Pickering FC
COVID-19 Update
July 31, 2020
Dear PFC Family,
 
On behalf of the PFC Board and Staff we want to thank you for the patience and support you have shown over the many days and weeks since our operations were paused. In the past few weeks, we have been able to bring two staff back to work and this has greatly assisted us in getting Indoor credits/refunds out, and we can’t wait to show those who opted to donate what we’ve done as a thank you. The Staff have now been able to confirm the prorated amounts across all programs with our OPDL parents hearing yesterday their pro-rated amount. We will continue to ensure all credits, refunds and donations are processed promptly.
From a Recreational perspective we’re turning our focus on an exciting Indoor Recreational season and we encourage you to share the thoroughness with which we’ve already been running our Competitive programs with your friends and neighbours.

PFC is planning a return to play for our recreational players that is safe, progressive and flexible. Take a look at the innovations we plan to bring to our new indoor landscape:
  • Multi-Season: This year we will be offering 3 mini-seasons (10 weeks each) instead of one long season (18 weeks). This will provide families with the flexibility to start their recreational involvement at a time that's right for them.
  • Multi-sport players: Offering three mini-seasons will enable players that also participate in other sports to join us at the end of their current outdoor season or to get their soccer fix in before returning to another sport.
  • Discounts: The first season for each player will include their complete uniform package and Ontario Soccer registration. Subsequent seasons will be at a reduced rate to reflect those components are already paid for.
  • Outdoor kick-off: To make the most of this unusual Summer and to take advantage of good weather and fresh air the seasons will all kick-off on our community soccer fields located in neighborhoods across the City of Pickering.
  • Standards: PFC continues to develop our own match officials and using them for each game to ensure fairness and guidance to young players.

Look out for registration details going live next week. 
Community
Our Match Officials pre-season training continues this week on Wednesdays at Kinsmen Field. The Match Officials are following the exact same process as our players and coaches for sanitization and as we move towards games within our own Club we hope to use these match officials. Our commitment and attention to detail for our match officials has been recognized by Ontario Soccer and even attracted outside referees who want to be a part of our excellent program. If you are planning on joining us then contact Dave Lord ( admin-rec@pickeringfc.ca ) to confirm your well-being and awareness of our pandemic protocols.
We’re still keeping Lucas close to our hearts. A maple tree will be planted and commemorated at the front of the Pickering Soccer Centre in his name. Our facility staff have prepared the perfect spot and when the weather is more favourable, we will plant it in his memory.
 
T he Virtual All Abilities Program this coming Tuesday will run from 6:30 - 7:30 pm on our WebEx platform. Our AA Coordinator, Tammy, sends 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. 
Respect
We want to talk briefly about the Club and what defines a community club or a grassroots club.
 
As part of our National Youth License from Canada Soccer we’ve met many standards addressing techncial content on the field, operational processes and planning in the club house all underpinned by financial oversight and governance in the Board Room. These components make up the core of WHAT we do as a Club and HOW we operate. The ‘trending’ theme right now is knowing what your WHY is. Our WHY is simple - to ensure as many children, youth and adults participate in soccer for as long as possible. It’s worth taking a look at our Player Development Pathway below which demonstrates a place exists for everyone. We believe a community/grassroots Club is open, accessible and inclusive of everyone. Our chart addresses the player pathway but at every stage we know there are coaches, match officials, administrators and volunteers working to support that player.

Our doors are open to all.
Excellence
As a Canada Soccer National Youth Licensed Club, we are planning to take PFC to the next level and we want you involved. The Club will continue to refine its governance model to align with the Canada Soccer recommended model of a skills-based board supported by clear sub-committees and standing committees. This makes best use of everyone’s time and allows for more expertise and greater diversity at the core of the Club.
 
We’ve stated before that the Club has a hunger to come back to the field with ‘a renewed energy, with fresh ideas and lots of hope for the future’. That’s going to need your skill set, your energy and your ideas! Our first key date will be the PFC AGM to be held on November 18 th at the Pickering Soccer Centre where we would like to present our Standing Committees as:
·         Finance Committee.
·         Risk-Audit Committee.
·         Governance Committee.
·         Nominations Committee.
·         Strategic Planning Committee.

The Standing Committees are an integral part of any not-for-profit organization. They would typically meet once a month for 1-2 hours and address matters specific to their area of the Club. If you have an interest in volunteering some time on one of these Committees please contact Matt Greenwood at execdirector@pickeringfc.ca to arrange an informal chat.
 
Player Centered
The Active Start virtual sessions finish on Monday with the final session of this Recreational Soccer focused virtual training program. We hope our players enjoyed the experience and look forward to seeing what they’ve learned when we get back on the Recreational fields this September.

The Club-based Recreational Virtual sessions concluded this week as we again turn our focus on a September 13 th start for the Indoor Recreational season.

Learn to Train virtual sessions for players 8-10 have two more sessions to run. 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
 
Don’t forget, our Return to Play strategy is 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. We have also made available a recording of the webinar we had previously delivered to Grassroots, Competitive and OPDL families in June. The link can be found here .  
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.

High Performance
  • OPDL pro-rated amounts were confirmed this week by the PFC Board and shared with families on Thursday. The OPDL is still firmly focused on a mid-August start date and should be updating license holders within the next 10 days on their plans.
  • League 1 Ontario is seeking interest in a Fall League to run September-November. Any interested players should contact our Director of Soccer Operations, Dave Benning (dso@pickeringfc.ca) 

Competitive Outdoor
  • Competition for DRSL level teams is being revised as we opted out of entering the league this Summer. Along with other Clubs in the Region we will build our own schedule that affords us some flexibility we need to provide teams with peace of mind. Teams can still enter the DRSL if they so chose however any option will be discussed between the Head Coach and the Parent group before approval from the Director of Soccer Operations.
  • The CSL have confirmed they still plan to run a competition schedule this Summer.

Outdoor Recreational
  • A credit code for the entire value of your registration this summer can be used at the checkout when you register for the Indoor season (opening August 5tht). If at this stage a refund or credit code is required please complete the attached form and submit for our attention at memberservices@pickeringfc.ca
  • For any Recreational player from U8-U12 interested in participating in our Grassroots U8-U12 program this is a great way to work with our excellent Coaching Staff, build your skills on the field and get a taste of the next level of development. All sessions are delivered by our professional coaches within a curriculum developed internally and endorsed by Canada Soccer. The recommended next steps are:
 
a. Click the image below and identify the Head Coach working with your child’s age and gender.
b. The Coaches name is also a hyperlink to their mail box.
c. Connect with them and confirm practice day and times.
d. Visit the session and observe the practice
e. Sign up for our pro-rated program fee through to the end of September.
The Club is proud to note that this is our 20 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 .
 
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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