skip navigation

Silent Saturday

10/14/2014, 10:45am EDT
By Dave Brill

Shhhhhh! ~ It’s Silent Saturday!  

"Silent Saturday" is ONE DAY out of our 8-week game schedule in which parents, coaches and spectators are not allowed to talk/yell/coach from the sidelines during the game. This may sound like a radical idea, but the Silent Saturday program has met with huge success rates all over the country. Oftentimes, it is the kids themselves who express the most positive feedback. Remember - kids go out on the playground every day and play soccer, baseball and basketball without help or cheers from the sidelines.

OBJECTIVES OF SILENT SATURDAY:

- To give players a chance to trust their skills and instincts without sideline input and without concern that their mistakes will be corrected from the sidelines in a game environment.

- To foster leadership skills among the individual players as they have the unique opportunity of giving (our) instruction on the field.  

- To foster a sense of true teamwork as the players must learn to rely upon one another and communicate with each other accordingly.

- To remind coaches, parents, and players that PRACTICE is the time for instruction. Games are the showcases for learning.  

- To remind everyone that youth soccer is primarily for the purpose of kids playing, learning and having fun. 

RULES:

Spectators/Coaches are asked to refrain from yelling from sidelines. Coaches are permitted to call out for substitutions, and coaches may speak quietly to their players on the sidelines, giving them instructions to carry out onto the field, such as "Joey, I want you to switch positions with Tommy, and make sure Billy gets a chance to do a throw in, ok?"

~You are permitted to clap when a goal is scored.

~You can still support your child on game day. Your family can make posters, signs, or banners prior to game day, showing your child's name and/or jersey number. This gives siblings a fun activity to do during the game, by holding up the signs to cheer on their sister or brother.

With all of that being said, I encourage you to sit back and allow the children to show us just how much they have learned during the season.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

If you would like to share your thoughts about Silent Saturday, I would love to hear them. Please email me at: tamsnader@gmail.com or you can reach me by phone at 717-682-3294.

 

Thank you for helping to make today a success!

Garden Spot Youth Soccer Club

 

Tag(s): Home