 MIFC Annual Coach Appreciation Dinner a Big Success
The club held its Coach Appreciation Dinner and Annual Business Meeting on Sunday
evening, November 8th at the Mercer Island Beach Club. Over 60 coaches and players turned out for what proved to be an eventful evening.
An unexpected treat was the Seattle Sounders FC vs. FC Dallas playoff match on the big screen TV. While the plan had been to watch the game in the early part of the evening while our coaches and guest players socialized, we hadn't anticipated the game would include two overtimes and, ultimately, a shootout to decide the winner. As you now know, Dallas beat our Sounders in the shootout, only to lose to eventual MLS Champion Portland in the Conference finals. In an effort to keep our evening moving along and on schedule, we held our prize drawing for coach gear and gifts throughout the match.
As has become a tradition with MIFC at the dinner, the "graduating" U18 teams were recognized for their years with the club. Many of the players on these teams started their soccer careers in our Micro soccer program and have continued to play through their senior year in high school. Each player was presented with a MIFC wool beanie cap and the coaches a commemorative MIFC scarf. This year's teams were -
- BU18 Warriors coached by Farzad Zafari and Roy Umlauf (pictured)
- BU18 All-Stars coached by Chris Pirie
- BU18 Falcons coached by Steve Gest
- GU18 Wildcats coached by Scott Barbara and Mark Froio
The evening wrapped up with a presentation by the husband and wife duo of OT and Beverly Yanez. Beverly starred at the University of Miami, played professionally in the U.S. and internationally, and is currently a member of the National Women's Soccer League Seattle Reign where she earned "Best Offensive Player" award this past season. OT starred at the University of Louisville, played professionally in the MLS and internationally, is currently the Seattle Reign club development coordinator as well as a trainer for several MIFC teams. Beverly and OT reflected on the impact volunteer coaches had on their development early in their soccer careers and the important role our MIFC coaches play in their young
players' lives.
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MIFC Board Members Elected to 2-year terms
The business portion of our annual meeting included a review of the club's financial position and the election of five officers to the Board of Directors. All nine board positions serve 2-year terms but are split into two groups that are elected every other year so that no more than half the board positions are up for election in any year.
The club's voting members (1 coach and 1 assistant coach per team) elected the following officers for a 2-year term:
- Treasurer - Greg Snyder
- Secretary - Ada Leo
- VP of Recreational Soccer - Scott Barbara
- VP of Marketing - Jordan Friedman
- VP of Player and Coach Development - Aaron Byers
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Register Now - Holiday Break Soccer Camp Featuring MIHS Coach Colin Rigby
Looking for something to keep the soccer players in your house active over the holidays? Mercer Island High School Boys Soccer Coach Colin Rigby is hosting a winter break indoor soccer camp at the MI Boys & Girls Club on 12/21-23. The camp will feature MIHS players working with their young counter parts. Indoor soccer shoes or tennis shoes are required.
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MIFC Winter and Spring Soccer Programs
It's not too early to think beyond the holidays and plan your winter and spring soccer activities. MIFC offers a range of training and playing options for your child taught by outstanding soccer professionals including Darren Swatzky, Daniel Scott, Colin Rigby, Unai
Goikoetxeta, and David Adddison.
Winter Sharpness Training Sessions: The Winter Sharpness Sessions are a fast-paced, fun filled training environment providing players with activities and games that are purposefully fun while simultaneously developing their fundamental skill base. Your child will learn the way, and dribbling moves of Messi, Ronaldo, Dempsey, Yedlin and the like!
SESSIONS: Friday Nights, January 9, 16, 23 & 30; February 6, 13, 27th.
PLACE: Mercer Island High School Stadium
TIMES: 6:30 - 8:00pm
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 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 rules are to Have Fun!
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 the young player the fundamentals of the game from high-level Eastside FC professional coaches emphasizing 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 and to register, go to
http://www.mercerislandfc.org/registration
Spring Academy / Get Ready for Select:
MIFC and EYSA will be offering the popular Spring Academy / Get Ready for Select training starting in March. This program is run under the guidance of EYSA Technical Directors Colin Rigby and Unai
Goikoetxeta
with professional coaches' conducting the training. Again this year, multiple days and locations are available for your player to attend, depending on which best fits their schedule. The tentative schedule is:
- Issaquah: Mondays 5:30-7pm, Wednesdays 5:30-7pm and Saturdays 11:30-1pm
- Bellevue: Tuesdays 4-5:30pm, Thursdays 4-5:30pm and Saturdays 9-10:30am
- Mercer Island: Tuesdays 6-7:30pm, Wednesdays 3-4:30pm and Thursdays 6-7:30pm
Information on registration and field locations will be available soon.
Mercer Island Boys and Girls Club Spring Soccer:
The Boys & Girls Club will be offering their spring soccer season again this year. Practices start in March, with games running from April through June. Teams are based on grade levels, and MIFC fall teams can enter the league intact. Games are on Mercer Island and in Bellevue against other teams from the two Boys & Girls Clubs. Look for more information in the January MIFC newsletter. Registration opened on the Boys & Girls Club website on December 15th:
https://register.kidtrax.com/MemberPortal/ProgramDirectory.aspx
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MIFC teams competing in State Tournaments
The Washington Youth Soccer (WYS) state tournaments kicked off this month and, after a break for the holidays, will continue through early February. Once again, MIFC is well represented by the following teams:
- BU11 Fire - coach Brandon Kelley
- BU12 Arsenal - coach Colin Rigby
- BU14 Heat - coach David Addison
- BU17 Whitecaps - coach Tom Konig
- BU18 Warriors - coach Farzad Zafari
- GU11 Panthers - coach Colin Rigby
- GU12 Lightning - coach Ketu Shah
- GU13 Fusion - coach Filip Francke
- GU14 Thunder - coaches Jeff Cleator & Mark Sandwith
- GU17 Force - coach Per Noren
We'll use MIFC's Facebook page to keep you updated you on our teams progress through the state tournament. Good luck to all the teams!
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End of Season Recreational Jamboree
EYSA U8-U10 Rec Season Wraps Up
"Kids having fun playing the game of soccer." That description comes straight out of the EYSA Futures playbook as envisioned by the member clubs at the beginning of the season, and that's exactly what we saw as the EYSA U8-U10 regular season wrapped up on the weekend of Nov 7-8 across Mercer Island, Bellevue, and Issaquah. The rain came down hard over the weekend, making for challenging field conditions, but spirits ran high as players gave their best efforts, putting together all they learned throughout the fall season.
Kendra Campbell of EYSA, who organized the event, reinforced what we heard from coaches and players throughout the weekend. "Despite the non-stop rain and chilly temps, the players seemed to have a blast! I saw more than a few after-game mud slides - both with the kids and coaches! I think overall - it was a great way to end the season."
Teams in the year-end jamboree faced some of their best competition of the season, with like-v-like pairings based on earlier league results.
Using a weekend jamboree format to wrap up the season allowed EYSA to avoid pushing the season further into November with minimal light for after-school practices and the inevitable poor field conditions due to weather. Plus, it's a lot more fun when we get to see our young EYSA soccer community out in force!
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U.S. Soccer Federation Mandates Changes
You may have heard talk on the sidelines this fall that changes are in the works for how to define soccer ages in 2016. It's true, the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) has outlined changes for team formation and small sided soccer at the younger ages that will affect all youth soccer organizations in the U.S. We're getting questions on what this means for Mercer Island FC and the Eastside Youth Soccer Association we are part of.
EYSA and MIFC will implement these changes in the 2016 season and are finalizing plans on how we will roll the changes out.
The new rules from USSF change the way teams are formed from school-year age to calendar-year age. This is obviously a significant change to how things are done currently. We understand the significance of such changes and the impact they may have on existing teams, depending on how they're implemented. We've been working with a committee of coaches to get their input and recommendations as we finalize our plans. We anticipate communicating the transition plan through emails, newsletters and meetings with coaches and parents during the January - March time frame. Look for detailed information in our January newsletter.
Washington Youth Soccer statement on USSF Rule Changes
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Toby's Take
Whew, a lot of content, a lot of information, a lot of news this month... And we even edited out some stories (Check out the story on MIFC Alumn Jordan Morris leading Stanford to an NCAA Soccer title on our Facebook page). But the amount of content this month is just a reflection of all the exciting things going on with the club.
We're especially appreciative of
our professional and volunteer coaches who help nearly 1200 Mercer Island youth learn and love the world's most popular game. We were proud to honor and celebrate them at our dinner on November 8th.
Happy Holidays to you and your family. See you on the pitch!
Toby Suhm, President
Mercer Island FC
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