2013-2014 Emerald City FC Futsal Development Program
December to January
For 7 to 12 year olds
Open to ECFC and Non-ECFC players
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
ECFC 18th Annual Holiday Indoor Jamboree - December 23rd
All U8-U18 ECFC players are invited to play in what has become a great holiday tradition for Emerald City, the Holiday Indoor Jamboree.
· Monday, December 23rd at ARENA SPORTS – Magnuson
· Co-ed teams formed in 2 age groups: U8-U13 & U14-U18
· Players enter as individuals and will be placed on teams
· Round robin format; teams playing as many games as possible
· First games for younger group will start at 9:00 AM SHARP!
· First games for older group start after 1:00pm.
· Jamboree is FREE for all ECFC players – Players are encouraged to bring a friend - also for free!
Entry deadline is Noon Friday, December 20th.
Enter by sending an email to the link below.
Include player’s name, gender and age group
Please provide an email address and phone number that is monitored regularly.
Teams and schedules will be emailed to participants the day before the event.
You MUST print the Arena Sports release form and have your player bring it with them when they check in for their first game. NO FORM, NO PLAY.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Emerald City FC coach Scott Smith named Girls Soccer Coach of the Year by the Seattle Times !
Coach of the Year, Scott Smith, Bellevue High School
"It was a year of firsts at Bellevue as second-year coach Smith guided the Wolverines to their first KingCo 3A/2A regular-season title, first conference tournament title, and first state berth. Bellevue (17-4) finished third at state."
Scott Smith has been an ECFC coach since 2009 and is currently coaching ECFC F'02 Green, ECFC F'00 Green and ECFC M'02 White.
For the full Seattle Times article please click here
Monday, December 2, 2013
2013 Fall Boys and Girls Development Teams League Results
A Sample of Fall 2013 Results....
Emerald City FC '04 (GU-9) Girls 1st Place - 8-0 record
Emerald City FC Green '05 (BU-8) (WA) 3rd Place Record 4-2-2
Emerald City FC Blue '04 (U-9) (WA) 4th Place Record 4-2-2
Emerald City FC Black'04 (U-9) (WA) 1st Place Record 8-0-0 in Div 3
Emerald City FC Blue '04 (U-9) (WA) 4th Place Record 4-2-2 in Div 3
Emerald City FC Green '03 (BU-10) 2nd, 6-1-1 Record in Div 2
Emerald City FC Black '03 (BU-10) 1st Place, 7-0-1 Record in Blue Division
Emerald City FC Blue '03 (BU-10) (WA) 4th Place 5-0-3 Record Blue Division
Emerald City FC White '03 (BU-10) (WA) 2nd Place 5-3-1 Record in Green Division
Matthew Olson
Emerald City FC, U8-U10 Development Program Director
Sunday, November 24, 2013
ECFC M'95 Green clinch WSPL fall league Championship!
ECFC M95 Green, coached by David Smith, clinched their 2nd WSPL title in a row this weekend in Vancouver, WA. With some crucial (and accomplished!) help from 2 M97 Green players, the team extended their run to 12 games 12 wins with a hard fought victory over last years runners up! M'95 Green have been sitting at the top of the league table since the beginning of the season, with 2 games left they are assured another trip to the NPL Championships in North Carolina next summer!
Friday, November 22, 2013
Great results for our boys and girls dev teams!
Dear Emerald City FC 'Dev' Parents,
The coaching staff would like to thank all our Year-Around players, families, and volunteers for their participation and hard work in the 2013 Fall 'Dev' season. We hope the players have had a wonderful time over their two consecutive seasons - May/June and Fall. We are really proud of them, especially how they handled being stretched to new levels. In observing practices and games, we have seen improvement in the following key areas:
- Strengthened field skills
- Increased work ethic
- Healthy social maturity
- Confidence building
- A stronger passion for the game *most important *
Upcoming ECFC Calendar of Events:
1. Spring 'Dev' Information. Program meeting January 28th with practices starting the first week of February and games played through mid-May.
Please pass the word onto other players who may be interested with registration closing when full. Drop Matthew a line with any questions or with names of players/parents/coaches who may be interested. A Staff coach can even come out to do trainings for local teams to generate program interest.
Please pass the word onto other players who may be interested with registration closing when full. Drop Matthew a line with any questions or with names of players/parents/coaches who may be interested. A Staff coach can even come out to do trainings for local teams to generate program interest.
Sign up for Spring registration here:
https://emeraldcityfc.org/
2. Post Spring Play Information for U8/9 and U10
4. Holiday Jamboree for all ECFC Players. (Fall and Spring players included). A morning/afternoon of indoor soccer at Arena Sports. December 23, 2013.
5. Futsal. Stay tuned for information from the coordinator, coach Jesse Winship-Freyer.
2. Post Spring Play Information for U8/9 and U10
- U8 and U9 players have a chance to play in our popular May/June Tournament program that lasts up to 5 weeks culminating with a tournament in mid-June. Sign ups available shortly.
- For U10 players, after Spring, these players will transition to the U11 age with ECFC tryouts at the end of April. This is the beginning of joining the 'upper club' where they play up to 8-9 months of the year.
- We recently travelled our U13 team to Spain and had a wonderful experience. We put this out now so our younger aged teams can begin to prepare for this opportunity. See the travel log and pictures on our Facebook site at: http://ecfcnews.blogspot.com/
2012/07/m99-green-blogging- from-spain.html
4. Holiday Jamboree for all ECFC Players. (Fall and Spring players included). A morning/afternoon of indoor soccer at Arena Sports. December 23, 2013.
5. Futsal. Stay tuned for information from the coordinator, coach Jesse Winship-Freyer.
For more information on ECFC and 'Player Development' philosophy, see our FAQ page at:
Your children have a bright future in the club. Being part of the Year-Around program provides them with continuity of training and team play. Again, thank you for participating in the 2013 Fall ECFC 'Dev' Season. Drop a line with questions, your testimonials and feedback. We look forward to seeing your children at the upcoming events and in the Spring season.
Sincerely,
Matthew Olson and the entire ECFC Coaching Staff
Emerald City FC
-BU/GU 8-10 Program Director
Emerald City FC
-BU/GU 8-10 Program Director
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
14th annual ECFC Turkeyshoot 3v3 JAMBOREE!
2013 ECFC Turkeyshoot 3v3 Jamboree!
Saturday November 30, 2013,
Magnuson Park Field #6 (7400 Sand Point Way NE)
US Club Soccer, CYO, SYSA, WYS or unaffiliated
ALL U8 -U14 ECFC and non-ECFC players welcome!
The Emerald City FC Advanced Development and Camp Program is proud to continue our Thanksgiving Weekend tradition by hosting a round-robin 3 vs 3 jamboree for boys and girls U-8 through U-14.Get your players out on the field turf after the holiday binge for lots of touches on the ball! Rain, snow or sun (we’ve had them all!!), the jamboree will be happening. Games will run throughout the day until 3:30 pm. We hope to see you all there to cheer on the players and enjoy a hot cup of coffee.
The 3 v 3 jamboree is open to all players regardless of the team or organization you currently play for.
When: Saturday, November 30th, 2013
Where: Magnuson Park Field #6 (7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle)
Cost: $75 per team, $20 per individual
Sign-up: There are two options:
1. Team sign-up: Sign-up a team with up to 6 players.
Go to: http://www.prestosell.com/cgi-bin/order.pl?ref=emeraldcityfc&fm=2
2. Individual sign-up: Sign-up as an individual and our tournament staff will place you on a team.
Go to: http://www.prestosell.com/cgi-bin/order.pl?ref=emeraldcityfc&fm=2
Sign-up by November 26th and each player will receive a Turkeyshoot
Jamboree Tee Shirt complements of Emerald City FC!
Space is limited.
Sign-ups are on a first come first served basis.
Structure: Teams will be placed in age appropriate groups to play a minimum of 3 games, with two 12 minute halves. The maximum roster size is 6 per team.
Questions? Please email your questions to info@emeraldcityfc.org
For a printable flier with this information, please click here.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
ECFC Free Skills Clinic – For ECFC and Non-ECFC Players
This program is designed for ECFC and non-ECFC players U7-U13 interested in learning new skills in a fun environment.
ECFC players please feel free to invite your friends.
All players must register.
Who: ECFC and non-ECFC Boys and Girls U7-U13
Cost: FREE
Date: November 15th and 22ndTime: 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Location: Ingraham – South Field (1819 North 135th St Seattle, WA 98133)
What to bring: A soccer ball, water bottle, soccer shoes and shin guards
(Registration is mandatory for insurance purposes)
Friday, October 25, 2013
ECFC’s Bobby Howe and Matthew Olson invited to participate in this year’s NW Soccer Legends Night
Emerald City FC’s own Bobby Howe (ECFC Coaching Director Emeritus) and Matthew Olson (ECFC assistant DOC and Director of Goalkeeping) are honored to participate in this year’s NW Soccer Legends Night.
Says Matthew Olson, “I am excited to have been invited to take part. I am looking forward to connecting with old friends and teammates.”
From the Sounders U23 Premier Development League official website,
“Tacoma, WA. – On Friday, October 25th, the Tacoma Soccer Center will host the 2nd Annual, “Northwest Soccer Legends Night,” for fans to retrigger fond memories of the top talent that graced the pitch in the Puget Sound. The night’s feature event will be an indoor match at 7:30pm, where two teams made up of past pros, will compete against each other. The two sides will be captained and coached by men who are both local and international legends; Alan Hinton and Jimmy Gabriel.
With 39 years of professional playing experience in Europe and the United States, and a combined total of 1,116 first team appearances, Jimmy Gabriel and Alan Hinton had plenty to pass on to their pupils when they became managers. Both men are also familiar with northwest soccer from their time as coaches for the Sounders and other Puget Sound teams.”
From the lineup:
Bobby Howe (Pro Player 1966 – 1983, Coach 1977 – present) Bobby Howe played over 175 matches professionally in England with legendary West Ham United and Bournemouth. During his playing career, Howe lined up with England greats Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Jimmy Greaves. Bobby came to the USA in 1977 to play for and coach the NASL’s Seattle Sounders, and since the 1980s has been deeply involved in American youth soccer. He was U.S. U-17 national team assistant and then U-20 National Team Head Coach for four years. Howe also led the way for coaching education through the US Soccer Federation and served 12 years as Washington State Director of Coaching.
Matt Olson (Pro Player 1989 – 1997, Coach 1992 – Present) Matt Olsen is a goalkeeper from Renton, Washington. Olson played half of his college career at Indiana University where he won the 1988 NCAA National Title before transferring to Wake Forrest. Following school, he joined the pro ranks where he manned the goal for eight seasons. His career started with the Seattle Storm, and stints in MLS, Holland, Sweden, and the USL followed. Matt followed his playing days as a GK coach for various colleges and youth programs.
Read more, including the rest of the exciting lineup, here
Buy tickets at soundersU23.tix.com
Connect to the event on Facebook here
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Former ECFC M93 Green player, Paul Picciano, scores 2 for a big win over Whittier
Paul Picciano, central defender for Pomona College, scored his first goals for the Sagehens against Whittier this past weekend. Click here for the game summary. Paul now in his sophomore year at Pomona, had helped his team reach first place in the SCIAC division with an outstanding defensive freshman performance in the 2012 season.
In addition, during his freshman year, Paul completed his first season as a member of the Pomona-Pitzer Track and Field team, where he competed in the middle distance events. He was part of the team that contributed to a school-record in the 4x1600 relay at Occidental, with an 18:01.31 time.
Paul played for ECFC M93 Green from U10-U18.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
ECFC alum, Alexander Barsher, earns conference accolades!
For the rest of the article please click here
Alexander played for ECFC M93 Green from U10-U18.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Klinsmann's Advice: 'It's driven by you, coaches are just helpers'
To read the Soccer America article click Klinsmann's Advice: 'It's driven by you, coaches are just helpers'
Friday, September 20, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Emerald City FC's 2013-2014 new scarf design
The new third generation of ECFC scarves will be available for purchase soon!
Help support the Club Scholarship Fund!
Scarves Cost: $20 for one or $35 for 2.
To place your order please contact your team manager.
This is a club wide fundraiser for the club scholarship fund and it’s a great way to show your support for Emerald City FC when you are at a game. The scarves also make great gifts for family, friends and relatives.
Show your support for ECFC!
Friday, September 6, 2013
Connor Donegan's Ultimate Win!
 |
Sunday, September 1, 2013
ECFC F99 Green, finalists at 2013 Bainbridge Island Cup
ECFC F99 Green - Finalists, Silver Division - Coached by Matthew Olson
A Champion and a Finalist at 2013 Puma Pacific Coast Challenge!
ECFC M97 White - Champions, Copa Division - Coached by David Smith
Luca Barsher's (guest player from M97 Green) free kick
___________________________________________________________
ECFC M99 Green - Finalists, Copa Division - Coached by Bobby Howe
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Letter from ECFC President, Steve Tanaka
August 21, 2013
Welcome back, everyone!
I hope each of you got to spend some quality time this summer with your families, become rejuvenated, and are ready for the fall season! We are well positioned to have a fun and successful fall with Residence Camp kicking off preparations for the league play and team training starting on a regular basis for all our teams.
I have written this newsletter to keep you apprised of the club’s summer activities and developments, including our performance and areas of need. As in prior newsletters, many of these items are informational. There are also some areas in which we are looking for support, so please take the time to read and consider them.
Club Performance
Tournament Play
This summer, we had teams from all levels of our
club produce quality results during tournament play. Our emphasis has always
been on developing players and giving them the requisite skills to be
successful, yet it is always gratifying to see positive competitive results in
addition to quality play. To highlight a few:
Topping the list is our M95 Green team (U-18 boys coached by David Smith) which qualified to compete in the National Premier League (NPL) Champions Cup in Aurora, Colorado. This tournament crowned the NPL national champion. The M95s competed very well and we want to congratulate them on being recognized as one of the top teams in the country.
The F96 Green team (U-17 girls coached by Amanda Potts Huppert) also performed well in their summer tournaments. These girls were semi-finalists in both the US Club Regional tournament and the Mt. Hood Challenge, two prestigious and highly-competitive tournaments in the Pacific Northwest.
On the other end of the spectrum, the M04/05 (U-8/9 boys coached by Angel Planells) were tournament champions and the F03/04 (U-9/10 girls coached by Todd Schilperoort) were finalists in their respective Gold Divisions of the Westsound Summer Classic. What a tremendous performance by some of our youngest members!
Congratulations to all of our teams on their
performance this summer!
Residence Camp
Last week, 71 Emerald City FC players and 8
coaches, staff, and chaperones participated in our annual Residence Camp. This
mid-August camp offers a special opportunity for our players to gain
concentrated fitness, sports psychology, goal-setting, teambuilding, and
targeted soccer skill training, in addition to having great fun. The four-day
camp was held at scenic Camp Casey on Whidbey Island. It gave our players a jump
start for the fall league season, and, in the case of our high school girls,
great preparation for their high school tryouts and high school season. Our
coaches noted that many of our players exhibited tremendous growth, and feedback
from families was exceptionally positive. One of my own daughters has already
asked me to mark it on next year’s calendar!
I would like to extend a special thank you to Ruth
Nicholson whose contributions directly related to the success of the camp. She
was instrumental in the planning, negotiating, and facilitating of the camp
experience, and we are all grateful for her diligence and attention to detail.
Thank you, Ruth.
Additionally, I would like to thank Alisa Artis
(F98/F01 parent) for volunteering to chaperone the kids during Residence Camp.
Her contributions were also invaluable as she ably assisted Ruth in many of the
logistical issues of Camp and was the main “homesickness” counselor for some of
our younger campers. Thank you, too, Alisa!
Alumni Performance Notes
It is always nice to hear of the accomplishments
of our alumni because it gives further credence that we are developing strong
players and citizens. Recently, two of our alumni have received special
attention:
DeAndre Yeldin, Seattle Sounders FC, became the first true rookie since 2005 to be named to the MLS All-Star team. DeAndre also participated on the US Men’s National Team in the U-19 World Cup and performed very well.
Aaron Kovar, Stanford University, who, as a freshman, was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and to the All-Pac-12 Second Team, was more recently named to the College Soccer News Preseason All-America Second Team and to Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Best XI Second Team.
Notes from the Board of Directors
In June, ECFC held its Annual General Meeting at which the election of new board members took place. I am pleased to announce that Kerry Bauman was elected as a new member of the board. Kerry is a biologist who brings two years of volunteer board experience with her and is a valuable addition to our team. Welcome Kerry!
At our August board meeting, the election of officers took place. These are your board officers for the 2013-2014 playing year:
Steve Tanaka (F01, F98) President
Ryan Hatton (F99) Treasurer
Tom Leahy (F01) Secretary
Liz McDougal (F95, M01) VP Membership
Kerry Bauman (F01) Member at Large (Team Operations)
Mark Nebel (F00) Member at Large (Club Events)
Jon Bakken Coach Representative
Clare Fuget (F96) Player Representative
Theodore Looney (M97) Player Representative
Ryan Hatton (F99) Treasurer
Tom Leahy (F01) Secretary
Liz McDougal (F95, M01) VP Membership
Kerry Bauman (F01) Member at Large (Team Operations)
Mark Nebel (F00) Member at Large (Club Events)
Jon Bakken Coach Representative
Clare Fuget (F96) Player Representative
Theodore Looney (M97) Player Representative
Volunteers Needed
We are facing a number of challenges in light of the tremendous growth that the club has experienced in the past year. Therefore, we are actively looking for volunteer help within Emerald City FC in two major areas. Please contact me at president@emeraldcityfc.org to discuss your interests and willingness to help our club.
Board Member: We have one vacant board seat. Board members oversee the strategic, financial, and legal aspects of the club and provide support to club staff, including the operations, financial, and coaching staff. The open position carries a two-year commitment which will expire in June of 2015.
Committee Members: We are now forming several important committees to identify and implement improvements to key areas of club operations, including fields and website design. Additional committees are likely to be added in the coming months. We have begun to compile a list of people willing to volunteer and an abbreviated statement of their qualifications. There is no specific term commitment to these committees as their level of effort and duration will be tied to the specific tasks of each work group.
Personnel
Brad Agoos, coach of the M02 Green and M98 White teams, has recently taken a position with the Portland Timbers professional soccer team. This is a very exciting opportunity for him, and we want to express our congratulations to Brad for this accomplishment. We are certainly sad to see him go as Brad was rapidly becoming a vital member of our coaching team. However, just as we strive to promote our players to the highest possible levels of the game, we also want the same for our coaches. If you see Brad, please wish him the best.
Brad’s departure has some effects on our team coaching assignments. I am pleased to announce that Scott Smith has been named as the M02 Green team head coach and CJ Hamel has been named as the M98 White team head coach.
Club Management
Over the summer, members of the board and our coaching directors evaluated our coaching organization, including its management hierarchy. We had several meetings to look at our direction, diversity and range of programs, recent club growth, staff workload assignments, and the skill sets of our coaching directors.
As a result of this process, we have concluded that a combination of an expanded, team-based volunteer program, a more coordinated program management approach, and a modest restructuring of the coaching hierarchy was the best course of action to improve our performance.
- Starting with the Development team formation meetings in August, team volunteer positions will be updated and will include new positions such as team registrar, team events coordinator, and team board representative. The changes for upper club teams will be staged over the fall season and during team formation for next year’s teams as appropriate. These new positions are designed to increase our efficiency, communication, and member connection to the club.
- We are working to identify and create process improvements that will better connect the programs in the club and increase administrative efficiency.
- Some positions will remain unchanged in the coaching hierarchy, but a few additional positional positions are being considered to target specific areas of need. More information will be available in the coming months and will be noted in the next club newsletter.
Current and Upcoming Events
Development Team Formation Meetings
Team Formation Meetings for our Fall Development
teams will take place on August 27th at Jane Addams field (the former Summit #1
field across from the Nathan Hale HS stadium) at 5:30 pm and on August 28th at
Miller Playfield at 530 pm. These are very important meetings for our
Development team families and it is highly recommended that all parents attend
at least one. The focus of these meetings is to introduce families to the
Development coaching staff, talk about the Emerald City FC development
philosophy, offer insights and methods for parents to best support their players
for their learning and growth, and to provide information about the upcoming
season.
Deadline for High School players to register for Sportsworx
August 31st is the deadline for the club to sign
up our players for Sportsworx, the online college research program that we
provide free of charge to our high school-age players. There are several aspects
to Sportsworx which are of tremendous benefit to our members: a college research
tool, a scholarship program which provides thousands of dollars in scholarship
money to select schools simply for being a member of our club, and a fundraising
program for the club which was detailed during the May team formation meetings.
The only prerequisite that Emerald City requires of our high school-age players
to participate in these benefits is that the player must be registered in Korrio
with full payment or a payment plan in place. Please make sure that your child
meets these requirements so that they do not miss out on this tremendous
program. If you have any question that the requirements are met, please call Amy
Wakeman at (206) 713-4656.
Fall Season Play Begins
The first games for the fall season will be during
the weekend of September 7th. The Puget Sound Premier League (PSPL) is in the
process of populating the leagues and schedules will follow shortly thereafter.
You can check the PSPL website for schedules at http://www.pugetsoundpremierleague.com/LS/PSPL_Fall_2013/index_E.html
for your specific teams. Please bear in mind that the home teams are responsible
for scheduling the fields and times for their games, so check back frequently
for changes.
September Board meeting
The next Emerald City board meeting will be held
on Sunday, September 8th at 7:00 pm in one of the party rooms at Arena Sports
Magnuson. Each monthly board meeting is open to all of our members and we fully
encourage our membership to attend. For future planning, our board meetings are
held on the second Sunday of every month and are usually held at the Arena
Sports Magnuson site. Any changes to the board meeting schedule or location will
be posted on the emeraldcityfc.org website.
Board Topics
One of the purposes of this newsletter is to educate our members on significant and sometimes easily misunderstood topics. Although it would seem that youth soccer should be a simply-managed activity, in truth, there is a lot more complexity to the process than meets the eye. This section of my newsletter is intended to give you more information on some of those complexities. In this issue, I am covering our philosophy about “Playing Up” and Fields. Upcoming issues will provide information on being a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the benefits of having highly qualified professional coaches, and the reasons why volunteerism within the club is so important.
Emerald City FC Philosophy about “Playing Up”
Over the past few years, we have had a number of players “play up” on an older team in an older age group. This year, we are placing increased emphasis on keeping our players in their own age group. This has generated a number of questions from parents, especially among families whose children had previously been playing up. Director of Coaching, Erik Oman, has written the following explanation which I would like to share with you:
Our Emerald City FC coaching staff is continuously working to stay current with the latest information related to player development and the technical and tactical evolution of the game. We strive to always put our players first in every decision that we make for the club. With our move out of SYSA to become an independent club, we have, in the past three years, had to rely at times on moving players up to older age groups to solidify some of our teams in an effort to keep those teams and our club viable.
Proper player development models rely on being able to move players up to older teams based on ability, as chronological age does not necessarily determine ability on the field. Children develop at very different rates physically, emotionally, socially, technically and tactically. Keeping players developing properly in the game demands that they are appropriately challenged on the field while also having the opportunity to be successful and develop confidence using the skills and tactics that they are learning. That is why we are working to create a ‘Club’ atmosphere where all of our teams support one another and our players feel connected to the other teams in the club.
We welcome the opportunity to move players up
in age groups when it is developmentally appropriate to do so. In fact one of
the big reasons that Emerald City FC plays under the US Club Soccer banner is
the flexibility afforded under the US Club system to move players up as is
appropriate. There are, however, some administrative issues behind the scenes,
including having players listed chronologically for the benefit of college
coaches in the recruiting process, that influence how we go about the rostering
process. For administrative purposes, we will roster all of our players
initially in the age group where they fit chronologically. Then, we will create
the team rosters that reflect where players have been placed
developmentally.
As we continue to grow as an independent club,
we will have fewer and fewer occasions where we will need to have under age
players playing up simply to fill out team rosters. We will continue to welcome
opportunities for younger players to play their way up to older teams with their
performance on the field and it will be at the discretion of our professional
coaching staff to make those recommendations on a case-by-case basis.
Fields
One area in which we receive a great many comments and complaints is fields. I would like to note that the club gives a huge amount of attention to field issues. We want the experience of our members to be the best it can possibly be and we realize that the quality, quantity, and location of fields has a profound effect on that experience. Addressing field issues and associated problems is of extremely high importance to the board, club staff, and coaches.
The fields process is detailed and complex.
Emerald City gets the vast majority of its fields from the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. The Parks department is responsible for overseeing all public parks and public school fields within the city limits. This includes West Seattle, but does not include Shoreline or any of the private school fields. The Parks department takes requests from any potential users and has an obligation to allow equal access to all those who request space. However, in practical terms, field access may not be available to individuals or late requesters during certain times of the year because of heavy use by athletic groups such as Emerald City, SYSA, and CYO, lacrosse, youth football, ultimate Frisbee, and many others.
The Parks department cannot fulfill all of the requests put to them due to the number of users and a limited number of fields. Its field scheduling program is an adaptation of an accounting/ billing program and has limited ability to adapt to changing conditions. Due to these limitations, the method that the Parks department uses to assign fields is to copy the previous year’s field allocation for each user as the basis for making the current year’s field assignments. This method would probably work as well as any if there were no changes in the user’s needs, but it is quite inadequate to handle the needs of any growing organization like ours. That means that we regularly need to formulate and submit supplemental field requests.
This fall, we will have over 450 players playing for Emerald City, an increase of more than 25% from the same time last year. With such growth, receiving the same field allocation as we had last year is completely inadequate. Our current field allocation equates to over 100 players per training session or about 7-12 teams on the field at a time.
We regularly put in requests for additional fields with the Parks department, but it is limited in what it can offer us since all of Parks’ fields were assigned during its initial allocation to users. We have also put in requests with the Shoreline Parks department, Shoreline schools, University of Washington, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, Starfire Sports complex, Memorial Stadium, and all private schools that have available fields. So far, those additional requests have not yielded very many additional fields for us; however, one of those requests is still under consideration.
This is the reason why we have not been as responsive to putting out our upcoming field and team training schedules as we would like. Ruth Nicholson, our scheduler, has been working diligently to prepare the team training schedules, but I have directed that the schedules not be disseminated while we still have open possibilities to acquire more fields. While it is inconvenient to not have the desired two-week notice on upcoming training event locations, it is my belief that this inconvenience is better than the disruption of multiple changes and revisions to the monthly schedules after they have been released. In general, we all know the approximate times that our kids will train and it is mainly the field venue which we need to know. I’m hopeful that families can deal better with a late notice of venue, but if this is not the case, please email me and I will consider a change of policy.
Another concern in this area is the increasing frequency that some other clubs are poaching fields. This has become a big problem in that it makes a very uneven playing field for clubs—we are paying for fields and those clubs are not. While we have the official permit to use the space and can kick those other users off of the field, many coaches are reluctant to do so, citing our philosophy of doing things for “the good of the game.” From that perspective, I can understand their actions, but it must also be looked at in a business context. Teams utilizing space for which they have not paid are raising our club fees as we cover for their usage. We may not want to be the “field police,” but we must protect our own resources. Over the past year, we have spent well over $14,000 on field rentals. Given such a significant commitment of funds, we need to make sure that we are not supporting organizations which are not reserving and paying for fields appropriately.
Obviously, there are several issues that affect our field access and usage. As mentioned in the Volunteers Needed section of this newsletter, we are forming a fields committee to research alternatives, discuss strategies, and make recommendations for our club. Please give consideration to being part of that team. If you are interested in helping with this effort, please contact me, Steve Tanaka, at president@emeraldcityfc.org.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Jasper Malamud of ECFC M97 Green to play for Shattuck-St Marys Soccer Academy
 |
| Jasper - top row, 3rd player from right - ECFC M97 Green - U11 |
 |
| 2013 team MVP Award |
In Jasper's own words "I really enjoyed playing for Emerald City FC. The coaching staff has been fantastic. My first years were with Jon Matsushita. He had a great style and made playing — whether winning or losing — always instructive. He really motivated me to push myself. For the last two years I've been coached by Bobby Howe. He taught me new ways to approach the game, focusing on tactics and awareness. He helped me and my teammates make progress together — and his stories of playing professional soccer were always great. And of course over the years the players on my team have become some of my best friends. In some ways it's hard to imagine leaving, but I look forward to seeing and playing with them in the future."
ECFC would also like to thank Jaspers parents, Susan and Mark, for their support of not only their son, but also the teams Jasper has played on and for their dedication to ECFC over the years.
ECFC would also like to thank Jaspers parents, Susan and Mark, for their support of not only their son, but also the teams Jasper has played on and for their dedication to ECFC over the years.
 |
| ECFC M97 Green U15 - 2013 PCSC Champions - Jasper, standing row, right most player |
Monday, August 5, 2013
2013 WPSL All-West teams announced, ECFC players honored
(www.WPSL.info) The Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) has announced the 2013 All-West Conference Teams, as well as the 2013 West Conference Player, Goalkeeper and Coach Of The Year. The top teams were honored for their efforts with multiple selections to the 2013 WPSL West All-Conference Teams, and each of the West’s 23 teams are represented.
From the State of Washington there are players from AC Seattle, Seattle Reign Reserves / Issaquah SC, and Emerald City FC and the first, second and third teams.
1st Team
Marina Galaz – Emerald City FC (F)
2nd Team
Casey Berrier – Emerald City FC (D)
Cricket Harber – Emerald City FC (D)
For the full article from GoalWA click here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)