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Odyssey Introduces Apprentice Coach Program For 2012 OSSC Members Apprentice Program After completing a pilot program in 2011, Odyssey Sport has begun a formal apprentice coaching program through which U19 team members are encouraged to apply to become assistant coaches with U14 or younger teams within the club. Through this program, these young players will have a chance to learn about the craft of coaching from experienced OSSC staff coaches, contribute to the game in a different way, and learn a great deal more about the game by taking a new perspective throughout the club season. On the boy’s side, in 2011 Andrew Debraggio and Travis Regner both worked with the U12 boys team as assistants to rave reviews from the parents of the younger boys and U12 coach Paul Stinson. This year, Steven Keil has joined Andrew and Travis, and it is the hope of OSSC that each year going forward more players will apply to take advantage of the Apprentice program. In the past OSSC has offered the USSF “E” license course at the training facility, and the club expects to do so again, perhaps in the next couple months. Apprentice coaches may take this course with the club paying for their fees, a nice perk for a young coach who is interested in formalizing their knowledge of coaching. The program is a rigorous one, with the requirements being simple yet challenging. The Apprentice must be at all training sessions, and all games (so it becomes a considerable family committment if he/she can’t drive yet!) for the entire club season. Depending on the staff coach the Apprentice is assigned to, duties with the team may vary, but will always include as much responsibility as possible with the idea being that the Apprentice becomes an effective coach of a given age-group team. That the Apprentice program is unfunded, the position is a volunteer one, an therefore is for OSSC members who are determined to help younger players, earn volunteer credit for school, learn about coaching, help the club develop the junior teams, and so on. College Player Apprentice Coaching Program For the second year in a row, two Colgate men’s soccer seniors will join the OSSC staff as assistant coaches. Eric Przybysz (pronounced “shibbish”) and Mike Reese will follow in the footsteps of very successful former teammates Adam Costello and Paul Visgilio who worked with the U14 boys in 2011. Eric will work with Colgate men’s assistant Bill Boyle and the U19 team, and Mike will work with Coach Stinson and the U14 boys. Similarly to the OSSC members program, these positions are unpaid for the Colgate players, but again get young men some valuable experience and training as they head into life after college. Predictably, most of the players on the Colgate team (as most college teams) are anxious to stay involved in soccer after they graduate, and any who see coaching as an option will gain valuable insight into the craft by working for a semester with Odyssey. Due to NCAA rules, only seniors, and only in their second semester (once their playing career is over) may college players work with youth players. While this is easy enough to understand, it is a hindrance on the professional development of future coaches, but as with all things NCAA, intractability is the key characteristic. It is the hope of OSSC that even more college players will begin to be involved with coaching at Odyssey, and continue to improve the quality of coaching not just for OSSC players, but for every community those graduates go on to live and work in.
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