March 2024 Touchline

VIRGINIA YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION

MARCH 2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS 5

The State Cup & President’s Cup Accepted Teams

6

TOPSoccer VYSA Award Winners

9

10

Player Health & Safety Tips

This and That...

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Written by Gordon Miller

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Virginia Youth Soccer Association @vayouthsoccer

MEMBER FEES REMAIN THE SAME FOR 2024-2025 SEASON VYSA Board of Directors voted at the February Board Meeting to keep the 2024-2025 season fees the same as the 2023-2024 season. See below for Member Fee structure.

$17 Travel Player (11U & Younger) $22 Travel Player (12U & Older) $8 Travel Team Official $9 Recreational Player $0 Recreational Team Official

Lucas Campbell, VA ODP 08 Boys, training at Manchester City with the National ODP team!

VIRGINIA

STATE CUP

11U-14U BOYS & GIRLS SELECTED TEAMS

VIRGINIA

PRESIDENTS

CUP

11U-14U BOYS & GIRLS SELECTED TEAMS

VIRGINIA

Virginia Youth Soccer Association recognized five extraordinary TOPSoccer volunteers at the Annual Awards Gala. TOPSoccer is US Youth Soccer’s national program for athletes with developmental disabilities. With the recent addition of TOPS teams in Ashland, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg and Richmond, VYSA now has 27 TOPSoccer programs devoted to giving athletes with special needs the opportunity to play soccer.

Below is a list of the 2023 TOPSoccer award winners, and some of the testimonials received supporting their nomination: TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year: Owen Shannon (Vienna Youth Soccer) ·Owen stands out in my mind as one of the most dedicated and devoted Buddies in our program. His dedication to TOPSoccer is reflected in how the players arrive early just so they can play with Owen.” – Phil Kenny, VYS TOPSoccer.

“As a young man, Owen learned first-hand the importance of volunteering by watching his dad coach TOPSoccer. Owen joined the program as a buddy to transfer his passion, skills and love for the game of soccer to players with special needs.

His selfless commitment to help the TOPSoccer community is greatly appreciated by parents, players and VYS.” – Bob Zadeh, VYS TOPSoccer

TOPSoccer Coach of the Year: Trisha Knisely (McLean Youth Soccer) “We are absolutely thrilled that Trisha is our wonderful TOPSoccer leader. She is such a positive force with a tremendous amount of loving energy for our kids.

My son’s absolute favorite day of the week is TOPSoccer day.“ – Ann, MYS TOPSoccer parent “Trisha has created an environment where our kids can enjoy soccer. The joy that Trisha and TOPS bring is a gift larger than could ever be stated.” – Natalie, MYS TOPSoccer parent Coach Trisha has been the beating heart of TOPSoccer in McLean. Her instrumental leadership has inspired buddies, athletes and MYS Coaches to action in community service.” – Trevor Lamb, MYS Recreational Director Dave Williams TOPSoccer Exemplary Service Award: Greg Mitchell and Noriana Moy (Arlington Soccer Association) “Greg and Noriana have led Arlington’s TOPSoccer program since 2011 and understand that TOPSoccer is so much more than just a soccer program, and that developing social and communications skills is just as important. Coaches Mitchell and Moy are both committed to making TOPSoccer a positive experience for our precious athletes and amazing volunteers.” – John Schlenker, VYSA TOPSoccer Chair Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame – Meritorious Service: John Schlenker (NPSC and VSA) “For athletes with special needs, soccer coach John Schlenker is a superhero.

His nonstop energy and commitment to TOPSoccer is fueled by his passion for the beautiful game and a cause deep in his heart.” - Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame If you are interested in starting a TOPSocer program reach out to John Schlenker at piedmonttopsoccer@gmail.com.

Player Health & Safety Tips Virginia Youth Soccer Association strives to provide members with a wide array of player safety resources to ensure young athletes are prepared to fend off injuries and stay healthy on and off the field.

RECONGNIZE TO RECOVER

Recognize to Recover is aimed at promoting safe play and reducing injuries in soccer players of all ages. The first-of-its-kind, the program was developed with the help of medical experts to provide coaches, parents, players and referees with information, guidance and additional educational materials to improve the prevention and management of injuries.

RECOGNIZE TO RECOVER

REHYDRATE. REFUEL. REBUILD. Just like athletes at the competitive level, recreational players are encouraged to focus on helping their bodies recover from physical activity and nutrition plays a central role in the recovery process. U.S. Soccer's Recognize to Recover program offers these tips to nutritional recovery: Rehydrate, Refuel and Rebuild.

REHYDRATE Rehydration begins as soon as play ends. Players should not stop drinking water when practice or a match ends. In fact, this is a very important time to hydrate because the body is no longer sweating and losing fluids as rapidly as during play. When a player is dehydrated, it affects his or her performance and the ability to regulate body temperature.

REFUEL The body refuels with carbohydrates. Muscles burn through fuel quickly during the strenuous activity of a game or practice. In order to replenish the body’s high-performance fuel — carbohydrates — it is important to eat foods that are good sources of carbs. To do this quickly, eat these foods within an hour after the game or practice, because muscles refill carbs fastest immediately after exercise.

REBUILD The body rebuilds with protein. Muscles are mostly made of protein. During exercise, muscles get fatigued and damaged.

Replacing proteins is imperative to allow muscles to rebuild themselves. Eating more protein also gives undamaged muscles more building material, helping them become stronger over time. Healthy foods contain all the protein anyone needs without adding specialty protein shakes to their diet.

THIS AND THAT...

By Gordon Miller, VYSA Technical Director

Bill Furgenic, Paul Shaw and I will be the three coach Educators who have been assigned to teach the virtaul and in-person course, which takes place on April 25-28 in Fredericksburg.

Coach For Community (C4C) The new C4C course has been a big success throughout Virginia. This two hour recreation coaching course, supports the 4v4, 7v7, 9v9 or 11v11 rec coaches. The format is one hour of critical information in the classroom while the other hour is spent on the field with demonstrations and practical field sessions. Clubs interested in hosting a free C4C course can contact Jessica Cottet at Jessica@vysa.com.

50:50 C License VYSA just completed this first ever unique National Coaching course where exactly half of the candidates were female, and the other half were male. In addition to that, of the two Coach Educators, one was female and the other male. By all indications from the participants, this unique format of learning was a huge success. Due to the generous ITG grant from US Soccer (ear marked to help women coaches in the game) the entire registration fee of every female participant was covered.

Paul shaw teaching a C4C course

A New License VYSA is beginning a regular C License on March 17 with a full contingent of 36 participants.

C4C Course hosted by Beach FC

ODP International Trip The 2010 and 2009 boys along with the 2010 and 2008 girls will travel to Portugal from March 26-April 4th. The four teams (72 players, 12 coaches, and 4 chaperones) will stay four days in Braga and four days in Lisbon with each team playing a total of four games. All four ODP teams will attend a 1st division professional match in either Lisbon or Porto.

Remember Kip Germain It is with a heavy heart we share the passing of Kip Germain. Kip was not only a cherished husband, father, and grandfather but also an integral figure in the Virginia and DC soccer communities. Kip began his college career at the College of William and Mary, followed by a successful professional career with the Washington Diplomats. Beyond his playing days, Kip dedicated himself to coaching many different youth and adult soccer teams. Kip was inducted in the DC-Virginia Hall of Fame in 2003.

He spent the remainder of his career helping his family run the Annandale Boys and Girls Club, where he has been club President for the last 18 years.

Our thoughts and Prayers are with the family of Kip Germain during this time.

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