Club Policies

Bullying is a common problem that affects many people, from children to adults, at some time in their lives. It is an extremely upsetting experience for everyone involved. As with any problem, it can be solved only if brought into the open & talked about. Otherwise, the scars can continue for years. If you are being bullied, you should not keep it to yourself. Let a coach, teacher or parent know what is going on. The website www.bullying.com was created by a schoolboy who has bullied himself & now offers help & support to kids & parents, including guidance on ways of dealing with bullying. There is also an e-mail help link that will answer any questions you may have.

The Club has a strict anti-bullying code & will not tolerate any form of physical or verbal bullying or neglect from either a player or an adult.

If any parent has a bullying complaint, then this should be reported to your Team Manager in the first instance. The Team Manager will then be obliged to speak to all parties concerned to ascertain the facts. All complaints of bullying must be reported immediately by the Team Managers to the Management Committee. All cases of bullying will be reviewed by the Management Committee & parents of both parties may be invited to attend.

If an issue of bullying is considered on balance by a majority of the executive committee, then the player will have their registration withdrawn & will be ejected from the Club.

If any parent has a complaint against a Team Manager or coach of bullying, this must be reported in writing to the Club Secretary or the Child Welfare Officer. The Club will hold an investigation. If a case of bullying is considered proven by a majority of the executive committee, then the Team Manager or coach will be ejected from the Club.

The Club believes in an anti-discrimination policy & is committed to providing equal opportunities for all the players to participate in football regardless of their gender, race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, ethnicity, or ability.

The Club supports the Football Association's initiatives to assist this objective.

All members of the Club, i.e. players, parents, Team Managers & coaches, are bound by the Club's constitution to adhere to the anti-discrimination policy.

Although the Club hopes that there would not be a need to instigate disciplinary proceedings against any member, we do have a policy in case a matter arises.

Disciplinary proceedings may be taken against any Club member once an issue has been identified under the Club's Grievance Procedures. Disciplinary proceedings will be instigated against any member for deliberately flouting or breaking any of the Club's Rules, Policies or Codes of Conduct.

Disciplinary procedures can be initiated against Club Officials, Team Managers, coaches, parents or players once a grievance has been established.

The Executive Committee will hear all disciplinary cases & make a judgement when all the facts have been ascertained. The offending member has the right to express their case at all Disciplinary hearings. If a claim is brought against a player, the payers' parent or guardian will represent their child at the hearing.

The Executive Committee has the right to suspend or terminate memberships as it sees fit if a disciplinary case is on balance considered proven by a majority of the executive committee.

If disciplinary action is to be taken against a member of the Executive Committee, that member forfeits all voting rights to the decision taken against them.

Areas that constitute disciplinary proceedings could include, for example:- the use of foul & abusive language, rough play or the encouragement of rough play, persistent rule-breaking, disrespect towards match officials, and acting outside the Club's philosophies, policies and codes of conduct. This applies to all players, parents, Team Managers, Coaches & Club Officials.

Any member caught in possession of any banned substances such as alcohol or any drug or caught under the influence of any intoxicating substance during any Club activity will have their membership terminated.

If a parent has a substantial grievance against a Team Manager, coach, player or another parent, then they should, in the first instance, attempt to speak to their Team Manager or Parent representative concerning their grievance at an appropriate time. Discussion must take place to try to find a mutually acceptable solution.

Although Team Managers should be as approachable as possible, the Club requests that parents be conscious that Team Managers will not have much time on match days, particularly before or during a game, as their thoughts will be on the match itself. Also, it may be difficult for Team Managers to have the time available to discuss a grievance directly after a game, as they will be preoccupied with ensuring that equipment is stored away safely & often have other family commitments to attend immediately afterwards.

Similarly, it may be difficult for Team Managers to spare time for discussion during training sessions for the same reasons outlined. The Team Manager is responsible for the children in his care during a training session & must therefore dedicate his attention to the players. A mutually convenient date & time should be sought for discussion.

If a parent fails to successfully discuss any grievance with their Team Manager, or if talks break down, or if a mutually agreeable solution is not found, a parent should follow stage 2 of the Club's Complaints procedure.

The complaint form for Stage 2 can be downloaded from here:

Similarly, the Club may have a grievance with a parent or player. The grievance may be brought by a Team Manager, coach, or a Club Official against an individual for inappropriate behaviour or attitude.

If the grievance is against a parent, then the Team Manager should in the first instance attempt to speak to the parent concerned. Discussion should take place in order to try to reach a mutually acceptable solution to the complaint. If a solution is not easily reached or discussions break down then the Team Manager should also follow stage 2 of the Club's complaints procedure.

The complaint form for Stage 2 can be downloaded here:

Crosfields JFC has a 3 stage complaints procedure for parents, coaches, players or any Club member to bring matters relating to breaches of codes of conduct, club ethos or rules to the attention of the appropriate members of the Club committee.

The Clubs Complaints procedure can be downloaded here:

The complaint form for Stage 2 can be downloaded here:

Matters relating to Child Welfare, any form of abuse or bullying should be handled separately according to our Child Protection Policy

Crosfields JFC Club Ethos

The club ethos is founded upon the answers to three fundamental questions:

1. Who is the club for?

2. Why do kids play football?

3. How do we measure success?

We, as a club, believe that we exist for the 400+ players who play football for fun and enjoyment. We measure success by our size, the few children who leave our club, and the development of all players. This guides everything that we do. This is why everyone in the club must abide by the following rules.

Match Days

• Let the players play

• Playing Time - All players will have equal playing time during matches - Managers should use a rota; this will include opportunities for all players to start and finish a match. There may be occasions when this is occasionally altered because of poor attendance or attitude, but this would always be done after discussion with the child and parent. In a 40-minute game, all players will play for more than 25 minutes.

• Rotation of Playing Positions - Players will be asked to play in a variety of positions - again, using a rota would represent best practice. There may be exceptions for this for goalkeepers. Players should know when and where they will be playing at the start of the match. (The club has examples of good practice)

• Attitude of Coaches and Touchline Behaviour - Coaches t. They must let the players play during matches, with positive encouragement from parents and coaches. Information from the line is in a series of occasional questions from the coaching staff. Patrolling the touchline and giving continuously shouted instructions must not happen. Players always try their best. They will learn from their mistakes without being told what they have done wrong.

• Warming the players up. For mini soccer, the best warm-up they could have is to play 5v5 for 20 minutes before the main game. This will double the exposure of the players to decision-making opportunities.

Training Sessions

• For training sessions, the age group trains together regularly- 50% of training sessions will be held with squad players mixed.

• Larger age groups will have to plan carefully how to train perhaps 40 odd players together - but this is quickly done with advanced planning, cooperation and communication between coaches. There is a Crosfields Mini-Soccer coaching booklet with lots of ideas for games and drills and those you learn on FA Courses.

• When training together as a group, coaches will work with different players each week. Coaches and Team Managers will get to know and work with all the players in the age group - not just their League squad players.

• There is no need for tactical training sessions at mini soccer - the emphasis is on the players' discovery of the game and working matters out for themselves in a fun environment. Team Managers and coaches are there to supervise and organise fun sessions for the players and not to try and impart match tactics.

• At the end of each training session, there is a "team-talk for all players and parents, where praise is given to players and information is given to parents.

Organisation, squads and monitoring

• Mini-Soccer age groups are treated as one unit, not as individual squads. Mini-Soccer age groups mustn't become fragmented - the only "splits" should happen for League matches when League squads are formed to play. A Head of Age-group is appointed to ensure the above rules are applied from a coaching point of view.

• During the summer (May and June), the whole age group trains together, and during June, ALL the coaches, under the leadership of the Head of Age-group, decide together who will play in which squad for the forthcoming season; parents can expect change and some movement every year. All players and parents are informed of who is in which new team at the same time, in writing at the end of the first training session in July.

• Each team chooses a parent rep to ensure the above rules are being applied. The parent rep communicates regularly with all parents. Any concerns are passed to team Managers/heads of Age in the first instance and the committee (via the parent rep on the committee) if serious matters arise.

• All parents attend a workshop which will have content based on the FA's RESPECT campaign and watch the RESPECT campaign videos on the FA website.

• All parents are made aware of the Club Ethos and rules and asked to help enforce them via the parent rep, the Team Manager - or, when necessary, by contacting the committee using the complaints procedure, and complaints form.

• In addition, Crosfields committee members will monitor training sessions and matches.