THE LATEST FROM WYOMING SOCCER |
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WYOMING SOCCER SAYS GOODBYE TO CASEY NIX AS TEAM ADMINISTRATOR |
With the resignation of Krista Sweckard as Program Administrator for Wyoming 307 Select and ODP in September, Wyoming Soccer Association looked at the possibility of bringing all program administration functions back into the state office. When Krista and Casey Nix took over the administration functions of the state programs, the state office had only one full time staff person and no technical director. Now, with two full time staff and a technical director, it seemed like a good time to make that transition. But, that meant that Casey Nix would no longer serve in the role of Team Administrator, although he will still be heavily involved with soccer here in Wyoming and will continue to consult and advise regarding state programming and he remains one of our ODP Coaches.
Casey has been involved with youth soccer here in Wyoming almost as long as anyone. He started back in the early 2000's coaching for Casper Soccer Club and has since coached nearly every age and gender from 10U on up. For the past three years, he has coached the 18U Girls for Casper Soccer Club. In 2018, he became the Recreation League Coordinator for Casper Soccer Club and you would often see Casey riding his bike during weeknight evenings around the fields working with coaches and teams.
But, beyond local club work, Casey has been an integral part of Wyoming Soccer Association for well over a decade. He served as a representative for Casper Soccer Club on the Wyoming Board of Directors and then in 2010, he was nominated and elected as the President of the state board. Casey served as the State President until 2016. He remained involved, particularly with the Wyoming 307 Select Program as both a coach and administrator for the teams. In 2019, Casey became an ODP Coach and has been instrumental in the growth of both Wyoming Soccer state programs.
Casey Nix is one whose passion, commitment and dedication to soccer has left a lasting impact and legacy. He did all of this while running his own business and we will continue to glean from his knowledge and expertise as we strive to grow and serve our members.
Casey, you will be missed!
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WYOMING SOCCER BOARD OF DIRECTORS WELCOMES UW SOCCER COACH, PETE CUADRADO! |
Meet Pete...
Wyoming Soccer Association (WSA) President, Dan King, appointed the University of Wyoming Head Soccer Coach, Pete Cuadrado, to the WSA Board of Directors as the Member-At-Large earlier this month.
Coach Cuadrado will be a great addition, bringing a vast amount of soccer experience and background to our board. He has a winning reputation and is UW's most winningest coach! We are thrilled to have him on board (pun intended). READ MORE to learn more about Coach Cuadrado's impact on the UW Soccer program. |
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WYOMING SOCCER INVITES YOU TO WITNESS THE FUTURE THROUGH E-SPORTS |
A recent study developed and hosted on GYO Score (WSA's esports partner) reveals esports athletes are more inclined to pursue college majors in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)than any other field. After the STEM category, the report found high reports for players interested in Arts, Business & Finance, and Esports & Gaming related majors.
While the concept of an e-sports major in college may seem foreign, it is starting to become more popular with colleges across the country and scholarships are available at some major universities. With esports becoming a prominent form of entertainment, esports athletes appear intent on the idea of entering an esports collegiate program or gaming-related major. Approximately 13.2% of surveyed athletes in the study would be interested in a major related to gaming and esports. As “Esports” is not currently a major with a clear delineation in most collegiate institutions, the study noted a variety of write-in responses that were counted towards the “Esports & Gaming Major” category featured in this study. Some of the included responses were “Esports Player”, “Esports Coach”, and “Esports Management”.
For these players, they may be seeking study options that are similar to “Sports Management” programs which are significantly popular with traditional athletes. While further study is warranted in this case, there does appear to be a strong desire among respondents to somehow study a field in college that allows them to stay within the esports industry section following graduation.
During the shutdown we experienced this past Spring, Wyoming Soccer explored the idea of creating an esports program and hosted several esports tournaments to keep our players engaged. With the fall season now over and the cold Wyoming winter months looming, you can expect more to come in this area. We want to evolve with the times and keep our players engaged both on and off the field. While video gaming has its downfalls, this is a way to capture some of the siblings who don't play on the field and some of the players who may not be in the spotlight on the field an opportunity to be an active member and part of Wyoming Soccer Association.
Esports is definitely growing in popularity and we feel it provides opportunities we can provide for all members, as it can also be used as a training tool for field players.
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Now that the Fall season for our clubs has come to a close, we will begin to see a rise in activity with our Wyoming 307 Select Teams.
Next up, The Thanksgiving Classic in Las Vegas, NV. We have a few teams gearing up for this event and we will keep you apprised of how they do! Stay tuned for more to come from our Wyoming 307 Select teams! You can follow them by using #wyoming307select
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As mentioned in the lead article of this newsletter, earlier this month Wyoming Soccer had to make the heartbreaking decision to cancel team activity for the remainder of the year/season due to states around the region and country being unable to participate because of COVID-19.
While this was tough and disappointing news to receive, we feel it was the right thing to do and we look forward to next year and will continue to strive to build our ODP program into what we know it can be!
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BE PREPARED FOR THE ACT/SAT TESTS |
We are here to help through the eKnowlede PowerPrep10
Wyoming Soccer Association's partner eKnowledge has boosted their programming to assist our high school aged soccer players across the state in gaining some amazing ACT and SAT test prep for a deal almost too good to be true.
The PowerPrep10 Beta Program is a course that is intuitive, student-driven, comprehensive, multi-media, content rich and focused precisely on your student's needs with instant access to a LIVE teacher!
The value of this is $350, but as a member of Wyoming Soccer Association you can get in for as low as $19.99 and can receive EVERYTHING for only $49.99 - a $1500 value!
The deadline to register for the last ACT Test of 2020 (Dec 12) is November 20, 2020.
The deadline to register for the last SAT Test of 2020 (Dec 5, 2020) is November 5, 2020.
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THE LATEST FROM US YOUTH SOCCER |
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THE LATEST FROM US SOCCER FEDERATION |
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THE USYS UNITY STATEMENT & PLEDGE |
US Youth Soccer recently announced their Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiatives which will serve to remind everyone that the ideals of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are essential to our organization. They ask that we pledge to act off the field, how we do on the field; with a fierceness of character, determination, leadership, focus, passion and commitment to EVERY MEMBER OF THE TEAM.
As part of this commitment, USYS has assembled tools and resources to assist with further educating our community about the benefits and impact of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Together we can elevate the game we love for everyone.
Please click below to view the Pledge.
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The U.S. Men’s National Team will return to action when it faces Wales on Thursday, November 12 in Swansea. Kickoff at Liberty Stadium is set for 12:45 p.m. Mountain Time, and the match will be broadcast live on FS1, UniMás and TUDN.
Fans will also be able to follow the match via Facebook, Twitter @USMNT, Instagram @USMNT and the official U.S. Soccer App.
Due to the current conditions related to the global pandemic, the match will be conducted under the UEFA Return to Play Protocol and be played without fans in the stadium. U.S. Soccer is continuing the effort to secure a second match in Europe during the window.
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Skyler Thomas from the GoWyo Soccer Club in Torrington is in the spotlight for the month of October. Skyler is a multi-sport athlete and has been playing soccer for 10 years!
Other sports Skyler enjoys include: basketball (both for school and a traveling team), football, track and wrestling. He also manages the girls volleyball and basketball teams.
Skyler does more than just play soccer. A couple years ago Skyler became a certified referee. It is always great to see our youth players take the initiative to referee the game, which as we all know can be a very tough job, but it does help them see things from another perspective and facilitates opportunities to build character, which it has definitely done for Skyler. (If you are interested in becoming a referee, please click here).
As a player, Skyler is very versatile and has played left outside back, left winger and striker. He seeks opportunities to play whenever he can and has guest played for Heart Mountain (Powell), Rock Springs, Lander and Green River. Skyler has been part of the Wyoming 307 Select Program for three years and has been part of the Wyoming ODP Program for two years. He even attended the USYS West Region ODP ID Camp in Oregon in 2019, which is a very special honor, as the selection process is quite rigorous.
Skyler has quite the adventurous spirit and when he's not playing organized sports, you can find him riding his bike, kayaking, tubing the river, riding a four-wheeler or go-cart or just enjoying hanging out with his friends. On top of all this he is involved with his church youth group and maintains straight A's, placing him on the President's Honor Roll!
Skyler's coach is Jeshua Arnusch, and he had this to say, "Skyler is a great player and a wonderful teammate. He has played for our Matrix team and has been a captain since we started six years ago. He recently made a great transition from a left-back to a striker, and that was huge for our team and helped us win our last tournament, the Fort Collins Arsenal Cup. He has a great left foot and is fundamentally solid all the way across the board. He has amazing speed and his IQ of the game is tremendous. He also has a great work ethic and he improves every time I see him. This past year he has started taking free-kicks for us, has scored multiple header goals, and won his division's 3v3 tournament in Casper. I am very proud of him as a soccer player and of the young man he is becoming."
We want to hear more about players like Skyler. Remember, the player spotlight can highlight achievement in any area, whether it's soccer, academics, community, or attitude. Please share your kids with us!
To nominate a player from your club for the Player Spotlight, please click here. Scroll down to the general section. Click "Player Spotlight Submission Form" and it will save to your computer. The form is very simple and should be emailed to wssa@wyomingsoccer.com.
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THE NEW COACH MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Each month, David Hayes, our state Technical Director, will be sending out useful information to assist our coaches statewide in leading their teams on the field to the best of their ability.
This month's newsletter focused on the "Coaching Toolkit', a set of communication tools/teaching actions and ideas that can help soccer coaches vary the delivery of the session content depending on the moment of the session.
Key Skills & Techniques included in the Coaching Toolkit are:
- Checking & Adapting
- Positive Reinforcement
- Use of Keywords
- Asking Questions
- Demonstrations
- Feedback
- Command
In addition, the next monthly Lunch & Learn Coach Webinar will be held this coming Wednesday (October 28th) starting at noon.
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THE LATEST UPCOMING EVENTS |
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January 1-3, 2021
PEPSI CUP - GILLETTE, WY
January 8-10, 2021
WINTER CLASSIC INDOOR TOURNAMENT- GILLETTE, WY
January 15-17, 2021
K2 TECHNOLOGIES CLASH AT THE CAMPLEX- GILLETTE, WY
February 19-21, 2021
SAVE THE DATE
February 27-28, 2021
Casper, WY
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OCTOBER CODE OF CONDUCT HIGHLIGHT |
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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.
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GET TO KNOW OUR GROWING LIST OF PARTNERS |
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WYOMING SOCCER ASSOCIATION| www.wyomingsoccer.com
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