South Shore Soccer Association   Registration Form Message from SSSA President

Hello to everyone! We are glad that you found our information on this Web site. Many thanks to NATCO and the South Shore Foundation for sponsoring and updating the South Shore Web site which includes this area for soccer.

We are proud that we have the ability to offer soccer here in the Marion County area. In 1999 and earlier, you had to go to Mountain Home to play soccer. The interest became so large that a group of people decided to start an association right here in Flippin to serve the South Shore area. Although our numbers have fluctuated since those days, we still have plenty of players to keep offering soccer in this area.

We have about 200 players playing in the recreational league and Flippin Schools is one of the few smaller schools in this area that offers soccer in high school. As our association has matured, we have developed better soccer players, which in turn has made the school team stronger. The Flippin soccer team finished third in their conference and went to state for the first time ever in 2006-2007. They repeated that performance in the 2007-2008 school year. They will hopefully be stronger in the coming years. We hope to continue to keep younger players interested so that as they become older, they can play for their school.

Soccer season begins with registration in August of each year and we will only have a fall season in the 2008-2009 soccer year. Each player will be assigned to a team and each team will get to play approximately 10 games. The cost ranges from $25 for 4 year olds to $35 for 6-years and older. It is a very cheap sport to play, but offers a lot of physical activity, teamwork, and coordination training. We have some coaches that are certified and parents who are trying to teach the basics of soccer while maintaining a fun environment.

Most of our 13 and 14 year old players have become certified to referee and we also hope to continue that trend in the future as well. Referees are hard to keep and we feel fortunate to have as many as we do. Kids this age will make good referees because they hopefully already know how to play the game and now they can make a little bit of money from it so they have a real incentive to continue.

The last thing I would like to discuss is participation. I know that everyone is booked up and cannot do anything more than they are now, but we need to have some more participation in this association to make it successful. I love soccer and hopefully will continue to work in some capacity for this association, but the more people we have working, the more successful the association will become. Everyone needs to voice their opinion and then volunteer to serve in some capacity to help. We currently need a Field Coordinator that will make sure that our fields are ready to play on each week during the season. This person would be on the Board of Directors and have voting rights. We have other positions available on the board that need to be filled as well. Won’t you please donate your time to help us? We would appreciate your support in this matter. Contact me at (870) 421-3251 for more information.

Registration Cost
Many times we as a board are asked, "What does my registration cost cover?" Let us try to explain the cost. At the local level we have to pay for goals, nets, balls, corner flags, lime, and field maintenance. Then we have to pay for our referees for U-8's and above. In the older levels we have two linesman when possible and a center. In the younger levels we work with a center only. Locally, this still does not include any administrative costs such as postage, copies, advertising, storage building or anything else that comes up.

On top of this, we have to supply (through the ASSA) insurance, coaching classes, and referee classes in order to gain the recognition of SSSA to allow our kids to play in sanctioned tournaments. This is also supposed to give everyone registered through ASSA a subscription to the Corner Kick, a publication put out by the ASSA to keep all of us abreast of what is going on across the state with soccer.

We have heard a lot of folks talking about the cost being a little high. But, the fact that we need to be recognized by USYSA as a sanctioned association but get no monies from the cities, county or state and must support ourselves means we have to ask for these registration costs so we can make it all happen. The majority of the money we get from sponsors is simply to furnish game shirts for the kids. If anyone has any ideas, or would like to volunteer to be on the board to help control cost and govern the operations of SSSA, please contact Roger Leonard at 421-3251.

Nutrition and Health
A couple of the most overlooked issues in younger athletes is proper nutrition and health. There are far too many times that we take the health and nutrition of our six, eight, and 10 year olds too lightly. We, as parents and coaches, do not talk about it or incorporate it into our practices and game plans. Now is the time - while our athletes are at these early ages - that we should start developing good health and nutrition habits.

First of all, we need to drink water, water, and then more water. Not water substitutes such as soda pop, Kool-aid, or juices prior to a game or even practice. Also, do not drink a glass of water on the way to the field to make up for drinking less water - especially in hot weather. Start drinking small amounts of water the evening, or even the day before game day and continue right through the game and even afterwards. No Carbonated or High Sugar Drinks Right Before, During or Directly After a Hard Practice or Game.

Now for eating; do not overeat right before a game or eat a new or spicy food that your body is not used to digesting. We suggest a high carb meal in moderation considerably before the game. Secondly, before any athlete is allowed to kick a soccer ball, do a header or anything else physically on the field, they should warm up their muscles and bodies. Too many times we run on the field and try to hit a corner 30 yards out as hard as we can.

Yes, they are young and are constantly moving, but, on the field we use different muscles in our legs, feet and neck than we do riding our bikes, swinging and even playing other sports. A dedicated athlete and a good coach will have a warm-up regimen prior to every practice or game without fail. Just as important is a cool-down process as well. These concepts apply to all players on the team. Some folks are under the assumption that this only applies to a few. Some folks think this might be a little harsh for U-6 players. Now is the time to develop good habits on and off the field. As young athletes progress, it will become even more important.

Roger Leonard
South Shore Soccer President