Kenmore Soccer News. Volume 9, Number 5 Kenmore/Tonawanda, New York June Player Registration Open for Season

Transcription

1 Kenmore Soccer News Volume 9, Number 5 Kenmore/Tonawanda, New York June 2015 Player Registration Open for Season Although there are still nearly seven weeks left in the current season, we have opened player registration for the season as of June 1st due to significant interest from new players looking to join travel soccer for the first time, and players looking to move from other soccer organizations. Unlike many soccer clubs, there is no cost to register for Kenmore Soccer. Fees are not due until you accept a roster spot. However, early registration allows us to determine how many teams we will be forming, and allows us to align our staff. Once we have done that, we then issue rostering offers. As in past years, you can request placement on a specific team. We do our best to honor those requests, but United States Youth Soccer does impose maximum roster sizes, so we cannot always meet everyone s request. To register for the season, simply log into your account and select the Register link next to your child s name. Travel and Travel/Academy for should appear as an option to select. New players to Kenmore Soccer will need to create an account before registering, by following the instructions under the Join Kenmore Soccer link on the landing page at Register for Summer Camp see page 7 Register for Speed/Agility/Coerver Camp see page 7 1

2 Kenmore Soccer Day at FC Buffalo Game Sees 1-1 Draw with Detroit City A record crowd of 1220 fans on Kenmore Soccer Day saw FC Buffalo fight to a 1-1 draw with Detroit City on Saturday May 23rd. The Under 12 Boys Kenmore Thunder participated in the team walkout, while the Under 11 Boys Vipers served as ball boys for the match. The planned halftime scrimmage was affected by reserve players from both teams warming up on the field, so it became a game of 20 versus 20 on the full field, dodging the reserve players. Our thanks to everyone who attended and showed their support for amateur soccer in our community. Apparel Orders We continue to offer on-line apparel ordering. Consolidated orders are placed with Inaria on the 1st and 15th of each month, so plan accordingly. 2

3 Where the Elite Kids Shouldn't Meet By Tim Keown, ESPN Your kid is good, right? Really good? You don't want to brag, but he can do some things on the field that other kids his age won't even try. You played a little ball yourself, and you know the difference. Make no mistake: There's someone out there for you. He's putting together a team, and he's got a pipeline to the best tournaments. He knows people. He'll have tryouts and he'll tell you what you want to hear. It's expensive, sure, but who can put a price on your kid's future? If he's got a chance to be the best, he needs to play with and against the best, right? Judging by the direction we're taking preteen youth sports, it appears we have completely lost our minds. Gone crazy -- collectively and individually. It's become something of a hobby for me to read the local sports coverage of the three or four sub-20,000 circulation papers in my area, and I am here to report that the center cannot hold. The days of simply playing ball with your friends is over. It's a different world out there for the preteen athlete, with "Elite" and "Select" commonly turning up in the names of our youth sports teams and leagues. We're having tryouts for 10-and-under traveling baseball teams, and we've got 10-and-under basketball teams traveling the country playing against other fourth-graders at God knows what cost to the parents' bank accounts and the kids' psyches. All in the name of what? Trophies? Exposure? A leg up on a college scholarship? The egos of the parents? The exploits of these kids, which almost always include tournament championships, national rankings from some littleknown organization and perspective-free quotes from the coaches, are dutifully and breathlessly reported. If you didn't know any better, you'd think the 9- and 10-year-olds in my neck of the woods are the most remarkable 9- and 10-year-olds anywhere. But then you could probably say the same about yours. You just have to know where to look. I found a great nugget the other day: a notice for a 10-and-under baseball team that's having tryouts for its extensive fall tournament schedule. The notice included the following sentence: "The team needs competitive youngsters who are looking to play baseball at the next level." Let's parse that for a moment. Someone needs to explain to me what the "next level" is for a kid who's 10 or younger. I dare you to define it. Is it 11-and-under? Maybe 12-and-under? And if so, are there really 10-year-olds who are striving to play baseball at the 12-and-under level? Wouldn't it just happen naturally -- you know, with age? If you think that, you're behind the times. This is the age of the special child. This is the age of the parent who believes his or her kid playing Little League for the neighborhood team is beneath them both. (Despite the talent you see at the Little League World Series, make no mistake: Little League has suffered enormously at the hands of the folks who peddle dreams to the parents of the preteen set. Local independent teams -- most of them touting the supposed benefits of year-round play -- skim top players out of neighborhood Little Leagues.) This is the age of the youth-sports industrial complex, where men make a living putting on tournaments for 7-year-olds, and parents subject their children to tryouts and pay good money for the right to enter into it. There are palaces built just for the purpose of housing these tournaments. Big League Dreams is a chain of West Coast baseball complexes with multiple diamonds that attempts to replicate different big league ballparks. There's a bunch of 10-year-olds playing in Fenway, the 12s in Yankee Stadium and the 13s in Wrigley Field. (You haven't really lived until you've seen Wrigley's ivy-covered wall painted onto slabs of plywood. There are times you have to pinch yourself.) The fields are spokes that extend from the hub -- an air-conditioned restaurant and bar, where parents can sit inside and watch games away from the infernal heat. They go through every player's backpack as he enters -- and yes, there's an entrance fee -- to make sure he isn't trying to smuggle in any outside food or drink. PowerBars and Gatorades are confiscated...continued on page 4 3

4 ..continued from page 3 There are buzzwords in this business, sure to coax the gullible parent. The big three terms are "elite," "select," and "travel ball." Oh, the power of those words. Waving the prospect of "travel ball" under the nose of the ambitious father of a talented 9-year-old is like wafting a steak under the nose of a sleeping dog. After all, the more you travel and the farther you go to play a sport, the better you must be at that sport, right? "Travel ball," in this world, is meant as a synonym for "better ball." Parents say, "Oh, he plays travel ball," as a means of separating their kids from the riffraff who don't see fit to spend thousands of dollars to travel all over the place with their 9-year-olds. And if it's "year-round travel ball" -- a red flag across the orthopedic medical community for the dangers of repetitive overuse -- all the better. It's a status symbol, one promoted by parents and justified by the guys who collect tournament fees, and it's the main reason baseball in this country is widely becoming the province of wealthy suburbia. The action and drama was terrific at the Little League World Series game between Georgia and Kentucky. But it's possible the very best young talent isn't playing Little League ball. Another nugget: A 10-and-under AAU basketball team from my Northern California town got the lead story in the sports section about a week ago. They've won six of seven tournaments, we're told, and they aren't stopping there. The coach is quoted as saying, "I am looking to go to North Carolina and Houston. And there may be a New York tournament." In the bylined story -- and yes, I remember the days when I had to cover Little League and adult softball (gack) for a local paper -- we are treated to thumbnail descriptions of the team's two best players before we're left with the following walk-off quote from our coach: "Some parents claim they're the best team in [the county]. I must agree with them." These are 9- and 10-year-olds, which raises a question: What the hell are we doing? Here's one thing we're doing: We're creating a class of kids who are being labeled with terms such as "elite" and "competitive" and "best of the best." They're being worshipped by their parents and coaches, who keep statistics to post online and send photographs to the local paper. It's organized insanity. And this is just something to think about, but if there are countless elite and select teams where I live, how elite and select can they be? We went through a culture shift in American education in which self-esteem became a major focus. Slower kids became "challenged" or "special" as a means of eliminating pejoratives. A lot of good came of it; kids who were branded with demeaning terms found strength in their differences. Well, the pendulum has sure swung, hasn't it? We're nearing the point in youth sports where we need to stop the "elite" and "select" madness because we're raising a generation with too much self-esteem. They can't handle failure because they've been conditioned to believe they're too good to fail. They're being placed on teams that identify them as better than their peers on the whim of either a parent/coach or a businessman/coach...continued on page 5 4

5 ..continued from page 4 Parents line up to have their kids try out for under-10 fall baseball teams, where tiny kids compete for the right to have their arms trashed by pitching in four different games over two days of a weekend tournament put on by a for-profit organization that gives teams 10 minutes between games to warm up. There is the allure of better coaching (sometimes true), better gear (nearly always true) and better competition (debatable). Still, is there anything dumber than holding tryouts for 9-year-olds? We're not talking about Little League tryouts, which don't include cuts and are intended to place kids at the appropriate level for their ability. No, we're talking about putting 9- and 10-year-olds through an extensive tryout to keep some and cut others. And then, five years down the line when Little Johnny decides to trade his bat and glove for a skateboard and a piercing, his parents can scream and yell about the travel ball coach who ruined baseball for their son by taking their money and not playing him. It's an overgeneralization, sure, but the whole operation has a way of surgically extracting the fun out of a sport at an age when fun is all it should be. Here's what the dream-peddlers don't tell you: Anyone who has spent more than five innings watching 10-year-olds play baseball -- or one half of a basketball game -- knows that athletic ability in a kid that young is directly related to physical maturity. The kid with hair under his arms in sixth grade is going to hit the baseball farther than the prepubescent kid who can't get out of the dugout without tripping over his own feet. It's really not that hard. When I played youth baseball -- it was called "Fly League" where I grew up -- everyone knew the legend of Buddy Wall. He was the 5-foot-10 guy from the other side of town who struck everyone out, hit mammoth homers and bench-pressed 225 at 12 years old. He was a couple of years older than me, and I lost track of him after Fly League days. Then, when I was 16 and showed up for the first day of practice for a local 16- to 19-year-old team, the coach had all the players introduce themselves. One guy, 5-10 with a full beard, said, "My name's Buddy Wall." I was stunned. I wanted to yell out, "No! You're not Buddy Wall! Buddy Wall is bigger than life, and you're a backup outfielder on an average summer-league team." But he was Buddy Wall, and he still liked to play baseball even though the rest of the field had caught up with him. Today, Buddy would have been a travel-ball wonder at 9, feted and honored throughout the land. I'm guessing it would have made the inevitable fall to 19-year-old backup summer league outfielder that much harder to take. 5

6 Kenmore Soccer Expands Availability of Health Benefits to Pay Fees Kenmore Soccer is pleased to add the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Wellness Card program to our options for the payment of soccer fees. Similar to the Independent Health Flexfit and personalbest! Programs, payment is made on-line through the Kenmore Soccer web site, by entering the card data as through it was a Visa card. Ambush Capture U-16 Division in Alden 4v4 Tournament Split Squad Finishes 2nd in Under 14 Group When the Alden Tournament needed an additional U-16 team, they asked the Kenmore Ambush to move up one of their split squads that had entered the U-14 division. While that voided the possibility of playing each other, it presented a challenge for those who would play up. With 3 players added from the U-15 team, they reached the final versus a strong Lockport U-16 team that have won the A Division of the BWNYJSL the last several years. They battled for 30 minutes in a fast-paced physical match, emerging with a 1-0 victory and the championship. Congratulations girls, and congratulations to the other half of the split squad who finished 2nd in the U-14 group. Trivia Question (answer on page 10) What country has made the most appearances in the Men s World Cup? 6

7 2015 Summer Camp Registration is Open Plans are well underway for our annual Summer Soccer Camp. As in past years, the camp will function through the Community Education office of the Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District. This year s camp will be held from Monday July 6th through Friday July 10th, from 9:00am to Noon each day. The camp is open to all players ages 7 through 13 (born after 7/31/2001 and before 8/1/2008). We had a record number of campers last year, and we are looking forward to this year's session. The camp will be led by Nick DeMarsh, the Director of Coaching for Kenmore Soccer and head Women s Soccer Coach at Buffalo State College. The staff will include Prisco Houndanon, the Director of the Kenmore Soccer Academy; Brian Knapp, Assistant Women s Coach at Buffalo State College and a former Division 1 player at the University of Buffalo; Tom Karanas, Assistant Men s coach at Buffalo State College; and several local college and amateur players. Registration is now open through the Club website at To register, simply login to your account and select Summer Camp after clicking on the New Programs link for your child. Independent Health Flexfit and personalbest! can be used by those with those programs. We have also added the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Wellness card program which can be used. Others can pay on-line with their credit card, or can mail a check. Registration can also be done through the Community Education office, through the instructions in the Spring/Summer catalog. Based on last year s camp, and the growth of our programs, we are expecting to have another record number of campers. We encourage you to register as soon as possible so we can adequately plan, and ensure our camp continues to be the best in our community Speed, Agility, and Coerver Camp Registration is Open Kenmore Soccer is pleased to offer a Speed, Agility, and Coerver Camp this summer, to beheld at Parker Field from 9:00-11:00am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from July 6th through July 31st. The 12 two hour sessions will focus on running form, first step quickness, and skill development. The cost is $45, and players can register and pay through their on-line Kenmore Soccer account at Participants will need sneakers, soccer cleats, shin guards, a soccer ball, and water at every session. The camp will be led by Shane Magaris, a New York State certified track coach, a licensed soccer coach, and the track coach at Kenmore East High School for the past 15 years. Shane has coached multiple sectional and sate champions in the 100 and 200 meter sprints. In addition, he has 10 years experience as a national level college soccer referee. We will be limiting the camp to the first 50 registrations, so register early if you are interested. For those who will be attending our Summer Soccer Camp during the week of July 6th, you can begin this camp the following week and we will rebate a portion of your fee. 7

8 10 Ways Parents Can Help Their Kids Avoid Overuse Injuries and Burnout in Sports by Brooke de Lench According to Safe Kids Worldwide, more than 3.5 million children age fourteen and under get medical treatment for sports injuries each year. Of those, nearly half are overuse injuries, such as Seyer s disease (a heel problem often associated with soccer), Osgood-Schlatter disease (knee pain common in male soccer and basketball players), gymnast's wrist, runner's knee, swimmer's shoulder, shin splints (common in soccer players and track athletes), and Little League elbow or shoulder. Three out of 10 parents in a 2012 SafeKids Worldwide survey reported that their child had sustained the same sports injury more than once. The same survey showed that such repeat injuries are more common among athletes who play on three or more teams, play on multiple teams at the same time in different sports, and have missed time playing or practicing due to injury. Multiple injuries among some young athletes highlight the need for rest to prevent overuse injuries, overtraining, and burnout. Here are 10 ways experts say parents can help avoid these problems: 1. Days off from sports every week: Encourage your child to try to take at least 1 to 2 days off per week from competitive athletics, sport-specific training, and competitive practice (scrimmages) to allow time for both physical and psychological recovery. In a 2011 position statement, the National Athletic Trainers' Association recommends that, as a general rule, youth athletes should limit sports to no more than 16 to 20 hours per week. Loyola University Medical Center sports medicine physician Neeru Jayanthi, who has studied overuse injuries extensively, recommends that young athletes spend no more hours per week playing sports than their age. 2. Follow the '10% rule': To avoid overuse injuries, sports medicine expert Elizabeth Quinn advises athletes, novice or expert, not to increase their weekly training time, number of repetitions or total distance more than 10% each week (e.g. increase total running mileage by 2 miles if currently running a total of 20 miles per week) months off from a sport every year: Encourage your young athlete to take at least 2 to 3 months away from a specific sport during the year. A 2010 study found a 42% increase in self-reported overuse injuries in high school athletes who participated in a sport all year versus 3 or less seasons per year. The American Academy of Pediatrics' 2012 Policy Statement on Baseball and Softball recommends against youth pitchers pitching competitively more than 8 months in any 12-month period, and that they get 3 consecutive months of complete rest from pitching each year. 4. Keep focus on fun and skill development: A 2014 study by researchers at George Washington University reported that 9 of 10 kids said "fun" is the main reason they participate. When asked to define fun, they offered up 81 reasons - and ranked "winning" at number 48. Young girls gave it the lowest ratings. The best thing we can do for our kids, as parents and coaches, is to keep the amount of competition in youth sports from becoming excessive, to make having fun and learning the sport as important, if not more important than winning, especially for younger children. They will have a lifetime of competition soon enough. 5. Increase the amount of unstructured free play: The American Academy of Pediatrics emphasized in a 2007 report that "play (or some available free time in the case of older children and adolescents) is essential to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being of children and youth," and that organized sports participation should not come at the expense of such play. Dr. Jayanthi says a good rule of thumb is for your child not to spend more than twice as much time playing organized sports as spent in unstructured activities such as pick-up basketball games and touch football...continued on page 9 8

9 ..continued from page 8 6. Avoid multiple teams: Nearly 7 in 10 parents of parents in the SafeKids Worldwide survey say their kids play on more than one team at the same time, 22% in the same sport and 43% in a different sport. More and more youth baseball players play on multiple teams at the same time. While doing so may give them more opportunities to develop their skills, and while the amount of pitching may be limited by league rule or the judgment of the coaches, playing on multiple teams with overlapping seasons increases the risk that weekly pitch limits (or the 100 inning per season limit recommended by the American Sports Medicine Institute in a 2010 study) will be exceeded because of a lack of communication and coordination between coaches, who are likely to end up blaming each other if your child suffers an arm injury. In its 2012 Policy Statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics says "Young pitchers should avoid pitching on multiple teams with overlapping seasons," and calls for the enforcement of rest requirements across all teams. 7. Watch out for signs of burnout: If your child complains of non-specific muscle or joint problems, fatigue, or experiences a dip in grades, they may be experiencing burnout, and sitting down for a heart-to-heart talk about their sports participation may be appropriate. The surest path to burnout is to play the same sport season after season. 8. Medical team at tournaments: Advocate for the development of a medical advisory board for weekend athletic tournaments to educate athletes about heat or cold illness, overparticipation, associated overuse injuries and/or burnout. 9. More health, safety and nutrition education: Encourage development of educational opportunities for athletes, parents, and coaches to provide information about appropriate nutrition and fluids, sports safety, and the avoidance of overtraining to achieve optimal performance and good health. 10. Exercise more caution for younger athletes: If you are the parent of a younger athlete, be especially cautious in allowing them to participate in multi-game tournaments in short periods of time. 9

10 Trivia Answer - from page 6 Brazil holds the record with 20 appearances. What is remarkable is that they have never failed to progress into the round of Elmwood Avenue in Kenmore serving the area's best pizza, and supporting our youth soccer teams Submissions Anyone???????????? We want this to be your newsletter. We also want you to be a part of the Club web site. So, we are looking for your ongoing input articles, pictures, match highlights, team and player recognition, etc. Each team should consider having a designee that can channel information to the Club for inclusion in the newsletter or web site. Send your submissions to us at voght@msn.com. Pictures are welcome, but should be in a jpg or gif format. 10

11 Kenmore Soccer Club Goals To be the best soccer club in our community To recruit and retain the finest youth soccer coaches in Western New York To continually evaluate and revise our coaching curriculum to insure that all of our players are participating in practice sessions that are challenging, interesting, and fun To encourage our players to develop healthy and responsible goals of their own The Kenmore Soccer Club belongs to all of us, and we encourage you to bring your contributions and expertise to the club. If you have any suggestions or concerns, please speak to your child's coach or contact us directly at your convenience. Fund Raising The Kenmore Soccer Club is able to conduct fund-raising, but each activity needs to be approved by our Board of Directors. If your team wants to conduct any fund-raising, just us at with the details of what you propose, and the eventual use of the funds raised. We will get back to you promptly. Contacting Us Web Site Telephone Mail 57 Greenleaf Avenue, Tonawanda, New York