Who is this Nigel Ewing?

Nigel, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, has played football his entire life. He played from U12 through to high school varsity i.e. U14 and U16 in his home country.  In the USA, he played his four years of NCAA eligibility in a third division undergraduate program in New York (York College, CUNY). His team won the league and CUNY tournament in 1990. Nigel has coached U12 and U14 in Oxford, Ohio and Club soccer in graduate school at Miami University, Ohio. He continues to play in the "Over the hill league" in Massachusetts.  Nigel earned is Ph. D in analytical chemistry at Miami University and is now a  senior research scientist at a small pharmaceutical company in Lexington, MA called Antigenics inc..  The company develops autologous, patient specific vaccines for cancer treatment.  Nigel’s wife, Melissa, is a French teacher (Grades 6 thru 8) at Charles River School, Dover MA.  The newly weds just purchased a home in Hopkinton and have no children at this time.

 

Who are the Sullivan’s?

            Kristin is a former youth soccer player.  More recently, Kristin has been active in the Hopkinton Soccer community, serving two years on the Hopkinton Youth Soccer Board.  Sean got involved with soccer through coaching.   He has coached youth soccer for 5 years, from kindergarten through U10.  Both Sean and Kristin are MYSA F-license certified.  The Sullivan’s have three soccer playing children: Harry, Nicholas, and Caroline.  Harry is a member of the CRU Mustangs U11 team, coached by Nigel Ewing.

 

What is CRU's intention with this program?

            CRU is addressing a need it has perceived in the development of its players.  Other successful clubs have been using a U9 developmental program and have been making huge strides in the development of their players.  CRU deems this investment pivotal to maintaining its competitive position.

 

What the parents should expect from us at practice and games?

At first, practices will be once a week for 60-90 minutes.  Practices must be safe and well organized.  They will consist of a high level of fun-filled game related activities that allow the players lots of time on the ball; the game is the best teacher.  During games, instruction will be minimal.  They will begin to learn to make decisions on the field.  At appropriate times off the field, specific decision situations will be discussed and then the most appropriate skill or skill set for that situation will be practiced.

 

What the parents should expect for the kids improvement and development at this age?

            The philosophical approach to training kids at this age is to let them play.  This is where we minimize the instruction.  Fortunately, the kids are already advanced players and the plan is to instill refined fundamental techniques in preparation for more strategic training at the next level.  If progress is un-inhibited and they are developmentally ready for more advanced techniques then we will continue their development at a faster pace.

 

What do we expect from the parents?

            The parents must continue being parents.  They support, encourage, and motivate the players.  Constructive criticisms of playing and/or coaching strategies can be expressed at planned “feed-back” meetings.  As clearly outlined in the CRU mission statement, we will get into no verbal debates/altercations with referees or opposing coaches.

 

What should the kids expect from us?

            Structure and organization are necessary for success with this age group in particular.  We will do our best to maintain a safe environment, emotionally and physically for the players to develop first as individuals then as soccer players.  Practices will be focused, challenging, but most importantly, enjoyable.

 

What do we expect from the kids?

            Repetition is the key to improvement.  We hope that the players’ schedule allow for them to practice the skills they observed at CRU practices.  Commitment to the program is implicit but it is understood that emergencies will come up.  Their focus, attention and full effort in carrying out exercises and activities from “practice to practice” will be necessary for overall progress.  Game readiness is a priority in my experience.  Mentally and physically, we should be ready to play from the first whistle.  This is a challenge for any coach and is one of my priorities.

 

What is my approach to coaching this age?

            As alluded to earlier, the game is the best teacher.  My goal is to stay out of the game’s way as much as possible.  I will help refine their fundamental skills; trapping, short or long accurate passes, movement without the ball, one on one defending or attacking, heading and effective shooting.  I will introduce them to as many fundamental components of goal-keeping as I can keep interesting and challenging to them.  At least they go away with a strong appreciation for the art form.  There are several decisions to make in the game and all I can do is prepare them to make the best decision in the situation.  As they play, they will learn what to do in each situation.

 

What events/competitions do we at CRU have planned?

            At this early stage of enrollment, we are not planning to enter any major competitions.  As predicated by appropriate number of players, timing and availability of indoor tournaments, we will enter into at least one indoor session.  During this hiatus from competition, if our schedules permit us, we hope to continue practicing. 

 

How much is this going to cost?

CRU fee (U08 – U10): $200. for the 2004-2005 season and includes a new kit consisting of two tee shirts, pair of shorts, and pair of socks.  Fall players will get a tee shirt for the fall development season.

Indoor gym use: TBD

Tournament fees = N/A (at this point, will be advised at later date)

 

More information about the CRU program is available at www.crusoccer.com.