Scorpions Season Plan
Spring 2026 · 6 weeks · AYSO 815 · 10U Boys
Coached by Chip LaFleur, Adam Cook, and Patrick Reilly.
This is the season at a glance: where we’re headed, how we coach, what game day looks like, and how we’ll wrap things up. The week-to-week schedule lives on the schedule page; this is the bigger picture.
Vision
The job this spring is to turn this group into a team that:
- Has fun and wants to come back. AYSO first principle. Every kid should enjoy Tuesday and Thursday.
- Plays with structure. Not formations on a chalkboard, just “I know where I am, where my teammates are, and what my job is right now.”
- Competes hard and plays clean. Effort on defense, respect for teammates, opponents, and refs.
Success isn’t win-loss. Success is:
- Every kid improves at least one concrete skill.
- The team breaks out of “swarm ball” and holds shape for stretches of a game.
- Every player ends the season loving soccer more than they started.
- Saturday’s the best part of the week.
If we hit those, wins will come, and if they don’t, we still did the job.
The Three Priorities
Everything we do — every drill, every small-sided game, every game-day call — is built around three priorities:
- Ball mastery. Every kid gets enough touches that the ball stops being the enemy. First touch, carrying under light pressure, simple turns, both feet.
- Spacing (anti-clumping). Stop the swarm. Zones, lanes, “be where the ball isn’t yet.” Positional, not formational. We want kids to feel where they belong, not memorize a chart.
- Aggressive forward play. Keep the ball in the opponent’s half. Press when we lose it. Shoot when we see the goal. Defenders push up when we have the ball.
How We Coach
We coach to AYSO’s Six Philosophies:
- Everyone Plays
- Balanced Teams
- Open Registration
- Positive Coaching
- Good Sportsmanship
- Player Development
What that looks like for this team:
- Equal playing time. Not “mostly equal.” Tracked on paper.
- Coach effort and decisions, not outcomes. “Great run” beats “great goal.” “Good read” beats “good save.”
- Volume up for energy, not frustration. Positive on the field.
- Positions are assignments, not cages. Kids rotate every game. Everyone tries every spot by midseason.
- Mistakes are the curriculum. A kid trying a pass and losing it is a win, because they’re learning to make decisions.
Practice Structure
Practices are 60 minutes, broken into three 20-minute blocks. Same structure every time so kids know what’s coming.
| Time | Block | Lead | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–20 | Warm-up + quick games | Patrick | Ball-integrated movement plus fast, fun games. Every kid gets a ball on arrival, no lines. |
| 20–40 | Technical skills | Adam | The week’s core skill. Two or three stations at ~6 min each, rotations on the whistle. |
| 40–60 | Scrimmage + small-sided | Chip | A small-sided game tied to the week’s theme, then a short scrimmage. |
Listening system: when a coach needs attention, they raise a hand and say “Scorpions!” Kids take a knee and stop talking.
Game Day
Pre-game (45 min before kickoff):
- Get there early when you can.
- Re-run the warm-up from Thursday.
- Find one thing for each kid to focus on during the game.
Lineup and subs:
- Equal playing time, tracked on paper.
- Everyone rotates positions over the season. No kid is locked to a role.
- Goalkeeper: at least one full half per kid over the season. We ask who wants to try; we don’t force it.
During the game:
- Coach voices stay coordinated, one at a time, so kids aren’t pulled in three directions.
- Positive instructions. “Pass to space,” not “don’t be lazy.”
- Refs are volunteers like us, so we let the calls go.
Halftime (5 min): one thing we did well, one thing to do differently, water, done.
Post-game: handshakes. “Good game” to every opposing player. Quick team huddle, one highlight, one thing to take to practice.
Weather and Cancellations
Play is rain-or-shine. Cancellations come from Coach Chip in the team channel.
- Thunder or lightning: clear the field immediately. Wait 30 minutes after the last strike before returning. If strikes continue, practice or game is canceled.
- Flooded or unplayable field: canceled.
- Light rain: we play.
End of Season
The week of the finale, we do a team event — pizza, ice cream, something light. Every kid takes home something small (a certificate, a ball, a trophy). We name one specific thing each kid did well over the season. That’s the memory they carry into the fall.
Plan is a starting point. We adjust weekly based on what the kids need. The constants: AYSO philosophy, equal playing time, positive coaching, and three coaches on the same page.