WELCOME TO THE SPDSA NEWSLETTER

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1 Sherwood Park District Soccer Association SOCCER IN THE PARK Volume 1, Issue 1 January 2014 Inside this Issue Page 2 U20 Women s World Cup SPDSA Adult Tournament SPDSA Staff Page 3 Volunteers Needed Sponsors Wanted Friendly Reminders Page 4 Technical Lead Sessions Alberta Summer Games Page 5 Article by Damien Cox on Long Term Player Dev. WELCOME TO THE SPDSA NEWSLETTER Welcome to our NEWSLETTER. The SPDSA is excited about this Newsletter, and enhancing the communication to our members. It is important to the SPDSA that our membership feel connected to the association, and we expect this can be achieved by providing information to our members through this bi monthly publication. The information will change from issue to issue, based upon the time of year and important news and events, that we feel our membership can benefit from, whether it be within the SPDSA or in the Sports Communities. We want to Hear from You! We want to hear from you! In order for this newsletter to be a success, we want to hear from our members and share their successes as well. We encourage teams to keep us up to date over the course of their season. This information can be anything from tournament results, to helping out in the community. Find us on Tweet us your team s scores, fundraisers, tournaments!! Y O U T H PROV I N C I A L S INFORMATION D A T E S & L O C A T I O N S S ET. D E C L A R A T I O N S N E E D E D. Important Dates January 20 Deadline to enter SPDSA Adult Tournament February 1 Early Bird Outdoor Registration Opens February Adult Indoor Tournament March 8-9 U10 Dev. Evaluations March Youth Provincials March SP Phoenix Assessments The indoor season is well under-way and it s time for teams to start thinking about Provincials. All U14-18 teams registered through the SPDSA are eligible to declare their interest to attend. Dates: March 14-16, 2014 Locations: Edmonton U14 Tier 1 U14 Tier 3 (Girls) U14 Tier 4 U16 Tier 1 U16 Tier 3 U16 Tier 4 (Girls) U18 Tier 1 U18 Tier 3 U18 Tier 4 Calgary U14 Tier 2 U14 Tier 3 (Boys) U16 Tier 2 (Girls) U16 Tier 4 (Boys) U18 Tier 2 Red Deer U16 Tier 1 (Girls) U16 Tier 2 (Boys) U14 & U16 Teams The SPDSA will be sending the top team from leagues within the SPDSA. If the top team is not interested in attending the Provincial competition, the highest placed team declared will represent Sherwood Park. U18 Teams The SPDSA will host a two game play-down series if both teams are interested in attending provincials. If only one team is interested in attending, that team will represent Sherwood Park. The SPDSA provides $500 to each team travelling outside the Edmonton region for Provincials. If your team is interested in attending Indoor Provincials please Dean Mastrangelo by January 17, (d.mastrangelo@spdsa.net)

2 Page 2 Volume 1, Issue 1 U20 WOMEN S WORLD CUP 2014 T H E S E G I R L S C AN P L AY! Canada is busy getting ready to host the FIFA U20 Women s World Cup in 2014 as the country builds up to the 2015 Women s World Cup. Edmonton is one of the 4 cities hosting the U20 World Cup taking place August 5-24, 2014, and will stage a total of 7 games (6 group games and a Quarter-Final). Secure your seat for 2015! Purchasers of 2014 Edmonton venue packs will have the chance to opt-in to be placed on a priority list to purchase Edmonton venue packs to the FIFA Women s World Cup Canada 2015!! Tickets are on sale now! Buy a Venue Pack starting at only $52.00 for all 7 matches in Edmonton. For more information click the Canada 2014 Banner! Saturday February 22 11:00am - 3:00pm Tuesday February 25 5:00pm - 8:00pm Monday March 3 5:00pm - 7:00pm 241 Kaska Road S P D S A I N D O O R A D U L T T O U R N A M E N T The SPDSA is once again hosting its annual Adult indoor tournament. Registration deadline is January 20, 2014 Dates: February 14 17, 2014 Divisions: Men s Competitive (Div 2 & Below) Men s Recreational (Div 3 & Below) Women s Competitive (Div 2 & Below) Women s Recreational (Div 3 & Below) Masters Recreational (Div 1 & Below) Classics Recreational (Premier & Below) For more information contact Graeme (g.dickson@spdsa.net) Office Hours and Locations # Kaska Road Mon/Wed/Fri : 9:00am 5:00pm Tues/Thurs : 12:00pm 5:00pm 2000 Premier Way (Millennium Place) M/T/TH/F : 9:00am 1:00pm Wed : 3:00pm 7:00pm Phone: (780) Fax: (780) S P D S A O F F I C E A N D T E C H N I C A L S TA F F Debbie Ballam General Manager d.ballam@spdsa.net Overall Daily Operations, Liaison to Board of Directors, Financials, Website Dean Mastrangelo Operations d.mastrangelo@spdsa.net League/Programs, Schedules, Facility Bookings, Equipment Natasha Carter Registrar n.carter@spdsa.net Registration, Rosters, Trialists, CRC s, Sponsorship Graeme Dickson Admin g.dickson@spdsa.net Administration, Adult League, Newsletter Eric Munoz SPDSA Head Coach e.munoz@spdsa.net Academy, Technical Coaching Daniel Drummond Technical Facilitator d.drummond@spdsa.net Academy, Technical Administrator

3 Soccer in the Park Page 3 T HE SPDSA NEEDS VOLUNTEERS! O U T D O O R C O A C H E S & AGE G R O U P C O O R D I N A T O R S R E Q U I R E D There s still snow on the ground and plenty left to play for in the indoor season, but the SPDSA is encouraging current and prospective coaches to volunteer for the 2014 outdoor season. The Coach Application can be found on our website under the community tab. Without the great work of our volunteer coaches, the SPDSA would not be able to run such a successful community program within Sherwood Park. For any questions with regards to coaching, please contact Daniel (d.drummond@spdsa.net) The SPDSA also requires Age Group Coordinators for the upcoming year. Positions available include: Little Kickers, U8 Girls, U10 Boys, U12 Boys, and U16/18 Boys. The main responsibilities of this position is to create community teams based on registration information and to act as a liaison between the SPDSA office and parents/coaches. Age Group Coordinators will receive a $100 honorarium. If interested in either of these positions please contact Natasha with any questions (n.carter@spdsa.net) S PONSOR S WANTED M U L T I P L E S P O N S O R S H I P L E V E L S F O R A L L B U S I N E S S E S Adult Program Survey The SPDSA is a not-for profit association, and the 2013/14 indoor season saw 1,700 kids register in our youth program. The help of sponsorship allows us to keep registration costs down, while also providing your company with some noticeable marketing. Sponsorship Levels Bronze - $500 (1 Team Sponsored) Logo on jerseys & website (Sponsors Page), Plaque or trophy Silver - $1,500 (5 Teams Sponsored) Bronze + Screened jersey to display + linked logo on website Gold - $3,000 (10 Teams) Silver + Logo on Age/Division page of website Platinum - $5,000 (20 Teams) Gold + Logo on Home Page of website For more information contact Natasha (n.carter@spdsa.net) The SPDSA needs your input at the idea of a Co-Ed league for the upcoming outdoor season. Please click here to complete the survey A FR I E N D L Y R E M I N D E R TO A L L P A R E N T S Ensure the main contact is updated in your profile. Children s Tax Receipts will be ed in early February. Early-Bird Outdoor registration begins February 1. Register Online early for Best Rates! C O A C H /VO L U N T E E R A P P R E C I A T I O N We will be holding the Coach/Volunteer appreciation night on Friday March 7th. It will be the same format as last year, which will include a mini tournament of games, followed by refreshments at Average Joes. The first game will begin at 6:30pm. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to d.ballam@spdsa.net Further information will be updated on our website as we get closer to the date.

4 From the Technical Area Thank You to our Sponsors Are you out of ideas as a coach? Not sure if what you re doing is right? The SPDSA is proud to offer our coaches valuable development opportunities through the year. Our technical leads are experienced and educated coaches, dedicated to helping you with any questions you may have. You can find your age groups technical lead on our website here Our Technical Leads will also be doing specific coaching sessions for our coaches for specific age groups. Attending these sessions are free and a great way to learn and develop as a Coach. All sessions take place on-field at Millennium Place. January 12 9:45am-10:45am Little Kickers / U6 January 15 8:30pm-9:30pm U14 - U18 January 19 9:45am-10:45am U8 January 22 8:30pm-9:30pm U10 January 29 8:30pm-9:30pm U12 C OAC H ES NEEDED A L B E R T A S U M M E R G A M E S - Z ONE 5 The 2014 Alberta Summer Games are being held in Airdrie from July The games attract over 3,200 athletes from all over Alberta, participating in 15 sports, ranging in age from years old. Alberta is divided into 8 zones, of which, the Sherwood Park District is in Zone 5. Soccer is contested by players born January 1, 2001 or later. Coaches without the Pre-B but have Soccer for Life & considerable experience will be considered and are encouraged to apply. Assistant Coaches must be certified to the Soccer for Life level. All coaches must be CPIC (CRC) cleared and be at least 18 years of age by the start of the Alberta Games. Application Deadline February 3, 2014 CAMROSE SHEET METAL Head Coaches are required to be National Coaching Certification Program certified to the level of Intro to Competition or Pre-B. Coaches must reside within the zone they wish to coach, or be coaching within the zone during the 2013/14 Indoor Season and 2014 Outdoor season. For more information about the Games and for the coaching application please Dean (d.mastrangelo@spdsa.net)

5 World Juniors: Want to change hockey in Canada? Follow Ontario soccer system: Cox Brent Sutter can identify skill as our national shortcoming in hockey if he wants. That s intriguing coming from a member of an amazing hockey family that was, for the most part, known more for emphasizing grit than skill, although this Sutter was a very skilled player. But now he s a coach and a very successful one, and now times are a lot different from when he was the fifth centre behind 99, 66, Dale Hawerchuk and Mark Messier on the 1987 Canada Cup team. Whether it was fair to Sutter to say that about his juniors after a very tough bronze medal game loss to Russia, well you be the judge. He was asked, he answered. Here s the problem. We already held a summit on hockey development back in 1998, and many good things happened. The skilled talent we are producing as a country now is as good as ever. In five of the last six NHL drafts, the teenager judged to be the best on the planet has been a Canadian. That s just one measure, of course, but when as a country you re producing Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent- Hopkins and Nathan MacKinnon, it doesn t suggest the country can t produce skill. And that s before, as many believe, Sam Reinhart and Connor McDavid go first overall in the next two drafts. The question, Sutter seems to be asking, is whether Canada produces enough layers of skill, and it s hard to answer that without knowing how much is enough. Moreover, the recipe for changing the system to produce more skill is clearly unpalatable to most Canadians. Just look at the way people responded to the moving of ages for when bodychecking is permitted among children. Outrage? How will they learn how to hit and take a hit? There are all kinds of clinics and hockey schools out there that teach the finer points of the game, but when it comes to playing games, most people, it seems, want to mimic the NHL. You want to change hockey in this country? Follow the soccer model being used in Ontario these days. Smaller nets. Fewer players. Smaller balls for younger children. Smaller fields. And the big kicker. No keeping score. Just let em play. Think that ll go over in Canada? Not a chance. Some people might want things to be different, but they don t want to change. Instead, we want more of what we have. More time on the ice, in particular, which blocks out all the cross-training possibilities in other sports. It s nice than Canadian kids now routinely kick a soccer ball around for practice before games. Nice because none of them can actually get the opportunity to play the sport. No time. Their calendars are filled with hockey and more hockey and more training and more hockey. And then hockey games and more games and more games. Look, with four kids in the sport, I m okay with it as it is. They ve all had, and are having, good experiences in the game. I m not necessarily advocating great changes, but then, I m not pushing my kids to be elite hockey players. I want them to enjoy the game for the their entire lives. I try to put them at a level that fits their abilities and commitment. But if the system changed tomorrow to something like the soccer model, I sure wouldn t object, either. Last week, I found myself at a rink in Oakville looking up at banners of previous teams that had won AAA provincial titles 15 or 20 years ago. Didn t recognize a single name. Thought I d recognize at least one. I m certain those teams and those players and those parents and those coaches believed back then they were on the fast track to somewhere, maybe the NHL. But it almost always doesn t happen because of the numbers game. But did we teach them? Did they learn how to play the game or just how to compete and win? Great questions to which only they would have the answers. Skill? I think Canada has lots and lots of skill. You ll see an awfully skillful Olympic team announced Tuesday. We lost to Finland, and then Russia, at the world juniors because the team wasn t good enough, the team might have been too young, opposition goaltending was excellent and because European teams always feel more comfortable on the larger international ice surface. It doesn t mean we can t win on it. But they ll always have a great comfort level. And when that tournament is played repeatedly in North America on smaller rinks as has been the case, it might give us a false sense of security as to where our game matches up with theirs. Look, I d love to see the Canadian system embrace a model that allowed kids to play other sports more and emphasizes development over competition. I just can t imagine it happening. Moreover, understand this; when Canadian wins gold at the world juniors again, as it will, there will be many who say all is fixed. Or that nothing was ever broken. We only really care about the results. Not the process. The above article was written by Damien Cox, taken from his blog Spin on Sports The article was published January 6th, 2014 in the Toronto Star. The Published article can be found here