This Month's Newsletter Content - 

      2016 Winter / Spring Programs

      USSF Mandated Age and Small Sided Soccer Changes

Winter Sharpness Training Sessions  - 

Sorry, this popular program is sold out for this year.

The Winter Sharpness Sessions are a fast-paced training environment providing players with activities and games that are purposefully fun while simultaneously developing their fundamental skill base. Your child will learn the dribbling moves of Messi, Ronaldo, Dempsey, Yedlin, Morris and the like! Taught by MIFC Technical Director Darren Sawatzky, VP of Player Development Aaron Byers, and a stable of Professional coaches in our program.

 

When:  6:30 - 8:00pm Fridays: January 16, 23 & 30; February 6, 13, 27th 

Where:  Mercer Island High School Stadium 

Cost:  $105.00

 

We are also providing something for the parents to learn a little soccer too! Parents are included (if they would like to stay) and will learn with their own trainer - Free of charge! It's not too late for you to learn how to play better soccer with your young players! Come out and learn the same fundamentals MIFC teaches U8 boys and girls. We'll teach you how to dribble, juggle, pass and possess the ball. The only rule is to Have Fun! 

 

The last session will include scrimmaging with your players! 

U8-U9 Junior RCL

MIFC continues to partner with our Premier Club, Eastside FC, to offer a Mercer Island based U8-U9 Junior RCL program for Mercer Island players. The program is designed to teach young players the fundamentals of the game with an emphasis on skill development, player confidence, initiative, and sense of teamwork. There are no tryouts; all players are placed on teams within the program. 

For more information, check out  http://www.eastsidefc.org/U8-U9JrRCL/

To register, go to  http://www.mercerislandfc.org/registration

 

MIHS Mid-Winter Break Camp

Mercer Island High School Boys Coach (and EYSA Technical Director) Colin Rigby is once again hosting a soccer camp for future MIHS boys and girls players. This is a great chance to get some extra work in during the mid-winter break with Colin and his coaches.

When: February 15-18 (4 day camp), 9am-Noon

Where: Mercer Island High School stadium

Who: Boys and girls ages 6-13 and 14-18 (players will be grouped by age and skill level

Cost: $115 

To register for the camp, email Colin at [email protected]

EYSA Spring Academy / Get Ready for Select

MIFC and EYSA will be offering the popular Spring Academy / Get Ready for Select training program starting in March. Under the guidance of EYSA Technical Directors Colin Rigby and Unai Goikoetxeta, the training is run by professional coaches on multiple days and locations for you to choose from. The tentative schedule is:

Information on registration and field locations will be available soon.

 

On behalf of all of us at MIFC, here's to a great 2016. See you on the pitch!

The US Soccer Federation (USSF), which oversees all soccer organizations in the United States, has mandated several changes to youth soccer that will be implemented all over the country. First, the changes affect players and team formation by aligning age groups with the calendar year rather than the school year. Second, the changes standardize small-sided participation and field size based on player age groups.

 

To comply with the USSF mandate, Mercer Island FC spent the past couple of months working with the other member clubs of the Eastside Youth Soccer Association (EYSA) developing a plan for implementing these changes. All EYSA clubs (and actually most clubs in the greater Puget Sound area) plan to implement birth-year based registration for ALL age groups by the fall of 2016. Additionally, to comply with the mandate for small-sided games, EYSA clubs are planning to also make many (but not all) of these changes by the fall of 2016. In addition to the information below, MIFC has scheduled information sessions for coaches and parents -

• Sunday, January 31st, 3:30-4:30pm at the Community Center (coaches only)
• Sunday, February 28th, 4-5:00pm at the Mercer Island Public Library
• Thursday, March 10th, 7-8:00pm at the Community Center
• Saturday, March 26th, 10-11:00am at the Community Center

In spite of the perceived complexity of these USSF mandated changes, MIFC is adopting a simple "golden rule" for our implementation: we will not require changes to existing Recreational or Select team rosters with returning players (although Select teams are still formed based on tryouts). We are essentially waiving all play-up restrictions so school class groups can remain intact, but teams would play to the age of their oldest player. Details for the implementation in Recreational and Select follow below and in the pages linked here.

 

If you have questions, suggestions or concerns about these USSF mandates (and/or the EYSA and MIFC implementation), please do one or more of the following:

It is our goal to provide a clear blueprint and a smooth transition for all of our MIFC teams and families. Should you wish to read in more detail about the entire set of US Soccer's Player Development Initiatives, click here.