LFSA News From the Pitch: February Edition PARTNERSHIP WITH FC UNITED ANNOUNCED

Volume 8 February 2020

Lake Forest Soccer Association

NEWS FROM THE PITCH

A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

Dear LFSA Families,

We are excited to officially announce our partnership with FC United Soccer Club beginning the 2020/2021 club season.

FC United is a top-tier organization that provides an unrivaled family experience through their Player First philosophy. Their dedication and next-level resources create opportunities for players to compete at any level. FC United and LFSA share a player development philosophy based on growing players through passion, commitment & dedication to the game. FC United serves players U12 and above. LFSA will continue as a distinct not-for-profit organization that develops players U8-U11 through our travel program and 5-6 year olds through our Young Scouts program.

Starting with next year’s club season, 60 United (the U12-U19 extension of LFSA) will become FC United North with all management falling solely under the FC United Club. The homebase for FCU North teams will remain in Vernon Hills and Lake Forest. Suzanne Sands and I will serve as Advisory Board Members and Oktay will be joining FC United to be the Director of FC United North while remaining as the Director of Coaching for LFSA.

This is an amazing opportunity for LFSA players. It offers our players a seamless transition into FC United with a path for development, increased opportunities for competitive play, and consistent leadership.

There will be upcoming opportunities for our current U11 players and families to meet some of the FC United Coaching leadership at team meetings. FC United will also be hosting a town hall meeting in April to answer any questions. We could not be more thrilled for the opportunity this brings to our players and families.

Please take a look at the FC United website for more detailed information on the club, the player development philosophy, and the resources that will be available to our players.

If you have any additional questions, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Meredith Gauthier

meregauthier@gmail.com

LFSA President

See links at the bottom of this newsletter.

A Message from Our Director, Oktay Akgun

WHY DON'T WE PLAY IN AN INDOOR LEAGUE DURING THE WINTER SEASON?

Most of the indoor leagues have only one division per age group, therefore higher division teams and lower division teams are playing each other. This results in games not being appropriately competitive. The games are either too easy or too difficult and neither situation is beneficial for player development. Indoor games are generally only 40 minutes long, so if we play in a league with one game and one practice per week our players get significantly fewer touches on the ball over the course of the season as compared to two 90 minute practices. Additionally, many leagues have multiple fields with no barriers between them. As a result the ball does not stay in the game and players end up with even less play time. If we play in a league with walls, it creates bad habits for outdoor games and is less safe for players.

Years ago, we used to play in the indoor league (40-minute games) and practice once a week for an hour. Right now, for the same cost, we can provide players with 3 hours of training per week. This year we have also been able to arrange friendly games with the Trevians club providing our teams with appropriate levels of competition. If we were to play in Libertyville, girls usually play on Friday nights and boys usually play on Saturdays. We would have no control over game times. In our experience, they are often very late or very early in the morning. Some of our teams have also taken advantage of opportunities to play in local indoor tournaments or futsal leagues during this season (these decisions are made at the discretion of the teams and coaches).

These are the factors that our coaches, our board and I considered when we decided to shift the focus of our winter season toward more training and fewer games. Given all of these factors we feel that our current winter season provides players with better development during the indoor season.

Congratulations, Coach Susie Kullby!

2019 Illinois Women in Soccer Award Recipient

On January 20th Coach K, as her players call her, was honored with a 2019 Illinois Women in Soccer Award. For the last 30 years Susie has laid the foundation in the minds and hearts of so many players in regards to the fundamentals, tactics, and a love of the game. She began her soccer career as a youth player and then went on to play at New Trier High School where she was a three year starter and named to the All-State team as a senior. She played college soccer at Xavier University. After college she was an Assistant Coach at LFHS. In 2003, she began coaching for LFSA. She has developed many players at both the Trevian SC and LFSA. Many of those players have gone on to start for the New Trier or LFHS Varsity soccer teams. She lives and breathes soccer.

Susie is an amazing mother, middle school teacher, and soccer coach. She has an uncanny ability to be tough and caring at the same time, often in the same sentence. She teaches her girls much more than the fundamentals of soccer, such as life skills like how to follow direction, how to work as a team, and how to wipe away your tears after a tough loss and get back on the field. She has an incredible level of patience for players that need more direction, at the same time pushing the ones that are playing at a higher level.

LFSA is proud to have Coach Susie Kullby on our team!

PATRIOT GAMES TOURNAMENT

U9 Girls Win In a Shoot Out!

After two wins and a tie, the girls played the team they had tied in the championship game. The score was tied 1-1 when time ran out. It came down to a shoot out with 10 shots per team. An amazing save by our goalie, Kami, ended the contest with a win for LFSA.

A FEW WORDS FROM OUR COACHES

Learn more about coaches that are affiliated with LFSA & 60 United here .

What advice do you have for parents?

Coach Oktay Akgun, 20+ years with LFSA

Director of Coaching

"Support your children and be patient with the development process."

Coach Can Gungoren, 12 years with LFSA

Assistant Director of Coaching/Director of Young Scouts

"Play fun soccer games with them. Encourage them to work on skills they learn at practice during their free time. Watch professional soccer with them."

T y Stuckslager, 20+ years with LFSA

Assistant Director of Coaching

"Listen and be supportive. Ask questions so they think about the game."

Susie Kullby, 13 years with LFSA

Coach

"Encourage them to have fun and build friendships."

Pedro Beretta, 4 years with LFSA

Coach

Steve Douglass, 5 years with LFSA

Goalie Coach

" Watch as much quality soccer on TV with your kids as possible. Work at engaging your player in conversations around what is happening, particularly with the position(s) your player plays. "

Will Rivera, LFSA

Coach

"Always motivate your kids. "

Jeannette Peck, 3 years with LFSA

Coach

"Play pick up soccer as much as possible."

YOUNG SCOUTS REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

Players' Perspectives:

Why do you play soccer?

Because it is fun and hard
Because it’s my favorite sport and a lot of fun
Because it is my favorite sport and it is fun
Because it's fun!
Because it’s fun
Because it's an awesome game.
Because it’s fun and fun is good!
Because it's fun! And I just like the sport.
Because it’s fun and I like being with my friends
It’s fun
Because I love sports and being on a team with my friends!

SPRING SCHEDULES @ EVERETT

Practices begin March 30th.

Practices are at Everett Park

1111 Everett Park School Rd., Lake Forest

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY!

We are excited to announce that this year from March 30-April 22 we will have access to Turf Time as a back up when the fields are closed due to weather. Due to limited availability we have an alternate schedule for using TurfTime . Whenever needed you will receive notifications from team managers.