The final fall session of the PTDA is this Friday, 11/6/09, at a new time: 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM.

There will be no Brazilian Technical Training this Wednesday, as the sessions have finished for the fall.

After the final session, there will be an email questionnaire sent to all of the addresses we have listed. Please fill out the survey and return it when you receive it. We want the spring session to be even better than the fall, but we can only make it better with your help.

Have a great week!

About the PTDA:

The fall sessions will be on Fridays from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM at Passaic River Park. Spring sessions begin in April and days/times will be announced this coming winter.

There will be 8 sessions for the fall:

9/18, 9/25, 10/2, 10/9, 10/16, 10/25, 10/30, 11/6 (this session may be at an earlier time).

Brazilian Technical Training (optional, but encouraged, for PTDA players) will be Wednesdays from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Start date for PTDA players is 9/23/09 (NEW START DATE!).

- Equipment: Shin Guards are REQUIRED!!! Your player MUST wear shin guards at every PTDA session, or they will be asked to sit out - no exceptions. Soccer cleats are preferred, but sneakers are OK. No baseball cleats! For the first session, wear shorts and a t-shirt; we'll have t-shirts for the kids later this season.

- Bring something to drink. A BHYSC rule is that we do not tolerate litter on any of the fields.

- Payment: You may pay in advance, or bring payment to the first session. The fee is $180 for both the fall and spring seasons. Please make the check out to "BHYSC - PTDA." If you would like to pay in advance, write your player's name in the memo, and mail the check to: PTDA, 30 Pinewood Crescent, Berkeley Hts, NJ, 07922.

- Directions to Passaic River Park: http://bhysc.home.att.net/directions/passaicriver.html

- Cancelations and make-ups: Cancelations will be determined by the BHYSC. If the Recreation Department closes the fields, PTDA will also be canceled. Please call the Recreation Department Hotline at (908) 464-0625 for updates. Make-up sessions will be held later in the season; times and dates will be posted at the PTDA website (see above).

- Registration is still open! You may pick up a form at the Recreation Commission building (behind the BH Police station).

Questions and Answers:

- What about Saturday morning soccer? Are the programs run by the same group? The Berkeley Heights Youth Soccer Club runs the PTDA; the Berkeley Heights PAL runs Saturday morning soccer. These are separate programs, but we encourage PTDA players to participate in Saturday morning soccer if they are able.

- Is this "travel" soccer? Will we have Saturday travel games like last year? There is still some confusion about this: this is a new program that is replacing travel soccer for U7 & U8 players. Many clubs in New Jersey have discontinued travel soccer at the U8 level, and have instead developed a "pre-travel" program to get players ready for travel soccer starting at U9 (3rd Grade). We have developed the PTDA in response to this change, and as a way to help boys and girls become more successful travel players. The games in the PTDA are 4v4 and 5v5, small-field games, with lots of opportunities for touches on the ball. All games and practices are supervised by professional coaches from UK Elite.

Tryouts for U9 travel soccer will be in the spring. If your child is interested in playing travel soccer in 3rd Grade, the PTDA is for him or her!

Visit regularly for more information.