Sample emails
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Introductory email – the evening teams are assigned
Before 1st game email
Picture Day email
Mid-season assessment email
End of season email
1. Introductory email - the evening teams are assigned
Good Evening,
My name is <name>, and I'll be the coach of your son's ZYSA soccer team (U12 Rec
Plus Team 2) this fall. I grew up playing soccer through college and was lucky enough
to have some great experiences on some pretty good teams. As much as I enjoyed
playing, however, over the past few years I've found I enjoy coaching even more. We
are very fortunate to have <name> as our assistant coach. He also played soccer, has a
lot of coaching experience, and connects very well with players.
Our goal is to make sure every player has fun, builds skills and confidence, and applies
the principles of teamwork and sportsmanship. We'll rotate players through different
positions and strive to get equal playing time for everyone.
Practices will be Thursday from 6:30-7:30 on field 7C, which is between the clubhouse
and the church parking lot. Your child should bring an inflated size 4 ball, shin guards,
cleats and a drink. Please arrive 10 minutes before practices so we can make the
most of our time together.
Here is the team roster: <list names>
It would help me if you can tell me a little about your son. How long has he
played? Does he have a preferred nickname? Preferred positions? Anything else I
should know to make this a positive experience for your son or you?
Here is the game schedule. Please have your child arrive 20 minutes before
games.
 <list dates, times, and fields>
Every week I will email you confirming the practice and game times and asking you to let
me know if your son can’t play. I work hard to make sure everyone gets similar playing
time and plays multiple positions, which is easier to do in advance if we know who is
going to play. Soon I will send a sign-up for snacks after games.
<Name> and I are looking forward to getting to know your children and having a fun
season. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions at
any time. I want to make sure this is a great experience for everyone, so please let me
know how I can help. You can email, call or text (mobile number) any time.
I look forward to meeting everyone a few minutes before 6:30 this Thursday.
2. Before 1st game email
Good Morning,
After just 2 practices, our first soccer game is this Saturday. Below are a few details and
updates:
Before the game:
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Kickoff is 12:25 on field 7C. Please have your son arrive ready to play at
12:10.
Please let me know if your son can't make it. I try to manage the substitutions
so everyone gets roughly equal playing time, plays a range of positions, etc. I
create the substitution schedule a day or two before the game, so it's important I
know who will/won't be playing.
During the game:
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<Name> and I will be pretty vocal during the game as we do real time
coaching. We believe in catching players doing something right and praising
them for it. Chances are we will also encourage players to be aggressive to get
the ball, spreading out from teammates, and speaking up (yelling) when they are
open so teammates know where to pass. Hopefully you will be able to help us
cheer on the boys in a positive manner.
We will also praise players from the opposing team, and encourage you to do the
same. Sports at this age should be about having fun, developing skills, learning
sportsmanship and building confidence, regardless of which team someone plays
on.
Speaking of being positive, I've never had this be a problem with any of my
teams, but ZYSA has encouraged us to make sure we are good role models to
our kids during the game. This is particularly important when it comes to how we
behave with the referee. Please keep in mind most referees are also
children/young adults, and we need to encourage them too. You will never hear
<name> or me criticizing a referee during a game since we want to make sure
our players know to respect authority, demonstrate sportsmanship, and to focus
on playing the game. After each game we will have the players shake hands
with the opposing team and then thank the referee.
After the game:
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We will have snacks following the game. The <name> family has volunteered for
snacks this weekend.
Before snacks, however, I will gather our team to reinforce learning from the
game and ask my standard 2 questions: Did you try your best? Did you have
fun?
Rules and positions:
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We play 4 quarters, each lasting 12 minutes. We play with 6 players, 5 on the
field and a goalie. (There is often an exception when we play on the indoor field
where 1 more field player is permitted.)
Slide tackles are not allowed.
Players need to use proper technique on throw-ins, meaning both feet must stay
on the ground.
The goalkeeper can distribute the ball by throwing, rolling or punting. If punting
or drop kicking, the ball must touch the ground or a player before crossing the
halfway line.
We will have players play different positions throughout the season. Some players will
play just 1 position per game, whereas others may play multiple positions. This will
depend on a player’s familiarity with positions, stamina, and team need, such as pairing
an experienced defender with a player less experienced. I put a lot of time each week
working on a spreadsheet to ensure everyone has equal playing time for playing in the
field.
<Name> and I are really looking forward to the game. We've impressed with the players
so far. They have good skills, great attitudes, and get along well with each other.
Sorry for the long email. Now that the basics are out of the way, most emails going
forward will be about a paragraph.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
See you Saturday.
3.
Picture Day email
Good Morning,
Here is our schedule for this weekend.
Saturday:
 Pictures at 11:45 at the indoor field. (see info below regarding pictures).
 Game at 12:45 on field 5B
Sunday:
 Game at 1:00 on field 5C. Please arrive by 12:40 (with shoes tied securely!)
ready to go.
Pictures:
 I have attached the picture portrait packages and order form. Please print out
the order form and complete it before arriving, then have your son give me your
completed form and money (if needed). There will be extra forms at the indoor
field, but it's a little chaotic.
 You can get a picture for free (packages #7 or #8). You don't have to buy any of
the special packages.

Some reminders as you complete the form. The team name should be "U10
B05." League name is "ZYSA". Head coach is "<name>"
Please let me know if your son won't be attending either day.
See you tomorrow.
4. Mid-season assessment email
Below is my mid-season assessment I shared with the team. Right now we are in 1st
place out of 22 teams! The boys have worked hard and have consistently
improved. But we still have some difficult games ahead, and then the tournament in
October will have us face some better teams. We should be proud of what we've done
so far, but we can improve significantly in some areas to play to our potential.
 Formations - being in the right positions - B. Soccer is a very fluid game where
all players need to constantly adjust to the evolving circumstances. They've
shown steady improvement reading and reacting.
 Winning the middle of the field - A. In our first practice we said most goals
are scored in the middle of the field and we would focus on dominating the
middle. We've done well with that. As a result, we've given up only 4 goals in 6
games - a league-low.
 Teamwork/sportsmanship - A+. This is a GREAT group of boys
 Defending/marking up - D. I don't honestly think we've been that bad, but I
don't want the team to be complacent.
 Passing - B We've done relatively well given our team composition. However,
we can still look to be quicker by dribbling less and moving the ball up the field at
pace. We're seeing more attempts with give-and-go's. Something all players
can improve on in yelling when we they are open. Yelling when open (and in a
good place to receive a pass) helps the teammate with the ball know what to do
with it. Odds are he hasn't had the chance to look around to see who is open.
 Aggressiveness - C. We've made progress, but can get much better. We're still
a little timid and we are a very slow team. Team speed could be
our Achilles heel in the tournament. If you have some free time and
interest, taking your son to a high school game could be a great learning
opportunity to see how fast the players sprint to the ball and fight to get/keep
possession. Here is a link to the high school soccer
schedule: http://apps.roeing.com/raswebschedules/TeamSchedule.aspx?WebKe
y=556AD74149&TeamKey=5294&SchoolYear=2015%20-%202016
 Improving each week - A+. Every player seems to want to learn and
improve. They are all giving it their best effort, and are a lot of fun to coach.
 Having fun - A+ (I asked the players what grade they would give themselves on
this.) This is the most important grade.
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. Have a great long
weekend.
5. End of season email
Thank you and your son for a very successful season!
Many players made significant individual progress throughout the season. Many have
stopped kicking with their toes, have started using their weak foot more often, and
aggressiveness improved as well. As a team, we made progress with situational
positioning, defensive support, and playing the ball to space. I'm proud of the HUGE
progress the team made throughout the season.
Overall I was pleased with the effort in both games yesterday. I feel we outplayed both
teams offensively and defensively. We out-shot both teams by a ratio of probably
6:1. Clearly I also need to teach future players to kick the ball away from the goalie! We
had so many great shots that ended up right in the goalie's hands. The shots just didn't
go in, and that's part of the game.
I know many of the boys were upset about the loss. It's always hard losing a
tournament, especially against your friends and against a team we beat pretty easily a
few weeks ago. But we can't focus on the outcome, only on our effort and attitude. For
the most part I was extremely pleased with how the boys played. There are great
lessons in losing, however, as highlighted in an article I read a few nights
ago: http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/13779675/lessons-resiliencyfirst-grade-soccer-game
I would be remiss if I didn't thank a number of people. <Name’s> family for hosting the
fantastic party, which allowed the players and parents to get to know one
another. <Name’s> father for being so nice and finding ways to help, such as lining the
soccer fields for me at practice. <Name>, my wife, for her huge help planning everything
behind the scenes, her insightful observations and suggestions for me as a coach, and
allowing me to obsess about coaching. More importantly, I want to thank <name> for
helping coach the team. He and his family juggle a lot of commitments, including
coaching another team. He's a great partner.
Finally, thanks to you for letting me spend time with your son. As I've said before, this is
the BEST group of boys I've had the pleasure to coach.
We set out at the beginning of the season to have fun, to play our best, and demonstrate
sportsmanship, and I think we accomplished all 3!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.