Hickory Fountain Green (HFG) Indoor Soccer

03/16/2020

Something I never thought I would see

I took this on Saturday
Saturday in mid March Usually is the homestretch of the playoffs and the building is usually the loudest it ever is

02/23/2020

I had to take this picture.

I have three (3) boys that play the game - various club leagues etc Needless to say I see A LOT of soccer. I took a look at my schedule and over the past 10 days I’ve been on a soccer field 9 of the last 10 days as a coach, referee or trainer

Sadly I also see way to much what I call bad parent behavior also. Early this season I saw a game get terminated because the coach of the other team got a yellow card, then a red card - then refused to leave so the referee terminated the game. Yes terminated and yes the referee can do that.
Yesterday I saw 3 parents from a Baltimore based club behave like .... well if I type the word I would use to define their behavior the Rec council would get mad......Let’s just say they yelled at the referee the entire march.

Now, it’s worth noting neither of these incidents were the Hickory program but still youth soccer locally

Then I saw this Friday
This was our Hickory program
This is AFTER the game.
One of these teams just lost.
Note the smiles. They tried and played hard.
They had FUN.
It’s supposed to be FUN.
The kids are having fun playing the game

Sometimes kids can teach adults some things

Good Luck to everyone in the final few weeks of the indoor season !!

02/08/2020

Sports Parent Question :)

It's typical in sports (soccer) to give out some type of award for 1st and 2nd place etc.

Medals ? Small Trophies ? or T-shirts ('champion' or 'finalist' etc). What is cooler to a kid ?

01/18/2020

The snow has arrived 🙂

The Hickory indoor soccer program will be closing at 1:50pm today

The last game that will be played today is the 1 o’clock start

All games scheduled for today with a start time AFTER the 1pm game our canceled

Be safe to all those on the roads

01/07/2020

Tuesday, January 7th - ALL games are on as scheduled at this time

12/16/2019

ALL Games / Practices for INDOOR SOCCER are ON as scheduled for tonight - Monday, December 16th

11/19/2019

THANK YOU for registering this season. Most rosters are posted and most schedules have been distributed to the coaches. They will put the schedule into Sports Engine and / or send to you soon. CLINIC, BOYS 9.10 , GIRLS 9.10 AND GIRLS 13.14 ARE NOT DONE YET. Should be done tomorrow. Some age groups start this week; others do not start until after Thanksgiving.

IF you can not see an update on the Sports Engine app I would try the website directly as opposed to the app; OR I would also log all the way out of the app and then log back in - for whatever reason that seems to reset it for the new season etc.

**** OUTDOOR CLEATS CAN NOT BE WORN AT THE ARENA - YOU NEED EITHER INDOOR SOCCER SHOES OR SNEAKERS *******

11/17/2019

Our program is run by VOLUNTEERS.

Our great coaches takes hours of their personal time to work on the teams and put together a great program for the kids in our community. Thank You !!!

11/13/2019

Preliminary Schedules for Boys and Girls 11.12 have been distributed to the coaches. They will forward them shortly
Rosters and team assignments are on the website or app

Boys 9.10 and Girls 13.14 teams are being formed this weekend you hear on those teams next week.

Boys 15.17 , Boys 13.14 and Girls 15.17 teams are posted in the app. Some additions will happen next week.

Girls 9.10 and Girls 7.8 teams will be posted over the next few days.

Boys 7.8 teams are posted on the app and website. Schedule will be distributed to the coaches Friday. Some roster additions are still possible.

Clinic 5.6 teams and schedule will be posted over the weekend

11/13/2019

About half of the teams have been formed at this point. You can check the sports engine app and should receive an email when your child is assigned to a team. You can also communicate with the assigned coach via the app etc.

Boys 9/10 and Girls 13/14 have not had the coaches meeting yet; those teams will be formed this weekend. You should hear in about a week from today from a coach The delay was driven by a high number of registrations and a need for more volunteer coaches.

The CLINIC 5.6 teams will be assigned and published Thursday

Most of the teams in the other age groups have been published but still some are being updated. IF you do NOT hear from a coach by November 20th please contact [email protected]

Schedules will be posted Monday

10/08/2019

9 Spots left in Boys 11/12 and 11 spots left in Girls 7/8 before we go on a WAIT LIST.

10/04/2019

www.hfcrec.com

Indoor Soccer Registration is OPEN.

www.HFGREC.com and click on INDOOR SOCCER. Right now we are at about 65% capacity and typically some age groups start to fill up around the middle of this month.

HOW ARE TEAMS FORMED ?
The coaches will meet in early November for "THE DRAFT". This year's draft will be on November 3rd or November 10th (depending on the age group). COACHES ONLY attend this and they will be notified later this month. It is always later in the day to avoid conflicts with outdoor soccer games.

DRAFT DETAILS?
Below is a snap shot of the instructions that will be given to each coach.

At THE DRAFT. Each coach will roll the two (2) dice. Highest number wins. Highest number picks 1st in the 1st round and we proceed in a clockwise manner for round 1. We follow what I have heard called a 'snake draft' meaning if you pick first in Round 1 you pick last in Round 2. The flip side being if you picked last in Round 1 you have the opening pick in Round 2

You (the coach) determine what players you select. We rely on your experience and knowledge to help balance and create parity within the league.
The league DOES NOT GUARANTEE ANY TEAM, TEAMMATE, OR COACH REQUEST BY A PLAYER (other then siblings). There are no exceptions to this.

My advice to each of you is when it is your turn to pick, select (in your opinion) the most skilled player left on the board EVEN if that player has requested another team / coach.
You owe that to your team, the other teams and the league to do so. Now, if the players left you consider 'equal in skill set'; and some of them requested another coach.......sure pick a different player in that situation.

We will follow the Vegas rule of 'card laid is a card played'. Meaning if you say on your turn "I'm selecting player John Doe'. It's done - he is on your team. Unfortunately in the past we had several coaches indicate they were talked out of a pick by other coaches and felt pressure to do so.

Finalized rosters, for each team in the age group, will be sent to ALL coaches by November 15th. Rosters can also be accessed via SportsEngine.

10/02/2019

The INDOOR SOCCER season will start Monday, November 18th (Boys 11/12). Other age groups (7/8 and 9/10) will follow later that week and the following week.

The older age groups, 13/14 and 15/17 will start after Thanksgiving.

10/02/2019

Teams are formed each year by a "DRAFT".
The coaching volunteers (one per team) gather and select players in a 'draft' format. ONLY the coach attends this. The draft this year will be on Sunday, November 3rd OR Sunday, November 10th. Depends on the age group.
Both will be in the evening to try and avoid any conflicts with outdoor soccer games. Specific times for each age group will be established soon.

09/20/2019

HFG REC  Hickory Fountain Green Recreation Council

Registration is OPEN for the 2019 / 2020 INDOOR SOCCER season. www.HFGREC.com then click on INDOOR SOCCER. In less than a week we already have 300 registrations so please help me spread the word; register soon! The league will fill up again this year as we are limited by field space

09/15/2019

HFG REC  Hickory Fountain Green Recreation Council

Registration for the 2019 / 2020 INDOOR SOCCER season is OPEN. www.HFGREC.com then click on INDOOR SOCCER

03/11/2019

There was been so much EXCITEMENT at the Hickory Arena the county may have to send out inspections to make sure the roof is still attached and not been blown off the building !!!! Here is what we got :

In the 9.10 League.

The BOYS SEMI FINALS are Thursday night. RED (Fender) plays Carolina Blue (Sweat) AND Silver (Curry) plays Yellow (Hughes).

Good Luck and congrats to all the boys on a great season.

The GIRLS Championship is set. It will be Saturday at 1pm. Orange (Namvary) takes on Pink (Boecher).

Good Luck and congrats to all the girls on a great season

03/07/2019

It's COLD outside but it's HOT in the ARENA. The excitement level is BIG.

TONIGHT at HARFORD SPORTS the GIRLS 13.14 Tournament starts; AND there is a Boys 13.14 Round 2 game.

AND WE GOT MORE.......at the Hickory Activity Center the Girls 7.8 Tournament starts and there are 2 Boys 9.10 games as well.

Big Night. Big Excitement

03/05/2019

Earlier tonight the BOYS 13.14 Tournament began

3 of the 4 games were decided by only 1 GOAL !!! Wow the energy and excitement level was rockin the Harford Sports Arena tonight

Congratulations to the 4 teams moving on into Round 2

Red (Mace)

Pink (Lynard)

Orange ( Putkisto )

Neon Green ( Lynard )

03/03/2019

Round 1 of the Boys 7.8 Indoor Tournament wrapped up yesterday

Big CONGRATS to the following teams who advanced to Round 2 !

Grey - Gebhardt

Blue - Lynard

Orange - Bell

White - Stumpf

Navy - Herpel

Silver - Salbeck

Maroon - Wojtysiak

Carolina Blue - Naglieri

Good Luck to all !!!!

The 7.8 Boys league wraps up with the Championship game on March 16th !

03/02/2019

ROUND 1
Of the Boys 9.10 Tournament is wrapped up

Congratulations to

Neon Green (Stoffel)
Carolina Blue (Sweat)
Navy (Kolego)
Neon Yellow (Hughes)
Silver (Curry)
Orange (Reich)
And Red (Fender)

Who all advance to Round 2 !!

Good luck Boys !!

03/01/2019

Indoor Soccer Games for Friday, March 1st are ON as scheduled. Both Harford Sports (13.14 and 15.17 age groups) and the Hickory Activity Center Field (Boys 9.10 tonight) will be OPEN

02/12/2019

The Hickory Activity Center / Arena will be OPEN this evening. Indoor Soccer games are ON as scheduled !

02/11/2019

BOTH Harford Sports and the Hickory Activity Center are OPEN tonight. Indoor Soccer games are ON as scheduled for tonight !

02/04/2019

Just a quick note.....we conclude the Indoor Soccer season with a league tournament. The start date varies by age group but typically around the 1st week in March 'tournament play' begins.

Coaches are starting to receive the schedule this week and next so they will distribute it soon.

** We use a very complex algorithm to see who plays who. Top secret classified ** etc.

We write each team on a piece of paper.
Drop them in a bag
and have random volunteers pull out one name at a time **

:) = complex algorithm

The seeding in the 'Tournament' is by RANDOM DRAW

02/01/2019

February 1st 2018 -

Games at HARFORD SPORTS (Boy 15/17 and Girls 15/17) are CANCELLED for tonight.

Games at the Hickory Activity Center (Boys 9/10) are on as scheduled tonight

02/01/2019

All HFG Indoor Soccer games scheduled for today, February 1st, at HARFORD SPORTS are cancelled. The games at the Hickory Activity Center are ON as scheduled.

01/31/2019

Teams are back on the field tonight. We have games at both Harford Sports (Girls 13/14) and the Hickory Activity Center (Boys 9/10 and 11/12).

There is no snow inside the arena :)

The season end TOURNAMENT starts in just 29 days !

01/29/2019

All HFG Indoor Soccer games for today, January 29th, are CANCELLED. Why ? Because the team you were suppose to play heard how hard you have been working and they said no no not playing. Ok, Kidding.
Why? Because it is SNOWING !

01/13/2019

Hickory Indoor Soccer games are CANCELLED for today due to the snow.

01/03/2019

US Soccer Referee Resource Video - Handball

Happy New Year ! January is when it always seem like the excitement in the arena goes up to another level ! Let's GO !!

A challenge every recreation council faces is asking its participants, parents and coaches not to engage in 'referee abuse'. I have to say most everyone within HFG does a great job of this.
THANK YOU !

Before the season I shared with the coaches that 1). the referees will make mistakes AND 2). they will make calls you think are mistakes.

Note the two statements are not the same thing :)

So, following along with the theory knowledge is power, I figured each week we would use social media and share some clarity on the LAWS OF THE GAME.

Let's tackle the big one this week - " HANDS "
So what really is "HANDS" ?????


Definition. A handball occurs if any player, other than the team's goalkeeper within his own penalty area, deliberately handles the ball when in play. A ball can be handled with any part of the arm, from the tips of a player's fingers right up to the shoulder

There is a KEY word in that definition.
**DELIBERATELY **

Referees are taught to consider "Did the ball play the hand or the hand play the ball" ? Was the hand in a natural or unnatural position at the time?

What if :
-- Players hand / arm swings at the ball......probably HANDS
--Players arms up over their head and ball hits the arm / hand ........probably HANDS (arm is in an unnatural position)
--Player goes to trap the ball, it wildly bounces off their arm / hand......probably NOT HANDS

SO, YES the ball can strike a players hand (or any part of their arm) and it may or may NOT be a foul.

The youtube link below provides some more clarify for those interested

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUASGLxFPoY&t=3s

Fairfax Athletics (FXA) Co-ed & Men's Soccer Videos

12/12/2018

Sir Ryan Giggs

https://www.facebook.com/1385999335006837/videos/256422411727445/

WHAT. A. PLAY! 😱

12/12/2018

Our 2018-2019 season is underway. Last night we had our first games of the season; the Boys 11/12 league started. We have so many Boys 11/12 teams this year more are playing tonight !

One issue has been weighing on me and I figured I would do what we do in 2018……..ask via social media.

**The issue is the system of how we form teams**

At present we use, for lack of a better term, a player ‘draft’. Coaches in each age group meet in early November and create each roster. They are instructed to focus on PARITY between the teams. In other words they are told when it is their time to select the next player; take the most skilled player still available.

Is this the best system? Is this the system YOU are participants want?

**We could just form teams around ‘request’ (ie. friends)? The down side to that is your will get teams that are extremely dominant. It will happen ! When “Player A” registers and he wants his entire club / travel level soccer team to play in the league together with him we would honor that request under this format. What if the entire HS varsity soccer team wants to play indoor together? How do we answer the parent who calls upset and says Team “X” wins every game 12-0 in this format?

**We could form teams by blind draw? An option put out was to simply follow if there were 5 teams in an age group count off each player randomly 1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3,4,5 etc and they play on that corresponding team.

**Continue with the system we have now? Now, that means sometimes ‘friends’ do not get to play on the same team. As we operate now I would say easily 90% of the request are able to be met but those that are not, mostly do to team parity issues, end up not playing with their friends. Is that ok? sort of the 'it is what it is' ?

**Is there a better system we have not thought of?

I should note holding a player evaluation as they do in basketball is just not realistic based on field space. The coaches in forming the teams under the parity aspect have to just work off of their own knowledge and experience.

So I humbly ask all of you…………any suggestions??

Feel free to post here or email me privately at [email protected]. Your feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

WISH EVERYONE A GREAT SEASON !!

12/10/2018

12/10/2018

Terps Men's Soccer Beats Akron, 1-0, to Win 4th National Title

This falls under the general soccer news category :)

Way to go TERPS ! ! ! Perhaps out on our field this season there will be some future U of MD players

https://247sports.com/college/maryland/Article/Maryland-mens-soccer-beats-Akron-1-0-for-4th-national-title-126150455/?fbclid=IwAR1VTlOTwQqcmIj3n3-KG8a1KBdu2m6T2fJAvqlGbv3KSB6MsYFeQgPTq7M

For the first time since 2008, the Terps are the kings of college soccer.