Your role as a coach varies depending on which division you coach; the overall objective is to provide a practice and game environment that fosters a desire to continue the sport. If, at the end of the season, the player wants to play again next year, you've succeeded as a coach.
As a coach, you will be issued a gear bag with the necessary gear to hold your practices. You are responsible for maintaining the gear in addition to communicating with the parents on your team and keeping the apprised of changes in your team’s activities.
Mainly, we ask that practices be safe and fun for the participants.
Understand that EYSA is an “everybody plays” league and that the skill level of our players will vary significantly. Coaches are required to provide the opportunity for an equal amount of playing time for each player. Sometimes players choose not to capitalize on those opportunities, but the opportunity must exist regardless.
Each team has one head coach and may have one designated assistant coach. Coaches and assistant coaches must consent to - and pass - a background check.
GET OVER THE BAD CALL. MOVE ON.
Our game officials are mostly comprised of high school students. Some of those students may be earning community service credit to apply towards high school graduation, some may be donating their time to the community, some may be earning some gas money for their new cars.
Officials will make bad calls. Prepare for it. Anticipate it. Do not criticize the officials; they have been instructed to have little tolerance for being mocked and yelled at during games. Game officials have the authority to eject disruptive individuals from EYSA events. This includes coaches.
Our expectation is that you will treat game officials with respect and appreciation for the time they are committing to our program, regardless of their “officiating”, coaches are prohibited from openly criticizing game officials, regardless of the circumstances. Under no circumstances is openly criticizing an official an acceptable practice. If an official has the slightest perception that they’ve been criticized by a coach, that coach has failed at complying with this requirement.
As a “thank you” for coaching, coaches do not pay for the player that they are coaching! Coaches are still required to register and pay for their player at the beginning of the season; however, the registration fee of the player(s) they are coaching will be refunded after coaches return their gear bag at the end of the season.
Our programs generally run between 10 and 12-weeks.
Coaches have the support of other coaches, the EYSA Athletic Director, and any other EYSA volunteer! You work directly with the EYSA's Director of Coaching to make sure you have everything you'll need to coach.
Coaches will select their practice days, times, and locations based on facility availability. The order that coaches select their practices is based on the day a coach signs up to coach; the coach who signs up first will get the first selection, the coach who signs up second will get the second selection, so on and so forth.
In short, the sooner you sign up to coach, the more options you’ll have to select from. Practices are usually twice a week, each being an hour long. Coaches may elect to have a single 2-hour practice if they wish.