News from Blackhills Football Club

"There are many people, particularly in sports, who think that success and excellence are the same thing and they are not the same thing.

Excellence is something that is lasting and dependable and largely within a person's control.

In contrast, success is perishable and is often outside our control - If you strive for excellence, you will probably be successful eventually - people who put excellence in first place have the patience to end up with success.

An additional burden for the victim of the success mentality is that he is threatened by the success of others and resents real excellence. In contrast, the person fascinated by quality is excited when he sees it in others."

Joe Paterno - Penn State football coach - 1990

Adults enjoy soccer so much that we have shared it with our children. Yet adults err when we bring our adult performance and outcome based thinking into the developing player's world.

For many adults, their criteria on how to measure sporting quality is absorbed from the sports media. The sports media predominately report on the outcome of adult games at the college and professional levels. Many of our nation's most popular sports are statistically driven and coach-centered, or are reduced to that for the purpose of debate and discussion. For soccer, simple statistics like won-loss-tie records, goals for/goals against, saves, number of corner kicks, time of possession and so on are straight forward ways to quantify what happened in a match. Yet those measurements fail to show the complete picture of a spontaneous, open ended, transitional sport with no timeouts. In particular, the won/loss record of a youth team does not accurately reflect how the game was played, how the players performed, qualities of the opposition, how well the coach prepared the team to play, or technical development of players over time. The bottom line is that typical media oriented statistics are largely meaningless in developing a quality youth soccer program.

The process of doing one's best is the key to success. The determining criterion of success is whether a player gave his or her best that day. Doing one's best is the most important statement a player can make about the importance of an activity and the meaning it has for them. It is the stance of Blackhills FC to focus greatly on match performance; yet this is not to say that teams should not strive to win. Wanting and trying to win is desirable and praiseworthy. It generally means trying your best. Indeed trying to play your best (match performance) often leads to winning. But not always!

This is why Blackhills FC is a "Player Centered Program." We believe that striving to improve match performance is the most important task at the youth level. Simultaneously, we believe players should play to win. Coaches should teach and develop players in a manner where they learn how to play at a high level and create for themselves the opportunity to win matches. But even if a team loses a match, they should feel competent and equipped to compete and enjoy the game. It comes down to this: We want our players to compete, learn, improve and enjoy the game for a lifetime.

Intrinsic success is by its nature more difficult to measure than extrinsic success. A trophy is more tangible to an adult than the exhilaration a child feels while playing soccer. The ultimate measure of success, a child that stays in the sport into adulthood, will require a good deal of patience from the adults in their lives - but yields lasting benefits making all the time and effort worthwhile.

Adapted from a US Youth Soccer Coaching Education Vision Document, Youth Soccer in America: How Do We Measure Success.

SOUNDERS REGIONAL TRAINING CENTERS

Mondays throughout Washington State are being know as "Sounders RTC" nights. The top Boys and Girls 95', 96' and 97 train on Monday evenings at designated Regional Training Centers throughout the State.

At the RTC's players train, develop, and are evaluated, stay or can be removed from the RTC, with the ultimate goal of being selected to the State Team. The top players will travel as Washington ODP/Sounders FC youth teams.

How are players selected: The initial pools were created from last years Washington ODP State Pools, excluding the 97' age group since this is their first year, open tryouts, scouting and Coaching Director recommendaions; these recommendations are continuous based on players performance and open tryouts.

Recently players were released from RTC's. All Blackhills FC players stayed in the RTC's. Great job players and coaches! Blackhills FC currently has 11 players in the Sounders RTC.

94' Prince Gunderson Starfire RTC,
95' Nathaniel Gunderson & Sya Magee
96' Jaemin Clauson, Jamison Corbin, Evan Munn, Whitney Lowe,
97' Jayce Kemp, RJ Knoll, Andrew Moreland and Christopher Sutton.

RECOVERY: Preparing for the next event

Athletes need to eat well consistently for peak performance. After the game or training you want to prepare your body for the next event.

Pack a snack for practices and games and begin nutrition recovery within 15-30 minutes following practice or competition.

RECOVERY SNACK SUGGESTIONS

Chocolate milk has an optimal ratio of carbohydrates to protein to help refuel tired muscles,
Sports drink,
Peanut butter and honey sandwich - half sandwich on whole wheat bread,
Energy Bars,
Cinnamon raisin, blueberry or plain bagels,
Cereal,
Yogurt,
Fresh fruit: bananas, oranges, grapes and apples,
Cheese and crackers,
Remember to drink plenty of water.

RESTAURANT MEAL SUGGESTIONS

Sandwich Shop: Ask for the low fat subs - ham, chicken or turkey,
Grilled chicken,
Bean burrito, low fat chips,
Pasta: with red sauces, instead of white (alfredo sauce),
Rice bowl with beans, cheese, salsa, avocado + whole grain tortilla chips or tortilla,
Fruit smoothies: made with yogurt or fresh/frozen berries.

*Information provided from American Dietetic Association

CONSTANT CONTACT

We hope that you find these Constant Contact Email Newsletters convenient and informational.

Thank you for supporting your child and their soccer. If you have ideas to improve the quality of our program please contact Tim Sekerak, Blackhills FC Club President.