Fall Soccer Update
Summer camp has begun and the first day is behind us. As I am sure you all have heard by now the girls worked on conditioning for the first thirty minutes of practice (running). They did very well with very little complaining and even a little laughing during the run. It is important that they build their endurance at the beginning of the season to carry them through the games. Encourage them to work hard at the running because it will make them stronger players during the game. Michael introduced some new moves to the girls today and will continue to do so throughout the week, when you get the chance ask them what they are and have them demonstrate the moves to you.
As U12’s the girls will continue to play on the same size field as last year but will be playing 9v9 rather than 8v8. We have 14 girls rostered on the team, 11 returning players; new additions Sophia and Alexia, and the return of Mackenzie Bell.
Regular Season
As expected we were moved up to B division by the IWSL. We will be competing in B-South; The IWSL has indicated they will have the schedules posted by August 9th. Once they are posted by IWSL they will be linked to the Panther Pride web page where you can view them at http://www.panthersoccerclub.org/index.php/Pride.html
We will be wearing orange jerseys w/ blue socks as our home colors and blue jerseys with orange socks for our away games. Like last year we want the girls at the field 45 minutes before game time for both home and away games.
Practice
Regular Practice starts the week of August18th. Practice will be Tuesday and Thursday from 4:45 – 6:15pm. Tuesday practices will be at Fox Chase and Thursday practices will be at Prairie Point. We will be starting practices promptly at 4:45 so have the girls there ready to go. This year we are going to try to have all the girls wear the same color shirt to practice for uniformity and it makes it easier to run drills. Have the girls wear White for Tuesday practices at Fox Chase and Blue to Thursday practices at Prairie Point. We also need the girls to wear socks over their shin pads at practice.
Foot Skills/ Goal Keeper Training
The club will be offering Foot Skills/ Goal Keeper training on Mondays and Fridays from 6 – 6:45. You can choose which day you wish to attend. Foot skills/goalkeeper training will be offered on alternating weeks i.e. foot skills will be offered the first week of practice on both Monday and Friday and then the next week it will be Goal Keeper training on Monday and Friday. I highly recommend both training sessions as an additional practice. The girls can really get a lot out of the additional touches on the ball and the focused training. Goal Keeper training is not just for goal keepers, we like to get non goal keepers there to do some shooting and to give them a chance to play in the net. You can learn a lot about soccer from the goal keeper’s perspective.
Tournaments Great Lakes Soccer Challenge
We will not be attending the Bolingbrook tournament this year instead we will be in the Great Lakes Soccer challenge (Galaxy Tournament Naperville) September 19-21. If you have a conflict let me know ASAP. The web site for the tournament is http://galaxysc.com/FallClassic/index.html .
Downers Grove Park District Socc-toberfest 3v3 Tournament
I would also like to get as many of the girls as are available in the Downers Grove 3v3 tournament. It is held in Downers Grove on Saturday, October 11 from 3 – 8 pm. Let me know if you are available for this tournament. I am a proponent of 3 v3 tournaments they give the girls an opportunity to play in competitive small sided games where they can work on their passing, foot skills and positioning. As well as have lots of fun.
Uniform Update
Uniforms should be in this week and will be distributed at camp once they arrive. When you get your uniform make sure it is the correct size and does not have any defects.
Thanks for your support.
Mike
