Innovative Approach to Recreation Programming
Located in Waukee, west of Des Moines, Iowa, Vision Soccer Academy (VSA) has grown significantly in the last decade, with a membership that has more than doubled to well over 2000 players. This remarkable growth is a testament to VSA’s unwavering commitment to providing exceptional recreational programming supported by a team of dedicated professional staff.
Organization
Vision Soccer Academy
Best Practice #18 Grassroots Provision: The organization either operates an established grassroots program or partners with a third party. Grassroots provision features low cost, valuable, entry level opportunities. Grassroots programs provide a pipeline of players underpinning competitive playing and training opportunities.
Background
One of the key factors that set VSA apart is its seamless player development pathway. The club offers a comprehensive journey from the U5 recreation league all the way to the U19 select teams. This well-thought-out progression ensures that children can start their soccer journey at a young age and continue to grow within the Waukee community. VSA makes a substantial investment in professional staff to manage and lead the recreation programs. This investment extends to coach recruitment and training, scheduling, referee recruitment and assignments, and onsite oversight of training and games. This support system, steered by professional staff members Afton and Kiesha, has been instrumental in driving consistent growth. Afton and Kiesha have proven themselves to be invaluable leaders, offering members a unique combination of team-based and individual-focused programs, all supported by a team of professional staff. This commitment has resulted in annual growth rates of 20% for several years, despite the obstacles posed by the pandemic.
Fostering Early Connections
VSA places a high value on the quality of the recreation experience and early connections with its members. One initiative is preparing volunteer coaches with a weekly dose of training activities, supplemented by a soccer coaching app. Furthermore, VSA’s decision to embrace US Soccer’s year-of-birth grouping mandates is noteworthy has helped the club to transition to gender-specific, single age group leagues starting with U5 (4-5 years). This includes professional clinic-style instruction, with combined training and games on Saturdays.
Addressing the ‘Relative Age Effect’
Especially worth mentioning is VSA approach to the U7 (6-7 years) and U8 (7-8 years) recreation league. Distinctively, the club has adopted methods to address the ‘relative age effect’, a phenomenon in which children born in, or close to, a critical age cut-off period may have an advantage in both athletic and academic endeavors. VSA addresses the critical years of development for boys and girls by organizing the players in half year increments (i.e. ‘Olders’ January 1 to June 30 and ‘Youngers’ July 1 to December 31). This approach has yielded outstanding results, including improved player retention and more balanced game outcomes.
Lead professional coach Afton also schedules two out of the eight training sessions for U7 and U8 recreation teams, personally educating volunteer coaches to ensure a consistent, high-quality experience for all young players.
Professional Coaching Support
To further supplement recreational soccer, VSA offers six-week Pre-Academy professionally coached clinics on five separate occasions throughout the Fall, Winter, and Spring, totaling 30 weeks of optional training per year. The professional staff also offer two free clinic sessions for recreation players in the Fall and Spring to strengthen connections between Recreation, Academy and Select programs.
Community Engagement
VSA’s commitment to recreational soccer extends beyond the field. Pre-pandemic, the club provided school coaching clinics for children in Waukee, fostering goodwill and increasing awareness of the club. The organization involves parents to participate in a seasonal review of the programs. Satori, a vendor providing survey services, provides VSA qualitative and quantitative analytics to help continuously improve operations. A supportive board of directors is an essential ingredient for successful youth sports clubs. VSA’s Technical Director, Chris McGill, speaks highly of the club’s board, which provides essential oversight and collaboration with the executive staff while allowing them to focus on day-to-day operations.
Written by: David Newbery, Director, Institute of Youth Sports Leaders
Useful Links
Vision Soccer Academy leaders of note
Chris McGill, Technical Director
Carlos Acebey, Executive Director
Afton Clemens, Director of Member Services and Recreational Director