How to Use Iron On Soccer Patches to Improve Players Note From David. The soccer season is starting in many cities across the US and I'm getting lots of questions about the soccer patches we sell. This article answers some of the questions I am frequently asked. It also mentions 2 new patches, the C and T, and the Free Premium Club Memberships program that we offer soccer clubs and leagues that order over $250 of patches.
2 New Patches - C and T Patches
C Patch Can a be Captain's Patch or Stand for Courage
Build Leadership by Letting Every Player Be a Captain
T Patch is Used to Build Teamwork
Free Express Mail for Orders Over $250
Below are some of the questions that are asked about the motivational patches we sell:Below are some of the emails I have received from coaches about our motivational patches: "The patches are the absolute best motivational tool I have found in seven years of coaching three daughters. I currently coach a U12 Girls team in the toughest division of our league." --Coach Chad, CA, USA "The patches are wonderful and the girls on my junior high team are so excited. We had camp last week and only one girl from the team did not earn a perfect attendance patch - unlike last year when I had an average of four or five missing." --Coach Joan, Pennsylvania "I sent a note to my parents explaining the patches program and mentioned that if anyone would like to chip in to help with the cost it would be great. I've already gotten a very positive response and people saying they'd be happy to chip in. I sat with my girls at practice last night and explained the patches program to them and gave them a handout with a picture of each patch and what it takes to earn them. Wow. I was really surprised by how excited they were about them!!!!! They were really, really psyched. I knew they'd think it was cool, but they were SO excited. I'll let you know how it all goes, and how it translates on to the field!!!" --Coach Sandy, U11 Travel "I just wanted to let you know that the girls love the SoccerHelp patches. I give them out every Monday at the start of practice. Now it's kind of humorous to see the girls really counting their assists and making sure that I know exactly how many each had during the game. Most of them didn't even know what an assist was at the start of the season or how important they are to the team. Now they love practicing their passing." --Steve "When I took over a U9 girls team, they had not won a single game in the last 2 years. Not only that, the team could not score any goals. This year, we started using patches and we have won our first 2 games by comfortable margins. We have emphasized how the players can earn them (e.g., team work, skills, hustle and defense) and we have had a tremendous response from our girls (and parents)." --Coach Sumer, Texas "Johnny, a 10 yr old, was a WILD MANIAC for the first half of the season. Kicking balls, disrupting practice, made you think twice about being a coach. We had given everyone a Green-Practice-Patch after our first practice. He did not EARN another practice-patch till well after the middle of the season. The FIRST time Johnny behaved fairly well during practice, we awarded him with a Green-Practice-Patch, and told him why, "because you tried hard, you were focused on learning the ball-control drill, and behaved during practice. I'm happy to say, Johnny has earned a patch 5 practices in a row!!" --SoccerHelp Coach "Attackers and Support: I handle the "problem" of selfish play by rewarding not only those who score goals, but those who assist. This rewards feeding and passing, so those who assist can earn the same patches. Coach Dennis Defenders: I reward defenders with the blue star patches. The blue stars are "star defender" patches for great plays like: blocking a penalty, or catching a ball in the air for a keeper, or a defender clearing in a very critical play or a defender pouring their heart and giving 110%." --Coach Dennis "These patches are awesome! I had a parent from my team last year come up to me yesterday. She said that her daughter "heard" that I give out patches and she was disappointed that she was not going to be on my team because of them!" --Coach Bryan, California "My kids love the patches! This is my very first year ever coaching soccer, and I'm having a blast! We give the light blue patches to every kid on the field when we score a goal. We stress the team concept. Everyone gets a patch because someone had to throw it in, someone had to pass it, and someone had to score. The dark blue goes to every member on the field when we go an entire quarter without letting the other team score. My kids are the envy of every team in our league!" --Coach Chris, Delaware "I bought soccer patches for my daughter's soccer team last summer from SoccerHelp. I had to place a couple of orders last year for the soccer patches. They proved to be a HUGE incentive to the girls. The patches were so much fun for the girls that I thought I would try to find some for her softball team. Thanks for a great product!" --Coach Tisha, CA, U.S.A. "You can add me to the testimonials. I have 4 kids, have been coaching soccer for about 10 years now and the patches have been one of the best motivators I have ever used." --Coach Jeff, Durham, NC "I have been coaching soccer for the last 6 years. My boy's team is having their best season so far and I believe it is due to the patches I started giving out after the third game of the season. Since then we have played much better soccer and are scoring like crazy. We've scored 10 goals in the last two games alone. My girl's U-9 team struggled until recently and they too have come around. They connect the patches to what they are supposed to do on the field. I give them patches for everything from crosses to drops to lucky goals and throw-ins. These patches have turned my girls team around. We only scored 3 goals last season. This season we have scored 20 goals so far and 5 in the last game, beating a team we lost to earlier. The whole team gets gold stars if they score 5 goals or more and both teams have scored 5 in the last 2 games....thanks Soccerhelp. --Dave, NJ USA, U-11 Boys Select/U-9 Girls Select, Premium Member
- What is the Free Premium Memberships program? If an organization or an individual orders over $250 of patches in a single order, we are glad to set up a free 6 month Premium Membership that the league, club, church or YMCA can share with its members. If an individual orders over $250 of patches, we are also glad to set up a free 6 month Premium Membership for them which they can share with assistant coaches or with the other coaches in their organization. Or, if a group of coaches order together, we can set it up and they can share the membership. We are glad to keep renewing these memberships every time they order $250 or more of patches. The reason we do this is because we find that when soccer coaches visit SoccerHelp we get more customers, so it is good for them and good for us too.
- We upgrade shipping to Express Mail for orders over $250.
- Do the patches really work? YES, they do. There are over 200 Testimonials from coaches, teachers and PTAs. Testimonials for our Motivational Patches
- Our league won't let us iron the patches on the uniforms, can we still use them? Yes, the patches still work even if you don't iron them on. The patches work just as well if they are collected, or a hole punched in them and put on a chain which can be attached to a bag or backpack, or framed, or put on a banner or pennant. If you want to wear them but can't put them on a uniform, lots of teams iron them on a "Spirit Shirt" or on a "Practice Jersey".
- Do parents help pay for the patches? YES, frequently. All you have to do is send them an email explaining how they can help the players have more fun and improve. You can paste some of the Testimonials below into the email. Many parents are glad to contribute if asked - not all, but many. However, when I was coaching I just bought them myself because they made it SO much easier for me and my team played so much better. But at that time there weren't any Testimonials because I didn't know of anyone else who had used them as part of a motivational program.
- What ages do the patches work for? I know they have been used successfully from age 3 to college.
- Do other sports and schools buy them? YES, many. All sports and any activity where you want to motivate or reward, including baseball, basketball, baseball, softball, swimming, martial arts, volleyball, track, camps, clubs and school. They can motivate practice, attendance, effort, attitude and achievements.
- Do you have examples of the Patch Programs other coaches have used and the handouts they have used? YES. You can see them at Sample Patches Handout for Players and Parents
- How to Use the New C Patch. The C patch can be used to reward the "Captains", or for Courage. In youth soccer, a great way to use the C Patch is to build leadership. The way to do this is to allow every player a chance to be a "Captain". This means you will have more than one Captain per game. After each player serves as the Captain, give that player a "C" patch. This way each player will have a chance to be the Captain and by the end of the season every player will have a C patch. If you have a problem getting kids to come to games, don't tell them which game they will get to be a Captain and they will be motivated to attend.
- How to Use the New T Patch. The T patch is for Teamwork. There are many examples of good teamwork such as having a good attitude, being a leader, or anything a player might do to help the team.
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