The latest MIFC news for you!

September 2021

Club Club News & Updatess & updates

Mercer Island FC is our community's volunteer-led, non-profit soccer club for kids of all ages. Let’s play!

www.mercerislandfc.org

Message From Paul Bayly - MIFC Director of Soccer
Jamboree Fun For All
Interested in Becoming an MIFC Board Member?
Long Haul Coach Profile 2: Heidi Martin
Goodbye and Good Luck to an MIFC Legend
MIHS Girls Varsity Update

Message From Paul Bayly - MIFC Director of Soccer

ect or SoPaulccDirecerching Staff

A Young Footballers Diet:

A young Footballer's diet should be based around high carbohydrate foods, where 60% of the total energy intake should be from carbohydrate sources, between 12-15% from protein, and 25-30% from fat. The carbohydrate intake should be modified if a player is injured or ill, to around 50% of total energy intake. Young footballers who are training regularly should have a daily target of 8-10g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight (e.g. player with 40kg of body weight = 40 x 8g = 320 g per day.

A diet that is high in carbohydrate and fluids, moderate in protein and low in fat will give athletes enough calories and nutrients to grow, train, and compete.

Click here for comprehensive suggestions for recommended meals, snacks, and foods to avoid before, during, and after games .

Jamboree Fun For All

Our recreational teams U8-U12 gathered on August 28 to kick off the season. Our annual pre-season Jamboree features small side intramural games in round robin fashion, where players first come together to start a new season. Kids are delighted to see a returning coach or excitedly check out a new one. Lots of smiles as they reconnect with friends old and new to play the beautiful game - a few inches taller and with more confidence.

The Jamboree reintroduces the fun in the game to start the season on the right -- or even better on the left -- foot!!

Interested in becoming a MIFC Board Member?

Mercer Island FC is our community's volunteer-led soccer club; we have been instrumental in bringing thousands of kids to play and enjoy soccer for over 50 years.

This year we have 904 players participating in the Club. MIFC has 178 players on 28 Micro teams;101 players on 10 Juniors teams, 322 players on 25 Rec teams and 304 players on 23 Select teams. These well balanced numbers show that there is room for fun and development at every level. We support the "just for fun" players as well as those who aspire to higher level play in their teen years and beyond. MIFC boasts state champions in various age groups in recent years, as well as multiple finalists and semi-finalists teams at the regional and State level.

The club thrives because of the support and participation of the whole community, and is now approaching the time when some board members roll off of their 2-year commitments. We are going to have open opportunities to help shape our community through your enthusiasm for the sport, as well as for a healthy community for our kids: we encourage you to apply!

To get information on what roles we are looking to fill and to share your interest, send an email to president@mifc.org describing your availability and focus.

Long Haul Coach Profile 2: Heidi Martin

Heidi Martin is a dedicated asset to MIFC. Not only has she coached her daughter's Recreational team for 10 years and counting, she currently serves on the MIFC Board as Secretary and pitches in on coach training night by demonstrating her mad soccer skills to newbie and returning coaches. Heidi knows what it takes to keep middle and high school female players on an even keel and having fun during the sometimes stressful years in middle and high school.

We asked Heidi to provide her take on coaching a girls soccer team continuously for 10 years. Here is what she had to say:

I have coached the same team for 10 years, and I have loved watching them develop as players and people. Without a doubt, the best part has been the connection I’ve made with these girls and their families. My goal every year is that they have fun and love the sport, so they want to continue to play. I have loved watching their skills, confidence, and camaraderie develop along the way. Every season, I feel very fortunate to get such quality time with these kids – and especially my own daughter.

Good Bye and Good Luck to an MIFC Legend

In the life of any organization, there are individuals who stand out as having contributions to the success of the organization that far exceed their job title or responsibilities. Long-time MIFC Registrar Mindy Rowe is one such individual. Over the years, she registered players, answered family questions, sorted uniforms and equipment, scheduled pre-season and post-season events, recruited Recreational coaches, reserved fields and on and on. I could write a whole article on the various roles that she filled. She was literally the backbone of Mercer Island FC. But more importantly, she was the face of the club to hundreds upon hundreds of Mercer Island families over the years.

After 15 years with the club, Mindy recently stepped down as club registrar to pursue other opportunities and spend more time with her family. We asked Mindy share some thoughts and memories with us:

How long did you work with Mercer Island FC?

I started working September 2006 and continued through June 2021. 15 total years!!

What roles did you hold with the club?

I was initially hired as the club registrar. After a few years, I took on the field scheduling coordination as well.

After all those years, you must have some fond memories. What are a couple?

There are many fond memories! From working with great people on the board, to great volunteer coaches and players. A few things that always make me smile are the first day each year of Micro-Soccer for the 6- and 7-year-olds.

The build up to that first day is daunting as you get the teams formed, communications out, kits sorted, bagged and labeled, balls pumped etc. Then that Saturday morning comes and the excitement in our smallest players and their families as they take the field, many for the first time in their brand-new cleats, jerseys and shorts is so fun to watch and reminds me each year why we do what we do!

A few years back our supplier had a ball shortage. We were starting to panic that we wouldn’t get our soccer balls in time to hand out to all the players. To our excitement, they arrived the night before we needed them, but deflated! Sarah LeClercq, VP of Recreational Soccer, and I divided them up (probably over 200 each) and sat in each of our respective garages with our compressors running all night to get them ready! At one point, my garage door was open and a sea of balls went rolling down the driveway, across the street into the neighbor’s yard; that was fun collecting them all! I think between the two of us, we only broke a couple inflation tips and by morning, all players started their season with their soccer balls – fully inflated! (The following year, players got deflated new balls and the coaches were all given ball pumps!)

Click here to see the rest of the article and Mindy's comments on the MIFC website

Feature MIHS Girls Varsity UpdateHeading

The MIHS Girls Varsity squad began its season with a non-conference win against Ballard High School (3-1). The Islanders dominated play and garnered strong performances from newly elevated sophomores and freshman phenom Hannah Savoy. Following the initial win, MIHS tackled two talented 4A schools, battling to a narrow 1-2 loss against Eastlake High School - a team thought likely to take the 4A state title this year, and turned in another hard fought effort against Mt Si to a 2-4 loss where several key MIHS players were out taking college board exams. MIHS did, however, break Mt Si's streak of 18 consecutive goals. Looking forward to conference play ahead.

We still need ball girls: please sign up here to help the Varsity girls play up-tempo and encourage your teammates to join you!

Link