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Message from the Scheduler

2019/2020 Season

We are a league and we all need to be thinking about working together – even though we are made up of individual teams from individual clubs.  We have a common goal and that is making sure our kids get to play soccer.

As the scheduler, my primary responsibility is creating a schedule that allows all teams to play six games during each season segment – six games in the fall and another six in the winter/spring.

U9 and U10 coaches will only see three games right now.  If you see four, it is because you are in a five-team division,  and which requires that one team plays four games so that the other four teams each get three games.  Special thanks to those teams picking up an extra game.  After Nov 2 games, we will flight the U9 and U10 teams again and the other three games for the fall session will be scheduled.  Maggie hopes to have that schedule posted by Nov 10 or 11. (NO U9 OR U10 GAMES ON NOV 9.)

The use of double-headers has become necessary because of out-of-town teams AND local team’s use of black-out dates to accommodate school breaks, as well as travel for tournaments.  Please understand that Maggie tries to minimize the use of double-headers because it is hard on resources (fields and referees), but some double-headers simply cannot be helped and she needs everyone’s cooperation in playing them when asked to do so.

There are 143 coaches coaching 235 teams.  48 of those coaches have more than one team.  Everyone has fields where they want to play their games, and coaches with multiple teams want all of their games at one place so they don’t have to drive, but we need to again remember that his is not about what any individual person wants.  We all have to work together.  Maggie makes every possible effort to have coaches with multiple teams do the least amount of driving possible, but there are a couple of big reasons this isn’t always possible:

Tucson’s fields complexes used by PCJSL don’t have all three field sizes in one place.  If you coach three teams – each of which plays on a different sized field – you can expect to drive to at least two complexes and possibly three.

Double-headers need to be played at the same complex (it makes more sense for one coach to drive to another place, rather than one whole team to have to drive to another place), so sometimes that’s the choice that Maggie makes and it causes a coach who would prefer to stay at the same park to have to drive to another park. Maggie always makes every effort to give drive time.

Despite Maggie’s efforts to accommodate coaches with multiple teams, THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN THERE WILL BE CONFLICTS AND EVERY COACH IS REQUIRED BY PCJSL TO HAVE AN ASA APPROVED ADULT FROM THEIR CLUB WHO CAN BE WITH THE TEAM WHEN HE OR SHE IS NOT ABLE TO BE THERE!!! (Please drive this message home because there are some who think it is my responsibility to figure out their problem.  It is a responsibility of the coach/DOC/club president when a fairly rare situation like this comes up.)

Maggie makes a huge effort to be transparent with our process and she sends out emails THROUGH GOTSOCCER.  The emails that get used are the ones teams included when they filled out the application. If a coach or a manager changes, that information needs to be updated – preferably in the application form – and then Maggie needs to be notified that a change has been made so that she can confirm that the new person is listed.

Have a great season and don’t hesitate to contact Maggie if you have questions.  If she can’t answer the question, she will forward it to someone else who can.

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