Echo
RTP Updates

Echo will implement and monitor a series of social distancing measures in accordance with guidance from Indiana Soccer and the state of Indiana.  Please review our Stage 3 Guidelines above for more information. The following is a summary of social distancing measures that will be in place from May 25, 2020 - June 13, 2020:

• Health screening protocols will be implemented for pre-training screening by families and in-training screening by Echo for symptomatic individuals
• Limited fields will be in use and there will be 30 minutes between sessions to allow the field to clear in between sessions
• Players will have designated personal areas during training and to store their bags and equipment that will be painted onto the fields
• Players may not share equipment and there will be no pinnies, balls, or other equipment provided by the club
• Training sessions will be designed to accommodate social distancing and will consist of individual activities only - no competitive play is allowed at Stage 3
• Sessions will be 45 minutes for 10U/academy and 60 minutes for all other ages
• Field marshals will be present to monitor social distancing compliance, but it is imperative that parents are familiar with and discuss the guidelines with their kids
• A portable restroom will be available and sanitized regularly but is recommended for emergency use only
• Pick up and drop off procedures will be in place and parents must remain in their vehicles during training (or leave and come back)
• Additional sanitization measures will be in place that will be communicated to all parents after the opt-out deadline

Social distancing measures for Stages 4 and 5 will be communicated when we approach those stages.

The decision to opt out is left to each family based on your own personal circumstances and comfort level with returning to play.  You should opt out if your child will be having contact with at-risk individuals.  Opting out or missing training sessions or games will not have any negative consequences for any player. And if you do not opt out, you still retain discretion to determine whether and to what extent your child will participate in any Echo activities.

Your child will be placed on an Echo roster for the Spring/Summer season and may participate in any Echo and Coerver on-field activities.  If you do not opt out and Spring/Summer 2020 programming begins in any respect, you may not receive a credit of any amount.  All activities are optional, so as long as your child is not exhibiting symptoms, the choice to participate in any particular activity is up to you.

You will automatically receive a non-refundable, partial tuition credit when the amount of the credit is determined.  Your child will remain a registered member of Echo until the open communication/tryout period and can enroll in ECC if you wish.  However, they will not be on an active roster and may not participate in any Echo or Coerver on-field activities for the spring/summer season.

The deadline for opting out allows our staff to determine who should be placed on active rosters prior to the start of play.  It also allows us to determine how many and what teams we will have for scheduling purposes (for training and games) and to organize Coerver training.

The Stage 3 (May 25 - June 13) Coerver sessions will consist of individual technical and agility training in a group setting.  No competitive activities (1v1, 2v2, small group play, etc.) are permitted at this stage.  Players will be spaced out to comply with social distancing requirements and may not leave their areas of play.

The return to play plan above describes Echo's plan for the Spring/Summer 2020 season.  Plans are subject to change based upon key health factors as determined by the state of Indiana or in the discretion of Indiana Soccer or Echo.  We will do our best to provide the highest quality programming and best experience we can, but due to the circumstances we cannot make any guarantees with respect to training and game schedules.

The primary guiding principle of our tuition credit policy is to credit as much money back to families as we can while still meeting our obligations.  There are still many variables at play before the credit amount can be determined with any certainty.  If we provided a credit amount now, it would necessarily be a conservative amount to allow enough funds for contingencies.  By waiting, we intend to let the contingencies play out so we can ensure we are providing the maximum credit possible under the circumstances.

Echo players commit to the club for the entire year, and certain expenditures are spread out over the entire season when determining tuition costs.  Also, we have incurred many expenses at this point that we cannot recover.

Unavoidable Expenditures 

Regardless of whether there is any play this Spring season, Echo has incurred or will incur the following unavoidable expenses:

• Contractual obligations to pay for winter training (facility rent and coaching pay)
• Player registration fees for Indiana Soccer
• League fees for Indiana Soccer (50% refund)
• Unrefunded portions of tournament fees for certain club tournaments 
• Certain expenses that are budgeted over the entire seasonal year (fall and spring) or were already incurred for spring
  • Training shirts  
  • Tryout expenses
  • Office expenses
  • Accounting fees
  • Credit card fees
  • Pay for staff (all staff have been retained for continuity of operations)
  • Pay for coaches (all coaches will receive 50% of their spring season pay)
  • Payroll fees and taxes
  • Club management software (TeamSnap/TeamGenius)
• Field maintenance expenses (we have modified our field maintenance schedule for this season to reduce costs but still must maintain our fields with mowing, watering, and fertilizing)

Avoided Expenditures

We have avoided or will be able to avoid the following expenses in full or in part (assuming no spring programming of any type):

• Indiana Cup tournament fees
• Indiana league fees (50% refund) 
• Referee fees
• Portable restrooms
• Prairie Vista field maintenance
• Paint expenses for field striping
• Coerver player fees
• Coaching travel expenses

In preparation for Stage 3 play, Echo has incurred additional costs for Coerver, safety procedures, field setup and coaching. In preparation for Stage 4 play, Echo may have additional expenditures for tournaments and referees.

Yes.  To request a variance or donate your credit, complete this form.  All requests for a variance from the tuition credit policy are discretionary and will be reviewed by Echo's Financial Aid Committee.  Priority will be given to families experiencing financial hardships.  Please allow 2-4 weeks for a response.

Echo is offering all current Echo players (whether they opt-out of the season or not) the opportunity to re-join Echo for the next seasonal year without a tryout.  For more information, visit our Join Echo page.

No, you do not need to register for both.  If you are registering for ECC and plan to attend tryouts to help Echo evaluate players, you can check the box in the ECC registration form indicating you will attend tryouts.  You will not be evaluated--this is simply to get an accurate count of who will be there.  Please review the ECC information on the Join Echo page for more info.

No, they may still enroll for ECC without attending tryouts and they will be guaranteed placement on a team.  Their placements will be based upon a review of their entire time with Echo and determined by the DOC Omar Gallo in consultation with coaches.

Echo has been in touch with some of the area high school coaches and does not anticipate a problem coordinating schedules to avoid conflicts. To the extent conflicts cannot be avoided, players can work with coaches to resolve them.  There will be no penalties for missing Echo activities and players may prioritize activities in any way they want.