Contents:

• Game Schedules
• Registering as a Coach, Cori, training (with GDYSC, Mass Youth Soccer)
• Covid Compliance Officer Information
• Equipment
• Example Letter to Parents

Game Schedules

To find the game schedule for team, you should look in one of two places.

If your team is playing Pre-K/K or Grade 1&2 (U8) this season:

• The schedule is posted on the GDYSC website on the Games/Practice Schedule tab. A map of the fields at Cow Pond for all Pre-K/K and G1/2 games is on the Fields tab on the left navigation bar of the GDYSC website. 

If your team is a 3/4 (U10) or above:

For the Spring 2022 season only, the schedule is available at the following link.

For information about your opposing coach, you can go to this link.

Details about fields is available at nvysl.org.

Registering as a Coach

Thank you for volunteering to help with Soccer this season! To get you fully registered and prior to practices or games, you will need to perform the following steps. Some of these steps can take time so the earlier you start the better

1. Register as a Volunteer at GDYSC
2. Register for the 2021-2022 season at Mass Youth Soccer (MYSA)
3. Complete a background check (CORI)
4. Complete concussion training
5. Complete SafeSport training (Harassment prevention, Abuse prevention, etc.)
6. Verification by GDYSC Risk Manager (David Pitkin) - only for first time coaches

Coaches will receive credentials that must be worn at practice and during games.

Step 1 - Register as a Volunteer at GDYSC

• Go to www.gdysc.org
• In the upper right corner click on big green “REGISTER NOW” button
• Scroll to bottom of page to “Volunteers: Fall 2021”, and click the green “Register” button at the bottom middle.
• >Follow directions. You are now registered with “The Club”.

Step 2 - Register for the 2022-2023 season at Mass Youth Soccer (MYSA)

ALL COACHES MUST REGISTER WITH MYSA FOR THE 2022-2023 SEASON. EVEN IF YOU WERE REGISTERED LAST SEASON. START BY GOING TO THIS LINK AND SELECTING "REGISTER NOW!" DETAILS ARE AT THE MYSA ADULT REGISTRATION PAGE AT THIS LINK.

IF YOU HAVE AN EXISTING ACCOUNT, MAKE SURE TO REGISTER AS A RETURNING USER!

Before starting consider the following:

1. If you have ever registered with Mass Youth Soccer in the past DO NOT MAKE A NEW ACCOUNT! It will require human intervention to fix the double entry and that will delay things. Use the password recovery option to re-gain access or call the help line.
2. Do this on a computer; a tablet if you have to, but don’t try it with a phone!
3. Have a good, face forward head shot (not your whole body) uploaded to your computer. NO HAT, NO SUNGLASSES, NO KIDS OR SPOUSES OR THEIR CROPPED BODY PARTS.
4. USE THE NAME ON YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE!
5. Use the same email address for everything!
6. Our organization’s name is: Groton Dunstable Youth Soccer Club
7. This whole process will take around 4 hours. Most of the time will be spent on the SafeSport training. You can stop and start again later, just make sure to remember your passwords.
8. No coaches will be allowed to interact with their teams until they have been CORI certified and completed both training certifications. No Coaching Credentials can be printed until these are complete.
9. If you run into trouble try the help line phone number on the page linked above.
10. You can email if you are stuck.

To be fully registered, you will need to complete the CORI (Background check) process and meet the training requirements for Safesport and Concussion training. Please follow the instructions on the MYSA web page.

Sten 3 - Verification by GDYSC Risk Manager (Nathan Dowd, David Pitkin or Sten Peeters)

If this is your first time registering with Mass Youth Soccer, the final step will be Verification. You will need to meet with Nathan Dowd ( ) David Pitkin ( @gdysc.org) or Sten Peeters( ) in person with your drivers license and the CORI print out. This must be done in person, not virtually.

Covid Compliance Officer Information

Covid-19 information is available on the Mass Youth Soccer website at:

https://www.mayouthsoccer.org/covid-hub/

In preparation for the season, we ask that Covid Compliance Officers make themselves familiar with the Covid-19 protocols. No formal training is required.

Equipment

GDYSC supports its coaches with the equipment needed to be effective.

• New head coaches should order a coaching bag with useful equipment (pinnies, cones, first aid kit, game ball).  
• All new coaches should order a GDYSC shirt to wear for games.  

Ordering instructions will be updated in the next days.

We Thank all the coaches in Groton and Dunstable for their support!

Example Letter to Parents

The most efficient way to send email to your parents is through the GDYSC web site:

1. Go to your team on the GDYSC web site: Teams-->Choose a Team-->Select your team
2. Select "Roster" on the left side
3. In the "Options" menu (right, just above roster), there's an option to "Email Team"

Hi Parents,

Welcome to the XYZ team.

Practices

We’ll have two weekly practices:

• Day - Time - Location
• Day - Time - Location

Games

All of our games are on Saturdays at 10:30am. Game schedules are posted at https://nvysl.org/. You can look up the game schedule by subdivision or by Club. Locations for games are shown here as well. Games dates are:

• Game Day 1 - September 10
• Game Day 2 - September 17
• Game Day 3 - September 24
• Game Day 4 - October 1
• No Games Columbus Day Weekend
• Game Day 5 - October 15
• Game Day 6 - October 22
• Game Day 7 - October 29
• Game Day 8 - November 5
•  

Please plan on arriving 30 minutes early for warm-ups and to check in with the referees. Arriving late may result in the player having to sit out for the first half. 

Please let me know if you won’t be able to make it to a given game so that we can plan accordingly.

Equipment

Everyone will need a GDYSC jersey. We have new jerseys which you can order on the GDYSC.org website or you can use a Jersey from prior years. 

Your son will also need a size 4 ball, shin pads, cleats and a water bottle. This will be needed for games and practices. 

As a note, kids cannot wear any jewelry or baseball caps/hoods during practices or games.

COVID Guidelines

Mass State Soccer guidelines available here: https://www.mayouthsoccer.org/covid-hub

Any questions at all please do not hesitate to reach out.

Game Conduct

There are a couple of things to keep in mind as parents. First, please make sure that you sit on the opposite side of the field from the players and coaches. You should avoid coaching your kids from the sidelines, especially during the games as this can be very confusing. When cheering, you should always focus on the good plays - for both teams. The objective is to make this as much fun as possible for everyone, especially at this age group. 

Finally, and the league has asked us to emphasize this as they have a zero tolerance policy; there should be no communication with or at the referees. 

Last Updated: 8/29/2022 by SP