Hiring Program Director

Help us grow the next generation of soccer stars!

HappyFeet Soccer is hiring a director in NW Arkansas. This director will operate preschool and youth soccer training programs at various preschool facilities throughout the NWA area. HappyFeet Legends Soccer is a comprehensive soccer organization offering "HappyFeet" programs for preschool children and "Legends" youth club teams. HappyFeet classes offer a unique "story time with a soccer ball" approach that teaches basic soccer skills with an imagination-based curriculum.

We are seeking a director capable of growing the HappyFeet program while managing and training coaches. The director will receive comprehensive training from the franchise owner and the HappyFeet corporate trainers necessary to promote, coach, and manage the program. This position involves management, sales, hiring/training and coaching requirements.

Candidates should possess strong organizational skills and proven leadership ability. This position is best suited for energetic and active individuals that enjoy working with children ages 2-6, and are capable of working 40 hours per week. While this program is firmly founded in fun for the children, it is also steeped in technical skills for our young players. To learn more about the HappyFeet Legends national organization, please visit www.happysoccerfeet.com. Or you can visit the local NW Arkansas website at www.nwahappyfeet.com.

For a quick look at HappyFeet: https://youtu.be/W0jXZXp75Ws

Our Approach:

At HappyFeet, our approach is simple. We want to introduce soccer to children ages 2-6 in a way that opens up doors of possibility both on and off the field. The goal is for kids to not only learn the wonderful game of soccer, but to have fun, build social skills, improve self-confidence and instill a brave, creative go for it mentality that can help provide the right foundation for the rest of their lives!

Our Programs:

One of the greatest things about our programs for parents is the flexibility when it comes to our parents daily schedule. We understand that every schedule is already hectic enough, so that’s why we’ve carefully developed our programs to allow parents to introduce our amazing program to their little ones in a way that works best for their schedule:

WEEKLY PRESCHOOL CLASSES:

Our weekly preschool Happy Feet classes are only 30 minutes and take place at your child’s preschool or early training center only once a week, during the day while you work. These will not interfere with their classroom learning time. These sessions will include highly structured soccer activities not only with a soccer ball, but also many other fun “props” that are sure to please.

During each and every class, we make sure that every child is having a fantastic time while also developing essential physical skills along the way.

WEEKEND LEAGUES:

The weekend league program runs seasonally in the Fall, Spring, Summer & Winter. The program length ranges from 6 to 8 1-hour sessions taking place once per weekend. No practices are held during the week. This program is beneficial to those parents who have a hectic schedule during the week but still want to have their child participate on the weekends. We leverage our age appropriate curriculum to offer programs for children from ages 2-6 years old. We have found parents enjoy the league just as much as the kids do!

Each session begins with a mini class skill introduction session and is then followed by a non-competitive soccer game.

Our Founder:

HappyFeet Founder, Andy Barney, was born in Oxford, England and was raised in a soccer-rich family with two generations rooted in professional soccer. Andy came to the USA and established British Soccer Camps, now called Challenger Sports, the USA's largest camp organization. He went on to spend all of his adult life from 27 years of age and on developing his coaching philosophy that focuses on creating "Brave, Creative, Leadership for Life,” and is detailed in his book, Training Soccer Legends.

The HappyFeet program serves as an introductory soccer experience to the Legends soccer training methodology and many of it's developmental soccer concepts have been derived from that coaching philosophy. The hallmark of the Legends philosophy is superb individual skill, notably deceptive dribbling and goal scoring.

Our Local Team:

Owner & Operator, Matt Holdaway has played soccer and worked with children his entire life. Matt played soccer at William Jewell College in Kansas City, helping his team become NAIA Heart of America Region V Champions and reach the Final Four of the 2006 NAIA National Tournament. The majority of his youth soccer experience was marked by coaching styles focused on one and two-touch passing, emphasizing winning at all cost. It was not until college that Matt was first exposed to playing a style of soccer that emphasized the skill and footwork of the individual player. This past experience adds to Matt's passion for coaching the HappyFeet Legends way.

Matt has a passion for people. He loves working with kids of all ages, helping them to develop into confident, highly-relational young men and women. This has been a theme throughout his life. From church-work and mission trips, to working in orphanages and soccer camps, he has always found life in giving to younger generations. Matt continued that journey of service to younger generations by joining the HappyFeet Legends organization in Kansas City. It was there that Matt’s passion for developing children and his love for the game of soccer were united.

While coaching in Kansas City, Matt was mentored by Andy Barney and Andrew Clifton. As he studied and experimented with coaching the HappyFeet Legends way, he became more and more confident that focusing on the primary skill of individual foot work was critical to developing children into both brilliant players and people. Matt then had the opportunity to experience running HappyFeet operations during his time as the HappyFeet Program Director for the home office in Kansas City. This responsibility helped prepare him for the transition to operating multiple HappyFeet Legends franchises.

Over the past 8 years, Matt has helped grow a team that operates HappyFeet Legends programming in NW Arkansas, Springfield MO, and Nashville TN. Through the addition of key support positions and systemizing many administrative tasks, we are able to allow our local Directors and their team of coaches to focus solely on what is most important - positively impacting the lives of children in our programs through soccer, the HappyFeet Way!

PRIMARY FUNCTION

The primary functions of this position are to organize, sell, and coach “HappyFeet” soccer programs at preschools and childcare centers in the area. The director will also be responsible for maintaining and building relationships with new and existing schools, planning weekend HappyFeet leagues, hiring and training additional coaches, and organizing schedules for schools and coaches.

The desired candidate is a committed and organized self-starter who can enjoy the flexibility this position provides, while still effectively managing the responsibilities of the leadership role.

KEY ROLES

Initial Marketing of Programs

• Visit childcare centers to meet with the directors and share HappyFeet program information

• Schedule free demo HappyFeet sessions with each childcare center to promote the program

• Run sessions with new coaches

• Organize class schedules for each location

• Organize work schedules for coaches to cover all HappyFeet classes

Program Growth

• Recruit new partner schools, then promote HappyFeet classes to parents

• Recruit, hire, and train new coaches

• Promote and grow our seasonal leagues

Supervisory Roles

• The Director will be responsible for managing the HappyFeet class and league coaches. This will include training, scheduling, performance reviews, and leading team development meetings.

• Plan new program offerings and seasonal HappyFeet leagues. Coordinate locations, dates, participants, and coaches for all classes and leagues.

• Oversee accurate record keeping of all programs and attendance. Analyze participation numbers to determine appropriate marketing efforts for each location. Review enrollment and sales reports with owner.

Coaching

• The Director will be responsible for coaching an average of 5-10 hours per week in classes and leagues. (This coaching commitment decreases with the addition of new partner schools and hiring new coaches.)

MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Increase visibility of HappyFeet Legends programs (classes, leagues, and camps) via printed flyer distribution, email newsletters, social media, and free soccer sessions.

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS:

• Experience in planning, organizing, and leading large events

• Child-development knowledge and experience

• Impeccable communication skills, both verbal and written

• Organizational skills: able to manage city-wide programs and coaches

• Proven leadership ability: able to lead and motivate staff

• Passion for soccer and child/youth development

TO APPLY:

Apply through Indeed.com or by emailing [email protected]. Please submit a detailed and specific cover letter explaining why you would be the right person for this position. Be sure to include your resume with references. We will not consider any application that does not include these items.

Job Type: Full-time
Salary: $32,000.00 to $35,000.00 /year plus incentives

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