Program Notes for the Week of 6/25/2012:
Shorepal Meeting:
Mark your calendars - the next Shorepal meeting will be held on Tuesday July 10th at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Firehouse at the corner of Lake Rd. and Rt.83. We will be making our final plans for the Alumni game and reviewing the rest of the summer's events. Hope to see you there!
Alumni Game:
The annual Alumni Game & Picnic will be held on Saturday July 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Walker Road Park. We will start play around 3:00 p.m. with food and fellowship to follow. Let any Alumni you run across know about this year's game and have them rsvp with shirt size to sixkennys@oh.rr.com.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature Jeannie (Stuckey) Lewis:
If one player could be chosen as the greatest in Shoregal history, then a compelling case could be made for Jeannie Stuckey, class of 2001, based on her total body of work. Jeannie only played two years with Avon Lake High School as her family moved to Ohio from Gainesville, Fla. for her junior and senior years. She was already a star player in the Gainesville area and was Player of the Year her sophomore season at Eastside HS. She scored an incredible 68 goals and contributed 49 assists her freshman and sophomore years at Eastside. She continued as a high level player at ALHS and scored a total of 41 goals and rang up 21 assists. If you do the math, her career totals were 109 goals and 70 assists. Truly remarkable numbers! Her goal total ranks her 20th all time in the State of Ohio and her assist total ranks her 4th all time! She was the first Shoregal named as MVP of the Southwestern Conference and was 2nd team All-Ohio both in 2000. The Shoregals reached the District championship game in both of her seasons. She also was a part of two of the highest scoring teams in Shoregal history and formed a deadly scoring combination with Meg Ryan in 1999 and Kelsey King in 2000. Jeannie still holds the Shoregal record for most goals in a season with 26.
After high school, Jeannie went on to star at the Unviersity of Akron. She was part of the first Varsity team in school history in 2001 and helped to establish the women's program at Akron. She is still the program's all time leader in points, goals, game winning goals, and assists. She is at the top of practically every offensive category where stats are kept. Just a magnificent career and she remains a big fan of the current Shoregals.
Soccer Site of the Week:
This week we are going to present some links from the Women's Sports Foundation that deal with girls dropping out of sports around the time that they enter high school. This year is the 40th anniversary of the Title IX legislation which opened up sports participation to girls on a broader basis. Now it seems that girls are actually participating less frequently in sports and the WSF has some tips on what you can do to keep your daughters involved. See the links below at:
http://bit.ly/LjFM02
http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/
Euro 2012:
There will be some great soccer on TV this week as the Euro 2012 tournament is down to 4 teams. On Wednesday 6/27 it will be Portugal vs. Spain and on Thursday 6/28 it will be Germany vs. Italy. On Sunday July 1st, the championship game will be played. All games are on ESPN and will start at 2:45 p.m. Should be great soccer!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
News for the Week of June 18, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 6/18/2012:
Father's Day Weekend:
I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who helped out with fundraising events over the past weekend. Special thanks go to our Duct Tape festival coordinator Ann Stonecipher, our site coordinators for the Father's Day Tournament - Ken & Suzanne Krause and Paul & Amy Kress. We want to thank our purchasing team of Jill Werling Quinn & Leoma Berroteran. Also, thanks to Jill for letting us use her garage as our HQ. We can't forget Anita & Megan Braye for taking care of our ice requirements. That is a huge help and cost savings for us. Also, a big thank you to all the parents who worked at the various venues during the weekend. We had a number of parents who worked two shifts and that really helped us make the weekend.
Alumni Game:
With Father's Day behind us, it is now time to turn our attention to the annual Alumni Game & Picnic. This year's game will be held on Saturday July 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Walker Road Park. We will start play around 3:00 with food and fellowship to follow. Let any Alumni you run across know about this year's game.
Northern Ohio Girls Soccer League Scholarship Winner:
We are thrilled to report that senior Annie Lyons was the recipient of a NOGSL scholarship in the amount of $2,000. The scholarship is based on academics, activities, community service, leadership, and an essay on the subject of your most memorable moment playing in the NOGSL. This makes two consecutive years we have had Shoregals receive this scholarship as Annie joins Maddie Bernard from last year. Congrats to Annie!!
Gino Strippoli Memorial Scholarship:
This scholarship honors the memory of long time Avon Lake coach, referee, and volunteer Gino Strippoli who died while refereeing a game in 2006. Two $1,000 scholarships are awarded annually to deserving high school seniors who exemplify the spirit of Gino's dedication to soccer and community.
This year's female recipient was Jocey Spitz of ALHS. Congrats to Jocey!!
Past recipients are as follows:
2011 - Sarah Hudson
2010 - Bridget Lyons
2009 - Laura Rickey
2008 - Sammy Stuart
2007 - Sarah Lyons
Concussion Testing:
We are all becoming aware of the dangers of concussions in contact sports such as soccer. With that in mind, ALHS is becoming proactive in this area and will be administering two different concussion tests to our soccer athletes this year. The first one known as the C3 test will take place this Thursday 6/21 at the high school in the gym area. All should be there for this testing as it provides the baseline for future comparisons, if needed, in case of a concussion. This is new this year for soccer players and it is important, so make every effort to be there.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
With all the hectic activity of the Father's Day weekend, we will take a break this week. But, we will be back next week with some more great memories from the first 20 years of Shoregal soccer!
Father's Day Weekend:
I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who helped out with fundraising events over the past weekend. Special thanks go to our Duct Tape festival coordinator Ann Stonecipher, our site coordinators for the Father's Day Tournament - Ken & Suzanne Krause and Paul & Amy Kress. We want to thank our purchasing team of Jill Werling Quinn & Leoma Berroteran. Also, thanks to Jill for letting us use her garage as our HQ. We can't forget Anita & Megan Braye for taking care of our ice requirements. That is a huge help and cost savings for us. Also, a big thank you to all the parents who worked at the various venues during the weekend. We had a number of parents who worked two shifts and that really helped us make the weekend.
Alumni Game:
With Father's Day behind us, it is now time to turn our attention to the annual Alumni Game & Picnic. This year's game will be held on Saturday July 14th at 3:00 p.m. at Walker Road Park. We will start play around 3:00 with food and fellowship to follow. Let any Alumni you run across know about this year's game.
Northern Ohio Girls Soccer League Scholarship Winner:
We are thrilled to report that senior Annie Lyons was the recipient of a NOGSL scholarship in the amount of $2,000. The scholarship is based on academics, activities, community service, leadership, and an essay on the subject of your most memorable moment playing in the NOGSL. This makes two consecutive years we have had Shoregals receive this scholarship as Annie joins Maddie Bernard from last year. Congrats to Annie!!
Gino Strippoli Memorial Scholarship:
This scholarship honors the memory of long time Avon Lake coach, referee, and volunteer Gino Strippoli who died while refereeing a game in 2006. Two $1,000 scholarships are awarded annually to deserving high school seniors who exemplify the spirit of Gino's dedication to soccer and community.
This year's female recipient was Jocey Spitz of ALHS. Congrats to Jocey!!
Past recipients are as follows:
2011 - Sarah Hudson
2010 - Bridget Lyons
2009 - Laura Rickey
2008 - Sammy Stuart
2007 - Sarah Lyons
Concussion Testing:
We are all becoming aware of the dangers of concussions in contact sports such as soccer. With that in mind, ALHS is becoming proactive in this area and will be administering two different concussion tests to our soccer athletes this year. The first one known as the C3 test will take place this Thursday 6/21 at the high school in the gym area. All should be there for this testing as it provides the baseline for future comparisons, if needed, in case of a concussion. This is new this year for soccer players and it is important, so make every effort to be there.
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
With all the hectic activity of the Father's Day weekend, we will take a break this week. But, we will be back next week with some more great memories from the first 20 years of Shoregal soccer!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
News for the Week of June 11, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 6/11/2012:
Coaches Contact Days:
Just a reminder that a series of four coaches contact days will be held this week on Mon. thru Thurs. It will be a combination of fitness training along with defensive and offensive skills training. The sessions will be held at Troy at 7:00 a.m. and will last to approx. 8:30 a.m.
New Varsity Assistant Coach Named:
We have some good news to report as we would like to announce a new assistant coach for the Varsity. His name is Todd Kauffman and he is a 2005 graduate of ALHS where he played Varsity soccer all 4 years for the boys team. His senior year he was named to the first team All_SWC along with being named numerous times to All County teams and All Greater Cleveland teams throughout his career. He also lettered in Cross Country and Track for 3 years and was an impressive all around athlete. After high school, he attended Ohio University where he graduated in 2010 with degrees in communication and video production. He is currently an employee with Avon Lake City Schools. Please join me in welcoming Todd to the girls program!
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature the 2006 District championship game:
It is hard to pick out one game as the greatest game in program history, but this game would probably fit that bill. Not only for the importance of the game, but for all the events and emotions that surrounded the game. There were many levels to this game and its effects were felt for years afterward.
The game was played on Saturday afternoon 10/28/06 against a powerful Magnificat team in which the Shoregals were a decided underdog. In fact, it was noticed that the Magnificat parents had a brought a "Congratulations District Champions" cake into the stadium before the game started - that's how sure they felt about this game. No one was picking Avon Lake to win this game as the Shoregals came into the playoffs with a very average record of 6-6-3 and had started the season 0-4. But during the playoffs, the Shoregals got hot and won their first three playoff games all by shutout to reach the District championship game.
The game was originally scheduled to be a home game for the Shoregals, but the night before the Shoremen football game was played in a driving rainstorm in old Memorial Stadium which featured a grass field. The football game rendered the field unplayable for the District game and it was moved to Rocky River which had an all weather turf field. This game ended up being used for years as one of the main justifications for installing the turf field that is in existence today in Memorial Stadium.
As for the game itself, the Shoregals and Magnificat battled to a 0-0 tie through 80 minutes of regulation time. Avon Lake really had the better scoring opportunities throughout the game as they had 5 solid chances where the Mags goalie was out of position, but failed to put it in the back of the net. Adding to the drama were adverse weather conditions. A typical fall day in northern Ohio where every season was represented. It was a cold day and was raining during many parts of the game. The rain at one point turned to sleet and frozen pellets mixed in with some snow. Then during the second half, the skies cleared and the sun actually came out, but by the end of the game the snow had come back. While the action was taking place on the field, there was also drama in the stands. Word had circulated through the stands that Gino Strippoli a long time coach, referee, and board member of the Avon Lake Soccer Organization had been rushed to the hospital with a heart attack while reffing a game in Lodi.
Back on the field, the girls has finished regulation time in a 0-0 tie which meant that two 5 minute overtime periods would be played with the team that scored first the winner. Through the first overtime period, neither team was able to score. Meanwhile, up in the stands the incredibly tragic news came that Gino had died from the heart attack. A very weird vibe swept through the stands as the sadness of hearing about Gino was mixed with the intense rooting for the girls to win this game. Then it happened - the Shoregals were awarded a corner kick which was taken by Sammy Harris who drove the ball into the middle of the box and a leaping Kimmy Ward, who was a defender that was moved up for the corner kick, headed the ball in for the winning goal and the Shoregals first District championship! Just an amazing victory for a huge underdog team which was given no chance of winning. However, the joy was muted by the knowledge that the girls would be told about the news of Gino within the next few minutes.
There will probably never be a game quite like this again which will end in a bittersweet moment where the elation of winning our first District championship is tempered by the death of a man who personally coached many of the girls on the field that day and would have been so proud of them in their victory, but never got the chance to tell them.
The Shoregals were coached this season by Caleb Reutter who was in the third year of a 4 yr. coaching stint in which he coached the girls to 40 victories and still their only District championship.
Coaches Contact Days:
Just a reminder that a series of four coaches contact days will be held this week on Mon. thru Thurs. It will be a combination of fitness training along with defensive and offensive skills training. The sessions will be held at Troy at 7:00 a.m. and will last to approx. 8:30 a.m.
New Varsity Assistant Coach Named:
We have some good news to report as we would like to announce a new assistant coach for the Varsity. His name is Todd Kauffman and he is a 2005 graduate of ALHS where he played Varsity soccer all 4 years for the boys team. His senior year he was named to the first team All_SWC along with being named numerous times to All County teams and All Greater Cleveland teams throughout his career. He also lettered in Cross Country and Track for 3 years and was an impressive all around athlete. After high school, he attended Ohio University where he graduated in 2010 with degrees in communication and video production. He is currently an employee with Avon Lake City Schools. Please join me in welcoming Todd to the girls program!
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
This week we will feature the 2006 District championship game:
It is hard to pick out one game as the greatest game in program history, but this game would probably fit that bill. Not only for the importance of the game, but for all the events and emotions that surrounded the game. There were many levels to this game and its effects were felt for years afterward.
The game was played on Saturday afternoon 10/28/06 against a powerful Magnificat team in which the Shoregals were a decided underdog. In fact, it was noticed that the Magnificat parents had a brought a "Congratulations District Champions" cake into the stadium before the game started - that's how sure they felt about this game. No one was picking Avon Lake to win this game as the Shoregals came into the playoffs with a very average record of 6-6-3 and had started the season 0-4. But during the playoffs, the Shoregals got hot and won their first three playoff games all by shutout to reach the District championship game.
The game was originally scheduled to be a home game for the Shoregals, but the night before the Shoremen football game was played in a driving rainstorm in old Memorial Stadium which featured a grass field. The football game rendered the field unplayable for the District game and it was moved to Rocky River which had an all weather turf field. This game ended up being used for years as one of the main justifications for installing the turf field that is in existence today in Memorial Stadium.
As for the game itself, the Shoregals and Magnificat battled to a 0-0 tie through 80 minutes of regulation time. Avon Lake really had the better scoring opportunities throughout the game as they had 5 solid chances where the Mags goalie was out of position, but failed to put it in the back of the net. Adding to the drama were adverse weather conditions. A typical fall day in northern Ohio where every season was represented. It was a cold day and was raining during many parts of the game. The rain at one point turned to sleet and frozen pellets mixed in with some snow. Then during the second half, the skies cleared and the sun actually came out, but by the end of the game the snow had come back. While the action was taking place on the field, there was also drama in the stands. Word had circulated through the stands that Gino Strippoli a long time coach, referee, and board member of the Avon Lake Soccer Organization had been rushed to the hospital with a heart attack while reffing a game in Lodi.
Back on the field, the girls has finished regulation time in a 0-0 tie which meant that two 5 minute overtime periods would be played with the team that scored first the winner. Through the first overtime period, neither team was able to score. Meanwhile, up in the stands the incredibly tragic news came that Gino had died from the heart attack. A very weird vibe swept through the stands as the sadness of hearing about Gino was mixed with the intense rooting for the girls to win this game. Then it happened - the Shoregals were awarded a corner kick which was taken by Sammy Harris who drove the ball into the middle of the box and a leaping Kimmy Ward, who was a defender that was moved up for the corner kick, headed the ball in for the winning goal and the Shoregals first District championship! Just an amazing victory for a huge underdog team which was given no chance of winning. However, the joy was muted by the knowledge that the girls would be told about the news of Gino within the next few minutes.
There will probably never be a game quite like this again which will end in a bittersweet moment where the elation of winning our first District championship is tempered by the death of a man who personally coached many of the girls on the field that day and would have been so proud of them in their victory, but never got the chance to tell them.
The Shoregals were coached this season by Caleb Reutter who was in the third year of a 4 yr. coaching stint in which he coached the girls to 40 victories and still their only District championship.
Monday, June 4, 2012
News for the Week of June 4, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 6/4/2012:
Father's Day Weekend Signups:
Just a reminder to everyone to sign up for a shift at either the Duct Tape Festival or the Father's Day Tournament concession stand. The sign up sheet is on line and adrres was included in an e-mail to all families. We need everyones help to make this a successful fundraising weekend for the girls program.
Shorepal Meeting:
Our next Shorepals meeting is scheduled for Tuesday June 12th at 7:00 p.m. at The Old Firehouse which is located at the corner of Rt. 83 & Lake Rd. We will be finalizing our plans for the Father's Day weekend events. Hope to see you there!
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
In honor of the ALHS graduation this past weekend, we will feature Annette Ilg who was class of 2006 valedictorian.
Annette Ilg was a 2006 graduate of Avon Lake HS where she was a three sport star excelling in soccer, basketball and track. In soccer, she was one of the finest players to ever don a Shoregal uniform and ranks in the top 3 all time in goals, assists, & points. In basketball, she was a Varsity starter and played on a SWC conference championship team her senior year. In track, she qualified for the state meet her senior year in the 400 meter dash after running it for the first time just a few weeks before the state meet. She was primarily a 100 meter, 200 meter, & relay runner. On top of her athletic accomplishments, she was also valedictorian of her class.
She wanted to play soccer in college, but received little interest from any schools. She finally settled on UC San Diego, a Division II school to play basketball. She played four years of Varsity basketball there and was named to the all conference team her senior year,while earning a degree in biochemistry. The soccer coach was aware of her ability in soccer and persuaded her to join the team for the fall of 2010. She was now going to get that opportunity to fulfill her dream of playing college soccer which seemingly had passed her by. So, Annette enrolled in graduate level classes in Chemistry & Biochemistry and went out for the team. Now UC - San Diego is a national power in Div. II soccer with 7 national championships to their credit, so playing on their team is no small accomplishment. She made the most of her opportunity and had a dream season as she led the team in scoring with 11 goals and chipped in with 5 assists for a team leading 27 points. She led her team to the National Championship game by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over undefeated and No. 1 ranked The College of Saint Rose. Unfortunately, a story book finish was not in the cards as UCSD lost to current powerhouse Grand Valley State in the championship game by a score of 4-0. UCSD finished the 2010 season with a fine record of 19-3-3.
Just an amazing run for a girl who had not played competitive soccer in 4 years. I believe she is the first soccer player from Avon Lake either boy or girl to play in a national championship game. This is an inspirational story whose message is to never give up on your dreams no matter how unlikely it seems that they will be fulfilled. Also, make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. An additional fact to make the story even better is that Annette torn her ACL during her Junior season of basketball and needed to rehab her way back for an outstanding senior year in all three of her sports and then onto college. Yet another chapter in the impressive tradition of Shoregal soccer!!
Father's Day Weekend Signups:
Just a reminder to everyone to sign up for a shift at either the Duct Tape Festival or the Father's Day Tournament concession stand. The sign up sheet is on line and adrres was included in an e-mail to all families. We need everyones help to make this a successful fundraising weekend for the girls program.
Shorepal Meeting:
Our next Shorepals meeting is scheduled for Tuesday June 12th at 7:00 p.m. at The Old Firehouse which is located at the corner of Rt. 83 & Lake Rd. We will be finalizing our plans for the Father's Day weekend events. Hope to see you there!
20th Anniversary of Shoregal Soccer:
This season we will celebrate 20 years of Shoregal soccer. That is a long time and we have had a lot of terrific girls pass through our program over the years who have set the bar high for future generations. Each week, we are going to highlight some of the important games and important people to the program over these last 20 years.
In honor of the ALHS graduation this past weekend, we will feature Annette Ilg who was class of 2006 valedictorian.
Annette Ilg was a 2006 graduate of Avon Lake HS where she was a three sport star excelling in soccer, basketball and track. In soccer, she was one of the finest players to ever don a Shoregal uniform and ranks in the top 3 all time in goals, assists, & points. In basketball, she was a Varsity starter and played on a SWC conference championship team her senior year. In track, she qualified for the state meet her senior year in the 400 meter dash after running it for the first time just a few weeks before the state meet. She was primarily a 100 meter, 200 meter, & relay runner. On top of her athletic accomplishments, she was also valedictorian of her class.
She wanted to play soccer in college, but received little interest from any schools. She finally settled on UC San Diego, a Division II school to play basketball. She played four years of Varsity basketball there and was named to the all conference team her senior year,while earning a degree in biochemistry. The soccer coach was aware of her ability in soccer and persuaded her to join the team for the fall of 2010. She was now going to get that opportunity to fulfill her dream of playing college soccer which seemingly had passed her by. So, Annette enrolled in graduate level classes in Chemistry & Biochemistry and went out for the team. Now UC - San Diego is a national power in Div. II soccer with 7 national championships to their credit, so playing on their team is no small accomplishment. She made the most of her opportunity and had a dream season as she led the team in scoring with 11 goals and chipped in with 5 assists for a team leading 27 points. She led her team to the National Championship game by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over undefeated and No. 1 ranked The College of Saint Rose. Unfortunately, a story book finish was not in the cards as UCSD lost to current powerhouse Grand Valley State in the championship game by a score of 4-0. UCSD finished the 2010 season with a fine record of 19-3-3.
Just an amazing run for a girl who had not played competitive soccer in 4 years. I believe she is the first soccer player from Avon Lake either boy or girl to play in a national championship game. This is an inspirational story whose message is to never give up on your dreams no matter how unlikely it seems that they will be fulfilled. Also, make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. An additional fact to make the story even better is that Annette torn her ACL during her Junior season of basketball and needed to rehab her way back for an outstanding senior year in all three of her sports and then onto college. Yet another chapter in the impressive tradition of Shoregal soccer!!
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