Our Program

All about... Erie Futbol Club

Erie Futbol Club is marching into its 4th year as a competitive soccer organization in Northeast Ohio. We are the largest and most competitive Lorain County based club, drawing elite players from many of the local suburbs and as far out as Sandusky to Cleveland. We currently offer top training and instruction from ages 8 to 18 for both boys and girls. We pride ourselves on a positive learning atmosphere preparing our teams and individual players for premier competition at the highest level. The Erie Futbol Club training staff is made up of professional coaches, athletic trainers, and physical therapist who are dedicated to the long term development of each team and athlete. Our management staff is also one of the finest and most well organized keeping all members informed and up to date on all club events.

What League Do You Play In?

Erie FC plays in the OYSAN State League. The State League is well organized and home to many of Northern Ohio's most established clubs making the competition exciting and very competitive. The purpose of the OYSAN State League is to provide a verticaly integrated structure for OYSAN teams to compete against like-skilled teams at the Premier levels. .

Where Do You Practice?

Erie FC outdoor training is held at Depaola Park in Amherst of of RT 58. Indoor training is held at Gameday Sports Center in Oberlin also off of RT 58. Training is held in a state of the art soccer facility giving our teams the most realistic surface to play and train in. Not in a gym, school, or church.

How Many Times Per Week Do We Train?

Erie FC teams train twice per week. We offer a team training session and our unique club training session. Team training sessions focus on technical tactical training that creates the most realistic game environment, preparing our teams for competition at the highest level possible.

What Is Club Training?

Erie FC Club Training was designed to involve the entire coaching staff with players of all ages in a high intensity learning environment. Club trainings major focus is directed towards speed agility training, footskills, injury prevention, flex band training, individual technical training, and small sided games. These sessions are run just like a small summer camp. Teams come out to club training in blocks of groups. U8-U11 and U12-U14. Each group is then broken down into smaller individual groups and sent of to a specific coach for instruction. Groups will continue to rotate stations every ½ hour until each group has trained with each coach in a specific area. This environment allows the players to gain diferent perspectives on the game from multiple coaches while training with players in and around the same age. Club training also builds strong relationships between players and coaches not limiting one team to a specific coach but offering a strong foundation to build upon. High school players get the same style of instruction but are trained separate from the younger players. Club Training is unique, one of a kind and only ofered at Erie Futbol Club.

Can I Afford To Play For Erie FC?

Erie Futbol Club is a year round program that trains the finest players in the area. Our fees are exceptionaly low and we are considered to be one of the most afordable clubs in Northern Ohio. Erie FC also has one of the largest fundraising programs which allow an afordable club to become even more afordable. Erie offers payment plan options. We understand that soccer is not larger than life and we work with our members to make payment as comfortable as possible. Our main focus is to train and decelop players and prepare them for premier competition at the highest level. Please feel free to contact our office for more information.

Jim Toth, President
Erie Futbol Club
440-342-8733

Parental Support- The Key to Peak Performance

The role that parents play in the life of a soccer player has a tremendous impact on their overall experience. With this in mind, we have taken some time to write down some helpful reminders for all of us as we approach our season. If you should have any questions about these thoughts, please feel free to contact a member of the coaching staff to discuss your concerns.

1. Let the coaches coach: Leave the coaching to the coaches. This includes motivating, psyching her up for practices or games, post-game critiques, goal setting, requirements for additional training, etc. You have entrusted the care of your player to us and we need the freedom to do our job. If a player has too many coaches, she becomes confused and her performance will likely decline.
2. Support the Program: Get involved! Volunteer! Help out with fundraisers, car-pool; anything to support the program. We all have their best interest in mind.
3. Be your child's best fan: Support your child unconditionally. Do not withdraw love when your child performs poorly. Your child should never have to perform to be loved. She needs to know that it is okay to fail. This probably will not be the last time in her life that she does not measure up to her expectations of herself. She needs to feel confident that that is okay. Then she will find the strength and resolve to grow and improve.
4. Support and root for all players on the team: Foster teamwork. Your player's teammates are not the enemy. When thay are playing better than your daughter, she now has a wonderful opportunity to learn. Female athletes do not typically seek recognition as individuals. These kids look for ways for the entire team to be a part of everything. Your daughter is not looking for a way to be an individual star, she is looking for a way to elevate the level of the entire team. This is where she will find her intrinsic reward.
5. Do not bribe or offer incentives: Your job is not to motivate. Leave this to the coaching staff. Bribes will distract you daughter from properly concentrating in training and game situations.
6. Encourage your daughter to talk with the coaches: If your daughter is having difficulties in training or games, or cannot make a training session, etc., encourage her to speak directly to the coaches. This "responsibility taking" is a big part of becoming a big-time player as well as growing up. By handling the off-field tasks, she is claiming ownership of all aspects of the game-preparation for, as well as, playing the game.
7. Understand and display appropriate game behavior. Remember, your child's self-esteem and game performance are at stake. Be supportive, cheer, be appropirate. To perform to the best of her abilities, a player needs to focus on the parts of the game that she can control (her fitness, positioning, decision making, skill, aggressiveness, reactions to what the game presents her). If she hears a lot of people telling her what to do, or yelling at the referee, her attention will be diverted from the task at hand.
8. Montior you daughter's stress level at home: Keep an eye on the player to make sure that she is handling stress effectively from the various activities in her life. We do not want her to lose interest in any of her passions because of the demands of one.
9. Montior eating and sleeping habits. Nutrition and rest are essential ingredients in making durable, high-performance athletes. Be sure she is eating healthy foods, appropriate amounts of food and getting plenty of rest. Believe me she is working hard.
10. Help your daughter keep her priorities straight Help her maintain a focus on schoolwork, relationships and the other things in life besides soccer. This is just a game. She needs to keep the other things in her life balanced. However, if she has made a commitment to soccer, help her fulfill her obligation to the team.
11. Reality test: If you daughter has come off of the field when her team has lost, but she has played her best, help her to see this as a "win". Remind her that she is to focus on the process and not the results. If she can learn to focus on the process, the results will come naturally. Perhaps not on the scoreboard, but in her growth and development as she becomes an adult.
12. Keep soccer in its proper perspective: Soccer should not become larger than life for you or for her. If her performance produces strong emotions in you, suppress them. This is about her, not you. Remember this: your relationship with her will continue long after her competitive soccer days are over. Keep your goals and needs separate from your daughter's performance.
13. Have Fun: Probably the most important tip of all. Having fun is one of the key focusses of our program. We will continually challenge her to reach past her comfort level to try new things and improve herself as a player and a person. We will attempt to do this in environments that are fun, yet challenging. We look forward to the process. We hope you do too!
14. Composition of a Champion
    Champions are individuals who achieve great things as committed members of a team. The character of a champion is comprised of the five C's- Candor, Courage, Competence, Confidence and Commitment. What do these words mean to you, the aspiring young female athlete? Candor- be open, sincere and honest with your peers, your coaches, your parents and, most importantly, yourself.
    
    Courage- be brave enough to embrace your weaknesses to improve them, acknowledge and accept constructive criticism and use it to make yourself better, and to consistently embrace and achieve higher goals.
    
    Competence- develop your skill, ability, fitness and aptitude.
    
    Confidence- to be part of a successful team you must believe in yourself, your teammates and the program.
    
    Commitment- you must pledge to dedicate yourself to the goals and objectives of the program, your peers and you.
    
    Those athletes that can maintain the five C's tend to excel, both in sports and in life. Winners do not necessarily always win. Winners (champions) win and lose gracefully. A winner knows when she leaves the field that she has given everything she has to champion the cause of her team. Those players that can walk off of the field after losing a grueling 1-0 (or even 10-0) match, knowing they have left everything they had to give on the field, and hold their heads up high- these are the champions in our world. These are the types of young women we build our program to try to produce.