Rob Boynton, Traverse City, is the
Grand Traverse Bay YMCA Soccer Coordinator. He brings with him over 35 years of
experience. “I have been playing soccer with my neighborhood friends since I
was in kindergarten,” said Boynton. His
first experience as coaching as an adult was with the Y Soccer program when he
was 18.
Boynton was a preschool teacher,
moved to working at summer camps, and then began coaching soccer as a career.
He has coached YMCA Soccer, travel soccer, and “Select Soccer”. He went on to
be the Traverse City Central Jr. Varsity Coach for six years. Boynton ran the Just for Kicks Sports in Traverse City
for five years. He went to Leland as the Varsity Soccer coach for five years
before coming to Traverse City Central to coach both the boys varsity soccer
team and also the junior varsity girls team. Boynton continues to attend national
training events to keep up-to-date on current soccer teaching activities and
methods.
Traditionally at the Y, soccer has
been played as an 11 vs. 11 format. “In order to help player development at the
younger levels, we need to increase the number of touches and time on the ball
for each child. To do this, we can decrease the number of players on the field
and on the teams. Teams at the Y will start with smaller teams on smaller
fields so that there can be more individual attention. As they grow in years
the teams and fields will grow in size to eventually get to the regulations
size and to 11 vs. 11 format,” according to Boynton. Grades K to 2 will be
working in a 5 vs. 5 format on a smaller field. Grades 3, 4, and 5 will form
their teams in an 8 vs. 8 format. Middle
grades will play in an 11 vs. 11 format on regulation sized fields,” explained
Boynton.
At the same time, Boynton intends to
expand the opportunities for coaches in a series of clinics. “This will give
volunteer coaches the opportunity to see how a practice or game might be done
with various techniques to give their team a broad experience in learning the
skills of the game.” As with any Y program, Y Soccer will be done in the
context of its four core values of caring, honesty, respect, and
responsibility.
Registration deadline for spring
soccer is March 19 focusing on children in grades K to 8. The
season will extend from the week of April 9 to the week of May 14. Registration
forms can be downloaded at www.gtbayymca.org. For more information about Y Soccer &
Softball contact the YMCA at 933-9622.
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The Grand Traverse Bay YMCA works every day to better our region, and solve issues that community members are concerned about. At the Y we offer programs that help kids reach their potential in a safe and healthy environment, that help families and individuals achieve better health, and that encourage every member of the region to get involved and make their community a better place. This is a goal that we have strived towards for decades, and our aim is to bring more services to as many people as possible in the key areas of: Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility.
The Grand Traverse Bay YMCA works every day to better our region, and solve issues that community members are concerned about. At the Y we offer programs that help kids reach their potential in a safe and healthy environment, that help families and individuals achieve better health, and that encourage every member of the region to get involved and make their community a better place. This is a goal that we have strived towards for decades, and our aim is to bring more services to as many people as possible in the key areas of: Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility.
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Part of story previously released as
an article in the Grand Traverse Insider.
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