Pickering FC
COVID-19 Update
July 17, 2020
July 17, 2020

Dear PFC Family,

WARNING! There is a lot of positive messaging in this week’s update and we balance all of that with the reality of the sensitive situation we are in. There is no complacency at PFC!
 
We sadly had to cancel our Outdoor Recreational program for players U3-U18 but the good news is two-fold:
 
  1. Our Indoor season will be bigger and better than ever so please see our ‘Transparency and Integrity’ section below for more details on Indoor 2020.
  2. 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.
Community
It was fantastic to see our Match Officials on their second webinar led by Club Administrator Dave Lord who helped prepare them for a return to play. We’re really excited to get our Match Officials fit and up-to-speed in time for a hopeful Return to Competition in the near future and with in-house fitness expertise from Referee Alanna we know they’ll be in good hands. Match Officials will follow the same sanitization criteria as our players and use identical field diameters in this early stage. There are also numerous new protocols for games established by Ontario Soccer that our match officials are preparing for.


The Virtual All Abilities Program this Tuesday July 14 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. 
Respect
The Club received more positive comments this week that comes as a welcome reminder that we are on the right track.

“Just got your latest update. I’m a “walk the dome” participant, so I just read the updates to see what is happening with the club. You have been amazingly well organized to earn kudos from Ontario Soccer!! Your updates have been clear and consistent in the way they are formatted, continuing to emphasize your core principles like Respect, player centred, and excellence. It shows a lot of planning and careful consideration of what needs to happen - down to Ziplock bags!! Again - amazing!!!”
 
“Thank you for all of your hard work and your continuous, informative updates. The communication is very much appreciated. Awesome job. Well done.”
 
“I just wanted to say thank you so much for making (my son) feel so comfortable today, it truly means so much. I have to say I could not believe how organized everything was. Wow, that’s so amazing to see. Both the Coaches were so friendly and (my son) really enjoyed his session. The first thing he said to me was Mommy I want to sign up!!!!”

Thank you sincerely to those that have reached out to us with a thank you and we’ll continue to do what is right for the health of your Club.
 
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.
Excellence
Last week we asked the question – ‘Are you a future PFC Board Member or Sub Committee Member?’ This week we’re asking again!
 
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
Recreational Virtual Training continues for a few more weeks.

  • The Active Start virtual sessions are now in week 5 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.

  • Learn to Train virtual sessions started this week and will run 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
 
Staff are meeting on a daily basis to assess the progress of each program 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. 
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
  • Earlier today (July 17th) each Team Head Coach received an update to be disseminated to family contacts. It pertains to OPDL play, and our plans for any credit/refund. We will continue to provide families with updates as we learn more about the OPDL start date and how our program will adjust. We appreciate your trust in us. 

Competitive Outdoor
  • The PFC Board this week approved revised pro-rated amounts for the Outdoor 2020 season that take into account reduced contact time with players for this summer. A direct email was sent to all registered players on Thursday 16th outlining the remaining payment plans, general costs and the planned competition.
  • Most payment plans will come out on July 20th and a credit/refund will be provided at the completion of any payment plan.
  • 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.
  • We continue to make steady progress working with Team Staff on the preparation of any documentation, uniforms or payment concerns for all competitive teams.
  • The OPDL remains committed to a League competition and have sent revised plans to each license holder for consultation.

Outdoor Recreational
  • As we finally heard about the Ontario Soccer Return to Play plan and the Club was able to release its own Return to Play Strategy it helped clarify what a season might look like. You will recall we had hopes for a late May start, and then either a July 1st or August 1st start date. Last week we sadly confirmed the cancellation of Outdoor Recreational 2020 for youth players.
  • The good news is that we are planning for a bigger and better indoor season running over 3 mini-seasons from September 1st – late April. The concept will offer you the chance to enter all 3 mini-seasons or just the ones you feel comfortable entering. For example, September 1st may still be too soon for you and your family so you could potentially join us in season 2 that will start in late November.
  • We would therefore like to offer you a credit code for the entire value of your registration this summer. This can be used at the checkout when you register for the Indoor season (opening August 1st). Ahead of the roll out for Indoor Recreational 2020 we will be sharing your unique credit code with you via email. If at this stage a refund is required please complete the attached form and submit for our attention at memberservices@pickeringfc.ca
 
League 1 Ontario, Ontario Soccer League and the Ontario Women’s Soccer League are the only leagues to date that have confirmed their cancellation for the Outdoor 2020 season.

The Club is proud to note that this is our 18 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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