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Mercer Island FC Newsletter
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Select Soccer Information Night Tomorrow, March 8th, at Mercer Island Community Center
Our annual Mercer Island FC Select Soccer information night is
tomorrow night, Wednesday evening March 8th, from 7:00-8:30pm at the Mercer Island Community Center. This is a great opportunity to learn about MIFC's outstanding Select Soccer program for girls and boys ages 10-19.
MIFC VP of Select Soccer, Greg Snyder, will present an overview of Select soccer, the professional coaches and trainers who work with our teams, our player development philosophy, the commitment level expected of the Select player, and the upcoming tryout schedule. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers.
While the information is relevant to parents of any players who want to compete at the highest levels, it is specifically targeted at incoming U10 & U11 players and others who are trying out for Select for the first time.
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A Few Spots Left in MIFC Spring Academy and Get Ready for Select Clinics
New this year - Sessions for U6&7 Players
Mercer Island FC and the other member clubs of the Eastside Youth Soccer Association (EYSA) are once again offering the popular Spring Soccer Academy and Get Ready for Select training clinics. The clinics are designed for players of all levels from U6-14 and are conducted by some of the top soccer Professionals in the area.
Players will be grouped by age and skill. Younger players will focus on ball mastery and dribbling. The older players will work on more advanced skills and concepts. The clinics are excellent for the Select and Premier player preparing for tryouts and the Recreational player looking to improve their skills for the upcoming fall season.
Sessions are offered multiple days and times on Mercer Island and on the Eastside to fit your player's schedule.
U6-7 players have one session a week; U8-14 have the option of attending 1,2, or all 3 sessions.
Mercer Island times -
Tuesdays U8-14 at 6:00 - 7:30 pm,
Wednesdays U8-14 (and U6/U7) at 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Thursdays U8-14 at 6:00 - 7:30 pm.
All sessions at Islander Middle School.
The academy starts the week of March 13th for 7 weeks (no training the week of Spring break April 10-16). Cost is $175 per player for U8-14, $100 per player for U6-7. There are a few spots left for this popular program. To register for the Spring Academy training clinic, click here.
More Information on the Spring Academy clinic and the player development goals can be found on the MIFC
website here
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Micro Soccer (U6-7) and Recreational Soccer (U8-19)
Registration Open April 3rd
Mark Your Calendars now to Remember to Register
It may be hard to believe, the
time to register for Mercer Island FC Fall Recreational and Micro soccer is right around the corner. Starting April 3rd, you can go to the MIFC website registration page and sign up for fall soccer.
"Why so early" you ask? Well, there are several reasons -
- With ~1200 kids in MIFC programs, we need time to get players assigned to teams across U6-U19 age groups. We start with returning players being assigned to their previous team, then fill out rosters with new players.
- We target to have rosters completed and ready to distribute to coaches in July.
- The leagues our MIFC teams compete in start working on their schedules early in the summer. So they want the member clubs like MIFC to have an idea of how many teams we'll be fielding that they have to plan for.
- A lot of work goes into planning the practice time slots and game schedules for the 100+ MIFC teams for the summer and fall.
- Finally, we know Mercer Island families are busy and are already beginning to plan their summer and fall activities.
On April 3rd, you can register for Recreational soccer, Micro soccer or any of our program offerings on the club website at
www.mercerislandfc.org and selecting the tab on the left-side labeled "Registration".
If you have a Select soccer player,
you can also register now for Select tryouts at MIFC Select Tryouts. The tryout schedule for May will be announced in the next few weeks.
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Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club Spring Soccer
Registration Under Way
The Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club is once again offering their spring soccer season this spring. Practices start the week of March 20th, with games running from April 22nd through early 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.
Registration is open on the Boys & Girls Club website at
Mercer Island FC coaches or families that have questions about MIFC teams registering for Boys & Girls Club Spring Soccer can email MIFC Registrar Mindy Rowe at
[email protected]
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MIFC BU18/19 Whitecaps Make State Semi-finals
Congratulation to Coach Tom Koning and team for a deep state run
Congratulations to the MIFC BU18/19 Whitecaps for a great run at the Washington State Founders Cup, earning 2nd place finish in their group and winning a thrilling quarterfinal game in a penalty shootout that went 8 rounds. Their season ended with a hard-fought 0-1 loss to Crossfire in the semi-finals, but we're so proud of their accomplishment and how well they represented Mercer Island FC! For many of the boys on the roster, this was their final time representing Mercer Island FC. Well done, gentlemen!
We asked Coach Tom Koning to reflect on the season and the years he's spent with the boys -
"We went 10-1-1 in the regular season of NPSL and won our division. The quarter-final game you refer to was maybe the best youth game I've ever seen. We played an excellent team, the Vancouver Timbers. We went down 0-1 with 15 minutes left, and came back to tie it. With less than a minute left we let in another goal, now down 1-2. Then, in extra time we tied it to send it to penalty kicks. Both regulation goals were scored by defender and MIHS senior Luke Boksem. The penalty kicks went all the way to the 8th kicker! The game finally ended by a save from MIHS junior goalkeeper Colin Gersch."
How long have you coached this group? "I've coached this team since they started playing Select soccer; I believe it started at U12 at that time, so 6 years. Many of them have played with the team for the entire 6 years. Most of these boys played at MIFC for their entire career, and a few of them even were coached by me, or my wife Annie, in micro-soccer."
Do you know if any are planning on trying to play in college, either with college team or as part of a club team? "I'm not aware of any that will play in college. However, I think many of them would be able to play if they chose that path. Academically, this is an incredible group of boys. They will do very well in college. Also, this group includes many athletes who have lettered in other sports at MIHS, besides soccer... basketball, swimming/diving, wrestling, and tennis. They are also a group of community volunteers and leaders. I feel very lucky to have been able to spend so much time with them as their coach."
We're pretty sure they feel the same way about you Tom. Congratulations on a great season and "career" with these boys.
MIFC BU19 Whitecaps graduating seniors-
- Finn Childress
- Cole Eriksson
- Kenny Koning
- Jonah Chenoweth
- Luke Boksem
- Jack Delay
- Jackson Kelley
- Roberto White
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MIHS Boys Soccer host Spring Break Soccer Camp
The MIHS Boys Soccer players will be coaching a 3-day Spring Break Soccer Camp on Tuesday, 4/11, Wednesday, 4/12 and Thursday, 4/13 at 9am-12:30pm at the MIHS Stadium. The camp is for girls & boys ages 5-13. $135 includes a t-shirt for each participant. Proceeds from the camp will help fund the player's trip to Spain this summer
For more information and to get registration information, please click here:
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Colin's Corner
Welcome to "Colin's Corner". Colin is the head coach for Mercer Island High School Boys soccer program. He is also the Technical Director for EYSA, the parent association to the local Recreational, Select and Premier level soccer clubs on the Eastside. Colin's success as the MIHS coach comes from years of MIFC and Eastside FC developing our youth soccer programs on Mercer Island. Colin will be giving a monthly comment on what is going on with soccer on Mercer Island, around the State, country and world.
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Hello
Mercer Island soccer faithful.
We are headed into soccer tryout season here on Mercer Island. Not only are players preparing and trying out with their club teams, but our MIHS boys soccer program held their tryouts last week.
Tryout season has a really big impact on players and families so I thought I would take a few minutes and talk through a few things to think about as you prepare for your tryout.
You want to use the tryout period to show off your strengths, attitude and excitement to be there.
The first thing to think about is how you show up. Make sure you are wearing appropriate clothing and athletic gear (look the part). Being that this is the sports version of an interview, you want to bring a winning, fun, and competitive attitude. Finally, you want to show off your strengths. Soccer players come in all shapes and sizes, each person has their own strengths that should be highlighted during the tryout process. I can tell you that as the high school soccer coach, I look for creative and intelligent players who make educated decisions with the ball and look for ways to make an impact when they play. I like players that are calm under pressure and can play out of compact spaces.
What do coaches notice at tryouts? We are looking for those players who listen and have the right attitude. We like the players who express their passion and effort. We look for players that fit the positions and the style that the team plays. Understand that the coaches will be spending their time teaching, educating, and advising the players; so they want players who will treat them with respect. The coaches are also responsible for tactically preparing the team, so they will be looking to fill specific positions or styles of play.
Parents, family members, and supporters of your player...understand that this is can be a stressful and challenging time for young athletes. They want to know that you are there for them regardless of the outcome of the tryout. They know what they are going into, so just support them and keep things positive. The best thing you can express to your athlete is "I like watching you play"
I wish you the best of luck with your tryouts this year and remember, "show up"!
Go Islanders.
Colin Rigby
Coach, Mercer Island HS
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