For the second time, in 2009, WWPSA will conduct an Opening Day for the Fall Recreational Soccer program. This year we are planning a more festive atmosphere to kickoff the season with a carnival like atmosphere including food vendors, a DJ and soccer equipment vendors such as Ewing Sports.

Opening Day will have the primary purpose of seeking to create equity between teams in all Leagues from 2nd Grade thru the Senior Leagues.  On Opening Day, all players in each League will participate in a 90-minute program which will be managed by independent professional soccer trainers from our Recreational Training Partner, ProActive Sports & Soccer. 

The professional trainers will evaluate each player with a view to giving them a broad player rating.  These evaluations will be used to create equal teams.  This year for the older divisions (6th Grade and up) we will also seek to gather preferences on player positions including Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder and Attacker so that players can be rated not only on their offensive abilities.

This is not a tryout.  All players who register for Fall Recreational Soccer will participate and will be assigned to a team.  The purpose of this event is only to independently evaluate players to ensure that they are divided as equally as possible between teams.  While this approach does not guarantee complete equity, we anticipate that we will have a much greater opportunity to develop teams of equal strength.  This will benefit all players and hopefully lead to many closely matched teams and competitive games.

There are many factors that affect team performance during the year and no approach will ensure that all teams end with equal win/loss records. Amount of practice participation by players and coaches, team cohesion and attendance of experienced players at games are just a few of the factors that affect win/loss records. Our goal is to balance the teams as much as possible but more importantly allow our players to build their skills by getting the most touches possible in player appropriate, pressure situations. 

Important: Please note that League Managers will continue to be responsible for team formation and will also continue to have the discretion to take into account special requests. The only difference from prior years is that the player evaluations they use to help create teams will not come from prior year coaches but from independent professional evaluators using a single standard evaluation system.  This will ensure that they have evaluations for all participating players and will help create teams of equal strength. In addition, on Opening Day, most families should be aware of potential conflicts for the Fall season; this information will also be collected and taken into account. 

Opening Day will take place on Saturday 12th September.  Click here to view the Opening Day Schedule. In the event of a rainout, Opening Day activities will be rescheduled to take place on Sunday 13th and Monday 14th September (rainout schedule to be advised).

In addition to the primary goal of developing equal teams, Opening Day will also provide the following benefits:

• Late registrants will have a better chance of being accommodated
• League Managers will have a reduced workload
• Preparation for the season will no longer be concentrated in August, the very moment when volunteer League Managers, Coaches and players are often away on vacation.
• Player’s fall schedules will be better known by this date allowing us to address more of the practice conflicts that inevitably arise.
• Equipment bags will be distributed to volunteer coaches on Opening Day
• Parent sessions will also be offered on Opening Day