Do you have a passion for soccer?
Are you hungry to improve your game?
Are you ready to commit time & energy?
Are you aged 9-14 yrs old?
Mahone Bay United is offering an 8 week intensive soccer development program. We will focus on technical skills, creativity on the ball and the love of the game. Your ability to express yourself on the soccer field and dynamically contribute to teams will grow. We will accept any player who is willing to give the time commitment.
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WHAT IS THE COMMITMENT?
WHO IS COACHING?
Tim Merry and Chris Jordan are the lead coaches from Mahone Bay United. Both have a life long passion for soccer, are experienced coaches and have worked together with this age group in competitive soccer on the South Shore. Tim and Chris will be joined by a team of MBU Coaches some exciting guest appearances!
Mahone Bay United are partnering with Halifax Wanderers in the design and delivery of the program. Halifax Wanderers will be joining us for a session midway where our players will get to meet and be trained by professional players and coaches from the Wanderers team.
WE ARE INTERESTED! WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
We strongly recommend you read the Frequently Asked Questions below before registering. If, after reading the FAQs, you still have questions please reach out to us directly at [email protected] .
- 8 weeks - April 4th to May 31st
- 3 days a week - 5:45pm - 7:15pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday on the Mahone Bay Community Field. Two sessions on the field and one session in the classroom every week.
- 2 Saturdays (minimum) during the program at 10am to host a community drop in game
WHO IS COACHING?
Tim Merry and Chris Jordan are the lead coaches from Mahone Bay United. Both have a life long passion for soccer, are experienced coaches and have worked together with this age group in competitive soccer on the South Shore. Tim and Chris will be joined by a team of MBU Coaches some exciting guest appearances!
Mahone Bay United are partnering with Halifax Wanderers in the design and delivery of the program. Halifax Wanderers will be joining us for a session midway where our players will get to meet and be trained by professional players and coaches from the Wanderers team.
WE ARE INTERESTED! WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
- Register your player(s) on the MBU website.
- Kick off April 4th, 5:45 - 7pm, for a parents and players session in The Mahone Bay Centre large conference room.
We strongly recommend you read the Frequently Asked Questions below before registering. If, after reading the FAQs, you still have questions please reach out to us directly at [email protected] .
"AS SOON AS YOU HAVE AN ENVIRONMENT THAT IS ALL ABOUT WINNING, IT TAKES AWAY FROM THAT 'PLAYING FREE' MENTALITY. YOU CAN HAVE A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT AND MAKE IT FUN. THE FOCUS NEEDS TO BE CREATIVITY INSTEAD OF RESULTS."
CHRIS JORDAN, MBU DEVELOP LEAD COACH & TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW MANY KIDS WILL YOU TAKE INTO THE PROGRAM?
Mahone Bay United is a “no obstacles to play” club. Participation is only limited by the ability to commit. This way players define their involvement through commitment + passion, rather than adults assessing whether they are good enough. The club’s job is to make sure they can get there if they want to join and the families are sufficiently supportive. Development during this age range can be incredibly varied. Assessing skill, coordination, physicality, speed etc just does not make sense to us. If there is a passion for the game, and a will in the player to commit, we believe that can be turned into a positive learning experience.
IS THIS A “HIGH PERFORMANCE” PROGRAM?
High Performance is not language we use at MBU to describe our programming. This is a program for players who want to leverage their passion and talent for soccer to better their lives. At MBU Develop we will learn about how to commit, persevere and excel. It is about the joy of getting better as a result of putting in the hard work. This is an important lesson for life. The players who can accelerate their development now, we hope will be able use it to grow in confidence, gain travel experiences, scholarships to education that otherwise they might not be able to afford, career opportunities related to sport etc. If you have a love and talent for something, we believe you should have the opportunity to pursue it.
WILL THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM GET TO PLAY COMPETITIVE GAMES?
The program does include game time every session, where players compete with each other to win. However, MBU Develop is focused on build the ability of the player outside of the pressure of competitive environments. If you would like to pursue competitive soccer at MBU, we are planning to offer teams this summer and offer a Winter Futsal league.
9-14 IS A BIG AGE RANGE. HOW WILL YOU HANDLE THE AGE DIFFERENCE?
This program doesn’t focus on the physicality of the game, partly because of the age range we are working with. The emphasis in this program will be on skill, creativity, teamwork and the world of football. There will be two streams that run during the field sessions, which divide players according to age and ability. Older players will be expected to be a leaders on the field. This means modelling behaviour that is committed, encouraging and supportive to all the players there, particularly younger players. That said, the expectation to be leaders is extended to all ages. Kids in our society look up to high achievers in sport. They inevitably become role models through their sporting prowess. We want our development programs to produce positive role models in clubs, schools and communities across the South Shore.
Mahone Bay United is a “no obstacles to play” club. Participation is only limited by the ability to commit. This way players define their involvement through commitment + passion, rather than adults assessing whether they are good enough. The club’s job is to make sure they can get there if they want to join and the families are sufficiently supportive. Development during this age range can be incredibly varied. Assessing skill, coordination, physicality, speed etc just does not make sense to us. If there is a passion for the game, and a will in the player to commit, we believe that can be turned into a positive learning experience.
IS THIS A “HIGH PERFORMANCE” PROGRAM?
High Performance is not language we use at MBU to describe our programming. This is a program for players who want to leverage their passion and talent for soccer to better their lives. At MBU Develop we will learn about how to commit, persevere and excel. It is about the joy of getting better as a result of putting in the hard work. This is an important lesson for life. The players who can accelerate their development now, we hope will be able use it to grow in confidence, gain travel experiences, scholarships to education that otherwise they might not be able to afford, career opportunities related to sport etc. If you have a love and talent for something, we believe you should have the opportunity to pursue it.
WILL THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM GET TO PLAY COMPETITIVE GAMES?
The program does include game time every session, where players compete with each other to win. However, MBU Develop is focused on build the ability of the player outside of the pressure of competitive environments. If you would like to pursue competitive soccer at MBU, we are planning to offer teams this summer and offer a Winter Futsal league.
9-14 IS A BIG AGE RANGE. HOW WILL YOU HANDLE THE AGE DIFFERENCE?
This program doesn’t focus on the physicality of the game, partly because of the age range we are working with. The emphasis in this program will be on skill, creativity, teamwork and the world of football. There will be two streams that run during the field sessions, which divide players according to age and ability. Older players will be expected to be a leaders on the field. This means modelling behaviour that is committed, encouraging and supportive to all the players there, particularly younger players. That said, the expectation to be leaders is extended to all ages. Kids in our society look up to high achievers in sport. They inevitably become role models through their sporting prowess. We want our development programs to produce positive role models in clubs, schools and communities across the South Shore.
“If you want to change society, change the people kids look up to.” Tim merry, MBU Founder & President
WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE CLASS ROOM DAYS? ISN'T SOCCER PLAYED ON A FIELD!?!
Soccer is the most watched sport in the world. People from all countries, walks of life, faiths, races, ages, sizes and shapes play this wonderful game. We want to connect our players to that global community. Each of the players will be choosing a player and club to follow for the program that will feed into our classroom discussions and weekly video highlights reels. The classroom sessions will also be used for individual journalling and for the teams to do game planning for the internal league, as well as exploring nutrition (get ready for a cooking night!). There will be FIFA soccer quiz nights, stories from local community members who have excelled in soccer (we have a Canada Hall of Famer coming!) and opportunities for the players to build their relationships around the sport. We want this to be a cohort of players who learn as much from each other, as they do from the coaching team and visiting guests.
WHAT IF OUR PLAYER CAN'T MAKE ALL THE SESSIONS?
Commitment comes in lots of shapes and sizes and families are busy these days! We get it.We know MBU is walking a fine line between leveraging the time commitment as a criteria to join and wanting to make this accessible to players who have the passion to develop. Don't hesitate to reach out to us about this. Here is our formal take on it from the registration form: "We would like players in the program to be at every Session. Access to Develop is only limited by the commitment of the player and their family. If players are regularly missing sessions they may be asked to surrender their place. A minimum requirement is that players can make 2 out of 3 sessions every week, though this is not recommended for the whole 10 weeks, as they may fall behind on the various elements of the program’s developmental arc."
WHAT IS THE SATURDAY COMMITMENT?
The commitment is 3 days a week + 2 Saturdays over the entire program to host a community drop in game (10am-11:30am). We feel it is important that the kids in the program model and lead the game in the community for other kids. The Develop kids will organize and lead the drop in game in groups of 3 or 4.
WILL THIS OVERLAP WITH SUMMER SOCCER ON THE SOUTH SHORE?
We did our best to schedule around the summer leagues. We have shortened the program to 8 weeks in 2024, to accommodate the summer soccer start dates we received from Soccer Nova Scotia . That said, it is hard to get firm dates so we had to move ahead without a full confirmation. If there is overlap, we do not expect it to be for an extended period.
WHAT’S THE PARENTS ROLE IN THE PROGRAM?
Your job is support your player in the all the ways you do as a parent: logistics, equipment, emotional ups and downs. Thank you for all you do. We would love to have you involved in the program and need your feedback for it to be a success. The role of a parent in the life of a talented players is a complex one. You will be asked to make agreements with your player on how you support them for the duration of the program. Here’s some research outcomes on what kids want from parents (taken from: PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN ORGANISED YOUTH SPORT).
“Several studies have employed child- centred research approaches and have indicated that children want parents to focus on effort rather than outcomes, respect sport etiquette, match their non-verbal behaviours with supportive comments, and encourage the entire team (Knight et al., 2010). Moreover, children prefer parents to provide practical advice surrounding preparation for and recovery from competition (Knight et al., 2010) and control their emotions during competition (Omli and Wiese-Bjornstal, 2011). In semi-professional settings, children also want parents to understand the difficulties they experience navigating changing social networks, revising sporting goals, and seeking new forms of feedback for improvement (Elliott et al., 2018). Children prefer their parents not to coach from the sidelines or provide technical and tactical advice unless they have sufficient knowledge (Knight et al., 2010). Research also suggests that children do not want parents to draw attention to themselves by displaying embarrassing or overexcited behaviours, arguing with the coach or officials, or attempting to coach them (Knight et al., 2010).”
Soccer is the most watched sport in the world. People from all countries, walks of life, faiths, races, ages, sizes and shapes play this wonderful game. We want to connect our players to that global community. Each of the players will be choosing a player and club to follow for the program that will feed into our classroom discussions and weekly video highlights reels. The classroom sessions will also be used for individual journalling and for the teams to do game planning for the internal league, as well as exploring nutrition (get ready for a cooking night!). There will be FIFA soccer quiz nights, stories from local community members who have excelled in soccer (we have a Canada Hall of Famer coming!) and opportunities for the players to build their relationships around the sport. We want this to be a cohort of players who learn as much from each other, as they do from the coaching team and visiting guests.
WHAT IF OUR PLAYER CAN'T MAKE ALL THE SESSIONS?
Commitment comes in lots of shapes and sizes and families are busy these days! We get it.We know MBU is walking a fine line between leveraging the time commitment as a criteria to join and wanting to make this accessible to players who have the passion to develop. Don't hesitate to reach out to us about this. Here is our formal take on it from the registration form: "We would like players in the program to be at every Session. Access to Develop is only limited by the commitment of the player and their family. If players are regularly missing sessions they may be asked to surrender their place. A minimum requirement is that players can make 2 out of 3 sessions every week, though this is not recommended for the whole 10 weeks, as they may fall behind on the various elements of the program’s developmental arc."
WHAT IS THE SATURDAY COMMITMENT?
The commitment is 3 days a week + 2 Saturdays over the entire program to host a community drop in game (10am-11:30am). We feel it is important that the kids in the program model and lead the game in the community for other kids. The Develop kids will organize and lead the drop in game in groups of 3 or 4.
WILL THIS OVERLAP WITH SUMMER SOCCER ON THE SOUTH SHORE?
We did our best to schedule around the summer leagues. We have shortened the program to 8 weeks in 2024, to accommodate the summer soccer start dates we received from Soccer Nova Scotia . That said, it is hard to get firm dates so we had to move ahead without a full confirmation. If there is overlap, we do not expect it to be for an extended period.
WHAT’S THE PARENTS ROLE IN THE PROGRAM?
Your job is support your player in the all the ways you do as a parent: logistics, equipment, emotional ups and downs. Thank you for all you do. We would love to have you involved in the program and need your feedback for it to be a success. The role of a parent in the life of a talented players is a complex one. You will be asked to make agreements with your player on how you support them for the duration of the program. Here’s some research outcomes on what kids want from parents (taken from: PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN ORGANISED YOUTH SPORT).
“Several studies have employed child- centred research approaches and have indicated that children want parents to focus on effort rather than outcomes, respect sport etiquette, match their non-verbal behaviours with supportive comments, and encourage the entire team (Knight et al., 2010). Moreover, children prefer parents to provide practical advice surrounding preparation for and recovery from competition (Knight et al., 2010) and control their emotions during competition (Omli and Wiese-Bjornstal, 2011). In semi-professional settings, children also want parents to understand the difficulties they experience navigating changing social networks, revising sporting goals, and seeking new forms of feedback for improvement (Elliott et al., 2018). Children prefer their parents not to coach from the sidelines or provide technical and tactical advice unless they have sufficient knowledge (Knight et al., 2010). Research also suggests that children do not want parents to draw attention to themselves by displaying embarrassing or overexcited behaviours, arguing with the coach or officials, or attempting to coach them (Knight et al., 2010).”
“Football is about joy. I favour every idea that makes the game beautiful.” Ronaldhino
We are incredibly lucky to have a top notch team designing and delivering the Develop program with MBU. Listed below are the main players and we will also have MBU volunteer coaches helping out at most sessions.
MEET THE COACHING TEAM
TIM MERRY
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CHRIS JORDAN
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MBU SUPPORTING COACHES
GUEST COACHES, SPEAKERS AND ADVISORS
Dan Clarke - Halifax Wanderers, Football Development Manager
MBU Develop role: technical direction support + advisor + guest coach
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Dan Clark, who has been the Halifax Wandderter's High Performance & Team Manager since 2020, recently transitioned into his role as Fpptball Development Manager. He is a qualified Sports Scientist and operates as a bridge between the coaching staff and to ensure a consistent approach to training , integrating technology, as well as contributing to team performance and opposition analysis.
MBU is excited to welcome Dan back for his second year supporting MBU Develop design and delivery. |
Jed Davies - Halifax Wanderers, Head of Youth Development and First Team Assistant Coach
MBU Develop role: technical direction support + advisor + guest coach
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I am passionate about individual player development within the context of team building. Over the past ten years I have experience in identification, assessment, planning, training and inspiring players to pursue their potential as a person and as a player. At HFX Wanderers, I lead the club’s video analysis, preparation for the next opponent, analysis of the previous performances, participate in team building decisions, on field coaching, scouting, decisions relating to game day performance and manage the club’s reserve team and youth development strategies as the head coach.
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Kaitlyn McIsaac - Soccer Nova Scotia Provincial Team Coach & Physiotherapist
MBU Develop role: speaker + advisor + guest coach
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Kaitlyn started playing soccer at the age of 8 for Scotia Olympics on the Under 13 team. She contined playing with Scotia up until she moved to the US to attend and play soccer for the University of Maine. Kaitlyn has continued to play, coach and lead in soccer in Nova Scotia and Canada. In 2022 she coached the Nova Scotia Women’s Team for the Canada Games. Kaitlyn is a graduate from the School of Physiotherapy at Dalhousie Uni. Her experience as a former NCAA athlete turned coach has helped shape her desire to practice as a physiotherapist.
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2024 speakers line up for classroom series
“YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT’S RARE ACROSS THE COUNTRY; A PROPER CLUB CULTURE THAT WILL INSPIRE KIDS FOR A LIFETIME.”
JED DAVIES, HALIFAX WANDERERS, HEAD OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT & FIRST TEAM ASSISTANT COACH
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We want as many people as possible
enjoying the benefits of soccer! We are committed to: Affordable, accessible, well organized, high quality soccer experiences A soccer club that contributes to our town and region Learning and development at the heart of our club Soccer as a vehicle for building community, confidence and creativity |
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