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Dear Parents and Players:

TSSAA rules allow boy’s high school soccer teams to practice during the majority of the summer. We are also allowed to condition from November until the beginning of our official practices in February. We are becoming more and more a year-round sport.

We get 20 days of practice before our first game and we get an additional 20 days of practice during the 16-game season. This means that 310 days out of the year we aren’t practicing or playing. This is time where we are either getting better or getting worse, there is no standing still. If we don’t come into the preseason with the basic conditioning and game skills we need, we lose ground on other teams that do.

Players’ summer and fall preparation is crucial to the success of our team. Great athletes refine their skills during the season, but they are made in the training and practice that they do during the off-season.

Summer practice allows coaches more time to work with athletes 1-on-1 and to help them improve their skills and game knowledge. It is an ideal time to focus on specific areas that need improvement and for athletes to become better soccer players. As Mia Hamm stated, “I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel.”

This is also a great opportunity for the upcoming freshman to meet the players on the team and to begin building teamwork and friendships.

These are official practices and players are expected to attend. There are 19 summer practices scheduled. Players must attend at least 10 if they plan on playing during the spring. Each player is provided with 9 built-in absences, or “free days”, to use at their own discretion (vacation, illness, etc.). In addition, TSSAA mandates a two week “DEAD PERIOD” during the last week of June and the first week of July where players are not allowed to use school facilities or have contact with their coaches in an athletic setting.

Please make it a priority to attend summer practices and to continue building the fire for the 2009-2010 season. EVERY athlete has room for improvement.

Thank you,

Coach Jim Stone