Training session guidelines:

For the players:

• Arrival time:  Be on the field and ready to play as of practice start time. If you’re late for a session, we expect you to "hustle" from your car to meet the Academy group. This shows coaches and teammates that you really want to be there!

• Bring a ball:  Bring a ball to every session. The ball should be marked with your initials and/or uniform #. We use size 4 balls in the Academy program, but it's perfectly fine to bring a smaller ball if you don't have size 4 ball. (We discourage larger balls.) If your ball needs air, get it pumped when you arrive - before you start warm-up. The coaches have air pumps and will be glad to help you with this.

• Bring water:  Bring an insulated water jug to every session (minimum half-gallon, labeled with your name or initials and uniform number) filled with water or Gatorade. During warm weather, the insulation factor makes a huge difference. It keeps the drink cold, so you'll want to drink it. If you bring water or Gatorade in un-insulated bottles and it gets hot, you won't drink it, your performance will suffer, and you increase the risk of heat injury. Link: hydration tips

• Footwear:  If fields are closed and we move training indoors or the turf field, wear "turf" shoes or sneakers for that session. If we move to the parking lot, wear "flats" (sneakers) for that session.

  • Shoelaces:  Keep your shoes tied!

• Training uniform:  You should wear your blue NASA practice shirts to each training session. We recommend black shorts and socks, but you can use your own fashion sense for shorts and socks. (Wear soccer shorts, not jean shorts or cheerleading shorts.) Our uniform supplier offers some inexpensive black shorts and socks that are good for training. Link: ordering uniforms and training gear. (If you're practicing as a guest or having an in-season tryout, just wear your usual soccer practice gear.)

• Shin guards:  Wear shin guards to every session. If you have strap-on shin guards, make sure your socks cover them completely.

• Cold weather tips:  There will be some cold days when you may want to wear more than your usual practice gear.

  • Head:  We recommend thermal headbands. (Ski-style hats tend to obscure vision or fall off too easily.)

  • Upper body:  Go with layers, starting with a long sleeve shirt underneath, then our practice shirt, then a warm-up jacket. (Feel free to add more layers if it's extremely cold.) Under Armour "cold gear" shirts are very warm and work great as a base layer.

  • Hands:  Gloves are fine, preferably ones that have some "grippy" material on the fingers.

  • Lower body:  Warm-up pants are fine, as are compression shorts, tights or leggings under the shorts.

  • Feet:  When it gets really cold, you may want to add some extra foot protection. Most people are familiar with the "hand warmer" pouches you can put inside pockets or gloves. You can also get toe warmers. These are half-moon shaped with adhesive backing. You apply them to the bottom of your socks under the toe area. They work! And they're very thin, so they don't affect the fit of shoes. These are available at sporting goods and camping supply stores for $1-2 per pair.

• Hair:  If you have long hair, wear a headband or “scrunchy” or something to keep your hair out of your face.

• The "no" list:  No jewelry (per rules from soccer's governing body; link: rules about jewelry); no gum; no "active" electronic devices.

• Effort:  Try hard; this is one of the keys to becoming a better soccer player.

• Stay positive!  Be a positive influence; don’t get discouraged if things don’t always go your way.

• Have fun!  Soccer is a game, not a job.

• Listening skills:  Coaches are there to help you become a better soccer player. When a coach is talking, pay attention and keep your body and eyes facing the coach. If you don't understand what the coach is explaining or asking you to do, please ask questions.

• End of training:  At the end of each session, stay with the Academy group until the coaches release you to your families.

• Before you leave:  Track down your ball, water, equipment bag and any other personal items after each session.

• Extra / make-up practices:  You're welcome to attend practices at either NASA park. If you want extra practice, we'll be glad to have you join in with the girls at the other NASA park. You don't need to make a reservation; just show up and we'll include you in the session.

For the parents:

• Weather issues:  If there has been any significant rain in the previous 48 hours, or the weather forecast calls for rain or storms around practice time, please check the appropriate Academy age group's hot-line or other communication channel before coming out. The Academy hot-line takes priority over the general NASA field status hot-line. If fields are closed or storms could interfere, at times we're able to make other arrangements and move practice to another location.

• Early arrivals:  Coaches are usually at the field 15 minutes early to get started with early-arriving players.

• Practice drop-off / pick-up:  You're welcome to stay and watch training sessions, or you can drop off your daughter and run errands during practice and pick her up at the end.

  • Post-practice pick-up:  We ask that parents come to the field to meet their daughters. This is a safety issue; we don't want girls walking off by themselves, particularly in the late fall and early spring when the area around the fields is dark at the end of practice.

• Viewing area:  You're welcome to watch training sessions, but we ask that you watch from the end or side of the field away from the player area.

• Early departures:  If there's a day when your daughter will need to leave early, please have her notify one of the coaches prior to the start of training. We'll set an alarm and release her to you at the appropriate time. We want to avoid the distraction of a parent walking onto the field to retrieve his/her daughter during the middle of a training session.

• Schedule conflicts:  If your daughter has a schedule conflict with a training session, please notify her coach (e-mail is fine). If your daughter misses a session and would like to make it up, she's welcome (but not required) to attend a training session for her age group at the other park. For example, an Academy player from Quest Park is welcome to attend a session at Metro North Park, and vice versa. You don't need to make a reservation; just bring your daughter and we'll include her in the session.