MARCH 2020
A Recap of the
2020 Wyoming AGM

The 2020 Wyoming Soccer AGM & Workshops were held this past weekend in Casper. We truly appreciate everyone who made it to this event. Our 2nd Annual Awards Celebration was held on Saturday evening as part of the festivities and we are looking forward to continuing this event year to year. Start thinking about the awesome people in your community now for 2021.

Our keynote speaker this year was Skye Eddy Bruce, former professional soccer player and founder of soccerparenting.com . We were honored to have her at our event and she challenged us to create environments of emotional support and to actively inspire and engage players both on and off the field. After all, it is not about developing soccer players - it is about developing human beings. How can you engage with the player who is walking off the field by themselves? How can coaches and parents create trust and respect and set the best examples for the players who are watching? Her keynote presentation, Soccer Inspires, talked about one of her mentors, Tony DiCicco, who led the Women's National team to victory in the 1996 Olympics and the 1999 Women's World Cup, and how he used his platform to create camps ( Soccer Plus ) and inspire kids to build skills, confidence and character through hard work.

Sam Snow, former technical director for US Youth Soccer and founder of American Made Soccer Consultants started off with some coach education for state coaches in Casper on Friday afternoon, and facilitated two sessions on Saturday and Sunday covering what happens after you volunteer to coach and how to lead and teach the game as a youth soccer coach. He was kind enough to share his presentations with us, and they can be found on our site here . Just scroll down on the left hand side of the page and look under "Resources for Coaches".

Nick Buoncore, founder of the Reformed Sports Parent movement joined us all the way from North Carolina. He related his personal story with passion as he talked about how his actions and words led to a toxic parent/child relationship and how he discovered there was a better way.

Esse Baharmast, former World Cup referee and winner of the prestigious 2020 Werner Fricker Builder Award, also graced us with his presence. Esse emphasized the "one team" concept and that being a referee was not his plan. Due to injury as a young player, his dream of one day playing in the World Cup ended. He started to referee the game instead, and the rest is history. He did make it to the World Cup more than once, and as he put it, he had the best seat in the house. He discussed the life lessons he learned from the 1998 World Cup (see the amazing story here ) - integrity, stay calm, be respectful and kind, remain balanced in victory and defeat, give it your all, maintain a "we" over "me" mentality and destiny. Esse is now the Director of Referees for the Colorado Soccer Association and their program has become a benchmark for state associations across the country under his leadership.

We concluded Saturday's festivities with our 2nd Annual Awards Ceremony, and you can learn more below in the Spotlight Section, as we are spotlighting ALL of our award winners there this month!
THE LATEST FROM WYOMING SOCCER ASSOCIATION
Our BIG News...Revealed

Last month, Wyoming Soccer alluded to some "Big News" that would be shared at the 2020 AGM. Well, we are now ready to share it with all of you. As you know, Wyoming Soccer Association (WSA) received one of 17 Innovate to Grow grants last year to start our first ever Wyoming Futsal League. Following the successful implementation of the program, we decided to try again!

This past Fall, WSA applied for another grant and we are pleased to announce that we are embarking on a new path to hopefully spark an initiative that takes off statewide and possibly beyond. It is called SOW Soccer and stands for S park O pportunities W ith Soccer. The state office will be working with the Boys & Girls Club of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe over the next three years to develop a club on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

As part of this initiative, Wyoming Soccer will grant funds to our affiliated clubs to
start SOW Soccer programs in your own communities. We have a total of $30K to support our clubs , and the application will open in April. Programs should focus on breaking down barriers to participation and should target a specific need or group in your community. Funding priorities and guidelines will be released with the application next month.

This is a VERY exciting venture for our state association and it is receiving national attention. Those who were at the AGM and heard the presentation given by Lisa Hulshizer and Rory Robinson, the CEO of the Boys & Girls Club on the reservation, were very receptive and expressed interest in helping through providing resources and/or used equipment.

We will keep you posted on our progress and ways you can be a part of the SOW Soccer movement, whether it is with the reservation OR in your own community.

Starting this Fall, Wyoming Soccer will REQUIRE that ALL affiliated clubs move over to GotSoccer's new platform . We will assist in making this transition as seamless as possible.

An email with resources to help guide clubs through the on-boarding process will be sent to club leaders within the next week. Please contact your club registrar if you have questions regarding GotSoccer.
Did you know Wyoming Soccer Association
awards three annual scholarships to current or past members?

The scholarships are worth $500 each. Don't miss out on this opportunity!

Please review our  scholarship guidelines  before applying.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the state office at (
307) 742-2306 or wssa@wyomingsoccer.com .
ALL ENTRIES AND SUPPLEMENTAL ITEMS MUST BE MAILED TO

WYOMING SOCCER ASSOCIATION
777 OVERLAND TRAIL, SUITE 132
CASPER, WY 82601

SUPPLEMENTAL ITEMS REQUIRED WITH APPLICATION ARE:

  • A copy of your high school or college transcript (official copies not required)
  • A 500 word essay describing how soccer has impacted your life.
  • Two (2) letters of recommendation from high school or college teachers
  • One (1) letter of recommendation from a soccer coach
  • One (1) current picture of yourself for website announcements

INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS   WILL NOT   BE CONSIDERED

Applications must be post marked no later than
Friday, May 1, 2020

AND...Don't forget to check out our   College Connection Center !
Keep up with us on Wyoming Soccer's social media platforms...
WSA 2020 Award Winners
Volunteer of the Year
Brandi Bauer (Cheyenne)

Administrator of the Year
Sheri Foster (Cheyenne)

Young Referee of the Year
Lane Franks (Powell)

Referee of the Year
Andy Gramlich (Lander)

Girls Recreational Coach of the Year
Levi Burnside (Cheyenne)

Girls Competitive Coach of the Year
Julie Maiers (Casper)

Boys Recreational Coach of the Year
Nate Freeman (Cheyenne)

Boys Competitive Coach of the Year
Coy Pickel (Cheyenne)

TOPSoccer Coach of the Year
Jose Arenas (Cheyenne)

TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year
Jackson Lewis (Cheyenne)

TOPSoccer Player of the Year
Ashton Ellison (Cheyenne TOPSoccer)

Player of the Year
Dannon Kohler (Evanston)

WSA 2019 Spotlighted Player Awards

January - Ruger Stowell (Riverton)

February - Delaney Sullivan (Lander)

March - No Player Spotlight

April - Hailey Beastrom (Newcastle)

May - Andrew Gruner (Casper)

June - Isaac Howell (Gillette Edge)

July - Josie Garner (Casper TOPSoccer)

August - Grace Roswadovski (Gillette Edge)

September - Jacey Bardsley (Evanston)

October - Ashton Ellison (Cheyenne TOPSoccer)

November - Dannon Kohler (Evanston)

December - Cole Venable (Worland)
THE LATEST FROM US YOUTH SOCCER
Co-Branding Opportunities
USYS has recently created a new video and has co-branded it for each state. Check out Wyoming's video on our Facebook page.
USYS & COVID-19
For the latest updates on COVID-19 and its impact on the youth soccer landscape, please click here.
THE LATEST FROM US SOCCER
U.S. Soccer Cancels Upcoming Men's and Women's
Senior National Team Matches in March and April
due to COVID-19 Outbreak

Health and safety of players, coaches, staff and fans is main focus; most youth and extended national team matches and camps also canceled through April 30 - according to the most recent news from USSF - see full article here .
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Upcoming Coach Education Courses
Below is a list of currently scheduled courses. Further details will be provided as we confirm venues and times. All grassroots, D & C license courses will be accessed through the US Soccer Learning Center (previously referred to as the Digital Coaching Center). If you do not currently have an account through The Learning Center, please create one  here . If you had one in the former Digital Coaching Center, you do not need to create a new one. Once all courses are set up in the center, you will then be able to register.
 
Laramie County Community College
1400 East College Drive
Cheyenne, WY

March 22, 2020
8:45 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Rock Springs Junior High School
3500 Foothill Blvd.
Rock Springs, WY

April 11, 2020
11 a.m.- 5 p.m.

This course is being offered for free courtesy of Rock Springs Soccer Association
and Rock Springs Avengers

Please use the following code to register: RSASC420MC*
*This code will NOT work with a mobile device


Casper Soccer Club & Wyoming Soccer Association

Phase I: June 4-10, 2020
Phase II: July 9-10, 2020


4720 Classical Way Bozeman, MT 59718
 
Phase I: June 24th-28th
 Phase II: August 5th-9th


For all questions regarding courses in WY, please contact: davidh@wyomingsoccer.com

For all questions regarding courses in MT, please contact:

**Online Grassroots courses can always be taken through The Learning Center

Wyoming is currently reimbursing completed courses through our

Be on the lookout for more communications from Wyoming Soccer and posts on our social media platforms. Please follow us here:
We have MORE exciting news to share...

Our technical team has gotten together to update AND IMPROVE the Coach Development Initiative we started a couple years ago.

Not only can you get reimbursed for online grassroots courses through USSF or foundations of coaching courses through Unites Soccer Coaches, we are now able to assist with fees associated with other in-person courses, as well.

We are focused on making the soccer experience the best it can be for our Wyoming players, and we know the impact coaches have. That's why we are willing to invest in them!

To view the guidelines for the new and expanded program, please click here.

Sincerely,

David Hayes
Technical Director

UPCOMING EVENTS - SPRING SCHEDULE
April 18 - 19, 2020

April 25 - 26, 2020
REGISTER HERE

May 2 - 3, 2020

May 9 - 10, 2020

May 16 - 17, 2020
Battle in the Springs - Rock Springs

May 23 - 25, 2020
Wyoming Cup & Championships - Casper (Open)
REGISTER HERE
March
Highlight
All registrants must agree to the Wyoming Soccer Association's (WSA's) Code of Conduct.

Please remember to allow the coach to coach and the referee to make the calls. 

No parent/guardian is permitted on the training/playing fields or on the coach/player side of the field during WSA sanctioned events.

GET TO KNOW OUR GROWING LIST OF PARTNERS
If you know of a business who may want to partner with Wyoming Soccer, please contact us at wssa@wyomingsoccer.com .

We appreciate those who partner with us. Be on the look out for more exciting deals and offers soon!