Pickering FC
COVID-19 Update
July 3, 2020
July 3, 2020

Dear PFC Family,

It was great to be back on the field yesterday. Our OPDL players followed the guidance of Club officials as they entered Kinsmen Park, made their way to the field and enjoyed their first session as a team in 100+ days. The Coaches were well prepared and excited to make contact again with their team. We want to thank them for their commitment during this tough time to keep players and parents engaged and informed. We hope you feel the same way too.
 
We continue our optimistic and cautious return to the field with Competitive players tonight and again as we get into next week and the Grassroots players return. 
 
Our Return to Play strategy is now available on the PFC website under our COVIVD19 page for everyone’s reference and provides a lot of detail on the three key components to our Return to Play Strategy:
 
·         Pandemic Policy
·         Return to Play Procedures
·         Communications
 
We will continue to monitor the procedures each evening at the field and assess for any possible adjustments. Coaching staff will be in touch with families to confirm session dates and times but they are also posted to the COVID19 page for your reference.
Community
We hope you enjoyed a fantastic Canada Day. Don’t forget our fun project for younger players - we’ve built a brilliant interactive activity for the kids with a Soccer and Canada theme challenging their skills and knowledge of soccer! It’s live on the City of Pickering Canada Day page at: Pickering.ca/CanadaDay , check it out, we think you’ll be impressed!

The Virtual All Abilities Program is this Tuesday July 7 th from 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Tammy will send out a reminder each Monday. If any of our coaches, volunteers, athletes or parents would like to assist with programming on one of our upcoming dates, please let her know ASAP. This week’s theme which was requested by Vincent is : DRESS UP AS SOMEONE FAMOUS!
Respect
Our early efforts in building the PFC Return to Play strategy owe a lot to the mutual respect among Technical Directors and Executive Directors/ General Managers from a handful of clubs across Ontario. We’re proud to let you know that we’ve since shared our RTP with clubs in Woodstock, North Durham and Fergus, as well as swimming, baseball and lacrosse Clubs in Durham Region. These small Clubs were very grateful for the advice we could give them as we all learn through this together.

Don’t forget, our specific COVID-19 page on the website is your constant source of information for our weekly updates and our Return to Play (RTP) plan.
Excellence
While we make every effort to get back, we need EVERYONE to play their part in our safe return. That means excellence by all of us in our behaviour on and off the field. Our key takeaways to enhance a return with excellence include:
  • Prepared players with Ziploc, ball and water bottle
  • Return to home plan for cleaning of uniform, ball and cleats
  • Sports Engine Update each session to confirm player wellness
  • Regular contact with your Coach and Team Manager relating to concerns or comments.

We will move through our stages of Return to Train, Return to Play and Return to Compete with your fantastic support and one BIG TEAM EFFORT!
Player Centered
Our Recreational Virtual Training options continue into the Summer:
  • Active Start virtual sessions are a 6-week video series focusing on development and physical literacy! Every Monday a new video will be released to our Recreational players. Each video is 10 - 15 minutes and can be accessed on demand throughout the entire program. A special guest each week guides players through each video! At the end of the 6-week program, each participant will be awarded with a Certificate of Completion to recognize their commitment and hard work throughout the weeks! The virtual program is available FREE of charge to any existing participants of our Active Start Program (U3-U7). If you are not currently registered but are interested in participating, we encourage you to register for our Outdoor Recreational Program using our $1 down registration (2 future installments subject to the season running).

  • As we enter the Summer months our Club-based Recreational Virtual training program will now move to once a week, each Wednesday at 3pm. For new players, register for the Outdoor 2020 season here for only $1 down. Then click the image to register for the Virtual training session.

Our virtual Grassroots Program (U8-U12) has now wrapped up as we return to the field. Thank you to Coach Hollie and Coach Trey for their energy, enthusiasm and effort during the past 14 weeks. We are sure they are glad to be back on the field delivering more high-quality content in 30 degree heat!!
 
If you have any inquiries or questions regarding the program, please contact our Grassroots Director via email at grassroots@pickeringfc.ca. We’re looking forward to launching this exciting new program and offering soccer resources to our members during our time away from the field.
Transparency and Integrity
As a not-for-profit organization our money is very closely accounted for and we hope to get member and community support as we work through this situation.

  • Indoor Competitive Teams are completing their responses to their Indoor Season fee (Donate – Defer – Refund) and at the same time completing their Ontario Soccer Waiver and Declaration.
  • Competitive Outdoor seasons will potentially have revised program fees shared with Team Staff in the next 10 days. They will reflect the multiple areas that Club Staff are trying to monitor including: league fees, field rates, training durations etc. These cost/deliverables are heavily impacted by league decisions on when to start and their planned format so please have patience. With limited Club staff we will continue to respond as promptly as possible. We continue to hear provisional plans from OPDL and DRSL. Training times and dates will be posted to the COVID19 page.
  • Outdoor Recreational season is currently being assessed by staff with a view to offering a modified format based on skill development and small sided games once we enter the Return to Compete stage. We’re now focused on an August 1st start date. The Clubs ‘Dollar Down’ registration is now open with a 2-part payment plan.

League 1 Ontario, Ontario Soccer League and the Ontario Women’s Soccer League are the leagues to date that have confirmed their cancellation for the Outdoor 2020 season.

The Club has, and will, communicate every week (since March 19 th ), in order to keep you, our members informed during this tough time. For the most up-to-date information please remember to follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook or visit our COVID19 webpage .
 
If you have any questions or comments about this message please email: memberservices@pickeringfc.ca with 'COVID Update' in the Subject line.

Stay safe.
Matt Greenwood, Executive Director
Pickering Football Club
(905) 831-9803
PickeringFC.ca
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