City of Sun Prairie

We are seeking volunteers to help lead our youth soccer and baseball programs, under the support and guidance of the PRF Department. We don’t expect coaches to have any experience for this program, just an excitement and willingness to help out! At this program, many parents are actively on the field with their children helping out – so sole responsibility does not fall on the coaches. We also have a staff member on site that floats around and helps groups out as needed. For these programs, coaches (or co-coaches, we try to pair up adults to have a partner whenever possible) lead a small group of participants through each 45-minute practice. Below is a formula for a “schedule” that coaches typically roughly follow that has been successful in the past. Sample Schedule Warm-Up & Introductions - (5 Min.) - Play a name game to learn names, do some simple stretches, run around to get players warmed up and to kick off practice. Skill & Drill Practice – (15 minutes) - Use resources provided to work on building skills to use in games, topics can be tailored week – to – week based on what each team needs practice on/enjoys. A “coach manual” full of fun game ideas, drill inspiration, etc is provided to all coaches Water break - (5 Minutes) - Use this time to tear down cones, move equipment, collect balls, etc and transition to the scrimmage game Scrimmage – (15 Minutes)- Teams get to use this time to play one another in a “scrimmage” style game (just touching on the basics – T-Ball/Baseball - one team bats and one team in the field and then switch after all players get a chance to hit, For soccer – 5 v 5 or similar small game) Practice Review, Cool Down, High Fives (5 Minutes) – a chance to talk about what we learned, what was fun, and wrap up practice on a positive note! Team Assignments: Players will be randomly assigned to teams with volunteer coaches. We will ensure all parent volunteers are with their child. Team sizes will vary based on enrollment. We require all volunteers to complete our Volunteer Signup. Part of this form is attaching an image of your ID so that we can conduct a background check – safety is our top priority for anyone working with children, so please make sure to complete this step. We ask that you complete this as soon as possible so that we can have an accurate headcount. We will have a short volunteer coach meeting on April 9th at Wetmore Park (indoor/outdoor shelter) 5:30-6:15 PM. This meeting will allow for volunteers to receive more information about the team they will be working with, be provided with lots of resources/program ideas, and ask any questions that they have. If you are unable to attend this meeting, please reach out to us so that we can get you all set up with the information that you will need. Thank you for considering this opportunity. Volunteers are truly what makes these programs possible. I look forward to hearing from you if you decide you would like to move forward with assisting in your child’s program. Please reach out with any questions that you may have to Alyssa asmet@cityofsunprairie.com.