The Header--The RSC Spring 2018 Newsletter

The Rochester Soccer Club Newsletter May 2018

Dear Rochester Soccer Club Family,

The nice weather has arrived! Can we all agree it was a long winter? Our indoor winter programs were popular and filled quickly. Kickoff of the outdoor spring season came in April and all around town on the weekends you see our Recreational players in their colorful game shirts! Believe it or not, the Recreational All-Star games are just around the corner, as is our Spring Open House for MI Lightning teams, tryouts in June, and Recreational summer camps! Additionally, Fall program registration began May 8th. Check it all out on our website .

This is a special year for RSC. We are excited to recognize and celebrate our 40th anniversary as a soccer club that began as a local grassroots organization and has evolved into a leading regional soccer club! We are proud to say we still provide a hometown-family orientation to soccer, in addition to providing a competitive travel program recognized throughout Michigan and the Midwest region. Make sure you read the interview with one of our longest RSC affiliated coaches, Will Kidder, later in this issue.

And be sure to check in regularly to see what's new in the club. If you're on social media, please follow us on your platform of choice! Both RSC and Michigan Lightning have separate pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Stay up to date with us!

Jeff Schamanek

RSC President

Spring Season All-Star Games are Coming!

The 2018 Spring Recreation All-Star games are June 10th at the RSC Complex. The All-Star games recognize and bring together standout players from our Recreation teams in the age groups U7-U13/14. Games run all day, and players will participate in an Opening Ceremony, walking onto the fields to be introduced to the spectators. Bring your family out to celebrate your player and the game of soccer!

Or click on the link here.

RSC Michigan Lightning Tryouts are Just Around the Corner

2018/2019 MI Lightning Tryouts
June 16-17th

Borden Park, Rochester Hills

There are no fees to try out, however registration is required.

Click here for more information and to register.

Join Us for Our 2018 Recreational Summer Camps!

Our summer camps provide a fun environment for players to learn new soccer skills, play games, make friends, and just be kids! Keep your kids busy while developing soccer skills this summer. Campers are placed in age and skill appropriate groups so each player can develop and be successful -- no matter their level of soccer experience.

All camp coaches have a US Soccer Federation (USSF) National "F" or higher license.

For detailed information and registration, click here.

FALL Season Registration NOW OPEN!

Early registration for all our 2018 fall recreation programs began on May 8th. The EARLY BIRD registration will end on July 31st. It's vital that you register your player during the early bird registration period if your player wishes to return to their same team from the spring. Practices begin the week of September 3rd and games start the weekend of September 15th! Register NOW, since many of our teams and programs fill quickly! Register here.

Check Out These Promotions for the FALL Season LDA Program!

Considering our Lightning Development Academy program? If you are new to the program this fall, you will receive $20 off the registration cost!

Also new this fall, refer a friend who has never played LDA before and you will receive $20 off the program cost. This offer is UNLIMITED! The more players you refer, the more you save. Players that are new to the program and refer a friend/s, can receive both promotions, which adds up to a super savings!

For more details, you can go to the LDA page on our web site here.

DCFC Discounted Tickets for Rochester Soccer Club

Don't miss out on the RSC/MI Lightning Night June 23rd

Detroit City FAC vs Kalamazoo FC

7:30pm at Keyworth Stadium

We are pleased to provide our friends and family with discounted tickets ALL SEASON LONG!

Please visit our DCFC dedicated page for purchase info: detcityfc.com/rsc or click here.

The 2018 fall Lightning Cup welcomes you to register your team and join us the weekend of September 7-9, 2018! The application deadline is August 20th.

More details and registration here.

Elite, Premiere, and Select levels of competition

Multiple divisions within age groups enable competition at all skill levels

Game formats include: 4v4, 7v7, 9v9, and 11v11

Lightning Cup 2017 featured over 220 teams and over 30 clubs from the Midwest

All games will be played at Total Sports Park in Washington, Michigan which has over 30 premium grass fields.

2018 RSC Scholarship Recipients -- Congratulations!

Congratulations and best wishes to our 2018 Community Foundation scholarship recipients! Each year, RSC is pleased to award graduating students from each of the Rochester community high schools with a monetary award based on their outstanding contributions to RSC and Michigan Lightning over their playing years while in the club. This year's recipients are:

Pictured starting from top-left:

Kiley Schneck (RHS) - Olivet College/physical therapy

Kevin Buca (SCHS) - The University of Michigan/electrical engineering

Anna Heath (AHS)- Michigan State's Lyman Briggs College/physiology

Bottom row:

Benjamin Borschke (AHS) - The University of Michigan/major undecided

Michael Melaragni (SCHS) - Western Michigan University/biomedical sciences in the Lee Honors College

Benjamin Bisio (RHS) - Grand Valley State University/major undecided

Additionally, Michael, Kiley, and Kevin are playing soccer for their schools this fall!

Rochester Soccer Club is proud to continue its tradition of awarding graduating students from each of the Rochester Community high schools with a monetary award based on their outstanding contributions to RSC and Michigan Lightning over their playing years with RSC. The criteria and application can be found at:

Mi Lightning Scholarship Program

Congratulations Rochester Soccer Club Seniors!

RSC would like to say congrats and a BIG thank you to all our graduating MI Lightning players for being a part of the Rochester Soccer Club. You will always be family to us!

Click here for a video of our senior MI Lightning girls. Click here for our senior boys.

Additionally, we would like to note the following players who move on to play soccer at their respective schools:

Kevin Buca - University of Michigan

Luciano Erracalde - Saginaw Valley State University

Michael Melaragni - Western Michigan University

Brett Robinson - Asland University

Kiley Schneck - Olivet College

William Wardle - Rochester College

Hailey Wentzloff - Grand Valley State University

Going Above and Beyond...

Our soccer family would like to extend a special "Thank You" to the Bartz family of Rochester Hills not only for their volunteer work within our Michigan Lightning family, but also for nominating our club in the "CN Railroaders in the Community" employee grant program! Dad, Curtis, is an employee of CN, and earned RSC a $500 donation which will be put toward the RSC scholarship fund. The Bartz family has two MI Lightning players, Aliya ('07 Girls Blue) and Tyler ('05 Boys Blue)

Thank you for all you do for our RSC family!

RSC Highlights MI Lightning Coach, Will Kidder

RSC is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year! We'll be highlighting various milestones and sharing stories of some of the people who have helped form the club we are today.

Michigan Lightning coach, Will Kidder, has been with RSC since 1999. He began his career with RYSL as a recreational coach and then transitioned to coaching in our travel group. Here's some highlights about one of our favorite RSC coaches --

RSC: Tell us how you got into coaching soccer...

WK: It began as something I could do to spend time with my sons; I coached all three of them at the recreational level until they joined travel teams. I spend a lot of time at my family business, so instead of dropping them off at an activity for someone else to spend time with them, I thought it would be something fun we could do together.

RSC: Did you yourself play another sport in your youth?

WK: I played all sports as a kid and through high school including travel hockey, football, basketball, baseball, track, and cross country.

RSC: Tell us about your most memorable coaching moment.

WK: There have been many. My '01 boys Blue team was down 0-6 at a Pacesetter tournament at halftime with an extremely muddy field. We came back to win 7-6 and went on to win our division. The boys had struggled without much success in regular season -- losing virtually all their fall games. I kept asking the parents to trust me; the kids were starting to learn the game and I told them by spring, they would see results. With the tournament win, there was a feeling of accomplishment for the boys and parents. All the tournaments won with my teams are memorable, but this one might have been a little more joyous for the big turnaround in the season.

RSC: Those kinds of memories are what the game is about! Changing topics now, what is your main interest outside of soccer?

WK: I spend a lot of time with my family (two of my three sons coach MI Lightning teams), as well as running the business I started with my dad 28 years ago.

RSC: Sounds like you occasionally need a recharge! What's your favorite type of vacation or vacation spot?

WK: The Caribbean is always nice -- anywhere warm in the winter is nice -- but my favorite spot is Malta. It's so beautiful there, and the people are friendly and the food is crazy good!

New Referee Certification Class Now Available

There will be a local NEW referee certification class for those interested in joining the ranks. The class will be held August 4th and 5th at the Rochester Community Schoosl Administration building. Registration is required and the class fills fast!

To get registered for this course, click here.

Program Information

Rochester Soccer Club offers our community the only opportunity for every level of play and competitive desire based on a developmental approach to meet the different needs and aspirations of every soccer player. To learn more about each of our programs, please use the links below:

RSC Recreation League

RSC Lightning Developmental Academy

Michigan Lightning

RSC TOPSoccer

Did You Know? Interesting Soccer Facts . . .

German soccer player Mesut Ozil donated his €300,000 World Cup victory bonus to pay for surgeries for 23 children in Brazil.

FC Barcelona, one of the biggest soccer teams in the world, has a "reverse sponsorship" agreement with UNICEF. The team wears the organization's logo on their shirt while donating 1.5 million euros ($1.8 million) each year.

Norway is the only national football team in the world that has never lost to Brazil.

(2 wins and 2 draws).

During Christmas of 1914 (during WWI), a truce was held between Germany and UK. They decorated their shelters, exchanged gifts across no man's land and played a game of football between themselves.

At the age of 4, American world cup soccer star Abby Wambach, during her first youth soccer league was transferred from the girls' team to the boys' team after she scored 27 seven goals in just three games.

The Kroger Community Rewards Program and RSC!

You can help RSC earn money for the Scholarship Fund and other club programs by enrolling in the Kroger Community Rewards Program. It doesn't cost you anything and you don't lose any of your points. To get more information, click here! And remember, each year you will need to reenroll in April to continue to support RSC.

Michigan Lightning Families . . . Earn Money with the RSC SCRIP Gift Card Program

The SCRIP Gift Card Program is a an easy way to earn credit toward your Michigan Lightning club fees. Check out the website for more informatio n, click here!