Parent volunteers run the Montclair Soccer Club, serving over 1200 players from more than 900 families. Many of the Club and League volunteers from Montclair have held volunteer jobs with the Club for many years, and we would like to broaden our volunteer base — especially as many of these folks do more than one job and are also coaches and referees.
To enable the Montclair Soccer Club to continue to flourish, each team is required to provide one Club or League level volunteer, in addition to the required coaching and referee volunteers. These positions each require a substantial amount of time and effort. Some are filled by an individual with the requisite skills or experience, and some require a team of parents working together.
Look for open coordinator or manager positions highlighted in yellow in our Directory. You can then review the “job descriptions” for these openings in the list of volunteer positions — click here. If you are interested in League level positions contact the MSC President to discuss areas where volunteers are needed.
In reality, there are more teams than there are Club or League “positions”. So to help spread the workload, we track volunteer effort by team “volunteer hours” devoted to the Club. Each team must have 16 hours of club or league volunteer time to be eligible to play in the end-of-season tournament.
Volunteer time includes time spent performing Club or League Functions, such as:
It does not include time spent with an individual team. Coaching, assistant coaching, coordinating snacks, and being referee at a game - while obviously critical to the team - do not count toward the Club requirement.
Every year, our greatest need is for new coaches and referees. Every team must have a coach and, if possible, an assistant coach or two. At the U6 and U8 level, experience or knowledge of soccer is not required. All that is required is a willingness to learn, some organizational skill and patience with children and adults. A 2-hour orientation course is provided for new U8 coaches before Fall Season practices begin. A 1-day coaching course, leading to a California Youth Soccer Association level "F" Coaching Certificate, is offered on several weekends during the spring, summer and early fall through the many CYSA affiliated clubs and leagues in the area. Coaches for U8 teams are encouraged to attend the "F" license course before or during their first coaching season. Most importantly, U8 coaches in MSC like all coaches of teams in Jack London league play are expected to participate in a Positive Coaching Alliance workshop before or during their first season.
Each new U8 team should identify one or two parent volunteers who read through the Laws of the Game (published at International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA)) or an abbreviated version to provide some guidance as they referee U8 games. During their U8 years these parents are expected to become licensed referees.
Volunteer coaches and referees for age groups U10 and above must be licensed.
Coaches for age groups U10 and above must have or must obtain during their first coaching season a CYSA "F" level license. Coaches are encouraged to pursue more advanced license levels as they move up the player age group levels adding tactics and advanced strategies to the skills they teach soccer players.
In addition, coaches for age groups U10 and above are expected to participate in a Positive Coaching Alliance workshop before or during their first season. Coaches must apply Positive Coaching techniques to all their interactions with players, parents and referees to make the players experience the best it can be.
Parents must participate in a Positive Coaching Alliance parent workshop to support the positive coaching effort and help the coach evaluate coaching effectiveness in this critical area.
Three referees are needed for each team. Each team must provide one fully licensed referee, or more, able and willing to referee at least half as many games as the team plays. Teams must also be able to provide two assistant referees familiar with the Laws of the Game. For more details about referee requirements, look here.
Coaching and refereeing are superb ways to learn a great game, have fun, and support our children.
There are a number of events that recur each season:
We need people to help arrange, and staff these events. It's a fast and easy way to fulfill your team's volunteer requirements! We send out Call for Volunteers emails (sent via sPortability) throughout the year to help staff these events.