Coaching clinics are great resources for upping the ante. There's a range of clinics available through the Club, the Assocation or off-Island, ranging from an evening seminar through on-field practice sessions through full weekend or week-long training. If you're new to coaching, or you've plateaued (platoed?) out and are wondering how you're going to continue on with your kid's team; if you've experienced problems with kids or parents and feel unsure how to best deal with them; if you feel like you're doing all this on your own, and need some collegial input, there's a clinic for you.
One of the biggest and most useful things we offer periodically is a Washington State Youth Soccer E-Clinic. This is a weekend clinic for all coaches, experienced and novice, covering all the basic information and techniques in a hands-on, run-around-the-field format. After completing the clinic, you're an E-level certified coach (levels run from E through A). Check the Announcements page for upcoming clinics. All you invest is your time; the Club will reimburse the cost of the clinic, and if we're hosting it locally there's no travel time involved.
The last local E-Clinic was in Oak Harbor in September '06; here's what they covered:
| TIME | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| 9:00 - 9:45 | Field: | Field: | |
| Technical Training | Defending Principles | ||
| Dribbling | |||
| 10:00 - 11:15 | Field: | Field: | |
| Technical Training | Principles of Play | ||
| Passing & Receiving | Attacking | ||
| Heading | |||
| 11:30 - 12:45 | Field: | Field: | |
| Technical Training | Small Sided Games | ||
| Defending | Economical Training | ||
| Goalkeeping | |||
| 1:00 - 1:45 | Lunch: | Lunch: | |
| With Groups | With Groups | ||
| & Practice Test | Training Session | ||
| Final Planning | |||
| 1:45 - 3:15 | Field: | Field: | |
| Technical Training | Practice | ||
| Finishing | Coaching | ||
| 3:30 - 5:30 | Lecture: | Field: | |
| Methods 2 | Practice Coaching | ||
| Laws of the Game | & Testing | ||
| 6:00 - 8:30 | Classroom | ||
| Check-in | |||
| Methods 1 | |||
| Care & Prevention | |||
The Club also hosts it's own home-grown clinics set up and run by the Coaching Director. These are more focussed on the various age groups represented in the Club, and show you specifically what we are trying to do with each group, and how to go about it. Occasionally there are clinics on more focussed skills, such as Goalkeeper Training. Our clinics are workouts, not talk sessions; expect to strap on your boots and get out on the field.
The District hosts a series of clinics called Coach Effectiveness Training, dealing with how to effectively work with your team. The Announcements page will refer you to upcoming clinics as they're scheduled. These require going off-island, generally to Everett, for an evening seminar.