SESC Mighty Mites is our program for our youngest players – Kindergarten and First Grade.

• Kindergarten is Coed, First Grade is Gender Specific
• Practices: 1 per week in the Fall, none in the Spring.  Days & times are not set until 1 or 2 weeks before the first game.  This is out of our hands as we do not receive the field allotment from Portland Parks until then.
• Games:  Fall and Spring. Fall registration and Spring registration are separate.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Coach info at the top, Parent info is further below.

For details regarding the rules of play for MM games, see our Rules Page.

Coaching Information

We want you to have a successful time! If, after reading through this, you find you have additional questions, please feel free to email them to mightymites@sesc-pdx.org

This is my first time coaching, what do I do?

No worries, there are no prerequisites for this job! While the main objective is to introduce the new players to the fundamentals of the game of soccer your role is to ensure they have fun doing it. In many cases, this will be their first sporting experience and it’s important that they have fun. While there are many skills to learn in soccer, some of the most important ones have nothing to do with handling the ball. Learning to listen to a coach, follow instructions and work with other players are vital to any team sport.

I just got my roster, what’s the next step?

The first thing to do is to contact your team parents. There are a number of topics you will need to address with them, to provide them information about practices, games, equipment a number of other topics (See the Parent Welcome email template). The best method to convey this level of detail is through the on-line system. There are email facilities that will make this easy. However, you do need to follow up with each parent to make sure they are getting the information, at least initially, Do this by having them respond to you directly. Anyone not responding, you should follow up with a phone call.

What do I need to tell my team parents?

Where to start…

• Practices: where and what time they will be
• Games: where and what time they will be
• Pictures: where and what time they will be

See a pattern here?

You may not have all this information at one time so you may have to dole it out as you get it. The club works hard to get rosters and schedules out in a timely manner after registration closes but there are always last minute changes that disrupt the flow. Keep your eye on emails for the dates and if you are missing any details, don’t hesitate to contact the Mighty Mites Coordinator at mightymites@sesc-pdx.org

Topic by topic, here is a litany of things to cover with the team parents.

Tell a little bit about yourself and your coaching philosophy

Don’t have a philosophy? Here’s one that’s easy to get behind:

My philosophy at for this age group is very simple: have as much fun as possible. At this age, we focus on games which give the player as much time with the ball as possible. We’re not concerned about scoring or winning (we don’t keep score, with the following exception: if a player puts the ball into their own net – each team gets ½ a point ;-). We’ll work on basic ball control skills like dribbling, stopping the ball and kicking the ball in addition to understanding the basic concepts and rules of the game.

Further Coach Resources from SESC

We have a Director of Coaching who has put together lots of helpful information, including practice lesson plans on our site Here

Parent Information

How is SESC Mighty Mites Different than Rec Soccer?

The kids in U6 and U7 Mighty Mites have an experience similar to the older players – they play on real teams with Fall practices and weekend games in both Fall and Spring. The big difference is that SESC runs the MM league ‘in-house’, so teams will play other MM teams from SESC and the games are at the same field all season. In the U8 and older Rec divisions the league is run by PYSA – Portland Youth Soccer Association, so SESC teams play teams from other clubs, and games are spread around the Portland area.

Equipment

Each player must have the following equipment:

• Soccer Shoes: Cleats for outdoor, flat bottomed for futsal
• Shin guards, worn under the socks
• Water bottle
• Soccer ball (size 3 for Mighty Mites; bring balls to practices only, not games)
• No jewelry, casts, etc.

Team jerseys are provided by SESC and covered with registration, so families won’t need to purchase specific uniforms.  All other gear is player provided (cleats, shorts, soccer socks, shin guards, ball, water bottle).  SESC families get a 15% discount at Tursi’s Soccer Stores. Most major sporting goods stores carry soccer equipment and clothing, as well.

We also have a gear exchange program, found Here

Parent Roles

These are important topics and they need to be presented and discussed so everyone knows what is expected. Southeast Soccer and the Mighty Mites program is an all volunteer organization and it only works if everyone participates. There are several roles for the parents, especially for teams with just a single coach (2 games, 1 coach, see the problem?).

Team Parent

The team parent coordinates activities with all the other parents including signups for the weekly referees, assistant coach, who will bring for halftime and post-game snacks and coordination of the optional post-season celebration. The time commitment is small but it does greatly simplify things the coach.

Assistant Coach

This person will run the second game on the other field. This amounts to substituting players in and out. If it’s not possible to get a volunteer for this role for the season then the team parent will need to have parents sign up to do this each week.

Referees

Each team has one parent or volunteer referee one of the 2 games being played. These people will ‘officiate’ the games – essentially, this simply means keeping the ball in play for as long as possible. A basic level of knowledge of soccer will help: when is it a goal kick verses a corner kick? Where do the players line up after a goal? There are no hard and fast rules here, while we want to educate the players on the game, we don’t want to beat them over the head with it. It’s all about fun!

Snacks: Halftime and/or Post-game

Every parent is expected to participate in providing snacks so they should be prepared to provide these at least once during the season. Parents need to let the team parent know if there are any dietary restrictions in your player (i.e. allergies) so word can be passed along and everyone can be accommodated.

It’s up to the team to decide what types of snacks are appropriate and set guidelines for everyone and whether to provide halftime and / or post-game.

Two Adult Rule

The club is emphasizing all policies concerning player safety and particularly the two-adult rule.

At least two adults must be present at all club activities including team practices. No child should ever be alone with non-family adult, this is for the protection of the player as well as for the adult.

Mighty Mites Parents need to remain during practices & games unless they have made arrangements with another parent to watch their player, & let coaches know if this is the case. Occasionally a coach needs to be able to send a player to the sidelines for a brief timeout to ensure a positive experience for the other players.

Bathrooms – Some parks have bathrooms and we request that Portland Parks unlocks them, however availability and cleanliness is out of our control. Bottom, line, make sure your player has gone to the bathroom before coming to practice or the game.

Additional Resources

On the Portland Youth Soccer Association website you can find the PYSA Parents Guide

Please read the section for Parents, there are expectations for everyone related to the team in this handbook. A PDF version is also available of the 3v3 and 4v4 Rules and Parent Guide

Are there errors or omissions in this guide? Please email them to mightymites@sesc-pdx.org