HYSA Coaches Corner

Everything You Need To Know

Travel Games (3rd Grade & Up)

Helpful Contacts

HYSA Quick Start Guide for Coaches

Grades 1&2

Travel Games Rescheduling

Quick Start Guide for Coaches

Have questions? Contact us at developmentdirector@hysa.org

Key Goals for Hudson Youth Soccer

  1. Maximize player engagement and enjoyment

  2. Build a strong community

  3. Maximize player potential

  4. Foster player development and growth

Focus Areas

Player Engagement
This is our number one priority. Get every player involved in each drill. Practices should be fun and focused on improvement. Players should want to attend because they’re enjoying themselves and seeing progress.
Touches on the ball are critical — the more, the better.

Build Community
Create engagement within the club and in the broader Hudson community. Examples include attending high school games as a team, post-practice pizza parties, HYSA-run 4v4 tournaments, and participating in volunteer events around town.

Maximize Potential
Support every player, regardless of skill level. Adjust coaching approaches based on individual needs. Bring energy and encouragement to every session — your attitude sets the tone.

Develop the Pipeline
Everything above contributes to building a long-term, sustainable path for players who may eventually join the high school program. Foster a love of the game through positive coaching and engaging practice formats.

Coaching Responsibilities

  1. Create a positive atmosphere

  2. Establish team culture and community

  3. Manage practices to maximize player development

  4. Manage games with a focus on growth and participation

Main Objective

Help kids improve their skills and build a love for soccer. If they have fun and feel like they’re progressing, they’ll keep playing — and that’s the ultimate success.

Creating a Positive Environment

  • Use structured practices with fun, game-like elements

  • Allow player choice in drills and activities

  • Apply the US Youth Soccer "Play-Practice-Play" approach: start with free play, teach in the middle, and reinforce with play again

  • Be encouraging and energetic

  • Focus on participation, effort, and enjoyment

Player Empowerment

Encourage players to learn through mistakes. Ask questions to help them reflect, like:
"What could you try differently next time?"
Let them help find solutions and build decision-making confidence.

Managing Games

  • Have players arrive about 30 minutes early to warm up

  • Ensure all players receive fair playing time

  • Focus on positive reinforcement — avoid yelling at players or officials

  • Address mistakes constructively at halftime or after the game

Managing Practice

  • Always come prepared with a clear plan

  • Let kids enjoy unstructured free play upon arrival (juggling, 1v1s, 2v2s — not just goal shooting)

  • Use positive reinforcement throughout

  • Be flexible — if an activity isn’t working, switch it up

  • Avoid long drills — add variety to keep kids focused and engaged

Coaching Resources

General Practice Format
TrainingTimeNotes
Free PlayOn ArrivalShould not be just shooting on goal
Mastery/Warm-up10-15 minutesPick a ball mastery game/drill where all players are getting lots of touches on the ball. Make sure players get active stretches/activation.
Activity 110-15 minutes
Activity 210-15 minutes
Shooting Game10-15 minutes
Scrimmage/small-sided/team based game30 minutesPick based on needs/focus/numbers. Full field, small-sided to goal, 2v2 defending/shooting to goal, etc..

Travel Games (3rd Grade & Up)

NVYSL Travel Games

All 3rd  - 8th grade games are scheduled on Saturday's at the same time each week.  High School (spring seasons only) are Sunday's

  • Grade 3&4 Girls - 9:00 AM
  • Grade 3&4 Boys - 10:30 AM
  • Grade 5&6 Girls - 12:00 PM
  • Grade 5&6 Boys - 1:30 PM
  • Grade 7&8 Girls - 3:00 PM
  • Grade 7&8 Boys - 4:30 PM
  • High School (spring season only) -Sunday's - 1:00 PM | 2:45 PM | 4:30 PM

Home Game Requirements

  • Pre-Game
    • Must have current Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association (MYSA) credential - if you don't have either the printed PDF copy or the printed PVC card copy, you can't be on the player sideline and must sit on the spectator side and follow all spectator rules regarding coaching from the sidelines
    • Must provide referee game card
    • Must bring a printed copy of their APPROVED Nashoba Valley Youth Soccer Association (NVYSL) roster - provide to referee
      • A handwritten roster is allowed if you don't have a printed roster, but all information from the official roster must be handwritten including coaches, team name, players and player jersey numbers
    • Must set up goals in proper place on the field
    • Must place corner flags
    • Must provide two properly inflated game balls to referee
    • Referee check-in - Referees will call your team to a line on the field and check them in.  They will read off the roster, each player will turn and show them their number, be checked for shin guards, appropriate cleats, and jewelry.
      • No jewelry is allowed.  Earrings can't be taped over and must be removed.  The only exceptions are religious items and some bracelets that can't be removed.  If a bracelet can't be removed it must be taped over.  Medical alert bracelets must not be covered up and can be worn.
      • No hooded sweatshirts can be worn even under jerseys
    • NEW for 2025 Spring - 5 minutes before kickoff referees will call both teams to the technical area.  Referees will escort both teams across the field to approximately 20' from the spectator touch line.  Home coach will read the NVYSL sportsmanship statement.  After the statement is read, the away team stays in place and the home team will walk down the line of away players and perform the pre-game handshake.  Once the handshake is complete, players will take the field to begin the game.
  • Post-Game
    • Unless there's another team coming on the field of the same age group please move the goals off of the field either towards the condo complex or towards the fence between the field and parking lot
    • Unless there's another team coming on the field of the same age group please put away the corner flags
    • Must report the game score in the NVYSL Scoring Pad within 24 hours of the game end.

 

Away Game Requirements

  • Pre-Game
    • Must have current MYSA credential - if you don't have either the printed PDF copy or the printed PVC card copy, you can't be on the player sideline and must sit on the spectator side and follow all spectator rules regarding coaching from the sidelines
    • Must bring a printed copy of their APPROVED NVYSL roster - provide to referee
      • A handwritten roster is allowed if you don't have a printed roster, but all information from the official roster must be handwritten including coaches, team name, players and player jersey numbers
    • NEW for 2025 Spring - 5 minutes before kickoff referees will call both teams to the technical area.  Referees will escort both teams across the field to approximately 20' from the spectator touch line.  Home coach will read the NVYSL sportsmanship statement.  After the statement is read, the away team stays in place and the home team will walk down the line of away players and perform the pre-game handshake.  Once the handshake is complete, players will take the field to begin the game.
    • Referee check-in - Referees will call your team to a line on the field and check them in.  They will read off the roster, each player will turn and show them their number, be checked for shin guards, appropriate cleats, and jewelry.
      • No jewelry is allowed.  Earrings can't be taped over and must be removed.  The only exceptions are religious items and some bracelets that can't be removed.  If a bracelet can't be removed it must be taped over.  Medical alert bracelets must not be covered up and can be worn.
      • No hooded sweatshirts can be worn even under jerseys
  • Post-Game
    • Must report the game score in the NVYSL Scoring Pad within 24 hours of the game end.

 

In-Town Grades 1&2 Games

All grade 1&2 games are played at Upper Sauta field from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM each Saturday.  Field assignments are made through the app and are included in the game information.  Fields are numbered 1-4 with 1 being on the far left side of the field when viewed from the parking lot, 4 being on the far right side.

Grade 1&2 Game Rules

  • Games are played 4v4 with no goalies/keepers
    • No defending in the goal arch - indirect free kick awarded to other team for offense
    • Regular restarts for balls out of bounds
      • Corner kicks
      • Goal kicks (taken anywhere on the goal line)
      • Throw ins - This is a developmental league, players will be allowed 2 rethrow attempts before the throw is awarded to the other team
    • Substitutions at any stoppage - players should be at the half line waiting to sub in and will be called in by referee.  It's OK to ask/remind the referees for substitutions.
  • Pre-Game
    • Set up field.  Bring goals from the side of the field, and place corner flags
    • Referees will check in players, inspecting for proper footwear (cleats do not need to be worn, but if they are, they must be soccer cleats and not have the extra toe cleat that other sports cleats have), shin guards, soccer socks covering the shin guards and jerseys.
    • No jewelry is allowed.  Earrings can't be taped over and must be removed.  The only exceptions are religious items and some bracelets that can't be removed.  If a bracelet can't be removed it must be taped over.  Medical alert bracelets must not be covered up and can be worn.
    • No hooded sweatshirts can be worn even under jerseys
  • Post-Game
    • Score your game with the app so we can ensure competitive games all season long.  The first 4 games are released and then teams are re-evaluated into divisions for the 2nd half of the season for parity and competitive games

 

Practices

  • Please follow the weekly progression practice plans in the TeamSnap app for coaches.  All players should be learning the same concepts and skills in the same timeline.

Game Reschedules

If you were the home team

  • Reach out to opposing team to reschedule the game, you'll need to poll your players to see which nights of the week you have the most availability.  Practice nights typically work well if you happen to practice the same days as the other team.
  • If you can't agree on a date, there are league designated make up days per age group.
    • Grades 3&4 - Monday
    • Grades 5&6 - Tuesday
    • Grades 7&8 - Wednesday
    • Grade 9/10, Grade 9/PG - Saturday
  • Once an agreed upon date and time are in place, forward the email string of you and the other coach agreeing on a date/time to the following:
  • Each of those people will reply all to the email indicating both field availability and referee availability.  You'll need to forward this email string to your NVYSL grade director for final approval.
  • The grade director will reply all once the change has been made to the NVYSL schedule
  • The referee assignor will update the game in Arbiter and assign the referees

If you were the away team

  • Communicate in a timely manner with the home coach, you'll only need to agree to a date/time and the home coach takes the responsibility to coordinate a field and referee crew with their organization, and will then forward to the appropriate NVYSL grade director.

HYSA Contacts

Equipment Needs - equipment@hysa.org

Field Scheduling - president@hysa.org

Practice Schedule Requests - Click Here