What Makes Become Elite Soccer Different?
Become Elite Soccer Club is unique in many different ways.
Become Elite Soccer’s founder and owner, Carl Ashley is English born and as a graduate of Premier League champions academy, has ‘football’ running through his veins. In Become Elite Soccer, Carl blends his experience with a vision to create a club that ticks every box that club soccer should provide.
“I have been in this country working full time within different soccer organizations for over 10 years. I have seen great things and I’m grateful for my experiences and to have had the opportunity to make my passion my work. On arrival in the USA, I could see the potential and talent levels in soccer here. This is especially true within the Merrimack Valley! However, one great sadness is that I have witnessed too many players fall out of love with soccer. Become Elite Soccer aims to fix that!”
Carl Ashley
Price Point – Our Price Point is unrivalled and cannot be matched for the high-quality product that we are delivering. Our skeleton price is as low as can be to ensure that everyone can experience the joys of soccer.
One Practice Night per week – As part of our respect for the community, we are only asking for one night’s commitment so that players and families can participate in multiple sports, focus on school work, spend time with their families, play for other teams or participate in whatever other activities fill busy lives.
Fall and Spring + (Winter?) – We ask only for a Fall and Spring Commitment so that players can play multiple sports or simply take a break. Players and families may love soccer but they also love other sports or activities too. Pressure upon players to train all year long is unnecessary and progress can best be made when players to take a break and come back hungry to work. We will have 2 x 10-week winter sessions that players can sign up to as an addition that could include practices and/or games depending on each individual’s desire.
Short Drive – Gone are the days of the painful long-haul car rides, stuck in rush hour traffic, three plus times a week. We strongly believe the time spent in the car should be put to better use. If it’s practicing soccer, that’s perfect. Life is too short to spend in a car. We are now on your doorstep and ready to welcome you to take the short journey to fun, fulfillment and improvement at the world’s favorite game.
Parents invited to Watch Practices
We invite Parents to watch practices! Parents are welcome to come and observe practices as and when they please. Coaching from the sideline is counter-productive and will not be tolerated but in line with our ‘Family’ values, we’d love to have you there, especially to cheer us on during games. Despite views expressed in the press, we actually believe that parents being in attendance can deliver positivity for the below reasons;
- Parents offer safety and support and this is a great learning environment to be in;
- We can educate parents as well as players. Parents can understand what we are working on and then perhaps reinforce what we are working on at home. If a Parent, Grandparent, Uncle or Auntie would like to watch then who are we to stop that?
Communication
Communication is key to a player’s development as they need to be told areas in which they can improve and areas in which they are doing well in. There is always something that they can improve on and some things that they are doing well. At the end of each season (Fall AND Spring) each player and Parent if they wish will receive a 5-10 min meeting with the Coach. Further communication can be organized through the Director of Coaching for your age group.
Developmental
Longer Practices – Although we only ask for one practice night per week, we still need to have the same contact hours with the players because we aim that they develop faster than at any other club. Practices for U10 and Below will be 2hrs total with 45 mins scrimmage time guaranteed. Practices for U11 and Up will be 2hrs + 1 hr Optional Scrimmage (players will be given the option to leave for the scrimmage or stay).
We are fully confident that the kids can handle 3 hrs of practice from U11 and up and believe that the longer practices have the benefit of being able to get the same contact hours with the players but with only one night’s commitment.
- Valuable Time is saved – Warm ups take 15 mins at the start of each practice and so 15 mins of valuable coaching time is saved each week.
- On average (topic depending) a coach will spend 20-30 mins recapping from the last practice which is often unfortunately forgotten. This recapping time, more often than not, prevents further and important progressions to the practice.
- 45 mins saved each week, 10 weeks in the Fall and Spring is 20 weeks total. 45 x 20 = 900 minutes. 900 / 60 = 15!!! 15 Hrs in the Fall and Spring season saved or more valuably used.
- Parents can drop the kids off and get those errands you never have time to do and/or spend time with other family members rather than be busy at a field, locked in a car, miles from the activities you would rather be doing. One of our core values is FAMILY and with Become Elite Soccer that means the whole family and not just the ones in the uniform.
The “Optional Scrimmage” is there because we do know there will be some opposed to the 3 hr practices and so nobody will be penalized if they have to leave early or would prefer to just practice for 2 hrs.
Guaranteed Long Scrimmages – Players should enjoy a scrimmage at the end of a practice that they have worked for as that’s what it’s all about. These scrimmages will be supervised to ensure the intensity is there but coaches will be encouraged ‘to let the kids play’. We feel this is an important aspect of a player’s development for enjoyment and to enable them to make and to fix their own mistakes.
Equal Playtime – All players will play a minimum of half a game in any competitive games. This is imperative for any athlete’s development that they get the opportunity to make mistakes. The only exception to this rule will be injury, sickness or late arrival for the game.
Positioning – An easy way to lose players is by their being forced into positions that they do not enjoy. If they don’t enjoy where they are playing, then how can they enjoy the game? So, we have implemented a positioning guideline for age groups that coaches will follow.
U10 and Below – All players will play in all positions equally over the course of the season. The only exception will be if there’s a willing fulltime goalkeeper but even then, the goalkeeper will be encouraged to ‘play out’ for half of the game both indoors and outdoors.
U11 + U12 Players should have a minimum of two positions that they are asked to play in regularly over the course of the season (Full time GK’s excluded for outdoor games).
U13 + U14 Players should really start to be specializing and focusing on their favored position but don’t stress if you haven’t found yours yet or if the coach is using you in multiple positions. Being able to play in a variety of positions at this age and level is a difficult skill.
High School Players should specialize in their favored position. Those players versatile enough to play in multiple positions are known as ‘Versatility Players’ and every team needs one or two of them.
Structured Training and Playing Philosophy
We are branding ourselves as the ‘full package’ club and so that’s the brand of soccer we want our players and teams to play. We are NOT a strictly passing Club or dribbling or defending or shooting. We will provide it ALL. Unlike other Clubs that focus their entire energies on just one way of playing, we will spread the coaching topics to produce a fully packaged player.
Each season is 10 weeks and coaches will focus three weeks on passing, three weeks on dribbling 1v1’s, 2v2’s etc and three weeks on defending (the 10th week is there for any makeups or coaches discretion). All drills will be encouraged where possible to go to goal so that players are familiar with putting the ball in the back of the net and that scoring becomes a habit from an early age.
Each coach follows the “Become Elite Soccer” structure and that will begin with juggling (essential for a relationship with the soccer ball and ball control) and each session will conclude with a scrimmage. Our top-level coaches then have the freedom to create their own sessions and coach in their own styles, focused on the 9 week curriculum.