About
It is the goal of Mesa Soccer Association to pursue the highest quality youth soccer, while teaching respect and promoting a love of the game among players, coaches, parents, and the community.
About Mesa Soccer Association
We are pleased to announce the successful merger between Mesa Soccer Association (Mesa) and San Diego Youth Soccer Association/Nott’s Forest F.C. The competitive teams of Nott’s Forest F.C. have joined together with the recreational teams of Mesa to promote one club.
Mesa Soccer Association is a 501( c)(3) non-profit corporation. Our volunteer board of directors and bylaws reflect the mission statement and direction of our newly merged club. Mesa’s programs provide the opportunity to play soccer in a positive, fun and safe learning environment. The Mesa Recreation program de-emphasizes winning and focuses on teaching basic skills and promoting a love of the game. The competitive Nott’s Forest F.C. program provides an opportunity to develop advanced skills while playing in an elite environment. Mesa, throughout its entire organization, seeks to promote cooperation, fair play and mutual respect between players, parents, coaches and gaming officials.
Mesa strives to provide an appropriate level of play for any child who chooses to play soccer from the beginning recreational four year old to the competitive college bound senior. Parents are welcome to volunteer as coaches, team managers, field liners or board members…the list is endless.
About David Banks, Director of Football
David Banks is the Director of Football for both the recreational and competitive programs at Mesa. He continues to build the club by raising the level of coaching and the quality of play from the youngest recreational to the seasoned competitive player.
A native of England, David grew up following the professional team, Nottingham Forest, which remains dear to his heart. His vision for our competitive Nott’s Forest F.C. teams, include developing a soccer exchange program with them.
David holds a USSF National “A” License for coaching and has played locally for the San Diego Sockers and the San Diego Flash. David was the Sockers’ youngest team captain ever and was voted a “Sockers Legend” in 2003 in recognition of his soccer skills, leadership, and contributions to the community.
David, in partnership with Cindy Friedman, also runs the United Kingdom Soccer Academy (UKSA), and Soccer School of Excellence (SSE) camps that provide added soccer training and skills.
About Mesa Recreation
Mesa Recreation is designed to provide an enjoyable opportunity for players both to learn the game and develop the skills necessary to play it well. Our teams comprise a wide range of experience from raw beginners to children who have played many seasons. Emphasis is placed on having fun with maximized playing time for every child.
Mesa Recreation has two playing seasons. The Spring season runs from mid-March to late May with games played on Sundays. The Fall season runs from mid-August to late November with games played on Saturdays. Our recreational teams are coached by volunteers including parents, grandparents, high school and college students. All volunteer coaches are licensed and risk managed. Mesa Recreational parents are asked to recognize the volunteer coach’s commitment to their child’s team and respect his/her authority during practice sessions and games. Parents will offer positive reinforcement for both teams during games and refrain from “coaching” their child during practice or games.
The age divisions and game format for the fall playing season are listed in the chart below. The game format during the spring season may be adjusted to smaller sided games based on player and coach sign up. There is a Division Coordinator in charge of each division. Players are drafted to teams based on past season’s playing experience to create balanced teams for league play.
|
AGE |
PLAY |
GAME TIME |
BALL SIZE |
| DIV 7 (U5 & U6) |
5 v 5 |
20 Min. Halves |
3 |
| DIV 6 (U7 & U8) |
8 v 8 |
25 Min. Halves |
3 |
| DIV 5 (U9 & U10 |
8 v 8 |
25 Min. Halves |
4 |
| DIV 4 (U11 & U12) |
11 v 11 |
30 Min. Halves |
4 |
| DIV 3 (U13 & U14) |
11 v 11 |
35 Min. Halves |
5 |
| DIV 2 (U15 & U16) |
11 v 11 |
40 Min. Halves |
5 |
Children as young as four years old can participate in a once a week Little Nott’s clinic. This is a one hour session where players are introduced to fundamental soccer techniques and then have the opportunity to utilize their newfound skills in small sided scrimmages. Players are divided into small groups based on age and skill level. They are coached by competitive Nott’s Forest F.C. players, who are supervised by a licensed Nott’s Forest F.C. professional coach. This clinic also serves as a training ground for anyone interested in volunteering as a recreational coach.
Mesa Recreation provides a great introduction to soccer for the novice and continues to develop the more experienced player to reach his/her potential in a recreational environment.
About Nott’s Forest F.C.
“Of the families, by the families, for the families”...Nott’s Forest F.C. philosophy is based on open communication, mutual respect, and maintaining focus on our children. Forest is committed to providing a professional and positive learning environment for our children, which allows for player improvement in all aspects of the game, both individually and collectively as a team.
Under the direction of David Banks, Forest professional coaches provide quality training for our young athletes. Teams train to perform at optimum competitive levels without compromising sportsmanship. Although Forest coaches bring their own personal style to coaching, they all work towards the development of the individual player in terms of skills, teamwork, knowledge of the game, conditioning, and sportsmanship. At the developmental level, U8-U10, coaches strive for maximum playing time for all players. Equal playing time at the older competitive level is not guaranteed. Coaches will assign playing time as appropriate, based on player’s performance, attitude and commitment in practice sessions and games.
Forest players will arrive on time in Forest training gear for practice sessions and in uniform for games. Players will communicate with their coach when they must miss a practice or game. Players will commit to their team’s tournament schedule. They will be expected to work hard, to learn, to improve and give their best effort in practice and in games. “Practice the way you play!”
Forest parents will recognize the coach’s commitment to their child’s team and will respect his/her authority during practice sessions and games. Parents will offer positive reinforcement for both teams during games and refrain from “coaching” their child during practice or games.
The Nott’s Forest F.C. family will honor and respect our teammates, our opponents, the officials and the rules. The goal to win is balanced with the goal to use sports to teach valuable “life lessons”, so that we have “winners in life” and not just on the field. If our young athletes leave the field knowing they trained hard, respected the game, and put forth their best effort, they will have won, no matter what the score.