PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED GERMAN-HUNGARIANS OF PHILADELPHIA AND VICINITY
VOLUME SEVENTY TWO
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NUMBER 2
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OAKFORD, PENNSYLVANIA
—BLESI NAMED YOUTH COORDINATOR— The German Hungarians are proud to announce the newest member of the Soccer Committee. Brian Blesi was appointed to the position of Youth Director joining Steve Paul (Business Manager), Werner Fricker III (Adult Coordinator) and President Janet Malofiy on BRIAN BLESI the recently re-structured Committee. As Youth Coordinator, Blesi will work directly with the Coaches and Managers with a focus towards continued development of our youth players and staff members. He got his start playing soccer at age five with the Parkwood Youth Organization. Blesi graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School in 1999. From there he attended and played two seasons at Misericordia University from 1999-2000, where he led the Cougars to a school record of 19 wins and its fifth Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) championship, earning the first NCAA Division III Championships bid in school history in 000. Blesi made second-team All-PAC his freshmen year after posting four goals and six assists in 1999 before earning first-team All-PAC his sophomore year after scoring nine goals and seven assists. Blesi transferred to LaSalle University in 2001 where the co-captain helped the Explorers to a 14-19-3 record in the two years played and was named to the Philadelphia Soccer Seven All-Star Team and Team Most Valuable Player. He began his playing career with German Hungarians in 2002 joining the Major Division team. Over the years, he was an integral part of the successes of the team: 2008 EPSA Open Cup Champions, 2008 Amateur Cup Champions, the 2010 United Soccer League of Pennsylvania Championship, and the 2011 US Donauschwaben Tournament Championship. Blesi also captained the team for a time. Currently, he plays with the Over-30’s and is the Head Coach of the U23 Men's Team. His coaching experience includes working as the Head Coach of the Penn State Abington Women's Team from 2014 to 2016. He was an assistant for three seasons under Pat Farrell at LaSalle University. Within the club, he served as the head coach of both the U.G.H. Gunners (U-18) and U.G.H. Fusion (U-19), with 16 of the 28 players from the club going on to play at the collegiate level. The Blesi family, wife Kristine, son Jake, nieces Pam and Malorie are regulars at the Club especially the Oktoberfest and Christmas Party which they attended just recently.
—ADULT SOCCER OVERVIEW— The year 2016 continued to be one of growth for the Adult Program. The men looked to build from a promising spring season and trip to Chicago for the US National Donauschwaben Tournament. Brian Blesi continued his work with the U-23s keeping the group in shape over their summer breaks, while also growing the future player pool and showing those players what the Club offers once their college careers are complete. This fall, the addition of the Major II Division to the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania (USLPA) signaled a return to the Major/Reserve system not seen since the 1990s. Benny Landers took charge of this reserve group. He recruited young talented players who came together with a few Club veterans to play exciting, organized soccer. The Major team struggled in terms of results but it was not for lack of effort and team play. Head Coach Mike Curley knows the group is already looking forward to the coming months to reverse their league record. The Over-30 Men saw some turnover as Brian Blesi, Steve Thompson and BJ Davis look to improve on the success of Benny Landers’ time with the group. However, the Major Women experienced the largest transformation heading into the fall season with only a handful of players returning from last season. The young team was led by Michelle Paul as Manager & Captain with Steve Paul and Cathy Ford sharing the coaching responsibilities. Werner Fricker III Adult Soccer Coordinator
—MID-ATLANTIC JUGEND EINZEL— & HEIMATABEND
—ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING—
Saturday, March 11, 2017
OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS IN GOOD STANDING KEEP UP TO DATE ON THE WORKINGS OF OUR ORGANIZATION
Daytime: Competition & Workshop Evening: A Mid-Atlantic Heimatabend DETAILS ON PAGE 3
EDITOR’S NOTE: We previously announced this February issue as an “Extended Soccer Edition.” As you open this publication you will see that it certainly delivers. It is of note that each team’s included recap came directly from a member of the team’s staff. On pages 4, 5, and 6 you will see the unique bylines for each piece. Thank you to all the teams that participated in the effort. This issue would not be as great a success without you. Thanks also go to Werner III, for conceiving the idea and gathering all the written pieces from the teams as well as providing the overview of the adult program. At this moment as well we would like to commend the whole program including the soccer committee members for participating in this effort and we hope you continue well into the future. Good luck to all in the spring seasons and we hope you enjoy the Monthly Progress!
Sunday, March 19 | 11:00am
Food and beverage will be available for purchase following the meeting
| FEBRUARY 2017
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Page 2
107th Anniversary Banquet Help Wanted
Page 3
Entertainment Schedule 2017 Mid-Atlantic J. Einzel
Page 4
Extended Soccer Ed. Major Men, Major Women, O-30, U23.
Page 5
Extended Soccer Edition: ‘02 Boys, ‘02 Girls, ‘06 Girls.
Page 6
Extended Soccer Ed. ‘07 Boys Pictures of the Month
—AMONG OUR MEMBERS— BY EMILY FRICKER
Our Schuhplattler Group is busy practicing for the Gaufest Competition to be held in the city of Buffalo, NY from June 29 to July 2. Buffalo is always a fun place to visit since our group and many of their friends take a few days to visit the beautiful Niagara Falls. The club hosting this event is the SGTV Edelweiss which was founded in 1930 and has hosted the Gaufest in 1993, 2005 and now in 2017. Can it really be twenty-eight years since we first competed in Parsippany, NJ? Marlene and Bill Galgon, Nichole and Chris Deely, Kim and Bob Walter and some friends from Pennsylvania recently went on a skiing trip to Austria. Bob Hugel of the Schuhplattler group, “Schlierachtaler Stamm," of NY headed the trip. They did some great skiing, met some great people, and had a great time sightseeing and partying. Of course they took time to visit Salzburg one of their favorite towns. Nick Buerger and Anna Kreutzer met at a Kirchweihfest held at the Hungarian Hall on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia. They were to be partners at this festival which featured the German Hungarian Sport Club Dancers. It was the early 50s and these two newcomers to the United States had never met. Little did they know that their lives would never be the same. Nick was soon inducted into the Armed Forces and left the Philadelphia area. When he returned, they soon wed. Their marriage took place at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hallowell, followed (CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)