Player basics

On this player information page you will find the shared practices and guidelines that apply to the whole club - including information about fees, ways of working and how we do things at PPS. Team-specific information, such as training times and your own team's practices, can be found on the team's own page.

Two-week free trial and joining a team

New players are welcome to try football for free for two weeks.

NOTE! Players take part in the trial period at their own risk; the club does not insure trial players.

The right team is chosen according to the player's year of birth. You sign up for team activities via the myClub registration page.

Contact the team manager before the trial period so that you get instructions and the coaches know about the new player. You can find the team's contact details on the team's own page on our website. If the player keeps coming to training after the trial period, they are considered willing to join the team and the club.

Teams

Kit for beginners

A player who is just starting in a team can come to the pitch in their own sportswear, and it is a good idea to bring a ball and a water bottle too. Football boots or turf shoes designed for artificial turf are a good choice of footwear, but during the trial period trainers are fine for training too. Shin pads are compulsory, and players cannot take part in training without them. Football is a contact sport in which the legs in particular take a lot of knocks. Shin pads protect against hard kicks from studded boots and against injuries.

When a player decides to join the club, they need to get the club kit.

Signing up for training and matches

myClub – sign-ups and communication

PPS uses the myClub system as its club management system. When you sign up for the club's activities, you register as a myClub user, and the team manager gives you the access rights you need in myClub to sign up for the team's training sessions and, later, matches. By registering as a myClub user you also accept the club rules.

Signing up for training

**Always mark yourself as attending or absent for training (IN / OUT) in myClub.**‍

Good practice is to let us know whether you are attending or absent in advance, and at the latest by 12:00 on the day of training. This way the coaches can prepare for any absences. Our coaches need to know whether 10 or 40 team members are coming to training, so that they can arrange enough coaches and plan the session.

Signing up for matches and tournaments

The lead coach selects the players for matches and tournaments.

A team may have several playing groups. When sign-up opens, the team managers always announce which players the event is for, and in that case, for example, only the named players can sign up for the myClub event. Events are spread evenly among all players, and this way we make sure that everyone gets playing time.

Players should note that they cannot take part in matches only: football is a team sport, so it is important that the team also trains together.

We follow the Football Association of Finland's Kaikki pelaa (Everyone plays) rules, which means that all members of our teams get to play.

Pelipassi (player licence) and insurance

Every player must have insurance that covers ball sports and competitive play. The insurance must be valid for both training and competitive play.

The Pelipassi entitles a player to play in Finnish leagues and tournaments and is compulsory for team activities. You can buy insurance together with the Pelipassi, or the player can have their own insurance, in which case proof of it must be provided. The team manager can give instructions on this.

The Pelipassi and insurance are bought from Pelipaikka and renewed once a year at the turn of the year. If you start in a team in the middle of the year, the insurance and Pelipassi must be sorted out straight after the trial period. The team manager will help you get the right Pelipassi and insurance.

A player without insurance is not allowed to take part in activities.

Training

In summer, teams mainly train on the artificial turf at Kartanonkoski sports park. In winter, training takes place in indoor halls, on outdoor artificial turf pitches and in school gyms. These are located, for example, in the local area, Tikkurila, Myyrmäki, Hakunila and Tuusula. Training times are reviewed according to each team's needs whenever the outdoor and indoor seasons change. Training times therefore change about three times during the season, because the City of Vantaa allocates its sports facility slots three times a year.

Each team's training times can be found in myClub and on the teams' own pages.

The football season

Football is not just a summer sport – there are activities all year round.

We hope that players and their families commit to the team's activities for at least the whole season, as the team's finances and the continuity of its activities are based on season-long commitment.

At the start of the year, teams mainly focus on training, winter leagues, friendly matches and futsal.
League matches start in March–May (depending on the age group, Football Association of Finland leagues or, for example, the Uusimaa junior league, Uudenmaanjunioriliiga) and continue until midsummer. In July, teams usually have a short break from training.
In August, league matches start again and are played until the end of autumn.
Around Christmas there is usually another break from training.

Teams also take part in various tournaments in the Helsinki region, elsewhere in Finland and sometimes abroad. Teams decide on these independently, and there are plenty of tournaments to choose from throughout the year.

Towards the end of the year we usually celebrate the end of the season and plan the start of the next one. Teams also take school holidays into account and schedule breaks from training and matches for these periods.

The parent's role in a child's football

In children's and junior teams, parents play an important role as support persons. Besides the child's parents, a support person can also be another familiar and trusted adult who takes part in the child's football in one way or another. Support persons are what make the hobby possible.

Teams regularly organise parents' and team events. In addition, teams set their own ground rules every year, for both players and parents. For the teams' activities, it is important to agree every year on how things will be done in the coming season, and to evaluate how well this works during and after the season. Together with the coaches, parents share responsibility for making sure players enjoy their football. Children and young people need a lot of emotional support and motivation, especially when they feel they are failing or when they get injured.

Tips for parents

Encourage instead of looking for mistakes. Encouragement gives children and young people self-confidence.
Let the coaches and referees do their jobs in peace.
Remember that as a supporter at any event you always represent not only yourself and your team, but also the club and the sport.
Listen to the child or young person and ask how they feel.
Remember that the hobby is mainly the child's or young person's own thing.
Encourage the child or young person to practise on their own.

Quitting and breaks

A break, quitting or a club transfer must always be notified in writing. After notification, the obligation to pay continues for one or two months after the month of notification, depending on the age group. Not attending training does not release you from paying team activity fees.