SSC is a premier-level soccer club committed to preparing players to compete at “the next level”.

For some it may mean a positive experience on their high school teams, for many its participation on college varsities (including admission to competitive schools and some financial assistance), for a select few it may mean professional play, and for most it permits enjoyable years of skillful play in adult and senior leagues. Besides the physical skills developed, SSC acclimates players to handling the pressures and mental adjustments necessary at all levels of competitive play.

A Premier club is one dedicated to taking talented players and developing them as far as their abilities and their dispositions will allow.

Four elements must work together for a successful Premier Program:

1. PLAYERS – Must be good athletes with the desire to fully develop their skills; as they mature, players must also dedicate themselves by determining that soccer will be their primary (if not sole) competitive sport.
   
   
2. TRAINING – Qualified, professional-level coaches who can train the players on technical skills and tactical play, guide them through competitive game situations and develop effective mental approaches to the game both on and off the field.
   
   
3. YEAR-ROUND COMMITMENT – An understanding that learning a skill and mastering it are two different things. Premier clubs develop programs that encompass a twelve month commitment.
   
   
4. AGGRESSIVE SCHEDULING – Most physically adept athletes can learn a skill. The goal is to reproduce it “AT PACE AND UNDER PRESSURE”. To achieve this, players must be honed against the stiffest competition appropriate for their age and development, both in league play and at tournaments, outdoors and indoors. In addition, scheduling is also strategically used as a barometer of team development and club strength, and in the later years for showcasing players for “the next level”.

U9 through U14 teams enjoy a fall season, indoor season, spring season and a limited summer tournament schedule. The fall and spring seasons typically involve three sessions a week, two training days and a gameday, occasionally the reverse. The indoor season consists of one weekly training session, supplemented by either a weekly indoor league or periodic indoor tournament events. Teams will usually enter a number of tournaments over the course of the year, two or three in the fall and three or four in the spring. Teams will train the week before mid-summer tournaments. Trainers will also designate certain weeks between seasons as necessary player downtime.

U15-U18 teams have similar indoor, spring and summer schedules. However, the fall differs due to high school varsity commitments.

Older teams typically train about once every 2-3 weeks, usually Sunday mornings, in September and October, to stay together and to provide opportunities to work out new players and prospects. The team then trains normally in November thru mid-December, and either plays a mini-season such as MAPS provides or enters several tournaments and showcases, before heading indoors.

The club is centrally located in New Jersey in the scenic rolling hills of the Peapack-Gladstone area. Nonetheless, SSC players historically have represented a state-wide constituency. Players have been identified representing 16 of the state’s 21 counties.

During the 2002-2003 seasonal year, players have been drawn from over 60 NJ towns and 8 counties. About 50% are from Morris County, 20% from Somerset County, and the remainder currently represent Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Essex, Union and Middlesex. Obviously, this fluctuates from year to year.

Players join the club for the entire seasonal year from July 1st through June 30th, and a contractual obligation is signed to pay for the entire year. The club is committing one of its limited number of roster spots to the player, and is basing its operational team budget on spreading the costs among all players committing to the team.

The operating budget for the year per player is $1600 which incorporates club fees and coaching fees only. Each team budget may vary due to the amount of tournaments entered i.e. some teams may have an aggressive tournament schedule requiring additional funds; also there may be a requirement for a change in uniform.

This includes Training fees for a primary trainer and a secondary trainer, outdoor facilities, indoor training facility in winter, insurance, communications and various other items.

The first $600 deposit is due when a player signs with the team, and then payments are collected in two additional increments. Since many outlays are well in advance of the event (tournament fees, registrations, etc.), increment intervals are compressed rather than spread.

For U9-U14 teams, payment schedule is: initial deposit by May 29th, then additional payments on September 1st ($500), November 30th ($500).

For U15-U18 teams, payment schedule is: initial deposit by August 1, then additional payments on October 15, January 15.

All SSC coaches have been rigorously evaluated by the four-person Coaches Steering Committee before being assigned a team as a Primary Trainer / Head Coach. Each brings something unique to the club in terms of experience and training.

The list of 13 Coaches that are expected to handle SSC teams next year (ten of which are already written up on the SSC website) includes at least: three USSF ‘A’ level licenses, four English Football Association Coaching Badges, two NCAA Division One players who were selected first and second as National College Players of the Year, one European National Team player and another two in their National Team pools, six professional players, seven collegiate players, two current or former college head coaches and eight high school varsity coaches, and seven educators by profession. In short, the coaching group brings to the club a rich background of knowledge and experience to pass along to SSC players, and many are even professionally trained as instructors and teachers.

Mindful that players benefit from different perspectives, styles and experience backgrounds, the club is institutionalizing cross-training so that players are exposed to the different trainers in the system. As an initial measure, teams are being formally assigned a secondary trainer for the first time. Also teams periodically have their trainers rotated from one seasonal year to the next. Clinics and skills sessions conducted independently of team training promote such broader exposure, as do the recommended team training weeks during the summer.

The club has traditionally been a coach-driven organization, with substantive soccer, policy and operational decisions handled by the Coaches Committee, headed by a small working Coaches Steering Committee drawn from the most senior members. Currently, this Committee consists of Coaching Director Tony Bednarsky, Director of Facilities & Youth Development Keith Hill, and Donna Bednarsky.

Organizational items are handled by a Board of Officers, who supervise facilities and budget issues, handle administrative matters with leagues and state organizations, and conduct fund-raising activities. Currently, the Officers include President Tony Bednarsky, President Emeritus David Atha, Vice-President Keith Hill.

The Club also now has a professional Administrative Director, Jonna Mullane, who supervises day-to-day issues such as website maintenance, scheduling and ref assignments, and also addresses long-term strategic issues such as development programs, growth, recruitment and player placement. Much of this work is done individually and collectively with members of the Team Managers Committee, which communicates regularly with the Administrator and formally meets on a quarterly basis.

Players are encouraged to develop their skills beyond the team training sessions by attending camps and clinics. To make it convenient and to keep costs low, the club will offer optional in-house programs at nominal cost (about $10 per session). Open to all club U11 players and older.

1. KEEPER TRAINING - Monday evenings. Three courses a year, of 6-8 sessions each. Spring & Fall outdoors, Winter indoors.
   
   
2. POSITIONAL PLAY / FUNCTIONAL TRAINING - Friday evenings, Spring & Fall. Four week sequences for Defenders, Midfielders and Forwards.
   
   
3. 3 v 3 COMPETITION - The club embraces this format for skill development, and runs special optional workouts. The club has won National Championships in recent years, and placed numerous teams in the National Finals.

The older teams attend college showcase events commensurate with the level of the team involved. To show well at such events, teams resume training immediately after the high school season concludes.

For players serious about college play, the Club Administrator provides seminars and is available by phone to help out, whether to provide sample soccer resumes, discuss an email campaign or make a warranted phone call. SSC coaches will help out in any way possible, and gladly discuss candidates with their desired schools.

Players are free to try out for any age team they feel is appropriate for their physical maturity and skill level. Nonetheless, experience has shown that only the truly exceptional player successfully plays up regularly on a team that is competing at the highest levels. After evaluating a player, the SSC coaching staff may recommend a position on a team different than the one for which the player tried out.

It should be noted that there are numerous occasions that players do play up on SSC teams. Some teams encompass a two year age group, and participate at an appropriate level of competition. Sometimes a player will be asked to guest with an older team within the club to evaluate the player’s ability under more strenuous circumstances. SSC is also exploring the possibilities of double-carding with both USYSA and US Club Soccer passes; the latter would allow player movement among club teams on as much as a weekly basis.

SSC Trainers prefer to supervise their players’ instruction, and their amount of competition in a given period. The club reserves the right to grant permission to guest elsewhere, and only if games are well-spaced from SSC events. Other than occasional “transition” situations, secondary cards will only be permitted among SSC teams.

Four primary criteria: Speed (including technical speed and quickness), Touch (first touch, foot skills, comfort with ball), Aggressiveness (going to ball, winning challenges, defending confidently), Mental Game (reads field, makes decisions, handles pressure, organizes mates). If a player has a good base, our trainers will teach the rest.

Within a week of the last tryout, a club rep will phone or email all candidates whom the club has identified for the Age Group Player Pool. That contact will either offer a roster spot or advise of the next step. SSC will make sure it gets word through to identified players. Nonetheless, if in doubt that you may have missed our call, email (or call) the Club Administrator (info follows).

Our www.sscsoccer.com website is a fountain of information. Surf it to see the leagues teams play in, tournaments they attend, club history, etc. The site is laced with contact names, as well as hundreds of team and action photos.

Most team communications are routed through the Team Managers who do yeoman service in dealing with the myriad of details necessary to keep a team functioning. Their names, photos, phone numbers and email addresses are listed on the website, both collectively and with their individual teams.

We have professional coaches, no coaching is allowed by spectators at any time during practice or training. Shouting abuse or any comments at other team, referees or coaches will not be tolerated. If this does occur, you will be informed in writing of the clubs disciplinary action, which may be the removal of your child/ward from the team or you as a parent may be banned from watching any practice and/or any games home and away. If you have to shout (we prefer you didn't) encouragement is all that will be accepted.