You have been selected to apply for membership in WABA's Leadership Program.

 

Here are some fabulous components of this amazing opportunity.

 

Expanded Technical Skills & Games Sessions

Our leadership program’s top benefit is the ability for athletes to come into WABA & train every day, even multiple sessions a day. Here are some enhancements to the great skills offerings we already deliver:

Advanced Airborne™ & Whip-It™ sessions with tons of new aerial games are scheduled for September. WABA's 100 Top-IT™ skills chart plus 15 advanced juggling sequences & challenges will be active mid September. Our ever popular under-load attacking games have been expanded with new games and conditions. We have added WABstAcles, obstacle course races with skills practice. Our mini pitch will be open for self practice & will eventually include video guided sessions. 

 

Xtreme Athleticism™

Stealth Testing™ are 50 soccer athleticism tests that tie back into soccer athletic performance. Leadership members will have first priority to track metrics & benchmark their athleticism. Two 45-minute balance only sessions on the mini pitch with 8 new balance boards have been added along with ALL Strength sessions. Pilates, TRX and yoga sessions will be sprinkled in over the next three months and available for players & parents. The sessions that gain traction will become permanent & more frequent.

 

Cognitive Development Training

With WABA’s belief that the mind is 2/3rds of soccer, a big objective in this program is to enhance athlete’s brains & their ability to make quick decisions. This program will increase mental abilities of sequencing, shape recognition, pattern recognition, orientation, quicker motor integration & short term memory. WABA training will consist of both on & off pitch activities. Over 100 games, tools, devises, exercises & apps are ready to be introduced in four monthly WABA game nights & between sessions. A chess master will visit twice a month to teach higher level pattern recognition & strategies. 

 

Research & Program Development

The main objective is to motivate and teach athletes how to discover soccer techniques and insights through their own research & experimentation. They will be expected to find videos in pro game & club situations that demonstrate soccer tactical or technical concepts in action. Then they will invent different routines to practice and master these skills in a collaborative fashion. September’s assignment will revolve around discovering all the wonders and amazement in the most foundational and versatile technical skill, the cut. Each month will have a different focus.

 

Teaching (Coaching), Leading & Demonstrations

Using a similar model as martial arts and Montessori our objective is to have athletes build confidence, leadership skills with a deep understanding of soccer through teaching & mentoring others. Senior athlete leaders will develop new skills routines, a session plan & coach sessions as part of their leadership & soccer development.

 

Reading & Book Reviews 

The WABA Library is almost complete with over 700 books that can be checked out. Each month we will distribute a book to read as a group & have two discussion sessions. These will be available in person and by zoom. We have some amazing influencers & authors lined up to join us for monthly book reviews:

Russell Payne - Northwestern University Mens Head Coach

Marcus DiBernardo - Author of Over 30 Soccer Books, 2X College Coach of the Year

Brian Roberts - Chicago Fire PASS Academy Director, Everton Consultant, Mentality Coach

Tony Kees - Author of Appetite for Soccer, U15/U16 Socker’s Academy Director, Artist

 

Executive Function

A decent amount of time will be spent on executive functions: adaptable thinking, planning (goal setting), self-monitoring, self-control, working memory, time management, & organization. This will be done in regular sessions, leadership classes & in flex times at WABA.

 

FIFA Playing & Watching/Reviewing Games

As part of a deeper understanding of the game, 360 field vision & decision making we will have FIFA 2022 instructional sessions & tournaments (especially when Cole visits). There will be two play stations with FIFA in WABA's cognitive areas. Tony Kees, Adam Mrowka & other guest coaches will be leading monthly game film review sessions. WABA will have two big screen TV’s airing classic & currents MLS & UEFA games regularly. 

 

 

Additional details about the Leadership Program (LP).

 

Time & Schedule

WOW, that is a ton of activities above…will we be able to fit them all in? Yes, we have started to put together a comprehensive development program with many facets & options, the minimum expectation is to visit WABA 10 times a month on average (2-3 visits weekly) while additionally spending time at home with WABA activities. We understand this is the busiest time of the year with back to school, club pre season & many family commitments. We chose this time of the year to kick off the leadership program, so that when the holiday & winter season arrive, your athletes will be oriented & ready to take advantage of all this program has to offer. With winter WABA’s busiest enrollment season, this will be perfect timing for our participants to be trained & ready to highlight their technical, athletic, leadership & presentation skills to others. Most Category 1 academy players around the world spend 15-25 hours a week on related soccer activities.

 

Enrollment Dates & Limits

There will be a limited number of spots available year to year on an invite basis. Annual start time of the program is July 1. We may ac kept a few athletes into the leadership program mid year though our curriculum and goal setting is based on two goal plans a year.

  

Fees

Our goal is to make the leadership program available to all families regardless of income. This will be achieved with a “pay what you can afford” framework being supplemented by in-kind service contributions. WABA’s cost of executing this program is much greater than what the net amount we will be charging our leadership families. The monthly cost of membership with materials is $780 of which a minimum of $420 will be due in cash (credit card) plus $360 (9 parental hours) in-kind service time. We appreciate those families who can afford a greater cash contributions or do not have the family bandwidth for in-kind service time to pay more than the $420 minimum cash amount. New uniforms, badges & upgraded kit colors are included in this program for all initial participants.

 

*Private sessions & camps are not included in this membership & will be billed additionally. Our discounted leadership private session rate is $60/hr. If you are a current member that paid a full initiation fee you do not have to pay it again.

 

Referals

The cost of this leadership program is substantially greater than the cash fees we are charging for the features & benefits provided. This amount is in essence subsidized by our non-leadership members. Building & maintaining the base of those members is critical to the financial stability of our leadership program. Monthly referrals to WABA's membership programs are greatly appreciated.

 

In-Kind Service Assignments

Here are a few areas that we need parental help overseeing:

 

Librarian - Organize & manage our book inventory, teach the WABA reading method & suggest books for athletes. Love for reading would be a great qualification with the belief that “Readers are Leaders”

Kit Man or Woman - Oversee uniform inventory & distribution, press vinyl on kits, cut vinyl & oversee special patches and awards.

Photographer - Oversee member official profile picture photos, capture all member photos & run initial photoshoot sessions.

Videographer - Video record, download & catalog  various events, training sessions & activities at WABA.

Video Editor - Edit training videos & clips from session as well as player records. Creative Suite a plus.

Awards Manager - Manage & print all Top-It™ Skills records postings & awards. 

Video Auditor - Audit & Review submitted record videos. Must be good at identifying what constitutes quality technique.

FIFA 2022 Fanatic - Someone who has an advanced understanding of FIFA 2022 & would inspire participation

Social Media Guru - Help create social media campaign & manage Facebook and Insta

Flyer Distribution Manager - A marketing person that will take players to soccer events to oversee & distribute literature on cars & hand-to-hand.

Cleaning & Maintenance - Weekly deep cleaning of the WABA facility.

Pitch & Facility Painting - This includes patching & painting walls plus retapping pitch (many parent job)

General Repair Manager - Things break with 200 kids & parents mixed in with soccer balls. This spot is perfect for a GC or handyman to execute & supervise.

College Marketing Assistant - Manage & teach kids how to maintain their Sports Recruit & Top Drawer Soccer profile along with how to market to coaches. We will teach a parent the details to help guide players in the LP.

 

There will be many more varying monthly assignments & responsibilities to help add features & benefits to the WABA leadership program.

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Congrats again on being one of the few chosen for WABA’s Leadership Program (LP). 

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Please fill out this registration if you are interested in participating. 

 

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WABAON!