay any funds due, request uniforms when required, etc.  The contact information collected here for the family is the primary source of data the club will use to communicate with the family.

Event Cancellation System
ORVFC uses www.rainedout.com to make urgent announcements about event cancellations.  The reason we use this service is that it will allow us to send a text message to a family member's cell phone when an event has been cancelled or delayed at the last minute due to weather.  This service requires the family create a unique userid and password and ALSO to select which groups the family would like to receive notifications about in the event of a cancellation.  This last step is critical.  We have families signing up but not selecting any groups.  These groups are refreshed at the start of each new season with new teams.  So it is important for the family to log back in and select the appropriate new groups.  If you have signed up before, the login to the system is located at the bottom of the new signup page (just scroll down to the bottom).

Training/Match Automated Reminder System
Through our continued partnership with the Quaker Valley School District, we are now posting the ORVFC training and match schedules on the same technological platform the school uses for its athletic teams.  Through this service, you are able to become a member of the school system by signing up for the RSS alerts located at the top of the posted schedule on the site.  This service requires a unique userid and password and will send you an automated email reminder about the time and location for upcoming event(s) on the schedule.  This means we no longer have to commit a volunteer to sending out reminders.  Families that require this type of prompt can program the site to do it automatically.

Important Characteristics of 3v3

• High concentration of touches on the ball for all players
• Promotes player decision-making on the fieldIntense cardiovascular effort
• Frequent transitions back and forth between attack and defense
• Communication between players replaces direction by coaches from the sidelines

Organizational Goals for 3v3

• Promotes the multi-sport athlete
• Provides club with multiple levels of competition within and across age groups
• Players nurture technical skills through large amounts of low pressure repetition
• Access to many different opportunities to play

The desire to have a child play in an older age group results from one or a combination of the following:

• The parents gain a source of pride from the implied status that comes from their child playing in an older age group
• The parents personal philosophy is that a player only develops when a player is placed into competitive situations above the player's current abilities
• The coaches feel the current age group competitive levels do not provide enough of a challenge for the player and it is impeding the player's progression
• The player becomes disinterested in playing in the current age group because it does not provide the necessary challenge and may very well be developing bad habits

Typically, most organizations will resist the decision to move a player up an age group if the first two points listed above are the motivation.  However, the last two points do support such a move.  The discomfort that comes from openly discussing all the possible motivations will often lead to hard and fast policies by the organization that are not in the best interest of the player.

What is the Ideal Situation?

Developmentally, the ideal is to have different levels of competitive pressure within an age group.  This is especially true for players in the 4th, 5th and 6th grade years due to the increased importance of peer review.  All players need the opportunity to attempt skills in both "high and low pressure" situations.    In the former, the player is truly challenged to perform the skill successfully at a high rate of speed.  In the latter, the player reinforces self-confidence and perfects technique.    Without the opportunity to rotate back and forth between high and low pressure environments, optimal development is less likely to happen. 

If a player is always competing at the highest level, there is a high probability the self-confidence of the player will suffer and proper technique will not be mastered because the pace of play is just too fast or intimidating.  Conversely, if the player is always competing in a low pressure environment, the player is never truly tested, bad habits can appear, motivation is impacted and progression can easily slow.

An example of an optimal situation would involve a group of 100 5th grade boys that could be grouped into low, medium and high pressure groups.  Then throughout the season, players are moved back and forth between those groups based on their performance and personal commitment to improve.  Players that are moved into the higher pressure situation are not faced with the added social pressure of playing against older players but are challenged to play at this faster pace.

Why Does This Happen?

In soccer in western PA, the primary reason for not having different competitive levels within an age group is the high number of clubs.  We have 140+ clubs serving an area that should have no more than 20.

Why Doesn't "playing up" Always Work?

Ironically, moving a player to an older age group does not always mean the player will be placed in a "higher pressure" situation because the level of play may not be more skilled.  However, there will definitely be older players and ask yourself this:  If you were a 4th grader would you be happy about or benefit from having a 2nd grader play better than you on the field?  Probably not.  There is a lot of social pressure placed on both sides of the equation in this scenario and it doesn't always result in better play from the players.

What is the Sentinel's Solution?

Like other organizations, we do not have sufficient numbers in our age groups.  However, we have designed what we feel is an answer to this challenge that works.  We have implemented a weekly 3v3 tournament in all age groups.  Each week teams are formed on the fly based on whoever shows up that week.  Players are free to move back and forth across age groups to play in these tournaments.  All the player needs to do is check the schedule and show up when it is convenient. 

This allows the family and the player to decide when the time is right to play with an older group and it is not a firm, season-long commitment.  The player can do it when the player wants to do it.  The player is also not separated from his/her immediate age group.  Typically, we recommend the player sign-up for the appropriate age group (based on the player's grade) and then look to play up via the 3v3 format.

Tim Felt
ORVFC - The Sentinels
email: tfelt@orvfc.org
cell: 412.535.1744
web: http://www.orvfc.org

We have been looking at our registration cutoff dates and have decided that we can extend registration for another month. Many of the changes we have made in our database now allow us to overcome many of the paperwork issues we used to deal with in past years. This allows us to keep registration open for a longer period of time.

Information on how to register can be found at http://www.orvfc.org/register.html.

‐T

Tim Felt
Division President
ORVFC
P.O. Box 376
Sewickley, PA 15143
412.741.0171 (voice)
412.535.1744 (emergency)
tfelt@orvfc.org

All players 1st grade and older that participated in the 3v3 competitions will receive a medal to commemorate the season and the top 6 players by grade that accumulated the most points over the season will receive an award. The top 6 from each grade are listed below in alphabetical order. We selected 12 players from the 2nd grade boys because there was such a large pool.

As a club, our philosophy is not to have “set positions” up through the 6th grade. Players need to fill any role on the field at any time as best as he or she can. The keeper position is one of those roles. All of our players should receive some minimum level of keeper training. For those children that resist, please offer that a field player becomes better when that player understands what a keeper might be thinking when a forward is moving in to score. Attending keeper training does not mean a player will become a keeper. It is simply an effort to help all players understand what it takes to play the position. It focuses on agility, hand‐eye coordination and timing – skills that are transferable across all sports.

The coaching for these sessions will be led by Darlene “Buffy” Biernesser. As a keeper, Buffy has both played and coached at the national level. Her sessions are fun and action packed. She is a middle school teacher during the school year and is well accustomed to working with children of all ages.

The Schedule and Fees are as follows:

• All training sessions will be held at Osborne School on Monday nights
• You can attend 1 or more of any sessions (based on your summer availability) and pay individually by session or sign up for them all and receive a small discount
• You must register and pay online via our program registration system by 7/10/09 in order to attend
• Dates are 7/13, 7/20, 7/27, 8/3, 8/10

3rd and 4th Grade Girls and Boys (attending these grades during this fall)

• 5:30‐6:45pm each session; $15/session or $65 for all five sessions

5th grade and older Girls and Boys (attending these grades during this fall)

• 6:45‐8:30pm each session; $20/session or $90 for all five sessions

If you would like to register, please click through this link http://www.orvfc.org/register.html and follow the directions on how to register and pay for a Sentinels program.

Thanks for your support of ORVFC and QVRA.

-T

Tim Felt
Division President
ORVFC
P.O. Box 376
Sewickley, PA 15143
412.741.0171 (voice)
412.535.1744 (emergency)
tfelt@orvfc.org

Here is the plan – each group listed will come to the field at their pre‐arranged time slot and we will provide medals and awards to all of those players who participated in the 3v3 tournament. We will then have a quick group photo opportunity for any parents who would like to take pictures. I will then talk about the fall program for about 10 minutes and will remain to answer any questions people might have about the program. Parents and players that are interested can break into a short parent vs. player game.

It is really important that everyone shows up on Eastern Standard Time and not Sewickley Time. Many people will only be able to pop by for 30 minutes and we want to accommodate getting them in and out. So please plan to show up on time.

If you are unable to attend or you are late – we will make separate arrangements to get you your medals and/or awards.

There are no awards for 1st Grade as we did not keep score but all players receive medals for participating.

Our 5th and 6th grade girls elected not to participate in 3v3 this spring for a couple of reasons, so there is no planned ceremony for this group this season.

Anyone interested in participating this fall and you did not participate this spring, feel free to come to the field and track me down. I will be available all afternoon on Saturday and Sunday for Q&A.

Thanks for your support of ORVFC and QVRA.

‐T

Tim Felt
Division President
ORVFC
P.O. Box 376
Sewickley, PA 15143
412.741.0171 (voice)
412.535.1744 (emergency)
tfelt@orvfc.org

You can complete an anonymous survey by clicking on this link:
http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2izqi25fvig6omz/start

The survey will remain open until June 12th, 2009.

When we changed the program this past season, we promised that we would gather feedback about what was working and what was not working from the perspective of our membership. We intend to do this after each season through the entire 2009‐2010 playing year.

The survey is anonymous. We will report back to the community on the survey results and any proposed modifications we will make to further align the execution of the program with the expectations we have set for the program.

Transitions are never easy. Many of us who work with the program have already suggested ideas on how to improve the implementation of our program changes for the upcoming season based on what we learned from this past spring.

If you loved the program, let us know. If you have reservations or concerns, let us know.

The only way we can improve what we are doing or to make sure we keep doing what works ‐ is if you tell us.

Thanks for your support of ORVFC and QVRA.

‐T

Tim Felt
Division President
ORVFC
P.O. Box 376
Sewickley, PA 15143
412.741.0171 (voice)
412.535.1744 (emergency)
tfelt@orvfc.org

We have been working on upgrading functionality of the online database. This process has delayed our start of the registration period.

These upgrades have been based on feedback from our users. Many of the changes will not be noticed immediately but will become evident as we release them into production over the next several months.

Information on how to register can be found at http://www.orvfc.org/register.html.

Thanks for your patience.

‐T

Tim Felt
Division President
ORVFC
P.O. Box 376
Sewickley, PA 15143
412.741.0171 (voice)
412.535.1744 (emergency)
tfelt@orvfc.org