The Women’s Coaches Advocacy Group distributes a quarterly newsletter to keep its members up to date on news, deadlines and other association happenings. The newsletter also serves to let members know what the group is working on, highlighting group members and information on how you can get involved. Below is a letter from group chair Haley Carter. To read the full newsletter, click here.
Letter from the Chair, Haley Carter
Coaching Friends and Family,
In this newsletter, we highlight some of the fantastic things women coaches are doing in their areas. Last month, five different all-women’s grassroots courses took place and we’d like to take the opportunity to both celebrate that and highlight how course facilitators made those courses a reality. All of that said, I recognize that we’re now living in a world where hosting in-person courses will have to wait and instead we must aim our collective resources at the creation of online content for each other and our players.
To say we’re in uncharted territory would likely be a massive understatement. I’ve spoken with many of you in recent weeks about some of the issues and concerns you’re managing in your clubs and organizations and with your administrators, players, and parents. In light of those concerns, I want to initiate this newsletter with resources to help you navigate the landscape we’re currently facing with COVID-19.
In case you missed it, I recently did an interview with Soccer America on how clubs and organizations can mitigate some of the financial aspects of this “pause” in the game. Specifically, I provided information for Small Business Administration (SBA) loans which are now available for non-profits at 2.75% interest and terms of up to 30-years (depending on your situation). If your organization is concerned about lost revenue, ability to pay employees and contractors, or lost field space, I recommend that you research this option. To obtain more information on the SBA program or to apply for a disaster assistance loan, you can click here.
I’d also like to remind everyone that United Soccer Coaches offers online education at no- cost to its members. Several diplomas are available for your professional development and more information about it is provided below. If you know coaches who are not yet members of the Association, now is the perfect time to introduce them so that they can take advantage of the online educational opportunities. New members can join at a discounted rate by using the code WCAG99 at checkout.
In addition to the online coach education offered, many members of United Soccer Coaches have been producing or sharing content to help coaches empower their players to train at home while in isolation. Lisa Cole, the Association’s Director of Goalkeeping, recently shared several videos made by the great Tony DiCicco and iSoccer to help goalkeepers. A number of online apps and programs presented at the 2020 Convention in Baltimore, such as Techne Futbol and Beastmode Soccer, are also available for field players and I recommend you have a look if you haven’t already.
In closing on this topic, I’d like to ask each of you to take two minutes and fill out our survey, created by the Advocacy Council, to obtain more information about what you and your networks are dealing with. You can find it here. We will use this information to help craft a response for our coaches, so the more data we can get, the better. Please share it within your networks and with members and non-members alike.
I hope this finds you safe (and sane) in these crazy times. Should you want to reach out and discuss your situation or you’re looking for specific assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out and we will do what we can. You can contact us at womencoachesadvocacygroup@gmail.com. In the meantime, please be well, stay home, and wash your hands!
Yours in Soccer,
Haley Carter