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Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club Newsletter |
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News and Information for Members and Friends October, 2009
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New Shadow Board Members Elected
Shadow welcomes new Board members Cary Chester and Ann Marie Muelheims and welcomes back Mike Keenan for a second term. The Board welcomes your input and questions!
Members:
Position #1:
Mike Strasser
Position #2:
Ramon Farias
Position #3:
Mike Smaldon
Position #4:
Katie Gantz
Position #5:
Cary Chester
Position #6:
Mike Keenan
Position #7:
Ann Marie Muelheims
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Shadow Lost and Found
Help your fellow Shadow players who leave gear behind at a field or practice facility!
Email a description of the lost or found Shadow item, along with your contact information, and we'll post it on the Club website.
Thank you!
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Help Bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018/2022!Sign a petition to bring World Cup Soccer to Seattle at www.gousabid.com 
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Fun For All at Shadow Play Day!
 Bundled up for the chilly weather, over 130 U9 boys and girls enjoyed fun soccer at the October 11 Shadow Play Day held at the South Complex. In conjunction with the Spokane Soccer Academy and hosted by our Shadow coaches and player volunteers from the Shadow Ambassadors, Shadow Play Day emphasized the fun, developmentally-appropriate side of soccer. The longer kids have fun playing soccer, the longer they will play the game!
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Club Player Pass for Player Development League (PDL) Teams - an Explanation
By
rule in the State and District leagues, team rosters are "frozen"
starting in August. That means that there are no "guest players"
allowed in fall league games as sometimes can happen in summer
tournaments. Starting in the fall, it has been the rule in the leagues
Shadow has entered that a player must be rostered to one team and only
that team's rostered players can play for it.
The Player Development League (PDL) Player Pass allows for player
movement among our club's PDL Teams. Because it is a PDL rule, the
Player Pass only applies to our U12-U16 Boys and Girls PDL teams.
Continue
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Sean's Shadow Spiel
Working at Whitworth University affords me the opportunity to hear from a variety of experts in a particular field; unfortunately, my time does not allow me to take in as many of these opportunities as I would like. Thankfully, a couple of weeks ago I listened to a sports psychologist. One of the interesting things he spoke about was his research with Big Surf surfers.
Surfers, skate boarders, snow boarders and the like all have a similar culture; one that differs from other sport cultures. It has to do with how these athletes gain respect from one another. Respect is earned through failure! Meaning that the athlete that tries something new, tries something that stretches what that individual has tried before and even though he or she fails at pulling it off, are greeted with admiration, cheers, pats on the back. Have you ever watched the X-Games? It really does become the effort that is rewarded and respected, and not the gold medal that was earned.
I do believe there is a lesson in there for coaches and parents in our club and youth sports in general. It is the effort that needs to be respected, not the outcome. We need to encourage our players/children to put in the effort to try new things, to do more than they have done before, and when they do so, we should be there to praise them for it! The outcome is so short lived, even Phil Jackson (I think he has more playoff wins than any professional basketball coach; he also won a championship as a player) writes about it in his book "Sacred Hoops." The experience is what is remembered and is what defines us.
As parents, take satisfaction in your child's willingness to participate, to put themselves on the line for others, to keep putting out an effort when things are not going well, to be a teammate that works hard. It is your recognition of these things that will please your child, encourage your child, motivate your child, and strengthen their self confidence. Trust me, your child does not need to hear from you what she/he has done wrong in the match, or what the coach has done wrong, or what the referee has done wrong. They really just need to know that you love them and respect the effort they are putting forth.
In an article below, a fellow Director of a club (and good friend and excellent coach) writes about a newly found book for parents involved in youth sport. I highly recommend reading it. In the article, please note what the U18 player says about the book, "I wish my parents would have read this book."
I encourage us all to be encouragers! Your son or daughter really does not what his or her parent to be the one on the sideline yelling at the referee, telling other players what to do, critiquing their play before, during and after the game (or practice), or other actions that ultimately draw away from what they have tried to do as an athlete. Sometimes we adults forget what it is like to be out there on the field; it is much easier to play the game when you are 40-something with selective memory (teenagers have selective hearing; we have selective memory!) Kids just want their parent to be the one that is there for their team, the one that is positive, the one that lifts others up.
I know this can all sound kind of corny, but it is true. When driving down the road and you look over at the driver next to you, when they smile back or are singing to the radio, doesn't that perk you up even just for a moment? How much more so than when someone that loves you does so?
Be there for your child!
Sean
Sean Bushéy
Technical Director
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Supporting your Child's Sports EndeavorsBy James Charette, Technical Director, Blackhills FC
Olympia, WAIt was a recent Wednesday morning and my daughter and I were off to gymnastics. At gymnastics you drop your child off at the bottom of the stairs and parents watch from above,
"Parent Viewing Area". It is not like soccer where you set your chair next to the sideline and can engage in your child's every movement, comment or emotion and coach them.
For the past 3 years I have stood next to the railing watching her failures, successes and watching her improvements of not pushing or listening and cutting in line or how she handles being cut in line. September brings out new young gymnasts and parents. Next to me was the new dad, yelling from above at his daughter to do this and do that.
The child was torn between listening to her coach and her dad. Her head was swiveling back and forth like you were watching two soccer games on two different fields. Finally the teacher had to tell the parent that it was her responsibility to instruct the child and that the dad should not coach during her learning time.
It is challenging to watch your child fail, cut in line and not listen. However, it is through these failures and experiences they learn, develop, grow and improve. As the class moved along I picked up a copy of the September 2009 "Seattle's Child" magazine. In it was a fitting article for parents of children and coaches. The article is titled "The Car Ride Home a Game Plan for Parents of Young Athletes", by Taryn Zier. She referenced a book by Mike Bergstrom, "The Car Ride Home."
I immediately purchased the book and finished it within hours. I let one of the Boys U18 players read several chapters and he could relate to the chapters and said "I wish my parents read this".
Enjoy watching your child play, learn and develop. When they fail encourage them, when they do well cheer them on. Let them know you enjoy watching them play.  
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Spokane's Soccer Community Remembers "Mr. Soccer" Cor Van der Meer
Cor Van der Meer 02/07/1935 - 09/30/2009Area youth select and premier soccer teams paused to offer a moment of silence in memory of Cor Van der Meer before their Saturday, October 3rd games began. Mr. Van der Meer, who died at age 74 after a battle with lung cancer, was the founder of and longtime coach of the men's and women's soccer programs at Spokane Community College and was deeply involved with the sport throughout the region. |
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Albi Sports Complex Under Construction
Objective: replace all existing fields at the Albi/Dwight Merkel Complex, with the exception of the Merkel Baseball Field. To include a 5-diamond softball complex with a central building suitable for tournament play, multiple soccer fields of varying size (for all users), BMX track, skate park, play facilities, restrooms, parking, paved access, and a maintenance facility.
Budget: $7.6 million (bond funds); $4.0 million carries over ($11.6 million total)
Design & Engineering Consultant: Robert Droll (Lacey, WA)
Schedule: construction to begin at the end of October 2008 (end of soccer season); new Softball fields to be available late Summer 2009; new Soccer fields to be available Spring 2010For more information visit: http://www.spokanepoolsandplay.com
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