Wed Aug 23rd - 5:30-6:30  player info meeting ( stadium bleachers )

Dear Parents/Players,

I look forward to my fourteenth year as the Varsity Soccer Coach at Conard High School and I hope to build off several very special seasons in a row.  Last year we had yet another very successful winning season and advanced to the State Tournament.  We are very proud of our past teams and hope for another special season this coming year.

This year’s coaching staff will remain the same.  Coach Bassi will continue to work with the Junior Varsity players and Coach Patterson will be with the Freshmen team.  Coach Yepes will continue to work with the Varsity program as he has the past few years.  Patrick Gosselin will be returning to the program for his fourth season and he will help with all teams as needed.  Patrick was a two-time captain while at Conard and the only player in program history to be named to the CCC West All-Conference Team four straight years!  We are excited to have him on staff.

 The official start of Preseason is Thursday, August 24^th.  The practice schedule for preseason will be posted on the school’s website early August and emailed to families over the summer.  Coming to preseason in shape and ready to go is extremely important.  Over the years I have done my best to keep as many players as possible.   I honestly want to give everyone the opportunity to be part of our program, but over the past several years I have had to cut players.  We are averaging roughly 100 players at tryouts per year.  While I am excited about the amount of interested in our program, I am not excited when I have to let players know they did not make the team.  Many of the players cut were because they arrived to preseason well out of shape or late.  The rest were because they simply didn’t have the same level of abilities or experiences.  Obviously, there is a lot of running and skill involved in soccer.  I am expecting players to do their best preparing over the summer for the season (A summer training program is posted).  Players who come to preseason out of shape and not prepared, run the risk of being cut.  With our growing numbers and costs, I can’t keep everyone.  Players who are at the entire preseason tryout will get more consideration for the team than those who miss days.  Incoming ninth graders will be expected to be in shape (Goal of a mile under 7 minutes), but they will not do the upper classmen running unless they want to tryout for varsity.  Ninth grade players who are interested in trying out for Varsity/JV should email me in advance to make sure I am aware of their intentions.

Please make sure all of your paperwork is completed on-time.  The registration/medical information is mandatory by the school and the state.  Players can NOT participate without these being completed prior to preseason (see information below).  Players need to be cleared medically EACH YEAR in order to participate.  Do NOT leave this for the last minute!  Each year I send players home who are not on my list as being registered or cleared medically.  If they do not appear on my list, there is nothing I can do.

I have an open door policy and I welcome anyone to contact me if you have any questions.  I check my email regularly.  If anyone needs to contact me, please email me at the email below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Adam_Linker@whps.org

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and I look forward to our upcoming season.

Sincerely,

Adam Linker

School Counselor

Boy’s Varsity Soccer Head Coach

Conard High School Athletic Department

2017 Fall Sports Information

Athletic Registration Website

whathletics.org

Fall Registration Begins on July 1st

** Online Registration must be completed before Thursday, 8/10 (Football) or Thursday, 8/17 (All Other Sports) AND you need to have turned in a completed physical form signed by a doctor in order to participate on Friday, 8/18 (Football) or Thursday, 8/24 (All Other Sports).

If you have participated in a sport last year, please login with the account that was created to sign up for that sport.  DO NOT CREATE ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

If you need to apply for a fee waiver, please turn in a completed fee waiver request form and instructions will be emailed.  Once approved, you can sign up for your sport.

If you want to pay by cash or check, please mail in the check for the pay to play fee (student's name/sport on the memo line) and instructions on how to complete your registration will be emailed to you.

Students must also have an up to date physical on file with the school nurse.  A student-athlete’s physical from a physician must be signed and dated after 1/1/2017 to be valid for the 2017/18 school year and be on file in the school nurse’s office. Please note:

Students must use the State of Connecticut Health Assessment Record ‘HAR-3 Rev. 4/2012’ for a physical. It is available in the main office, nurses’ office, your doctor’s office, or on the website.

The front side of the form must be completed and signed by a parent/guardian.

The physician must ‘check’ the box on that blue form that states, “This student may participate fully in athletic activities and competitive sports.”

During the school year if there are any major health changes or concerns, student-athletes may be asked to provide updated medical clearance.

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Football begins on Friday, August 18th

All other fall sports begin on Thursday, August 24th

First Day of School – Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Fall sports are boys cross country, girls cross country, cheerleading, field hockey (V/JV/FR), football (V/JV/FR), boys’ soccer (V/JV/FR), girls’ soccer (V/JV/FR), girls' swimming and diving, and girls’ volleyball (V/JV/FR).

For more information, please visit our website:

http://conard.whps.org – click on athletics on the left hand side

Questions? Please contact: Kerry_Roller@whps.org.

Registration Deadlines:

Thursday, August 10th – Football

Thursday, August 17th – All other sports