For those who need the summary: New return to play procedures and waivers, Return to play starts June 15, Summer registrations open, Tryouts info out, New 6 week high school boys/girls IFJ/Legacy 2020 Summer Training Camp offered, CIU/CIE Updates, Exciting news coming at the end of June!!!
Staff has been working extra hard the last few months as we navigate this COVID-19 world and will continue to do so through this summer. We ask that you please continue to show our entire club staff and coaches patience, grace, and thank them as they are doing difficult work to meet as many requests as they can while keeping our entire club safe.
Return to Play Procedures
On Friday, May 29
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, Illinois officially entered into Phase 3 of the reopening plan. Phase 3 allows businesses and activities like youth soccer a pathway to operate in a modified manner (without increased threats of litigation or the cancellation of club insurance) as long as certain general operations and specific individual behavior rules are followed. The general Phase 3 rules that pertain to Youth Sports can be found on the IL DCEO website
here
. IYSA, the state association that governs IL soccer and provides our club insurance, has further clarified the rules while adding additional procedures for all member clubs. Our staff has attended a number of conference calls, prepared the required club waivers and procedure documents, and is in the process of educating our coaches on the policies to allow us to restart operations. In order to participate in any IFJ activities going forward, club members must first complete and return the COVID 19 Release Form, the IFJ Medical Release Form, and the IFJ Guidelines Agreement.
These documents along with any further soccer related COVID 19 news and updates can be found on the
IFJ Return to Play Page
.
Like you, we are excited to finally have our kids able to be back on the field, enjoying healthy activity, and interaction (although socially distanced and limited) with their friends.
However, while Phase 3 will allow IFJ to resume some soccer activities, the IL Recovery plan and our insurance coverage unfortunately will NOT allow for a pathway to play or train in traditional ways
. However, if trends continue to remain positive, we anticipate our area of the state will progress to Phase 4 at the start of July, likely resulting in further restriction lifting from both governmental units and our club insurance.
In short, the version of soccer training enjoyed in June will be very different than what we have known. Social distancing rules will apply under Phase 3, meaning the contact normally seen in training, small sided games, scrimmages, friendlies, and tournament play is not allowed. Groups must be limited to 10 or less. Participants must be focused on limiting interactions while at community fields. While temperature checks will not occur, everyone must be vigilant about washing their hands, staying home if any symptoms of sickness/fever are shown, and all participants are responsible for maintaining their own personal health before, during, and after the training. Participants may wear masks while training if they wish, but all outdoor participants will not be required to do so as long as social distancing is observed.
While we are disappointed we cannot do more at this time, we continue to push our associations to consider additional common sense procedures that will allow us to return to normal while maintaining a healthy and safe environment for everyone. We appreciate your help in reducing the potential health and liability exposures faced by our players, coaches, staff, and entire club. We all must all work together to ensure we follow the procedures laid out and ensure we can continue to train or play at all this summer.
IFJ Return to Play June 15th
In order to participate in any IFJ/PCSL activities going forward, club members must first complete and return the COVID 19 Release Form, the IFJ Medical Release Form, and the IFJ Guidelines Agreement. With these procedures in place, IFJ will resume limited non-contact soccer activities at Community Fields starting June 15
th
. IFJ staff and our operations partners have already started the field maintenance necessary to operate this summer.
Our current plans reflect the realities of Phase 3 procedures and will include June training focused on increasing player fitness, personalized ball handling, and mental growth. The potential of travel to neighboring states is limited by our insurance for at least June. Once we hopefully move into Phase 4 by July, our plans will be further modified to reflect the realities of that time. As of now, IFJ plans to offer of our usual summer programming including camps, tryouts, and other contact related soccer activities starting in July.
Additionally, many coaches and players have already asked if they can train starting in June. Please understand that while we would like to accommodate every request we can, there are a number of operational considerations necessary prior to authorizing any training including ensuring all new waivers are signed, ensuring proper training procedures are understood and being followed by all participants, and preparing the fields to be available, safe, and playable.
IFJ/PCSL Summer Camp and Training Offerings
There are a number of changes to the traditional IFJ/PCSL summer offerings this year. While some of our programming has been reduced, we are proud to say we are providing a number of camps this summer. For more information, visit the webpage on the
IFJ Summer Camps and Clinics
.
Note: All camps are currently limited to the first 100 players during Phase 3. A waitlist will be created in the likely event we enter into phase 4 in July and can offer additional spots. If you are interested in attending any of these camps or trainings, act now as we anticipate interest may be higher than usual due to our recent spring season. Also, any credits you have accumulated over the last year can be applied to help offset the costs of any of these camps.
A few camp offerings to highlight include:
IFJ Premier Camp
- 8-11 AM, July 13-16.
Cost: $89 Illinois Fire Junior (IFJ Travel and PCSL Players),
$99 Non-Illinois Fire Juniors Players.
Open to travel soccer minded players aged U8 - U14. Participants will learn advanced technical and tactical skills from local and international professional coaching staff.
IFJ Goalkeeping Camp
– 8-11 AM, July 13-16
Cost: $89 Illinois Fire Junior (IFJ Travel and PCSL Players),
$99 Non-Illinois Fire Juniors Players. This is the eighth annual Premier Soccer Camp & Premier Goalkeeping Camp for the serious U8-U14 male and female soccer athlete.
PCSL Pre-Season Camp
- 5-8 PM, July 27-July 30.
Cost: FREE in 2020!!!
This camp is for all PCSL players interested in working on their game.
Training and Performance Center Summer Soccer Camp
: 11AM-12PM, Tuesdays and Thursdays starting June 2. Cost:$79 for TPC Members, $119 for Non-TPC Members. Prepare for your soccer season with 2 sessions per week focusing on speed and agility training and ending with a focus on ball handling skills. All sessions are taught by Kate Lorenz, D1 Soccer Player at Troy University. Additional Training and Performance Center offerings will be sent out in a later email.
In addition, this year the IFJ travel league tryouts for elementary and high school aged players will be the week after the IFJ Premier and IFJ Goalkeeping camps. Both camps would be an excellent way to get those final tune ups in right before tryouts, so sign up today!
New for 2020: IFJ/EP Legacy 2020 High School Training Camp
In addition, we are proud to announce a new offering this year for athletes preparing for High School and College soccer.
Illinois Fire Juniors, in partnership with E. P. Legacy Soccer, will offer a brand new 2020 High School Training Camp. This camp, starting June 15
th
and ending July 29
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, will feature training 2x a week from current college coaches, former college coaches, and other highly trained club coaches from both inside and outside IFJ….all for only $200!
If you are a boy or girl born in 2007 or older, this will be a camp you do not want to miss!
The IFJ/Legacy camp is designed to prepare a player physically and technically for their fall school /club season while also educating both the player and parent on many aspects of the college recruiting process. Topics covered (both in person and through zoom call) will include education on college recruiting time periods, how to identify a school that is the best fit for you, how best to get noticed, and the do’s and don’ts of the recruiting process. In addition, the IFJ/Legacy camp will allow your kids to train or interact with current and former coaches from colleges and university from all over the region. Coaches are still being added daily, but schools already represented by coaches already committed to attend include: Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, Millikin, University of Illinois- Springfield, Heartland Community College, Lincoln Land College, Lincoln Train College, and more. In addition, a number of club coaches from both inside and outside of IFJ are slated to attend. For more information, register on the
IFJ/Legacy 2020 Summer Training Camp page
.
Space is limited. This camp will likely be the only camp of its kind offered this summer anywhere throughout central Illinois, so reserve your space today!
If you have questions about the IFJ/Legacy 202 Summer High School Training Camp, please contact our Assistant Director of Coaching Chad Jones at
chad.jones@illinoisfirejuniors.com
.
Tryouts
There are a number of changes for this year. First, the IFJ Travel tryout calendar has been changed a bit with the High School girls trying out first (July 9/10), the U14 and under ages trying out two weeks later (July 20-25), and the high school boys trying out later in the year. Next, as of now, the high school boys tryouts are slotted for November 9 and 10
th
. However, this date may need to be change based on many factors, including the status of the upcoming Fall high school soccer schedule. More information on the High School boys tryout dates will be provided as we have it.
Those players interested in competing in the recreational league (PCSL) do not need to tryout, but can simply register by going to the
PCSL Soccer
homepage. The registration link is halfway down the page on the right.
Central Illinois United/Central Illinois Elite
With the cancellation of the Super Y summer leagues schedules, both CIU and CIE have gone through major changes. For years, many areas clubs have attempted to bring local players together to compete at the highest levels of competition. Unfortunately, two CIU member clubs (SASA and Peoria) recently announced they have decided to go a different direction with CIU, choosing to establish a new model that calls for players to change their primary club affiliation to CIU and play away from their club full time. While the new organization has said they may continue allowing modified guest playing procedures, we feel there are still a lot of details missing and such systems only succeed when built on mutual trust and respect among all clubs.
Perhaps most disappointing, we and many other CIU member clubs first learned about this decision via a public announcement on the CIU Facebook page. Although the new group plans to retain the Central Illinois United name, the model is anything but United, appears built on many risky assumptions, and is often tied to the hope of future alliances with high level play or MLS organizations. As a club already affiliated with the Chicago Fire, we are confused by these assumptions and disappointed in this change of direction.
We as a club would prefer instead to work together with other clubs, in mutually beneficial ways, to allow players to play at a level appropriate for them while retaining a level of trust and respect for all member organizations.
Because CIU has changed their operational model to a new model that does not meet this goal, we will cease our affiliation with CIU at this time
.
We know a number of our high school players have played in CIU, CIE, and Super Y in the past and may be questioning what route is best for their future, especially for those thinking there may be no other options available. We understand these concerns, but would encourage you to step back and look at the bigger picture before making any future playing decisions.
As you likely have read, there have been a number of major nationwide developments in youth soccer during this COVID break. Higher level competition is starting to align under Major League Soccer teams. Further, questions about whether COVID will reappear have caused many leagues to cancel or pause their plans to play through the end of the year. Right now, nobody knows exactly how the rest of 2020 will go.
That is why our board and staff have been in discussions with the Chicago Fire, various soccer organizations both inside and outside our region, and various clubs within Central Illinois to find the path going forward that will allow the highest level players to play together at the highest levels of competition without having to drive 2+ hours away to train.
Make no mistake: this is a time when being an MLS team affiliate of the Chicago Fire is a MAJOR advantage to our club, players, and other clubs in the region that are interested in working together. While we are not able to announce anything just yet, there are bigger and better things in the months ahead for us all.
In the meantime, one thing we can offer all high level high school players this summer is our brand new 2020 High School Training Summer Camp (presented in conjunction with E.P. Legacy). This camp will be unique to our area and feature six weeks of training by a number of current and former college coaches both from within and outside of IFJ. If you want to get prepared for your upcoming fall high school or club season, this camp will be for you.
Exciting News Coming…
Finally, if you have continued reading to the very end of this lengthy email, congrats. We have clearly saved the best for last. We will be hosting an online, club member only, webinar meeting at the end of June. Details are still being finalized, but be on the lookout for an invite soon with further information and details. This is the meeting you have been waiting for….it will cover a number of exciting topics including the new travel uniforms, the upcoming fall season plans, some potential future programming opportunities, and other big topics you will not want to miss!
And on a related note, our IFJ Capital Campaign for the new soccer fields is underway and going strong. The committee members would like to remind you that we need your help to get our goals of a new complex before the end of next year. If you would like to help out by donating your IFJ travel credits, making an additional cash or in kind donation, or if you would like to help the cause with your time, we would love to have you join us.
