News for the Week of Feb. 4, 2013

Program Notes for the Week of 2/4/2013:

College Soccer Section:
We have been presenting some information related to playing soccer in college and we will continue that over the next few weeks. This week we are going to present some information on College Club soccer and what that is all about.

College soccer clubs are another option for your daughter to continue her soccer playing experience after high school. These clubs are made up of skilled high school players who cannot make the time commitment to a Varsity program usually due to their academic load, but still want to play at a competitive level as opposed to an intramural level. These clubs are run by the student players who take care of the administrative and fundraising functions of the club and who hire a legitimate soccer coach. The clubs usually run a year round training program which players attend as their schedules permit.

The clubs are organized into geographic leagues or conferences and play a regular schedule of games which lead to a National championship. The teams and leagues are organized under a national organizational body which is called the National Intramural – Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA).  In the Midwest area, schools are organized under the Women's Midwest Alliance Soccer Conference which includes schools from a 5 state area. Ohio schools that field club soccer teams include Bowling Green, Dayton, Kent State, Miami, Ohio U., Ohio State, Cincinnati, and Xavier. Most large colleges in every state have club soccer teams, so look for them as you make your college visits. You can find out more information about the W-MASC by visiting their website at: http://www.w-masc.com.   Also, there is a lot more to NIRSA than I have space  to write here and to learn more go to www.nirsa.org.

Club soccer presents a great opportunity for your daughter to not only continue her playing career, but also as a learning experience as she will be a part of the team that actually runs the club. That kind of experience can serve you well in your future career and would be looked upon favorably by future employers.

Two of our former Shoregals are currently playing College Club soccer.  At Butler University, freshman Rachel Gates plays for their club soccer team and they had kind of a tough season as their record was 2-8. 

Junior Tani Lopez plays for Ohio State which is a powerhouse in women's club soccer.  They consistently have one of the top teams in the nation which is what you would expect from such a large school.  The team had another terrific season in 2012 and qualified for the National Championship tournament in Memphis, Tenn. At the tournament, they won 3 games and advanced to the quarterfinals where they were finally beaten by Virgina 1-0. That was their only loss of the year and their record was around 14-1-1 and they only gave up 4 goals on the season.

Collegiate club soccer is definitely an option to give serious consideration as it continues to grow in popularity as an alternative to the rigors of Varsity level competition.   Be sure to check this out on your college visitations.


Shorty Sez:
We are going to continue presenting motivtional sayings coming from the Twitter site called Women Sports which may be found at:

https://twitter.com/Women_Sports

Once there, here are some selected examples of tweets over the past week. Hope that you find something that inspires you here:

I'm building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I'll light the match. -Mia Hamm (soccer)

With supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms, go after your dreams.

Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

Your mind will quit 100 times before your body ever does. Feel the pain and do it anyway.

If it is important enough to you, you will find a way. If it is not, you will find an excuse


Shoregal Website:
Don't forget to visit our Shoregal website at:

www.alshoregalsoccer.org

There you will find more in depth stats and stories than we can fit on our blog.