north polk united news
New Uniforms for Fall of 2022
WHERE TO ORDER
https://teams.capellisport.
*Order ASAP as there is a 4-week lead time.
WHAT TO ORDER
REC PLAYERS – BIRTH YEARS 2017 & 2018
• North Polk United will provide your jersey and you will need to provide your own black shorts and black socks
REC PLAYERS – BIRTH YEARS 2004-2016
• BLACK UNIFORM: 1 Black Jersey, 1 Pair of Black Shorts, 1 Pair of Black Socks
• Enter your jersey number when ordering (rec players can pick any number)
SELECT PLAYERS ONLY
• BLACK UNIFORM: 1 Black Jersey, 1 Pair of Black Shorts, 1 Pair of Black Socks
• RED UNIFORM: 1 Red Jersey, 1 Pair of Red Shorts, 1 Pair of Red Socks
• Enter your assigned number when ordering (if uncertain, check with your coach)
Again, we strongly encourage you to order as soon as you can to ensure uniforms arrive before the season begins! Please reach out if you have any questions!!!
Player Certificates
Coaches and parents, if you are interested in a variety of award certificates for members of your team, please see below for already made options by one of our North Polk coaches!
NPU-Award-Winning-Spirit-Award
NPU-Award-Best-Offensive-Player
NPU-Award-Most Improved-Player
New Club Uniforms!
Follow the below link and the ordering guide for your player depending on their team. ALL RECREATIONAL players will need to order the primary white and black uniform with white socks. Select teams will wear the same uniforms but will also have an alternate color. These uniforms will be used for multiple seasons going forward.
https://www.challengerteamwear.com/store/northpolkunited/index
north polk united – warm ups
NPU family,
Due to interest, we have partnered with Soccer Master in Urbandale to offer an Adidas jacket and pant warm-up with the North Polk United logo (to be on left chest of jacket). If you would like to purchase one, you may use the link below to order/purchase. This is completely optional and not limited just to players. Any fan, family member, or coach may order these as well.
We are offering Polk City fitting nights as follows:
July 9th 6:00-7:30 PM at the Polk City Sports Complex
July 22nd from 6:30-8:00 PM at the North Polk High School Stadium
August 17th and 18th at the Sports Complex during the season Kick Off event
The combination jacket/pant comes at a discounted price of ~$82 for the set!
This is offered for a limited time and all orders must be in by 8/19/19.
Go to this link:
https://myuniform.soccermaster.com/store/clubdisclaimer/north-polk-united-spirit-wear-p-ia
Select each item with size and # to be placed on the item:
You can pick up in the store and save on shipping costs!
Thank you!
Summer Camp – GPS Innovative Player Clinic
This Summer, North Polk United has partnered with GPS to host a player clinic in Polk City, the week of August 5th – 8th. See the flyer below for dates and times for each age group and links to their Facebook page and registration page.
The four day camp is offered a cost of $60 per player. More information can be found on their Facebook page and you can CLICK HERE to register for the camp.
Part-time Soccer Coach – Paid Position
North Polk United is in search of a part-time coach as a paid position. The selected individual can expect approximately 15 hours per week to include 5 hours of admin work and 10 hours of field work.
This is a two season soccer club running from approximately Labor Day through October 31 and end of March through Memorial Day. Focus is with the 5U-10U age groups to establish a sound foundation for skill development and love of sport.
Tasks:
+ Document weekly training sessions and distributing to coaches/parents for 5U/6U and 7U/8U. 8-10 weeks in the fall and 8-10 weeks in the spring.
+ Document weekly training sessions and posting or distributing to coaches for 9U-10U. 8-10 weeks in the fall and 8-10 weeks in the spring.
+ Lead 5U/6U weekly training sessions/Skills Night-30-45 minutes/week for 6-8 weeks.
+ Coordinate volunteer coaches to assist and participate in weekly sessions.
– Lead 7U-10U Skills Nights on a weekly basis for a total of 2 hours per week (6-8 weeks/season).
+ Coordinate volunteer coaches to assist and participate in weekly sessions.
– Join individual team training sessions to help teach the game and skills. Also, to support new coaches and those new to the game. This individual must be proactive and schedule time with the volunteer coaches to join their sessions throughout the season.
– Organize and lead a North Polk United Coaching clinic (fall and spring seasons).
The selected candidate will have the ability to provide guidance to volunteer coaches with limited soccer knowledge and engage in a positive manner with young, learning children.
To express interest or ask questions please contact us at admin@northpolkunited.org
All applicants must submit a resume to the email address above.
North Polk United Spring 2017 Survey Results
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us in the spring 2017 North Polk United
Survey! We appreciate your comments and have already been working to incorporate positive changes
to move the North Polk United Soccer Club and Board of Directors in the right direction to best serve the
North Polk United soccer community.
The PDF link below is a summary of some of the progress that has been made. Although a formal survey
won’t be completed again until the spring of 2018, we encourage you to continue to openly provide
feedback to the Board at any time by emailing admin@northpolkunited.org.
North Polk United Apparel – One week limited time!
We are happy to offer apparel again this Fall. Many of the items are the same as last year with the exception of adding a women’s half zip pullover and a windbreaker. We have some samples from last year that will be available to view at the concession stand during games.
Costs and Fundraising
The apparel sale is partially being used to raise money for our club and our needs. In all instances, we have not raised the prices more than $5.00 over our costs. Supporting our club through apparel is a great way to show your spirit and and help us reach our goals.
Webstore Open for a Limited Time So Don’t Miss Out
The webstore is open for until Monday, September 26th at 9:00am. All apparel should be ready while the season is still in swing. We will be setting up at a location TBD with pickup dates and times.
T-Shirts $20 – High-quality tri-blend vintage materials and finish (Click image to enlarge)
Vintage Zip Hoodie $42 – High-quality vintage materials and finish (Click image to enlarge)
Hooded Sweatshirt $32 – Gildan Heavy-Blend (Red Only) (Click image to enlarge)
Crewneck Sweatshirt $23 – Gildan Heavy-Blend (Black Only) (Click image to enlarge)
1/2 Zip Pullover $50 – Sport-Wick Stretch Material (Click image to enlarge)
1/2 Zip Pullover $50 – Women’s Sport-Wick Stretch Material (Click image to enlarge)
Anorak Windbreaker $42 – (Click image to enlarge) The text across the chest shown on the current webstore in the red area will not be on the final garment.
north polk united soccer club changes on the horizon
There are a number of changes coming in the next year. Below is a highlight of the information, discussions and decisions that led us there. The main changes will be to the league affiliations for teams U12 and above and mandatory birthdate and age division revisions.
North Polk United is joining Iowa Soccer League – Occurring Fall 2016!!!
We have been a part of many discussions, all-clubs board meetings and listened to proposals from Iowa Soccer over the last six months concerning possible opportunities for our club. Iowa Soccer has proposed the development of another league that could eventually replace the Greater Des Moines Junior Soccer League, which is what we are currently a part of. We have weighed the pros and cons of making a change and what they might mean for our club. Here is a breakdown of what was proposed and why we chose the direction we did:
Professional Management vs. Volunteer Management
This weighed heavily in our decision. The GDMJSL board is currently made up of volunteers, many of whom are already board members at the club level and coach also. This means that these folks do double or triple duty and it becomes very taxing and labor-intensive. Additionally, these positions can and do change quite often and it can be difficult to fill those at times (currently the president position has been vacant for seven plus months). Additionally, when rule changes occur or other initiatives/concerns need to be addressed, they must form committees to resolve these issues from that same pool of people. We just don’t think it’s fair to continue to ask so much from a small group of people who already do so much.
With the explosion of soccer in Iowa and the U.S. in general, management becomes more and more complicated, and a full time job for some of these volunteers. Iowa Soccer is governed by U.S. Soccer, which in turn is governed by FIFA internationally. Changes will continue to occur, which means someone will need to be educated on all of this in order to make the right decisions.
Iowa Soccer is run by professionals who have many decades of experience in club development and the governing of soccer. They already act as the governing body for the GDJMSL and understand how our league is set up. They will bring some technological benefits to the league, including real-time management of fields, closures, contact information and notifications through one source. Additionally, they can implement other approaches and solutions they have tested with the other established leagues they run and make soccer in Iowa a state initiative, beyond the local reach of the GDMJSL. Iowa Soccer also provides professional leadership and resources to club boards at no extra cost.
What costs are associated with this?
Iowa Soccer has indicated that the costs will be the same for the next two years — $25 per team — the same price we currently pay GDMJSL. Because they could not get actual P&L hard cost numbers on what it takes to run our league currently from GDJMSL, they have estimated it at $40 in 2018 and do not see it being more than that and holding steady. We currently have 14 teams that would be affected by this cost if it happened today. Projecting to 2018 it looks closer to 20 teams. That would be a cost increase of $300 total, which we foresee the club absorbing easily. So we do not see cost as a real issue and will address it with Iowa Soccer if it becomes so. They are a non-profit and will need to keep costs in check, otherwise we could possibly move away from them. As we understand it, it is a fluid relationship without contracts.
Number of Games Scheduled Reduced from 8 to 7
Why would we do this or it even be proposed? A number of reasons. First, by playing 7 games over 8 weeks, we will have a built-in bye week so teams can reschedule games easier. Percentages tell us that the majority of teams need to reschedule at least one game a season. Second, other opportunities will be provided if you want eight games or more. The bye weekends will hit on tournament weekends (Kohl’s Cup), so if you want a chance to play in it you do not need to change your schedule or play an additional weekend. The board will entertain the idea of subsidizing teams that want to participate in Kohl’s Cup. You will also be afforded the opportunity to play in a tournament or a “friendly” with another club. Friendlies would be offered up by Iowa Soccer, who manages other leagues around the state. Many of those teams would like the opportunity to play against teams outside of their area and are actually willing to travel to central Iowa since they play those same teams all the time. Iowa Soccer would schedule those games for those teams that wish to partake at the beginning of the season. It would not be on the shoulders of the coaches to coordinate outside of referees if playing on a home field.
Referee Pressure Reduced
This also reduces the number of referees needing to be scheduled. Referee shortages are real and will only continue to be difficult over the next few years. We as a club are looking to broaden our range for refs so we have more accessibility. When you have reschedules falling on normal game weekends, the pool to pull from is that much slimmer because the refs are already tapped out. Having this additional weekend will open up some opportunities for securing refs.
Greater Des Moines Junior Soccer League still viable for the time being
A vote and commitment by clubs is required by January 8th. There has been some talk that some clubs are staying with GDMJSL because they fear they will lose their voice. As it was, there were 39 clubs who all got a chance to talk at meetings and vote. While we may not have a “vote” persay anymore, Iowa Soccer will be forming an advisory board to work with them on changes and opportunities for improvement, in addition to clubs being able to voice concerns at regular meetings. We do not see this as a large obstacle. From what we know today, they have enough teams to start a league and will more than likely have more than half of the current clubs and we project that it will be more than that.
Iowa Soccer currently runs leagues that run 6 games over 8 weeks. We wanted at least 7 to start and see where it goes after.
AGE GUIDELINES – Occurring January 2017!!!
New birthdate guidelines will affect current age divisions.
U.S. Soccer is implementing international guidelines. The current guidelines follow a “school age” framework. New seasons and age division movements have traditionally happened in the Fall when school grades change. They will change to calendar year in Spring 2017. That means the following:
The old rules state that if your birthday fell after August 1st of a given year, you could play in a lower division (i.e. if you turned 10 after August 01 you would still be eligible for U9). Now those kids who have birthday from August 01 through December 31 of the same year will be in the same division as those kids who have birthdays prior to August 01, meaning they may need to move up and play for a different team if the entire team cannot or does not want to move up. At least 60% of the team must be at the current age group to “play up”.
We have until 2017 to implement this in its entirety. We will be addressing this over the the next 12 months to see what kind of impact this will have and work with coaches and teams on the best possible outcomes. See the chart below for age brackets:
Roster sizes will also be expanded for teams as well to add to flexibility when trying field one team instead of two small ones.
Additional information will be coming in the future and we will update you when we receive it. We try and make decisions that will best serve our soccer community while keeping the best value in mind. Please understand that this is an ongoing process and we are making strides to better the club.
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to email me at jason.ploog@gmail.com.