Pickering FC
COVID-19 Update
September 11, 2020

Dear PFC Family,

As the weather starts to cool off, we’re steadily adjusting our attention to the Indoor season ahead of us. We will provide Members with a series of Town Hall presentations in late September/early October to review:
  1. Program outlines for the Indoor season including schedule, fees and credit/refund plans should a second wave occur.
  2. Pickering Soccer Centre entry and exit protocols. As you can imagine, our planning needs to be thorough and will need to take into account staggered field times, multiple entry/exit points, additional third-party users, sanitization and contact tracing protocols.

We thank you for your patience as we wrap-up Outdoor Summer programs and budgets and, in most cases, address credit or refund questions on a 1 to 1 basis. Any questions of this nature should be directed to your Head Coach who will then contact the Administrative staff for further guidance.

With Ontario Soccer allowing the interaction of clubs for play in bubbles of 50 max. from September 17th onwards we are working with the Durham Region Soccer Association on what that may look like.

Weather Forecast for Sunday, September 13: Mother Nature does not seem to be willing to work with us for the start of the Indoor Season at Chris Graham/Princess Diana Fields this Sunday – September 13.  With the forecast of rain from midnight on into the morning and the threat of thunderstorms on Sunday morning we are making the early decision to postpone the games on Sunday to a future date in the 1st season.  By making the decision now we are hoping that we can make sure the message gets to everyone sooner than later so that you know that there are no games on Sunday.
Recreational
The 2020-2021 Indoor program is OPEN FOR REGISTRATION and kicks off on September 13th. Make sure you register soon to ensure your child is placed on a team. Click the image to register:
  • 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.

Pickering Football Club is one of the few Clubs that offers a game AND practice each week during the Outdoor season. For the Indoor Recreational season any players aged 8-12 who would like an additional session to support the game play can register for our excellent Skills Centre. Click the image to register for the Fall Season with a discount of $20 for those booking both Fall and Spring sessions.
PFC All Abilities kicks off this month too! Head Coach Jarod and Coaches T, Zain and Sarah are excited to welcome back players with three different playing options this season:
  • All Abilities Junior and Senior program – our tried and trusted model bringing players together for fun, fitness and friendship every Saturday morning.
  • All Abilities Advanced Skills Program – our new program will enable a limited number of players to experience more advanced training
  • All Abilities Virtual Training Program – following the success of our pandemic sessions we will continue to offer online training for players that are unable to join us at the field.
Please contact our All Abilities program coordinator at allabilities@pickeringfc.a for more information or to register.
Our popular Community Programs will resume that is September & October.
  • Walk the Dome resumes on Monday Sept 21 and runs daily from Mon - Thurs from 9am - 11am
  • Walking Soccer resumes on Tuesday Sept 22 and runs weekly on Tuesdays from 10:30-noon.
  • Adult Drop In Soccer on Sunday nights from 8:30-10pm begin October 4th
* Covid protocols and participant waivers will be in effect for all community programming
Grassroots Development
Did You Know: An Open House is the correct phrase, and appropriate environment for U8-U12 players to experience a new program and decide if it is right for them? Players aren’t ‘selected’ or ‘cut’ because there is a place for everyone and emotionally children at this age shouldn’t be graded because player development is non-linear.

Led by our talented Grassroots Director, Hollie Babut (grassroots@pickeringfc.ca), this program has never been in better shape. Hollie manages the structure of the program and the technical content of each session while supporting great coaches within each age group. 

Click image to register for our Open Houses:
Registration for our U8-U12 Grassroots Development program is now open and can be completed after contact with the Head Coach.

  • 26-week program
  • Weekly league play
  • 2 practices per week
  • Qualified and screened Coaching staff
  • Goalkeeper specialist session

Players in this program often continue on to Competitive and High-Performance soccer. We support multi-sport athletes who often need to adjust their commitment at certain times of the year and the door is never closed to players who might want to come and see if it’s right for them.
Competitive
Did you know: Tryouts or ID Camps are for U13 and older players who are now emotionally able to understand the decision-making process and how they measure up to their peers?

Pickering FC runs teams in the Durham Region Soccer League (DRSL) and the Central Soccer League (CSL). Promotion and relegation allow for teams at U13 and up to be promoted from the DRSL into the CSL. The CSL covers an area from Barrie in the north to Peterborough in the east and as far west as Etobicoke. In conjunction with the Team Head Coach and our Director of Soccer Operations, Dave Benning, the playing group is assessed for their ability level to play at one of these two levels.

Click image to register for Tryouts:
High Performance
The Pickering FC structure defines high performance as those programs where teams compete in standards-based leagues. This includes the Ontario player Development league (OPDL) for players from U13-U17 age groups and then for older players they enter League1 Ontario (L1O). These leagues bringing with them a higher cost that reflects the increased training time, coaching level, longer season, uniform and equipment. We can now confirm following announcements this week:

League 1 Ontario have cancelled their planned Fall season and will now focus on 2021 planning.  

OPDL have cancelled the planned season and is now discussing with license holders the potential to run a series of regionalised games until November. Click the image below to register for 2021 tryouts.
Match Officials
The Match Official Committee is working closely with our technical Staff to not only ensure the new Laws of the Game that came into play this Summer are introduced but to also enforce the Ontario Soccer COVID19 related restrictions to play. These can be found on page 18-24 here and include areas such as:

  • No throw-ins
  • No Spitting
  • No handshakes or high-fives
  • No heading
Governance and Operations
Our PFC AGM is to be held on November 18th at the Pickering Soccer Centre (subject to COVID19 requirements). In the coming weeks we will highlight available Board positions and the timelines to apply. In additions we will begin the recruitment of our Standing Committees for:
  • Finance Committee.
  • Risk-Audit Committee.
  • Governance Committee.
  • Nominations 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. 
Notices
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.

A further addition will be the content provided during our upcoming webinars related to Indoor programs and protocols.

Our 26th consecutive Weekly Update is supported by ongoing updates and stories through our Twitter, Instagram or Facebook platforms. 
Stay safe.

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