Kilcock Celtic

Celebrating 50 Years

                                                                                                 

 Managers Handbook 2021

  

Index / Contents...................................................................................       Page 2

Introduction / Club Vision.....................................................................         Page 3

Club Ethos / Current Information ................…………………………......….............       Page 4

Coaches Responsibilities........................................................................        Page 5

                  Garda Vetting

                  Safeguarding

                  Set a Proper Example

                  Communication / Social Media

                  Coach Education

Parents Guide.......................................................................................      Page 7

Club Organisation................................................................................        Page 8

General Club Rules and Guidelines / Club Basic Values.......................               Page 8

Club Membership ...................................……….....................................         Page 9

Subs Fees / League Organisation..........................................................       Page 10

Discipline / Behaviour...........................................................................      Page 11

Team Management...............................................................................      Page 13

Squad Sizes.........................................................................................     Page 14

General Match Preparation....................................................................      Page 15

Fixtures cancellations............................................................................     Page 18

Injuries / First Aid..................................................................................    Page 18 

Fundraising / Team Trips.......................................................................      Page 19

Facilities Committee / Training Slot Allocation....................................... ....    Page 20

Team / Player Evaluation........................................................................    Page 21

Report Forms..........................................................................................  Page 24

 

 

 

Chairman’s Introduction

Kilcock Celtic is a Grass roots football club which was formed in 1970, by our founding member Martin (Bruno) Byrne and a group of local people. The club has now established itself in the Bawnogue with its grass pitches and new all-weather pitch.

Kilcock Celtic FC is committed to ensuring that children can participate in all football activities in a safe environment. Football provides an excellent opportunity to learn new skills, become more confident and maximise potential as members of teams and as individuals. Participation in

Football should be fun, enjoyable and provide a platform to learn and develop life skills, make new friends and enhance personal growth. The safety and welfare of all children is paramount.

As Kilcock Celtic continues to grow, both in the number of players, (now over 600) and coaches and committee members (now over 80 people involved) it is important that the club sets out its vision and gives clear guidelines of what is expected of everyone who is involved, so that everyone knows what is expected of them.

 

 The purpose of this document is to lay down a frame work so that everyone involved in the club is aware of our Ethos, and what the club expects from them, and what they can expect from the club.

For the purposes of this document, a manager is any person (manager, coach, volunteer, committee member etc.) involved with the running of a team or section within the club.

 

The vision for the future of Kilcock Celtic

The club wants to have a clear vision of what we want to achieve over the coming five years. We want to establish Kilcock Celtic as a club that all our players and members can be proud of.

Our aim is to provide football for Girls & Boys of all abilities for the community of Kilcock. We believe this is possible by having three teams at every age group in every league, top, middle and lower leagues and having the right people to support our vision.

We want to work towards improving our current facilities, with our third pitch, (for training) to add to our fantastic new all-weather pitch, and the next obvious thing is a club house.

We also want to see our numbers grow and to add more players and teams, and to insure we help all our players to develop their skills to help us achieve success on the pitch as well.

We hope to establish Kilcock Celtic as the club that offers ladies football a real chance and become the main club for ladies’ football in Kildare.

 

The Club Ethos

The Club ethos has always been that everyone who wants to play soccer is welcome, regardless of race, religion, gender or level of ability and this will never change.

We will continue to work hard to offer all players the opportunity to learn to improve their skills and develop a love of playing soccer.

 

50th Anniversary

The Club celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020, you can read all about the club history and the journey it has taken to get to where we are today on the new web site www.kilcockceltic.com

 

Current Information

 

Teams

The Club currently has over 600 players spread across 27 teams from Academy (4-6 yr olds), up to our over 35’s teams, playing in the Kildare leagues.

There are currently over 80 coaches and over 20 committee members across all 3 committees, the Executive Committee, Finance Committee and the Football Committee

 

Leagues

League
Name
KDUL
Kildare District Underage League
KDFL
Kildare District Football League

Leinster senior League
Key Club Contacts

Contact details for all club officials and coaches can be found here; http://www.kilcockceltic.com “more/contact”

 

Coaches Do’s and Do not’s

The Do's 

Insure you are Garda Vetted.

Complete you’re safeguarding Course

Complete you’re First Aid course

Commit to completing your PDP courses which the club will put on to help you’re development throughout the year.

Use Club Zap as your communication tool.

Coach you’re players in a positive and encouraging way.

Treat all club members with respect.

Always set a proper example to your players.

 

The Do not’s

Do not turn any player away from the club,

All are welcome not matter level of ability they have.

Even if you already have a large squad, you must manage the expectations of the incoming player but they are still welcome to join.

Do not use bad language when coaching you’re players, or on the side line during matches.

Do not attempt to grade your squad without the permission of the football committee.

Do not organise a fundraiser for your team without the permission of the finance committee.

Do not organise an away trip for your squad without permission from the executive committee, (for insurance reasons).

 

 

 

Coach’s Responsibilities

Garda Vetting

Safeguarding Course

First Aid Course

Set a proper example

Communication and Social Media

Coach Education

Coach / Parent Meetings

Player Development

 

Garda Vetting

This is a statutory requirement for all clubs under the National Vetting Act (Children and Vulnerable Persons) 2012 to 2016, that all individuals, volunteers or paid, working with Children and Vulnerable Persons have completed Garda vetting clearance before engaging with an Organisation or services.
The Act creates offences and penalties for persons who fail to comply with its provisions. The Act commenced on the 29th April 2016

All coaches / members must be Garda vetted and have produced their Garda vetting letter from the FAI and a copy MUST be sent into the Football Committee Secretary before you can take part at Kilcock Celtic.

Garda vetting is the responsibility of every coach / member to keep updated and its best practice to apply / reapply six months before its expiry date.

Garda vetting is a FAI Rule for all those working with children and or vulnerable persons (in a paid or voluntary capacity). Please see FAI Rulebook Part B Rule 40 and the FAI Child Welfare & Safeguarding Policy section 10 for more information. If you are not Garda vetted through the FAI, you should not undertake any work in a paid or voluntary capacity with children or vulnerable persons in football.

For Garda vetting applications, new or renewing, you should fully complete all sections of the FAI Garda vetting form available for download / online version on the FAI website https://www.fai.ie/domestic/safeguarding/overview  or national vetting bureau https://vetting.garda.ie/

Note: just because you may be Garda Vetted and approved with another club, (e.g. GAA) you must also go through the process for Kilcock Celtic

 

Safeguarding

All coaches must have completed their safeguarding course and produced their safeguarding certificate and a copy MUST be sent into the Football Committee Secretary before you can take part at Kilcock Celtic.

This is a 2-3 hour course delivered by the FAI and it can also be completed on-line http://www.fai.ie “book a course.”  The FAI Child Welfare and Safeguarding Policy (the “Policy”) aims to set out guidelines and procedures to assist those working with Children within the game and where appropriate those working with vulnerable persons. It is the responsibility of all adults involved in football to actively promote best practice standards whilst being ever vigilant and aware of their responsibilities. This course can be completed online at

https://fainet.ie/vkal/mod_vkal/webflow.do?event=ANGEBOT_NEW&dmg_menu=15001

 

Set a Proper Example

The most important thing is to set a proper example when speaking to your players, match officials and spectators. You should always do so in a respectful manner and you should always coach in an encouraging way, building the players confidence by praising what they do well, and advising them on what they need to work more on.

 

It is very important that you ensure all players get an equal amount of match playing time, as players will not develop unless they get the opportunity to do so. You should keep a record of this so that you can confirm the details should a parent enquire.

 

Communications / Social Media

To improve our club’s communication directly to coaches, parents, players our continuously updated website and Club-Zap has all the club information and is the best means of keeping yourselves updated on all club matters. Please ensure you / parents / senior players download Club-Zap from your App store to your mobile device and select Kilcock Celtic as your club.

As of Jan 2021, all team training times and match fixtures need to be communicated by Club-Zap and all other communications channels needs to be discontinued with parents/ players (e.g., WhatsApp) while communicating official club business

All social media content / pictures / match reports should be sent to our PRO to be submitted on our website, all activities will be driven through this source of media   

 

 

Coach Education

We pride ourselves in relation to the coach education programme that the club provide for coaches however we need to educate more coaches and improve their learning so that we can enable them to develop better players at all levels of the game. We have already seen some fantastic results in the last 18 months in this area but there is a lot more to do and that is why our coach education and player development pathways are essential.

We of course had to take a break from courses during 2020 but we are very hopeful that we can offer more opportunities during 2021 and beyond.

Coach / Parent Meetings

It is best practice and recommended that all Coaches have a pre-season parent/coaches meeting to explain their plans for the year ahead. The outline should involve the team training requirements / attendance, what the team will be working on during the season, session plans explained, side-line behaviour, respecting match officials, help with transport and goal posts, players evaluation process and to manage the expectation from the club.

The coaching committee has a guided template that every team can use. These meetings are pivotal to getting parents more involved in the club, and helping them to get to know the coaches.

Parents Guide

At Kilcock Celtic we want to provide a safe and enjoyable environment for all our players to learn to play soccer. We work hard to ensure all our coaches’ work in a positive way, always encouraging the players.

Parents also have a responsibility to:

Ensure their child is registered properly, as they are not insured if they are not registered.
Ensure their child attends as many training sessions as possible, and the more football practice they get the better they will be.
Respect the coaches who give up a lot of their time to ensure the team is looked after properly.
Respect the match officials and do not shout any abuse at them even when they make a mistake, as this is not the example we what to set our players.
We ask parents to please support the club’s fundraising efforts in any way they can, as this funding goes towards running the club and developing and improving the facilities for all the players.
We ask that if a parent has an issue or problem with the club, which cannot be solved by the coach of their child, that they contact a member of the executive committee who will try to resolve the issue.
We thank you all for your continued support as we all work towards making Kilcock Celtic a better club for all our players.
Club Organisation

The club is structured to ensure it is run in an effective way to meet the FAI Q-Mark standards, and to align all members with the future plans and needs of Kilcock Celtic for the benefit of all our members as we outlined previously. Details on how the club is structured can be found on the club’s website http://www.kilcockceltic.com

 

The following list outlines how the various responsibilities within the club structure are aligned

Executive committee

Chairperson, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Secretary, Child Welfare officer, Registrar, PRO and other committee members.

Finance committee

Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary, and other committee members

Facility Committee

Football committee

Chairpersons, Secretary, other coach’s make up the committee. The club aims to have a coach from each age group on the committee.

If you are interested in joining any of the committee’s please contact the chairperson. We are always looking for new ideas and faces to help with the running of the club. 

 

 

 

General Club Rules and Guidelines

The following pages outline the rules and guidelines of the club so that you, as a club manager are aware of what the club expects from you and what you should expect from our club.

For our incoming managers, it may seem daunting in terms of its many pages but most of the items are advisory.

There is however some strict rules (highlighted in bold below) that you need to adhere to. We now have a large number of teams and coaches, so club restrictions on certain activities must be complied with, so that all members can equally enjoy the full facilities that the club provides.

Our Club’s Basic Values

1. It is the objective of all managers to promote a spirit of sportsmanship amongst members through the development of football skills, self-discipline, Teamwork, Integrity in Relationships, Quality Atmosphere and Ethos, Equality, Fair Play, Competition.

2. It is the stated policy of Kilcock Celtic Football Club that everyone is welcome to play for our club regardless of race, creed, Gender, religion, or level of ability.

3. All managers, or any person representing Kilcock Celtic Football Club, must know and be fully familiar with the FAI Code of Ethics available at http://www.fai.ie.

 

 

Club Membership

1. Players must pay in full or instalments for the club’s annual membership or, in consultation with the club’s Treasurer / Chairperson, agree a schedule of payment.

2. Managers may only play players in a match, who have paid or part-paid their membership and who are fully and properly registered with the relevant league. A player who has not at least part-paid their membership is deemed not a member of Kilcock Celtic FC and therefore will not be insured to play matches or train and both manager and club could be held liable for any injury to said player. The league also applies fines to the club should a player that is not registered properly take part in a match.

3. It is a strict club rule that the guidelines by the relevant league(s) are fully followed when moving players between teams (whether internally or where a player from another club is involved). Please consult with the Football Committee in advance. Guidelines on approaching players from other clubs can be found here; http://www.fai.ie/domestic/governance/scouting

Sub Fees

The club has introduced an on-line SUBS collection through club-zap, rather than bringing them to the coaches every week.

 

Reasons

—  It stops the coaches having to worry about collecting and keeping track of what they have collected and who has paid them.

—  It insures everyone pays their fair share.

—  The subs will be €3 per player per week for teams under 15 downwards, and €5 per week for teams under 16 upwards, collected monthly through club zap. This will only be charged when training is taking place (max any family would pay is €32 per month)

—   For that players get

—  Training sessions throughout their season.

—  The club will pay for the lights on the all-weather pitch

—  The club will pay the loan on the all-weather pitch

—  The club will pay the Referees for all matches

—  The club will supply all the equipment the coaches need for training.

—  The club will look after the end of season celebrations and Christmas party for the children.

 

League Organisation

Most Kilcock Celtic teams currently play in the KDUL (Kildare District Underage League) and KDFL (Kildare District Football League) leagues.

Once a player registers and pays the registration fee with the club, the club will then register them with the relevant league, usually within a few days.

Please visit www.kdul.ie for any information you require about the league.

 

 

 

 

Discipline

1. All members, parents, managers, coaches, other team mentors and club officials shall adhere to the Club Code of Conduct (Where is this located on the home page of the club website - http://www.kilcockceltic.com/) and the rules and guidelines contained in this Managers Handbook. Any deviation from those rules may result in serious reprimand up to and including withdrawal of membership.

2. The club executive committee has the power to suspend or expel any member, player, parent, manager, coach, mentor and official.

3. The club executive committee has the discretion to levy a playing member with any charge in respect of fines imposed on the club by any league as a result of any breach of league or club rules by that member.

4. All fines imposed on the club by any league as a result of any breach of league or club rules by managers, coaches or parents MUST be paid by the individual concerned.

 

Behaviour

1. Managers are responsible for ensuring that players and parents do not behave in a manner likely to bring Kilcock Celtic FC into disrepute.

2. All Kilcock Celtic FC members and their parents / relations, including managers, coaches, mentors and officials are expected to behave with absolute respect towards referees. It is never acceptable for any club members to use offensive language at any time. It sets the wrong example to our young players and damages the club’s reputation.

3. Should a manager witness someone on their sideline being abusive to either the referee or any player, Home or Away, the manager should ask them to refrain from doing so, and if that person does not do so, they should report the incident to the Executive Committee after the game.

4. Discrimination or abuse of players on grounds of race, creed, gender or religion will not be tolerated.

5. Managers are required to inform the club’s Child Welfare Officer of any bullying suspected of taking place within the team or in the club.

6. All managers and parents must treat each other with the utmost respect. Whilst disagreements may take place on occasions a courteous and respectful manner must be maintained at all times. Procedures for dispute resolution will be followed by the executive committee for a satisfactory outcome.

7. Parents and mentors are requested not to smoke while in the presence of players.

8. Club officials must refrain from consumption of alcohol while in charge of players.

9. You must make sure that proper respect is given to parents and their vehicles while transporting your players.

10. Only the management team may give instructions from the sideline. Please instruct all parents prior to the start of a season that this is a club rule. Members of the committee will monitor this on an ongoing basis. Parents or guardians who fall foul of this rule may, at the discretion of the club committees, be asked not to attend the matches or in extreme cases be removed from the club.

11. All games should be played with a display of good sportsmanship and fair play for all. It is a tradition with Kilcock Celtic FC that win, lose or draw, we always offer a handshake (elbow) to the opposition and the referee at the end of the match and thank them for the game.

 

Coaches should NOT

Turn any player away from the club

Create a waiting list of players who wish to join because they feel their squad has enough players.

Decide to bring their team on a trip, either domestic or foreign, without the permission of the executive committee

Run a fundraiser for their team or the club without permission from the finance or executive committee’s

Should not open a bank account in the clubs name to deposit money they have collected from parents or other sources.

Decide to merge their team with another team at the same age level without first getting agreement from the football committee.

Invite in outside coaches from other clubs to host a training session without permission from the football committee.

Allow anyone to assist them with training or matches who have not been properly Garda Vetted for kilcock Celtic.

Decide to purchase a kit for their players without first getting approval from the Football committee and Kit Manager.

Collect money for a kit without paying it into the club, as all money collected on behalf of the club from sponsors or otherwise should be lodged into the club account, in order to maintain total transparency.

 

 

Team Management

What is the coach’s goal? How do you measure a successful season?

We believe the success of a season for every coach should be measured in the improvement of their players, and not necessarily on the league table or by how many games they won throughout the season.

Coaches should use the Player Evaluation Form (see attached) to evaluate their players at the start of each season. Do so again half way through and again at the end of the season.

This form when looking at the overall result for the squad, will help you to identify what areas you need to work most on, and help to guide you towards what drills you need to introduce into your training sessions.

If each of your players has improved by the season end, even by a small amount, then you have achieved your goal. If you can repeat the same result again next season then the results will follow, and the silverware will as well.

 

Coaching / Player Development

1. Training sessions should start on time and finish on time, where possible, the training area and equipment should be ready ten minutes prior to the arrival of the players – sessions set up, footballs pumped, bibs/cones ready etc. Please insist that all your players be in attendance at least 10 minutes before the formal start of the training session. It’s the coach’s responsibility to return all equipment to its proper location e.g., goals to be put away after use.

2. Coaches session plans should be trained in block session for 3-4, 4-5 weeks blocks depending on abilities to ensure all players understand the session. It is of paramount importance that every coach understands the session that is being taught and understands the coaching points to explain to all players. If required please ensure you receive your session plans from the Secretary of the Football Committee for further guidance.

3. Managers and assistant managers are asked to develop their coaching skills in accordance with the FAI’s coaching structures 2021-2025 / Kilcock Celtics coach’s education programmes and must do so if they wish to manage the teams in the highest leagues. Courses in support of this objective are held by the club when training needs analysis is carried out and appropriate coach’s numbers are available for club training, alternatively coaches training can also be completed individually by coaches once authorised by the Football Committee / Executive Committee. It is the club’s objective to have at least one coach with an appropriate and officially recognised level of expertise with every team. The club will pay for course fees for those coaches who wish to develop their skills e.g. PDP1, PDP2, PDP3, please note advance approval is required from the executive committee or football committee before courses should be booked.

4. It is an advantage to get your assistant manager/coach to make notes during games so that you can use the information gathered to correct playing mistakes during training and improve your team’s system of play

5. Please check that you have enough equipment required for training, football for every player, cones etc.

6. If training is to be cancelled it is the responsibility of the coaches to inform the Covid officers / facilities committee as early as possible in advance

7. The football committee is always available to assist in any way with any coaching queries. Please ask as they are happy to help in whatever way they can.

8. There are two areas of player development, Technical development and Tactical development, all coaches need to have a clear understanding of what the difference is between them and how they can best work on both aspects of the game in training and coaching the players. If you need assistance in these areas, please contact the Football committee who will be happy to assist you. The football committee has created over 40 session plans to help coaches prepare for their training session.

9. Visualisation for young players to learn, its best practice to use a tactic folder or tactics board to aid player learning – cognitive maturity is different with all young players and most players learn best by what they see rather that what the coach says before the game.

 

New Players / Squad sizes

1. No coach / manager in Kilcock Celtic are permitted to refuse / turn away any players from training. The clubs liaison officer or football committee is the point of contact for all new players or returning players who will assess the situation, manage the expectation with the coaches/parents, (ability level), review team’s numbers and advise the coaches accordingly. Players that want to join mid-season can train but must be registered fully before they can play any league games, new players can play friendly games to assess their ability. A grace period of two weeks is allowed for new players to train thereafter registration is required in order for new players to continue training; no other players are permitted to train unless registered with the club.

2. No coach / manager in Kilcock Celtic has the authority to refuse players as we need three teams at every age group in every league, top, middle and lower leagues to achieve our goals “we want to provide football for every ability for Girls & Boys” for the community of Kilcock where possible.

3. In conjunction with the FAI player development plan the club has a recommended team sizes for all coaches / managers to use as a bench mark below. When a team size exceeds the recommendation and players are left behind every week in unique circumstances the club will contact the league to seek dispensation and approval if it is possible to enter another team. This is to ensure players get to play football on a regular basis, this may mean starting with the minimum number of players to field a team in order to grow a second team. It is the coach’s responsibility to inform the football committee of team sizes and if required a player recruitment drive on social media / schools to form additional teams. 

5v5 team size 12+

7v7 team size 16+

9v9 team sizes 16+

11v11 team sizes 16-20 (competitive / older / senior Teams)

Coach’s need to be aware of the number of players required for the coming season and ensures they work to increase their squad sizes. Squad sizes may vary depending on the numbers across the specific age groups in order to accommodate players as our aim is to have players playing football each week.

Should you already have sufficient numbers in your squad and a new player wishes to join, you should manage the expectations of both the player and their parents in relation to what match time would be available. Inform them that the player can train with the squad if they wish, after they have registered, however the match time we can offer at present will be limited, until we reach sufficient numbers to create another team at this age level.

 

General Match Preparation

1. Match times:

Refer to the league’s fixtures on their website (Normally they are available on Mondays on the league website). These are the only official fixtures announcements. Other sources, even our own and the league websites will not be accepted as being valid in the case of disputes.

2. Contact opposition:

In all cases, both home and away, contact your opposition manager during the week in advance of the game to confirm all details, directions, change strip, exchange of mobile numbers etc. This may have to be done through the opposition’s league secretary if required.

3. Pitch inspection:

Normally takes place on Friday afternoon and the morning of the weekend games by our facilities managers, club secretaries will advise coaches if the home pitches are playable once advised by our facilities manages. It is best practice to check to see if your away pitch is playable by contacting the opposition’s manager the evening / morning before you travel. 

4. Arrange meeting place:

Arrange time and place to meet players and, if required drivers. It is our best advice to meet as a team and travel as a team and allow sufficient travelling time to get to your away fixture. Consult check the league website for the most up-to-date information

If pitches are deemed not playable then no activities whatsoever (competitive matches, friendlies or training) are allowed. Advice will be given by our facilities managers.

The club may also inform you, normally by club communication, of playing or training restrictions being imposed by the club to protect our players, coaches, community and pitches. These instructions as issued by the club are mandatory.

 

Home

1. Find out which pitch is allocated to you by reviewing the league website. If you discover a clash of fixtures / times, please ensure you inform the club secretary immediately.

2. Pitches are normally marked for the different 5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11 games by our facilities managers. It is the responsibility of every coach to ensure the goal posts/nets are set up and secured properly and also taken down after the match and do not hesitate to ask Parents and players for help.

 It is a good idea to organize this at the start of the season at your parents meeting this allows you to concentrate on preparing your players. Always allow enough time for set up, especially if you are the first match of the day.

3. Meet your opposition players and officials and show them to their dressing room if required. Check with the facilities managers on the day to see which dressing rooms are available to you and your opposition if required. Please ensure all belongings are taken from the dressing rooms as the club will not accept responsibility for loss of damaged belongings.

4. Allow plenty of time - at least 30-45mins before kick-off - to get your team ready. Proper dynamic warm-ups and static stretches should be undertaken before kick-off (mandatory for all teams) and It is best practice to communicate your warm up times with parents to ensure they arrive on time.

5. All warm-ups must take place off the pitch home & away. Please pass this message on to opposing team’s managers. Compliance with this rule will ensure our playing pitches remain in the best condition possible for all teams. Please seek advice from the facilities managers of the best place to warm up.

6. Players / coaches should be kitted out in the official club gear (jersey, shorts, socks and tracksuit if required). Club shorts and socks can be purchased from the club supplier. (Currently Joma & O Neills visit http://www.kilcockceltic.com) Take pride in the turnout of your players. Managers may underestimate the importance of this rule but a well-turned-out side with excellent warm-up coaching will be better mentally prepared for the game and less injuries.

7. Make sure that each player is wearing shin guards and proper studs. If a player is not wearing shin guards and you have no spares available, then he/she is not insured and cannot play in the match. Plastic moulded studs only permitted to be used on the Astro.

8. Make sure that you have arranged for an alternative set of jerseys in case of clash of colour for home matches. It is a good idea to check what colours the opposition will be wearing during the week before the match. The obligation is on the home team to change. Some teams have an away set of gear and the coach should be asked if their 2nd set could be used. Please inform the club secretary if an away set of gear cannot be found. The referee may also ask the home team to change their socks if they are a similar colour or pattern.

For non-competitive games turning the jerseys inside out or wearing bibs may be appropriate for the game. You will find your opposition’s team colours on the league’s website. Referees may abandon games if you do not have the alternative jersey at match time and may award the points to the opposition.

9. Nominate the team captain (It is best practice to nominate captains on a rotation basis to allow everyone the chance to become captain) fixed captains can be used at a later stage.

10. Make sure you do the warm downs with your players after the game (mandatory for teams to reduce the risk of stiffness / injury).

11. For hygiene reasons please ensure that all players bring their own water bottles on match days / trainings. Make sure you have sufficient water for treatment of injuries. We advise reusable metal / plastic bottles to reduce the plastic waste for the environment / club.

12. Mandatory for all teams to have your full first aid kit with you for games & training. The most normal injuries require a splash of water, some attention, and maybe a cold spray to resolve. Exercise extreme caution if these simple remedies do not work and substitute immediately. Keep a careful watch on any injured player to ensure that the injury is improving. If you are in any way suspicious that the injury is not resolved, then you must substitute the player immediately and investigate further. The club provides first aid training for coaches. All serious injuries must be reported immediately to the club secretary with fully completed Injury report forms

13. If you are the last fixture on your allocated pitch, you must ensure that all equipment is returned to the equipment container after your game. Nets, posts, sandbags, tie-downs, flags, and hammer must be returned and put in their allotted place for the next match day. Do not assume that someone else has stowed away the equipment properly - check it yourself. Always close and lock the container when you return your equipment to avoid theft of club items.

 

Away

1. Contact the opposition the evening before the game to make sure all is in order.

2. Ensure that there is sufficient transport available for away matches.

3. It is suggested that teams meet at a specified location Club House / school etc

4. Follow FAI guidelines on the transport of children – details can be found here; http://www.fai.ie/domestic/safeguarding/fai-child-welfare-policy.

5. Allow plenty of time to get to the venue. Plan to arrive with at least 30 – 45 minutes to spare before kickoff.

6. Do your dynamic warm-ups and static stretches correctly and with full club-approved kit.

 

Match Reports

1. Match results must be sent to the club secretary by text message as soon as your match is over or when you return back from the game.

2. It is most important that you keep a record of the results of all matches in the event of a dispute later. Leagues may get the results wrong.

3. Match results should form part of your match report. It will also be useful to take note of the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses and how you should adapt your game plan for your next game against them

4. Additionally, for competitive games coaches should be asked to write up a short match report with photos if possible, a few times during the year and sent to the clubs PRO website administrator (see the website for some examples of this and you will see how effective it is)

 

All requests for fixture changes/cancellations must adhere to the following guidelines;

1. Notice must be given to our club secretary 4 weeks in advance of the date of the fixture you wish cancelled. Please engage with your parents as early as possible and ask them to inform you of upcoming absences. This should cover major events such as Communions, Confirmations, Exams etc.

2.Any requests for cancellations less than 4 weeks before a game must be made to the club secretary and will only be reviewed under exceptional circumstances.

3. Time changes and home pitch changes all-weather/grass must be notified to the club secretary. This is to facilitate the club in working with referees and with the pitch coordinator. There is no guarantee that requests can be facilitated.

Injuries

1. If any serious injury occurs during training or matches you must deal with the situation as an urgent matter and call the emergency services as required.

2. Subsequently you are required as a matter of urgency to fill in a club Injury Report form (see enclosure) and submit it to the club secretary, for review by the Executive Committee.

3. Do not delay this process as the insurance company must be informed by the club with immediate effect of injury.

4. The club carries standard football club insurance to help protect against the cost of injury while participating in official club activities.

5. Our insurance company will require confirmation of the player’s registration from the relevant league - another important reason to adhere to registration rules.

 

First Aid

1. It is mandatory that every manager, assistant manager or one of the team’s parents has a basic knowledge of first aid. The club will request that at least one manager/coach attend a first aid course and is proficient in first aid. It is no load to carry and it may save a life.

2. It is mandatory that every team has a first aid kit with them for training and matches. Contact the club secretary/Kit Manager for any assistance.

3. Never administer tablets or any other prescription medicine to a player - or to anyone else. Always inform the parents

4. Make sure you are informed of any medical condition any of your players may have.

5. The club has a defibrillator, only for use by suitably trained personnel, available in the clubhouse and at the all-weather pitch.

 

Fundraising

In order to contribute to the club’s overheads fundraising is an essential part of our club’s operations and it is mandatory that it is supported by all managers/coaches/teams, without fundraising we would not have our new Astro. All managers / teams will be given advance notice of the fundraising activity by the finance committee / executive committee.

Where collections are involved agreed deadlines must be met for the return of ticket sales, all funds raised must be given immediately to the executive committee for security and tracking reasons.

Individual managers or teams are NOT allowed to organise any fundraising events without the prior approval of the Finance Committee.

 

Team Trips

The club encourages and supports teams who wish to travel abroad as a group. In all cases, the following rules must be observed:

1. Any proposed trip must be first run by the football committee / executive committee to ensure it accommodates all players and it is fit for team purpose. The best player experiences are a blend of training, different activities, matches, stadium tour and to attend premier league game etc this is a more rounded approach and it is totally different from a tournament

 Alternatively, any team that wishes to travel abroad can seek advice from the football committee as they have some supplier contacts for such educational events.

2. The club’s insurance policy only covers tournaments in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK. Managers must ensure that each person travelling has the appropriate level of personal travel insurance.

3. The club will not be held liable for any adverse occurrence during the trip.

4. Each team must review and follow the guidelines as outlined by the FAI located here;

http://www.fai.ie/domestic/safeguarding/documents

 

Facilities Committee

Our facilities committee has been formed and are responsible for everything to do with our club’s facilities, clubhouse, Astro and grass pitches as well as setting the schedule for training and match times. The facilities committee will be made up of existing facilities managers, existing members from different committee and new members within the club.

 

Training Slot Allocation

All teams generally train a minimum of two nights per week during the season however due to the size of the club and the growth aspirations on the number of teams we can foresee some future challenges, it may not be possible to accommodate all teams on both nights on the Astro pitch (we aim to provide each team with a minimum of one slot). Where teams cannot be accommodated, the club will try source alternative facilities elsewhere for their second night.

Slots on the Astro pitch, and external facilities, are allocated based on the following guidelines;

 

1. All teams where possible with the same age group should train on the same night at the same time

2.  Younger age groups start at the earlier times slots and the older age groups start later

3. Slots times are allocated by age group.

4. Where possible teams may get 1/2, 1/4, 1/3, 1/6, of the pitch for each session; smaller sided teams may get 1/6 of the pitch to maximise capacity

5. Teams who are allocated a second slot may only be allocated 1/4, 1/3, or 1/6, of the pitch. Ensure your sessions are appropriate for the space allocated

6. Academy / Younger age groups slots may be allocated indoors during the winter if required.

During the winter training season midweek, the Astro pitch will be used for training (aside from Friday evening’s senior team games if applicable). League, cup or friendly games will be scheduled on the grass pitches initially. All efforts will be made to accommodate requests for games / friendly where appropriate.

Astro Pitch

All managers are requested to protect this expensive facility by knowing and enforcing the rules below:

1. Teams to meet their manager/coach at the  Astro entrance ten minutes prior to their starting time on the all-weather pitch, 

2. Walk to the all-weather pitch along the path – on NO account are players to cut across the grass pitch.

3. Clean boots with plastic moulded studs only to be used for all players and coaches, NO steel or metal studs of any sort allowed, on the Astro pitch. 

4. In line with the child protection, children should be dropped off at and collected from the gate of the all-weather pitch

5. NO chewing gum/smoking/dogs/bicycles allowed in the Astro facility. Only players and managers in appropriate clothing and footwear are allowed on the pitch.

6. After your session, please return to exit the clubhouse by the path provided.

7. Please ensure that at the end of your allotted time you vacate your slot immediately so that the following team can start their session on time. All post session discussions should take place off of the training area.

8. Managers, please ask all your team to bring their bottles/gear with them and keep the facility clean.

9. If you are the last manager/coach to leave the all-weather pitch it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that the pitch is fully vacated, the pitch is cleared of all training equipment and litter, the lights are turned off, Astro and the main gates are locked, and the keys are returned to the clubhouse / facilities manager. This applies regardless of your finish time.

 

Clubhouse

1. Please ensure that the FAI Code of Ethics is correctly applied while in the changing area.

2. Make sure that the dressing room is swept out after your team is finished with it, including training sessions.

3. Make sure that underage players are supervised while in the clubhouse.

4. Facilities manager is a clearly defined role, and it carries its own responsibilities. These do not include looking after individual teams and their behaviour.

5. If you wish to use the clubhouse / gym / indoor Astro, then advise the facilities manager with plenty of notice using the book a pitch platform. It is the coach’s responsibilities who use the gym / indoor Astro to be swept out and clean up after your team is finished, Gym must be kept clean and equipment must be put back in its correct place.

 

Continuous Based Assessment / Player Evaluation

By having three teams at every age group in every league, top, middle and lower leagues we can provide football for every player’s ability. With these teams in place, it is very important (for player development) that we have players playing at the level that matches their ability. Continuous based assessment (CBA) for players needs to be reviewed on a regular basis (throughout the season) to ensure all players are playing in the leagues that matches their abilities. With coach education coaches will quickly realise that they have just carried out a player development plan and training needs analysis, which will allow them to focus on player development and what each player needs to work on instead of winning at all costs.

In this way we can improve and accelerate all players’ development, however for this to be achieved we need to move away from teams having mixed abilities and focus on teams formed on the basis of matched abilities.

The current model we have is not sustainable for the growth of the Club and we will be moving away from the opinion-based model to evidence-based player-based assessment / evaluation method and scoring structure which will be used at committee meetings or discussed with parents for the reasons that players are playing in a particular league – this process is also to protect the integrity of our coaches. 

1. Continuous based assessment and player evaluation should start before each season and Before the end of every season planning for the next season (best advice is to start during mid-season) players, and teams needs to be evaluated by (CBA) continuous based assessment by coaches / impartial coaches, committee members on match days, training performance, training utilisation and friendly games to ensure all players are assessed fairly and playing at the correct levels that matches their abilities. The Club has made every effort to assign training slots to the same age teams to allow our coaches the opportunity to work together on similar sessions however at different stages of progression and variations of each team and to allow players the time to get familiar with all coaches. By doing this it makes an easier transition for players to transition within Teams.

Continuous based assessments and player evaluation will create the movement for some players, other players may need more time at their current playing leagues and additional players may need to be recruited for teams to build numbers via social media campaigns/ schools etc

Players may move up and down to different leagues, with the intention of developing players  by maximising their game time in relation to the FAI player development model to enhance  players development, please note depending of the player CBA/evaluations results, players may not be required to move to a lower league just because a player has the ability to move up a league from another Team, however teams may well have to increase their numbers to ensure players are playing at the level that matches their abilities.

2. Its imperative that evaluation forms must be completed to support the coach’s, impartial coach, committee members decision that the team was formed based on players abilities and on an impartial and independent decisions made. More importantly these forms act as a player development plan for coaches to review and work to improve all their players.

3. Before agreement is made on a team’s league placement a conversation should be had with the club secretary/registrar that we have the correct Teams in the correct league that matches their abilities, note depending on Teams results, the league may request teams to play at certain levels, Its best practice that coaches should know the development area of their team, alternatively teams who are sitting in the same league with no progress being made will be reviewed to understand why the lack of progress and what development supports are required to progress their Team. 

4. No coach / manager in Kilcock Celtic is permitted to consolidate teams from three teams into two or two teams into one team without getting agreement from the executive committee / football committee. If coaches identify that players may leave for certain reasons it’s the responsibility of all coaches of the specific age group to inform the executive committee / football committee for all team discussions / squad sizes and if a player recruitment drive needs to take place.

Player recruitment may be continuous throughout the season in preparation for the following season. Where squad sizes are too small at the start, the team is left exposed if players are not available – our aim is to prevent this from happening in the future.

5. Should a manager wish to manage or be involved in a different team for the following season, an official request must be made to the executive committee / football committee.

  

Evaluation Process

 The purpose of this is to give guidance for a framework process to access all players fairly, to be consistent and transparent with all team coaches, our coaches will quickly realise that its not only an evaluation model it’s also a player development plan for every player and training needs analysis will quickly be identified once used correctly, it will move the club from an opinion based to a factual based process and protects our coaches. It will allow coaches to manage the movement of players between teams with consistency, transparency and integrity.

Whilst at all times the club’s aim is to offer football at a suitable level to all its players, it is recognized that any continuous based assessment / evaluation process can cause confusion and disappointment if not assessed correctly. Do not complicate the process

 The procedures below ensure that all our players are treated fairly and consistently by each team within the club with the welfare of the child being able to play at the level that matches their ability. Coach’s focus should be on player development and the appropriate session plans put in place once the evaluation has taken place to develop players.

The movement of players should be handled in an organised and coordinated manner. The specific age groups managers meeting will be the official forum where the process can be discussed and agreed upon by coaches to ensure all players are playing at the levels that matches their abilities, the executive committee / football committee involvement may be required if a decision cannot be reached or a dispute occurs.

 All players-based assessments / evaluation should be started at the start, mid-season and before end of season; decisions should be made prior to the end of the season in preparation for the following season and discussion with the football committee / executive committee if changes are required.

  Guidelines

• Player evaluation form to be completed by coaches / impartial coaches / committee members – do not over complicate the evaluation process, it’s a simple process

• It is the club’s policy that players play at the level that matches their abilities in the correct league, the leagues are evaluated with different levels and our players abilities needs to match these leagues.

• It is best practice to give players the experience in all Teams and in all positions particularly during the non-competitive years – these are development & experimental years for young players

• By the start of the competitive season player’s evaluation should be completed and players playing in the leagues that match their abilities and continuous based assessments carried out thereafter on a regular basis.

• Managers cannot hold onto players and hinder player development if the club feels they need to move up/back a league.

• Where a player does not want to move up a league the club will not force them to do so, however coaches should explain that the player’s development may be hindered.  

• Requests to move more than 3 players must be raised with executive committee /football committee prior to meeting, with full evaluation reasoning behind the decision.

• A player cannot be moved to a lower team more than once in each 12-month period.

• If a player is to be moved to another team, a meeting with parents/player must be undertaken by a minimum of two adults (a manager, coach & child welfare officer), to explain their findings and why this decision has been taken, and it should always be done with the best interest of the player in mind.

 

Clubs Team Style of play

As part of the FAI player development model in relation to retreat lines at non-competitive games it’s best practice and imperative to allow all players to play out from the back in order to give them confidence with the style of play – this will then become the blueprint of the style of football each team will play in future years. It’s important to note that possession feature and direct feature of play are different and teams must identify and be able to transition between the two when playing competitive games. Guidance from the FAI player development model should be adhered to as best practice advice at all times.

 The Chairman / Executive committee has mandated the football committee if required to review each team in relation to:

Correct leagues entered

Teams continuous based assessment / player’s evaluation / Squad numbers

Review Team performances

Assist coaches with the assessment of players / session plans

Assist coaches with a mentor if required

Coach education and player development

Q Mark