Prairie Cities Soccer League Players & Families,
The Illinois Fire Juniors and Prairie Cities Soccer League board and 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 do the difficult work to meet as many requests as they can while keeping our entire club safe.
Return to Play Procedures
On Friday May 28
th
, 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 members on the policies to allow us to restart operations. In order to participate in any IFJ/PCSL activities this summer, club members must complete the COVID 19 Release Form, the IFJ Medical Release Form, and the IFJ/PCSL Guidelines Agreement.
These documents along with any further soccer related COVID 19 news and updates can be found and
Return to Play Page
on the PCSL or IFJ websites.
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/PCSL 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 future seasons 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.
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, we will resume limited non-contact soccer activities such as camps & clinics at Community Fields starting June 15
th
. IFJ/PCSL staff and our operations partners have already started the field maintenance necessary to operate this summer.
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, we plan to offer of our usual summer programming including camps, IFJ tryouts, and other contact related soccer activities starting in July.
PCSL/IFJ 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
.
Due to the cancellation of the Spring Season, we will be offering the
PCSL Pre-Season Camp
FREE
of cost. This camp is from 5-8pm, July 27-July 30. If you are looking to get a fun camp
prior to the fall season
, then please sign up!
If you have questions about the PCSL camp, please contact PSCL League Administrator Pam Bauman at
league@pcslsoccer.org
or Director of Operations Tammy Stauffer at
tammy.stauffer@illinoisjuniors.com
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.
Other Camps offered this summer:
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.
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.
New for 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
th
, 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 2020 Summer High School Training Camp, please contact our Assistant Director of Coaching Chad Jones at
chad.jones@illinoisfirejuniors.com
.
PCSL Fall 2020/Spring 2021 Season Registration
Registration for the PCSL Fall 2020/Spring 2021 season is open. For U6 –High School: Player fee for full year is $95 if register February 1 through June 30. Player fee for full year is $115 if register July 1 or after. For U5, online registration will run February 1 up until the start of the season. However, you will want to register by August 1 to ensure placement on a team. Player fee is $50 for the full year.
If you have questions when using the on-line registration system, need access to a computer, or would like to apply for financial assistance, please contact PCSL at
office@pcslsoccer.org
or 309-451-GOAL(4625) or stop in during our office hours (Tuesday & Thursday, 9am-1pm) beginning June 15.
IFJ 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.
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/PCSL 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.
Thanks,
Prairie Cities Soccer League & Illinois Fire Juniors
