VANU SKILLS CENTRE

As our club continues to strive to better serve our members, we are pleased to announce program details for the Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 edition of the “VanU Skills Centre” program which will begin its invitation process (half of the registrants are invited in, whilst half come from regular enrolment process’) week commencing June 27th.


As a CSA National Youth Club License holder, and the only club in Vancouver that is able to offer every level of play from U4 to U18, our club is excited about being able to offer our players an environment which will allow them to discover and fall in love with the game of soccer. Within this program, we will be offering a blend of “invited” and “open registration” opportunities to players who will take part in the programming together. Having the ability to offer an equal opportunity program to both “invited” players and any player that is interested in this training environment (on a first come, first serve basis) is something that we are absolutely committed to and have seen the benefits that bio banding and other manipulations to the training groups have provided to our participants over the course of this programs existence. 


Skills Centre Games and Tournaments

In addition to the training programming; which will take place on weekends (please see day and times below) from September 2022 to March of 2023, we will also be offering a competition outlet where players can take part in games at various points throughout the season (additional fees may apply), and a number of tournaments that will be announced and confirmed at a later date (Labor Day Cup, a December tournament, and possibly a January tournament; extra tournament fees apply). All players will be considered for these types of events, and even players receiving an invite into the programming are subject to the limited spaces of these events and staff selection decisions. Best efforts will always be made to ensure all participants have an opportunity to take part, but we do not control all aspects of this type of item. Thank you for your understanding. 


Training Environment 

The training curriculum, overall environment and program expectations for the players and all other pertinent programming details will be managed by our Technical Programs Manager and the age group Technical Leads under the guidance of  the Technical Director of the club. 

The session plans will utilize a “whole - part - whole” or “Game - Activity - Game” format and work through topics within a Game Based Learning Model, built upon the guiding principles of our club's Game Model at these age groups.



Invitations and Rationale

Players who will receive an “invitation” are what we consider “player models” within their respective age group and have excelled in one or more of the following categories: Athletic Ability, Technical Proficiency, Tactical Awareness, Sportsmanship and Socio-Emotional Maturity. These players would form a core for the training groups, thus impacting those around them (younger/older, Invited/Open Registrants) and furthering everyone's developmental goals. A player receiving an invitation for the spring component, may not necessarily receive an invitation for the fall. And vice versa, a player having registered via "Open registration" for the spring, may receive an invite into the program for the fall. Players are always being assessed and their development discussed throughout the entire year.


Players not receiving an invitation are encouraged to register for one of the “open” spots if this program is something that interests them. General registration will open on Wednesday June 29th at 9am. 


There are only a set number of spots available within each age group, so spots are very limited. 


Program Dates:

16 weeks

Weekends of:

2022:

Sept 10th/11th

Sept 17th/18th

Sept 24th/25th

Oct 1st/2nd

Oct 15th/16th

Oct 22nd/23rd

Oct 29th/30th

Nov 5th/6th

Nov 19th/20th

Nov 26th/27th

2023:

Jan 14th/15th

Jan 21st/22nd

Jan 28th/29th

Feb 4th/5th

Feb 11th/12th

Feb 25th/26th

Location: UBC Mini Field


Cost: 

$550 (*Payment plan option* / this does NOT include VanU Kit)


KIT

All participants will be required to wear VanU Academy Kit. Please email Loretta Abdi, VanU Operations Manager, at loretta@vancouverunitedfc.com for purchase. (If you are already taking part in other VanU academy programs, we are using the same kit. 


Anticipated Start Times (subject to change) & Training Groups


Saturdays

2011 Girls (Invited & Open) & 2012 Girls (Invited Only): 1:00PM to 2:15PM

2012 Girls (Open) & 2013 Girls (Invited & Open): 2:15PM to 3:30PM

2014 Girls (Open & Invited): 3:30PM to 4:45PM

*all times are subject to change & those changes will be communicated in the event they occur


Sundays

2015 Boys & Girls: 9:00am to 10:15am

2014 Boys (Invited & Open) & 2013 Boys (Open): 10:15AM to 11:30AM

2013 Boys (Invited) & 2012 Boys (Invited & Open): 11:30AM to 12:45PM

2011 Boys (Invited & Open): 12:45PM to 2:00PM


*all times are subject to change & those changes will be communicated in the event they occur

*This program will only be offered to VanU Club members for the Fall & Winter Phase



Game Days (by invitation only)

An additional $20 per game will be required in the event your child is invited to participate in this environment and if those games are in addition to their weekly session. We are making best efforts to have games during our training times. We are very dependent on other clubs for this competition outlet, so we cannot guarantee the number of games at this time, but it has been identified as an item of high priority for the program. 


If you have any questions about our Skill Centre program, please contact our Technical Programs Manager: nick@vancouverunitedfc.com