NASA Academy U10 / U11 / U12 Girls

Frequently asked questions:

1. What is the NASA Academy?  The NASA Academy is designed to enhance the development of the North Atlanta Soccer Association's girls through professional coaching at the younger age levels (ages 7-12). Our mission is to build a strong foundation for the soccer stars of tomorrow, while providing a fun and healthy soccer environment.

2. How does the NASA Academy fit into the programs offered at NASA?  Our club launched the U10 Academy program in May, 2001 to serve as a bridge between the U8 / U10 recreational soccer programs and the U11 select (i.e., "Athena") program. We created the U11 Academy for the fall, 2003 season, and launched the U12 Academy for the fall, 2004 season. Traditional select (Athena) teams now begin at the U13 age group.

3. What is NASA North and NASA South?  NASA has two locations. Each location has its own Academy program. Our coaching philosophy and training curriculum (along with several of the coaches) are the same at both locations.

• NASA North plays out of United Quest and Noonday Parks (northeast Cobb near Town Center Mall and I-575). This is also known as NASA @ UQP.

• NASA South plays out of Metro North Park (southeast Cobb near Johnson Ferry Road and the Chattahoochee River). This is also known as NASA @ MNP.

4. Is this a year-round commitment?  Yes and no. It's a 1-year commitment that covers fall and spring seasons. But we don't play year-round. After tryouts are complete (late May or early June), we break until we start preparation for the fall with our NASA Academy camp in July. The fall season ends before the Thanksgiving holiday. We start preparation for the spring season in February, and wrap up with the Memorial Day Cup tournament in late May.

5. How often do you practice?  We currently practice three times a week and play most of our games on Saturdays.

6. Is this a travel team?  Yes, but with limited travel. During league play, we usually play half our games at home, the other half at other clubs' fields. The other clubs are almost always from the metro Atlanta area. The U11 and U12 age groups will occasionally travel outside Atlanta (for example, Birmingham, Greenville or Knoxville) for tournaments. "Travel" tournaments are within easy driving distance.

7. How many tournaments do you play?  This varies by age group:

• U10 Academy:  We typically play one pre-season tournament and one post-season tournament each season. The only holiday weekend tournament is the Memorial Day Cup (which typically ends the Sunday before Memorial Day). All tournaments are in the metro Atlanta area. Some tournaments follow the "soccer festival" format, where teams play a series of games, but no championships are awarded. Others follow the format where teams play for championships and tournament silverware (trophies, medals, etc.).

• U11 & U12 Academies:  We typically play a pre-season and post-season fall tournament. We typically play three tournaments during the spring: one pre-season, one mid-season and our own Memorial Day Cup at the end of the spring season. Most of the tournaments are in the Atlanta area. At the U11 and U12 ages, we occasionally travel outside Atlanta (for example, Birmingham, Greenville or Knoxville) for tournaments.

• Tournament time commitments:  A typical tournament schedule calls for two games on Saturday, one or two games on Sunday. Schedules might include early morning games and / or a Saturday night game. Tournament schedules are determined by the tournament host and are usually made available 5-10 days before the event.

8. Do you have to tryout?  Usually. Admission into the NASA Academy is through invitation only.  We evaluate players from the NASA recreational programs during the spring season. Some players may make a strong enough impression that we issue an invitation prior to formal tryouts. In most cases, though, we want candidates to attend tryouts so we can confirm our previous evaluations.

9. How old does my daughter need to be?  Girls are eligible for the various Academy programs based on their birth dates as follows:

• Under 10 age note:  The U10 Academy includes both under-10 and under-9 girls. In special cases, we'll also select under-8 girls (birth date range 08/01/00 - 07/31/01) to join the Academy.

10. What happens if my daughter tries out and makes it?  We will invite your daughter to join the Academy either via a phone call, a face-to-face conversation at the fields, or via our Academy web site. If you need a day or two to think it over, that's no problem. If you decide to join, you then attend a meeting in June to register and handle uniform fitting and ordering. If you decline the invitation, you are still welcome to register for the NASA recreational program.

11. What happens if my daughter tries out and doesn't make it?  If your daughter had the initiative to try out, this speaks well of her desire. We encourage your daughter to keep playing! She can register for the NASA recreational program, keep improving, and try again next year. (Some of our current players didn't make it into the Academy on their first try.)

12. Who are the coaches?  Coaching staffs for the 2008-09 year include:

• U10 Academy:
  • North location (United Quest Park):  Jay Ingram, Tyler Miller, Ward Swain

  • South location (Metro North Park):  Dawn Bristol, Jess Freeman, Ward Swain

• U11 Academy:
  • North location:  Ron Apollon, Alpha Dwyer, Lauren Horne

  • South location:  Ron Apollon, Paul Copeland, Lauren Horne

• U12 Academy:
  • North location:  AJ Adcock, Sarah May

  • South location:  AJ Adcock, TBD

13. What are the coaches' qualifications?  All coaches are licensed by the US Soccer Federation (USSF) and/or the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). They all have many years of experience coaching youth "select" teams along with years of playing experience. None of them have daughters who play in their age group's Academy.

14. What do the coaches look for in a player?  Three main characteristics: game awareness, personality (for example, desire, enthusiasm and creativity) and athletic ability. Current technical skill is a bonus, but if a young player has the other three attributes, we believe she can quickly develop technical skill through focused training sessions and by playing with and against strong players in training and games.

15. What are the coaches expectations?  We expect three things from each player:

• give your best effort
• be enthusiastic
• have fun

A good attitude and consistent effort will yield good results. We're accepting of mistakes, which are a key part of the learning process. (We are teachers, not drill sergeants.)

16. Is Academy soccer all abut winning?  No. We measure learning and fun, not scores and standings. The Academy program doesn't post scores or keep standings. At young ages, player development is much more important than winning a game. Our goal is to create an environment where players are allowed to flourish in a competitive arena in which winning is not a determinant of success, but where the instillation of quality is more important than short-term success.

At young ages, some teams will win games by playing "superstar" soccer, where most players on the team are instructed to kick the ball to a superstar player and let her do the rest. That's not our style. We want all of our girls to develop into skilled soccer players who are confident in their own abilities and eager to display those abilities on the field.

17. What do you expect from parents?  We expect four things from the parents:

• arrange to get your daughter to training and games on time

• be supportive of your daughter and her teammates

• leave the coaching to the coaches (you can cheer from the sidelines, but you should not try to direct your daughter or any other player from the sidelines)

• when fees are due, pay them promptly

18. What are the yearly fees?  Fees for the 2008-09 season are $1140. This covers player registration and coaching fees for both fall & spring seasons, capital improvement fee, plus the summer Academy camp. Fees can be paid in four installments. (If paid up front, fees are discounted to $1100.) Other fees for the 2008-09 year:

• Uniforms:  We start a new uniform cycle for the fall 2008 season. We typically keep our uniform package for two full years, or four soccer seasons. Pricing info will be available at tryouts.

• Tournament entry fees:  Typically $35-45 per player per tournament (we play 3-5 tournaments per year)

• Pictures:  varies based on the type of order

• Occasional indoor arena rental:  $2.50-$5.00 per player per event (for those occasions when fields are closed and we want an alternate training location)

• Overhead for your age group's web site and phone hot line: approximately $5 per player per year

19. I already registered my daughter for the fall recreational program. Do I have to pay twice?  No! Money already paid toward registration for the recreational program will be applied to your daughter's Academy registration. So you only have to pay the difference between the recreational and Academy fees.

20. Which team will my daughter be on?  We don't have pre-set teams. Some weeks we'll create equal teams, some weeks we'll create teams by age, some weeks we'll create teams by current playing level. We normally post team assignments for Saturday's games on Monday night. We normally post tournament team assignments a week ahead of the tournament. We post the teams on the web site and send an e-mail to each family with a link to the team rosters.

21. What size soccer ball does my daughter need?  A "size 4" ball. This is the recommended size ball for the Academy age groups.

22. Do you play full-field or small-sided soccer?  We play small-sided games on smaller fields:

• U10 Academy:  We play mostly 6v6 (6-aside) on smaller fields. The smaller team sizes allow players to get more touches on the ball. The 6-aside fields are typically slightly less than half the size of a full 11-aside field. The smaller fields allow players to thrive based on soccer skills instead of straight-line sprinting ability. On occasion we'll play 8v8 (8-aside) on slightly larger fields.

• U11 Academy:  We play 8v8 (8-aside) soccer on smaller fields. The 8-aside fields are typically half the size of a full 11-aside field.

• U12 Academy:  We play mostly 8v8 (8-aside) soccer on smaller fields. The 8-aside fields are typically half the size of a full 11-aside field. We'll also schedule some 11-aside games to give the girls exposure to "full field" soccer, which they will play once they reach the U13 age group.

23. How many teams do you put together?  This depends on the size of the player pool. For example, if we have 32 girls in the U10 pool, we'll form four teams for 6v6 games. This means 8 girls per team, which helps us maximize playing time.

24. How much playing time will my daughter receive?  All girls play at least half of each game. We keep roster sizes small for regular weekly play, though, so girls typically play 2/3 or more of each game.

25. What happens if my daughter has to miss an event?  Just communicate this in advance with her coach. The flexibility of the Academy program usually allows us to work around an occasional schedule conflict.