Westbury Soccer Club and Friends:

Due to the continued growth of COVID-19 cases in the Houston area as well as guidance from the CDC, local authorities, and advice from medical professionals, WSC will be modifying it's traditional programming for the Fall 2020 season.  Our objective is to provide a playing environment that is as safe as practicable, follows national & local authorities guidance, and still provides a fun and engaging soccer experience for our players.  In summary, what this means is that WSC will offer an in-house only option for our U9 and older (BY - 2012 and older) players.  We will also postpone start of our Grassroots Development program for U5-U8 (BY 2016-2013) until a later, more appropriate date.  More details are shown below:  

Fall 2020 Plan Summary:

• In general - All programming we provide will take into consideration the guidance on how best to stay as safe as practicable regarding Covid.  When in doubt WSC will defer to CDC guidance but a general list of our protocols can be found here:  FALL 2020 COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS
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• For Birth Years 2016-2013 (U5-U8) -  Unfortunately, our successful Grassroots Development program will be postponed to a later date.  Due to the difficulty in maintaining social distancing with a large group of very young players and the inter-mingling nature of our program, WSC will postpone implementation of the program until CDC and local authority guidance can be maintained. 
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• For Birth Years 2012 and older (U9 and up) - REGISTRATION OPEN.  In the Fall season the club will offer an in-house/grassroots development season for our U9 and older players.  We will not participate in the HYSA/D2L league games during the Fall 20 season.   

More Details Regarding U9 and Older Teams:

Forming Teams for Fall Season - Teams or as the CDC calls them, 'training cohorts', will be built based on playing age groups.  Due to management of exposure, training cohorts will be limited in size based on the age group.  Training cohorts will have a dedicated coach and will limit contact with the other training cohorts to minimize cross exposure.  

What an in-house/ Grassroots Development program looks like for U9 and older - The Grassroots Development is all about maximizing touches on the ball and is based on the Belgium national soccer team model. WSC is working in collaboration with the Houston Dynamo Academy on implementing this Grassroots Development program at the U5-U8 level, As an alternative program, each team would still have 2 training sessions per week at Bayland park with a certified coach.  Focus for the season would be more on ball skills, touches, and small-sided games.  In lieu of league games, teams would participate in Saturday game festivals where we play 3v3 games.

Season Details - Training will begin after Labor Day, Tuesday, 9/8, and is expected to run to Thanksgiving.  

Practice Schedules - Each training team will have 2 - 60 minute training sessions per week.  To minimize cross exposure of training teams, practice start and end times will be staggered.  Detailed practice schedules are still being finalized.

Festival/Game Days - The season will consist of 6 soccer festival game days, to be scheduled on Saturdays.  Festival game day schedule is still being finalized.

Friday Night Lights - Zoom Sessions - In lieu of our famous Friday Night Lights sessions, the club will provide virtual Friday Night Zoom sessions during the season, open to all players, friends and families looking to get extra touches and workouts.

Uniforms in Fall 2020 - In lieu of full uniform kits being offered in the Fall 2020 season, the club will provide 2- reversible practice bibs for training.  Players are expected to wear their practice bibs to practice each night.

Registration & Payment Details - Players that have registered already, prior to July 17th, will be given the option to change their mind if they decide not participate in the in-house programming this Fall.  When you register, you will be required to enter payment information.  Please note - the club will not charge your payment card initially.  Our registrar will verify required information as well as check for financial aid requests prior to processing payment.  

Financial Aid Available - More than any other time, we believe kids should be able to play and a family's finances should not prevent this.  We do offer financial assistance.  To request this, please complete the registration process.  During the process, there will be a box to check that flags your request.  Once we see this, we will contact you for further information.

 If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact me or any other board member.

 See you on the pitch soon,

Bryan Lewis

Westbury Soccer Club - President