Happy March Everyone!

As I sat typing this message yesterday, it felt like spring out there.
It was sunny and in the low 60s.
All the snow except the biggest plow piles was melting away.
What a day!
Of course all I could think about was getting out there and kicking the ball around and playing great soccer.

Even though I’m distracted by the weather, I wanted to take this opportunity to go a little deeper on something I touched on briefly in our presentation.  There is a link to the presentation at the end of this message if you missed it and want to check it out, or if you just didn’t get enough of it on Sunday.

We’re working hard to develop a culture of service and mentorship among the players in our club. I’m happy to share that we launched the first part of that yesterday when we asked our older players to work with our younger teams as mentors. At our mid-week training sessions, our mentors will be working closely with our younger players to help teach those basic skills that set them up for success with soccer. During our weekend games, our mentors will be the “referees” on the field, helping to teach our youngest players the rules of the game and role modeling great sportsmanship. That’s more of the deep fun Matt mentioned; working together to accomplish something bigger.

I’ll see you all out there,
Chris

AU Meeting – PRESENTATION 2

Hi Everyone –

Best wishes this holiday season from everyone at the Addison United family to you and your family.

A big thank you to everyone who has registered so far. I’m so excited to meet everyone and get working together in January.

As many of you know Session 3 of Futsal is included in our team fees.
That said, registration for Session 2 of Futsal is now open for players who are interested in more Futsal. We have a few teams currently playing in Session 1 and doing quite well. Session 2 is open to any AU player at a cost of $85 if they would like to play. If you are interested in playing in Session 2, please let me know as soon as possible so we can start putting the futsal teams together. The session runs from early January to Mid February with playing days: U14 boys Monday, JV & HS boys Tuesday, U14, JV & HS girls Thursday, U10 & 12 Boys and Girls Friday.

As you all know we work hard to keep team fees as low as possible. One of the ways we are able to do so and help offset some of our costs is by working with some of our partners to offer great AU team gear and unique items for purchase.
We have a fully stocked team store at Soccer.com – https://www.soccer.com/club/17058168
and Reed Prescott, a local artist, is offering unique AUSC ornaments at his Etsy store –
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ReedPrescott?section_id=27504403

In the next week or so I will be sending along some more team-specific info to everyone to help provide some more details on this coming season for each team. We’re not done adding players yet, so if you know anyone else interested in learning more about what we’ve got going on here at AU this year, please get them in touch with me.

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon, and as always please call, text, or email any time.

Happy Holidays!

Chris

Chris George
Director of Coaching
Addison United

(802) 777-2352
director@addisonunitedvt.com
www.addisonunitedvt.com

Hi Everyone,

This is one of my favorite times of the year. Our ghosts and goblins have gone back into hiding for the year. We’re only a few short weeks from Thanksgiving and the start of our end of the year holiday times..and of course coming up on the beginning of the Addison United year!
I’m buzzing in anticipation as I look forward to meeting you all this winter as we start working together to be the best coaches and players we can be. This year is going to be fun, and I’ve never been this excited about getting to work!

If you haven’t yet registered, please do so as soon as you have the few minutes to spare. Here is the link to our registration page.
https://www.gotsport.com/asp/application/reg/?ProgramID=84660

I’d like to take a moment to address some common questions about this coming year.

Scheduling:

Indoor –
For players 11 and older (birth year 2008 and older) we will train on Sundays at VUHS, as AU has done in the past. The times will also be similar as they have been in the past.
Here is the preliminary schedule, which might change a little bit once everyone is registered. Though this has not been finalized yet, I wanted to give you an all a rough idea of when you might be training. We will be able to share the final schedule early in December.
130-3 – All players birth years 2008-2009
3-430 – All GIRLS birth years 2004-2007; All BOYS birth years 2006-2007
430-6 – All GIRLS 2001-2003; All BOYS 2001-2005

The winter program will be highly focused on improving all players’ comfort on the ball and skill in tight spaces, small areas, and awareness in small groups.

Outdoor –
We will finalize the outdoor schedule in mid-march.
Our U12 teams will be as community-based as is possible.

Coaching Staff –
We are finalizing that now, but again this is dependent on having everyone registered.
I’m committed to getting the best fit for the coaching staff for each team and will be coaching at least 2 teams myself.

League play + tournaments –
We will make these decisions and share them with you soon after the registrations are finalized. We, as a coaching staff, need to get an idea of the capabilities and goals of each group so we can register them appropriately. Our goal is to provide a fun experience for the players to grow their skills and build confidence, allowing them to develop into the best players they can possibly be while getting the teams as many opportunities for competition as possible.

I’ve gotten quite a few phone calls and emails so far and I’ve enjoyed talking to everyone who has reached out. Keep them coming.

Another joy of working with Addison United is the incredible people we call neighbors. A local artist, Reed Prescott, has handcrafted some wonderful and unique holiday ornaments and is generously donating the portion of the sales to Addison United as a fundraiser. They can be ordered easily from his ETSY store for shipping directly to you. I’ve got one on my list included in my letter to the North Pole and I’m hoping Santa Claus will come through and drop one in my stocking!
Check them out here:
https://etsy.me/2pqOQeA

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Here’s that registration link again – and please forward this along to anyone else who might be interested in AU!
https://www.gotsport.com/asp/application/reg/?ProgramID=84660

Talk to you soon,

Chris

Hi AU players and parents,

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself, as I step into Addison United as the new Director of Coaching.  I’m incredibly excited to be working with the club and hope to be working together with all of you.

In my role as the “coach of the coaches,” I will be working closely with all of our coaches and players, particularly during the winter session, and also as the head coach for a few of our teams.  My main goal as Director of Coaching is to help all of you have the best experience possible with AU, based on player and parent input from last year.

To that end, we’ll be rolling out a new coach development program that will go hand in hand with our new player development program.  The goal with everything ’new’ — including our coach development program — is to have fun while helping our players become the best players they can be. We’ve also focused on entering all our teams in the right level competitions for them, as it is a key to unlocking a player’s full potential.

To share a little bit about my background, I have been working with young players for quite some time. This coming spring will be my 22nd season coaching club or HS players. In the last 12 of those years, I’ve been working with young players and teams here in VT, first at Far Post, then at Queen City, and now here at Addison United.  I have also worked 7 years as a coach at the college level, and am currently in my first season as the Men’s Head Coach at SUNY Adirondack, a 2-year school in Queensbury, NY. One thing working at a 2-year school has in common with working at a club, is that the main goal is preparing the players for what will come next, and working with them to find the right fit as they transition out and take the next steps along their path as a person.

I’ll also share why I’m so excited to be working with Addison United. I live here in Cornwall, and I see so much potential in our local players. I believe playing sports is about having fun while also challenging yourself to be the best version of that self as possible. My own personal passion is helping both coaches and players achieve their maximum potential, and making our community stronger for it.

We’ve got something special here at Addison United, and my hope is that you all want to continue to be a part of what we’re building.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you like.

I’m looking forward to meeting each and every one of you as we take this journey together,
Chris

Chris George
Director of Coaching

Addison United SC
director@addisonunitedvt.com