|
|
Pickering FC
COVID-19 Update
July 10, 2020
|
|
July 10, 2020
Dear PFC Family,
|
|
We’ve completed WEEK 1 back on the field!
Congratulations to the players and coaches for following the direction really well to make sure players exit and enter at the right points, sanitize before and after each session, and come prepared. Special thanks to Dave Benning, Hollie Babut, Dave Lord and Adam Whitehead for managing the entry/exit points and ensuring a smooth return to play. We have also started back at Princess Diana Field with our U9 Boys and while the layout is slightly different to Kinsmen Park the players have done well and parents are arriving in good time to see their players wash hands and move to the field with ball at feet and Ziploc bag in hand.
Staff are meeting virtually on a daily basis to assess the progress and at this stage no changes need to be made to our processes. We will update coaches and families as soon as any significant change needs to be made. Again, we emphasize an optimistic and cautious return to the field. Having players back on the field enables us to get a better sense of progress and to assess the revised program fees due to a shortened season.
|
|
The Virtual All Abilities Program this Tuesday July 14
th
is from 6:30 - 7:30 pm. A very special thank you to Coach T who has been leading Fitness, and Coach Zaine who has been leading Soccer Skills with our athletes and volunteers. 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 is
Rock Star!
|
|
Are you a future PFC Board Member or Sub Committee Member? Much has been made during this time away from the field about the importance of youth sport. It’s been an opportunity to reflect on just how important the game is to us as parents, coaches, match officials and administrators. Seeing fields empty, the Soccer Centre eerily silent and kids having to practice in isolation in their back yards and driveways. We want to come back to the field with a renewed energy, with fresh ideas and lots of hope for the future. As a Club our Board is quite diverse (and I’m sure they won’t mind me saying) we can always do better. We would also like to support the Board by creating a structure of sub-committees able to meet once a month for 1-2 hours and discuss specific focus areas of the Club. In future weeks we will share more insight into those sub-committees and the type of people/skill sets we need. We sincerely hope you can help bring our soccer community back to its vibrant roots.
|
|
The Club received a positive boost this week from senior leaders at Ontario Soccer who have been monitoring the return to play across the Province.
‘Your Club has done an outstanding job and preparing, integrating content and communicating your RTP Plan. Exceptional work. Well done. Definitely a leading Club in our province. Please pass along my congrats to all your staff and Board and best of success with your return to play implementation’.
Johnny Misley, Chief Executive Officer
‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going” and your team at PFC has obviously taken the Covid bull by the horns in getting your RTP strategy mapped out and rolled out’.
Bjorn Osieck, Director, Business Operations
Let’s be realistic here and note that Ontario Soccer recently noted it may take 5 years or more until we return to the levels of play that we had pre-pandemic. The factors involved in meeting that 5-year estimate are extensive and as a Club we can only do what is within our power to return to normal. We will work with other Clubs to make this happen but we can’t drop our guard.
|
|
Thank you, PARENTS, – your sons and daughters are doing an incredible job returning to the field. We couldn’t be prouder of the way they’re taking this seriously, following guidelines and working hard when they get out to their personal zone. That really is EXCELLENCE!
Our key takeaways remain the same:
- Prepare players with Ziploc, ball and water bottle
- Have a ‘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!
|
|
Don’t forget our Recreational Virtual Training options continue for the next 2 weeks.
- The Active Start virtual sessions are now in week 4 of 6 focusing on development and physical literacy! Every Monday a new video is 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! 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).
|
|
- The Club-based Recreational Virtual sessions have now moved 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.
- NEW Learn to Train virtual sessions will launch July 13th for four weeks. Each session is 25 to 30 minutes in length and comprised of 5 drills each 3 to 5 minutes long.
|
|
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.
- 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. We are really excited to have Competitive Administrator, Nina, back in the office to assist team staff with preparing any documentation, uniforms or payment concerns. We will know early next week what DRSL plans for this season and we continue to hear provisional plans from OPDL. Training times and dates are posted to the COVID19 page.
- Outdoor Recreational will not run for Outdoor 2020. In line with many other Clubs in the Province we feel it is simply not practical to build a schedule with a reduced number of registrants and limited physical contact until the Return to Play stage. We are proposing a Skill Development program of games and skills from August 1st over a 5-week period. Recreational parents will receive a specific email on this early next week. The Clubs ‘Dollar Down’ registration is now open with a 2-part payment plan and applies to this Skill Development program.
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 is proud to note that this is our 17
th
consecutive Weekly Update with you, our membership, since March 19
th
. For the most up-to-date information please remember to follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook or visit our
COVID19 webpage
.
Stay safe.
Matt Greenwood,
Executive Director
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
