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Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club Newsletter
News and Information for Members and Friends                          May, 2008

In This Issue
What Makes Shadow Unique?
Giving at the Office
A Winning Combination
Coaches Corner
Meet Matt Leonard
Matt Leonard
Academic Background

Whitworth College, B.A. Biology,             Kinesiology Minor
Certified Teacher
Currently completing my Masters             Degree in Sports Science/Coaching
Athletic Background
I grew up playing soccer my entire life. My father was in the military and I have lived in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Virginia, California, and Montana. My high school years were spent in Montana where I was on the ODP State Team. My Sentinel High School soccer team in Missoula won the State Championship my freshman, sophomore, and junior years and lost in the state final my senior year. My club team, the Missoula Strikers also won 4 State Championships and represented Montana at the Regional IV tournament.

I played four years at Whitworth College where I was 1st Team All-Conference and 2nd Team All-Region in '96, Honorable Mention in '97 and Team Captain in '98.  I played a little bit in exhibition games for the Spokane Shadow PDL team in 1999, before turning my aspirations toward coaching.

I coached the boys and girls Varsity Soccer Teams from 2001-2006 at Shadle Park High School where I was the GSL Coach of the Year in 2003.

I began with the Spokane Shadow in 2002-2003 with the BU12.  Since then I have coached:
2004:  BU16
2005:  BU17
2006:  BU16 and BU18
2007:  BU17 and B18 Boys
Spring, 2008:  GU17

I also am the Soccer Coaching Director for NBC Camps in the summer and have worked with NBC for the past 8 years.
Personal Life
I am happily married to my high school sweetheart, Bethany. We have two wonderful boys, Christian (3yrs) and Connor (2 months old) who we recently adopted.  My wife also attended Whitworth and works as a Student Teacher Field Experience Supervisor in the Special Education Department for EWU.

I love soccer but also enjoy snowboarding, golfing, jet skiing, riding motorcycles, playing guitar, snowmobiling, and hanging out barbequing with good friends.

Coaching Philosophy
 I have a real passion for the game of soccer, for life, and a sincere desire to help my players achieve success on and off the field. I treat my players as valued, productive members of our group.

I believe players need to bring their absolute best to each session and game, push themselves to work hard, and try to become better players each time they step onto the pitch. I am continually trying to learn more and make training challenging, game related and a place where players can compete, make mistakes, and become better players ready to battle
 during games.

I am excited to be part of the Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club and the direction the club is headed in!
On and Off the Pitch

Congratulations to the Shadow players in the ODP State Age Group Player Pools:
Kasey Rubosky, Jamaal Angell, C.B Aunan, Mikayla Anderson, Brennan Schon, Josie Greenwood, and Peter Sokolis.

Congratulations to Annie Pokorney on her many cross county skiing accomplishments this winter:  
1st place Women's Division finish in Spokane's Langlauf 10K Cross Country Ski Race; 1st and 3rd place finishes at PNW Ski Association's Junior Olympic Qualifier J-2 Age Group; 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th place finishes at Super Junior Olympic Qualifiers;  17th, 22nd, and 30th place finishes at the US Junior Olympics in Anchorage, AK.  

Hannah Smith, racing for Schweitzer Alpine Racing School recently represented the PNW Ski Association at the Junior Olympics in Boise, ID.  She competed in the J-3 Division in the Super G, Giant Slalom and Slalom.  Congratulations, Hannah!

Shadow wants to hear about player accomplishments!  Send information to:
shadownews@comcast.net


Shadow Registration Deadline
Please mail in your player registration forms and first payment to the Club if you have not already done so.
All notarized Medical Release Forms and signed Player/Parent Expectation Forms are due to your Team Manager.
Thank you!



Summer Tournament Links
Rainier Challenge Soccer Tournament
US Club Soccer 2008 National Cup VII
Kent Cornucopia Cup 2008
Nike Crossfire Challenge
River City Cup
Denver Cup
Rimland Pacific Cup
Northwest Cup
Pacific Coast Challenge
Join Our Mailing List
Sean's Shadow Spiel
On behalf of our coaches and Board of Directors, I wish to thank all 350 players and their families who attended our March 1-22 premier-level Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club tryouts for our U11-U18 Boys and U11-U15 Girls teams. We look forward to the U16-U18 Girls team tryouts in May, 2008, after their State Cup tournament is completed.  Shadow now welcomes nearly 300 players to its 19 teams for the 2008-2009 season!
 
It was a real pleasure to meet so many of you during the Parent Meetings held at the beginning of each tryout session and at the Club-wide meeting held in late February.  It is my goal to continue to make this kind of communication a priority for the Club.  Players and parents should have the information they need readily available from their coaches, Team Managers, Team Treasurers and Club bookkeeper.  You will also be regularly informed about Club news through this new email-format newsletter and occasional "Stoppage Time" news flashes.

As we strive to offer clear communication to you, we ask the same in return.  Please communicate directly to your coach about practices, questions or concerns; better yet, encourage your player to do so!  Be sure to work directly with your Team Manager and Team Treasurer about game schedules, etc.  And, in doing so, I ask that you remember our Club's email policy:  it should only be used to communicate information; not be used to raise or answer questions of concern, offer up opinions, nor engage in written dialogue.  I expect proper use of e-mail at all times and appreciate your consideration.

Thank you for entrusting your child's soccer development to our outstanding coaching staff.  We have a unique, incredibly qualified and talented staff of coaches.  You will find none better!  Here's to a positive, competitive season ahead!

In the spirit of soccer,

Sean
Sean Bushéy
Club Director
Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club


What Makes Shadow Unique? 
Sports Source College Nights!

The Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club welcomed 67 families to its first free, exclusive college night recruiting program for all Shadow families in early March.  Designed for 8th through 11th graders who want to play college soccer, Sport Source is a specialized program that guides players through the college recruiting process.  With exclusive rights for Eastern Washington, and a four-year commitment, Shadow looks forward to offering a two-day program in 2009! 
College Night
For more information, visit: www.thesportsource.com


Giving at the Office
Mary Townsend, Sales Executive for Travelers Insurance, donated 20 volunteer hours at the U11 and U12 Shadow tryouts in early March in support of her daughter Alayna's (GU14 Navy) Shadow soccer experience.  Mary is fortunate to work for a company that believes in matching volunteer efforts of their employers with financial donations.  Travelers Insurance Community Action Awards - Gifts of Time will donate $500 to the Spokane Shadow in support of Mary' s good work!

Do you work for a company that matches your donations, volunteer efforts, or offers a payroll deduction program? 
Because we are a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, we ask that you please keep the Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club in mind for your charitable contributions.  Our Federal Tax ID/Employer Identification Number is 20-8739886.  Mail any necessary matching gift paperwork to the Club and email us with any questions at spokaneshadowbod@yahoo.com.


Mary Townsend

Mary Townsend pins the tryout number on a Shadow player.
A Winning Combination

What do you get when you combine one truck with a front-end snow plow blade; three tractors; cases of Gatorade, water and snacks; loud music; 40 degree weather; 70 volunteers armed with shovels, ice picks, hoes and rakes; lots of energy; and part of the KXLY evening news lead story?  Not one, but two, soccer fields cleared of ice and snow at Dwight Merkel Sports Complex - just starting to dry out in time for Shadow high school girls league play, State Cup games and Shadow tryouts!

Many thanks to all who volunteered their time Sunday, February 10, 2008!  Special thanks to Larry Wirtz for donating many hours of his time to plow the fields during this especially challenging winter.  Thanks, also, to Bill Eldridge, Scott Carpenter, and Karl Schon for bringing tractors to clear the fields and to Jim Wilson for providing the beverages, snacks and motivational tunes!
Scott Carpenter
Many hands (and tractors) make light(er) work!

Inside Soccer Player Development
by John Allpress - The Football Association, England | Tuesday, July 17, 2007

How easy it is to criticize from the sidelines.  Instructions are easy to give but not always that easy to follow, especially if the person giving out the instructions is 35 plus and the person receiving them is 11 or under.  Click here to read the rest of this article


Shadow Board of Director Nominations Needed

Nominations are being accepted for new Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club Board of Director members.  The Board of Directors include member (have a player in the Club) and non-member representation.  Board positions are two-year terms.  Nominations must be in writing and must include a brief bio and statement about why the nominee is willing to serve.  Please send all nominations to spokaneshadowbod@yahoo.com by May 23, 2008.



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In Memory

Gabe Michael Doran (age 11)
June 13th, 1996 - April 26, 2008
Son of Ron and Cheryl; brothers Taylor, Riley and Nicolas (Shadow
92B Navy) and sister Maui.
Memorial contributions may be made to Seattle Childrens' Hospital and specified to Epilepsy Research at https://secure.seattlechildren.org.


Tanner James Homminga (age 14)
February 1, 1994 - April 24, 2008
Member of the River City Steelers Soccer Team. 
Donations to offset medical expenses may be mailed to:
STCU
"Tanner Homminga Fundraiser"
P.O. BOX 1954
Spokane , WA 99210-1954