SoccerMaine assigns game days and the opponent. Our Colts’ field assignor, Matt Owen, works with Yarmouth Community Services (YCS) to schedule fields and times for all HOME games. Starting times are between 10am and 4pm on Sundays with games occasionally scheduled on Saturdays. SoccerMaine stipulates which days the games are played on, games cannot be moved from a Sunday to a Saturday (or vice versa) without the opposing team’s consent. Away games are scheduled by the hosting town. The final schedule with times and fields will be posted on GotSoccer’s web site on August 22. The goal is that when the season begins players and their families will have a dependable schedule around which to plan.

Practice fields are scheduled by Mike Hagerty. Please reach out to him with any questions.

The field assignor will be in communication with all coaches via email regarding special requests and conflicts prior to the beginning of the season. All such requests should be dealt with at this juncture so in-season requests for changes are kept to a minimum. The goal is that when the season begins players and their families will have a dependable schedule around which to plan.

If a scheduling conflict arises for the head coach:

The first solution is to have an assistant coach run the game.

1. Contact the field assignor regarding what field options there are.
2. Find a new time that works for you and the opposing team.
3. After you have determined a time that will work for both teams, email the new date, time, age group and gender directly to the field assignor.
4. The field assignor will contact you within 48 hours to confirm one way or another.
5. Conflicts should be known at least a week prior to the game, so that arrangements can be made for referees and fields.

For all AWAY game conflicts:

1. Contact the opposing coach to request a date/time that works for both teams.

Friendly games are additional games that are not part of the regular season. Regular games are usually on Sundays and Friendly games are added at your discretion as coach, usually on Saturdays. Friendly games are a way to gain additional playing experience.

For HOME friendlies (at Yarmouth), you, as coach, find a date and time for the friendly that works for your team and the visiting team.  Then, contact Matt Owen, our field scheduler, who will locate a field for the friendly.  Here's the process:

1. Contact the away coach, determine the best date and time range for the friendly.  It may be on a Saturday or Sunday.
2. Contact Matt and provide him the date, time, age group and gender for the friendly.
3. Matt will get back to you within 1-2 days to confirm the timing, field and refs for friendly.

For AWAY friendlies, contact the opposing coach to find a date/time that works for your schedule.

For practices: Yarmouth Community Services (YCS) determines the field use on weekdays due to inclement weather. You should receive an email from Yarmouth Colts alerting you of field closures.  Coaches/Team Managers are then responsible for informing your teams.  If there is thunder and lightning, please remove your players from the field for safety for 30 minutes without any thunder sounds or lightning. For more information on weather safety https://www.nfhs.org/articles/guidelines-for-developing-lightning-safety-policies/

You can use Team Snap for quick alerts to notify parents (added incentive to get all your team members’ families using Team Snap!)

For games: YCS occasionally closes the fields on the weekends, but typically they allow Colts coaches to make the decision on weather.  Check the forecast before the weekend and communicate with the opposing team to determine whether your team will or will not play.  If you cancel a home game, please ensure Matt Owen (Referee coordinator) is aware so he can communicate with the referees.  matthewowen1967@gmail.com and Matt’s Cell Phone is:  (207) 844-0798.   It is up to coaches to reschedule canceled games due to weather.

It is good practice to connect with coaches regarding away games when weather looks challenging.

Please remember to inform Matt Owen if a home game is canceled.

Colts will provide each head coach the appropriate amount of cash before the start of the season to cover all regular season games.  Matt Owen is responsible for scheduling the refs for home games only.

Please remember to inform Matt if a home game is canceled due to inclement weather.  Also, Colts will reimburse you for scheduled friendlies’ referee fees (up to 3 friendlies).  Please reach out to Karen Grosset (Karen.Grosset@tylertech.com), Colts’ Treasurer, for reimbursement of referee money for friendlies.

From the SoccerMaine Handbook (pg 9):  

603. Referee Fees

Each team will pay half of the referee fees directly to the assigned referees. Teams must pay fees in full in advance of the game. Referees will be instructed not to commence a game until they have been paid in full.

It happens! And usually there isn’t much time to make phone calls. But start by calling the Referee coordinators (contact info above).  Please confer with opposing team’s coach and discuss options. Coaches from both teams discuss to see if there are any parents in attendance who are referees and, if not, teams will need to ask one of their coaches to referee the game.

The best way to avoid this situation is to cash your referee money check at the beginning of the season, and put in your coaches’ bag, divided up for the games and friendlies. Otherwise, you will want to sweet talk a parent into lending you the money, which you will promptly pay back.

It pays to be a prepared coach; keep an extra pair of cleats or shin guards in your coaching bag. Otherwise, there are times when young players may be ok in sneakers (not ideal but can pass the equipment check), otherwise, a parent/player will need to run home to get the equipment. Shin guards are mandatory!

Again, this is about creativity, and ideally with families committed to Team Snap and noting their player’s availability, this should never come as a surprise. If it does happen, you can confer with the opposing team to possibly play down a player, or look at rescheduling if you know well ahead of time.

There isn’t one sure way to deal with this unpleasantness, however we recommend a version of the following. Request to speak to the referee during a stoppage in play and relate to the referee and the other coach what you have observed. Request that the coach of the transgressing fans address those fans; if it’s both fan bases, each coach addresses their own fan base. Please remember, the other team’s coach is your partner in solving the issue – present a united front. The conversation with the fans might include a reminder that the game is for the players and that the current behavior is detracting from, perhaps even ruining, the players’ enjoyment of the game. Try to be firm but not confrontational while knowing that there is probably a child of that fan on the field wishing she could disappear.

Also, fan behavior is not the referee’s responsibility to control or remedy. Referees manage the game, that’s their training and their charge. However, the referee has the absolute right to delay or suspend a game if he or she deem that appropriate. For the older age groups, assuring that fans stay behind the fence at the turf and beyond the gulch at Winslow can mitigate issues before they arise

We are fortunate to live in a town with fabulous parents who are often nearby, so utilize them to provide assistance. Team Snap is always a great tool for sending out quick messages as well.

Yes! We will provide a season-long curriculum with planned practice sessions well before the season begins. We will also have two preseason coaching clinics and we will share resources throughout the season. Coaches will also have access to a GPS coach to run practices a few times each season. Coaches are also welcomed to come and watch any of the high school training sessions to get some ideas for practice sessions.

Yes, Colts Director of Coaching, Mike Hagerty & the hired GPS coach are both able to help. We also encourage coaches to reach out to other coaches in Colts for support, help, and ideas.

GPS (http://www.gps-maine.com/) is a Premier Soccer Club in Maine that Colts has had a long-standing relationship with. The GPS club has professionally trained coaches that town club teams can hire to support their coaches and kids. Colts hires GPS for coaching, coaches training, and season-long curriculums - they have proven to be a fabulous resource.  The GPS coaches will work out a schedule with Colts Director Of Coaching (DOC), Mike Hagerty, to support Colts coaches.

None is required, though playing and coaching experience certainly makes coaching a Colts team much easier. Colts tries their best to provide resources, training, and coaching help for all of our coaches. Colts is also planning on making it mandatory (likely in 2018) for coaches to work to gain a minimal coaching license.

We have initiated a new required process for interested coaches to be completed by May 31st:

1) Coach Application through Team Snap
2) Coach Registration through Got Sport
3) Coaching Code of Conduct electronically signed in the coach application

Here is the link for the above steps:

Coaches Registration

Due to our club growth, and coaching feedback from previous seasons, Yarmouth Colts has created a Coach Committee. This committee includes Yarmouth Colts’ Director of Coaching, President, Vice President, one Board member and two non-coaching volunteers that do not currently have a Colts player. The formation of this committee is to help handle coaching feedback/concerns and issues; offering more support to coaches, while building a stronger system of addressing parent feedback.

Applications and registrations need to be completed by May 31st. These must be completed, regardless if you noted that you wanted to coach on your child’s fall registration. Coaching teams will be determined the first week of June, and more information to follow regarding team selection and meetings.

Please reach out with any questions or comments: coachcommittee@yarmouthcolts.com

Currently for 2019 season, you do not. But we will make changes to that in the near future and aim to have all coaches with the appropriate license & training.

Coaching licenses and other courses are taken into account when determining coaching staff. Please check the Soccer Maine website for upcoming coaching courses.

Yes, Colts will reimburse coaches for licensing classes. We will share when those classes are offered, but feel free to check here too: http://soccermaine.com/coaches/

The coaching staff can consist of one head coach and as many assistants as teams want. All coaches must have a background check from Soccer Maine. There is a rule that only two coaches can be on the sidelines during games, so coaching staffs can sort that out on their own. Normally, the head coach plans and leads the practices and games. However, each team is encouraged to use the strengths of their staff in the best ways possible. The Team Manager (TM) is responsible for the majority of the communication to parents and other teams verifying schedules, attendance, etc. Colts asks that TMs learn to use Team Snap so that all Colts teams are communicating in the same manner. TMs and head coaches work out the specifics about communication, which may vary slightly team to team.

There are many, many options - DOC Mike Hagerty has hundreds of books and magazines  in his classroom that anyone can use - online is often the best place. Sites like these: http://soccermaine.com/coaches/, https://www.nscaa.com/, http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/coaches/, https://www.nfhs.org/activities-sports/soccer/

The Age Group Liaisons are a point of contact for parents/coaches to use for any questions that their coach may not be able to figure out.  All Age Group Liaisons are Colts Board Members who have the resources to find the answer to your question(s).  For the 2019 Season, they are:

U9 & U10 - Chip Noble | U11 & U12 - Chelsy Gilroy | U13 & U14 - Steve Fulton

SoccerMaine is the governing body for recreational soccer in Maine. Yarmouth Colts is one of the many teams within the SoccerMaine group? SoccerMaine, like YCS, asks that all correspondence (voice, email, etc.) be done through Colts.  Understandably, they are not staffed to respond to individual requests from the many coaches in the state.  If you have a question that you’d like to direct to SoccerMaine, contact Chelsy Gilroy, Mike Hagerty or James McCaskill and they will contact SoccerMaine.