USAi, PIKE SOCCER CLUB, FUSION NEWS  

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 

In This Issue
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Greetings! 

 

Fusion Fall Classic 2012 youth soccer tournament was a terrific success...thanks as always to USAi volunteers.  There was a 20% increase in the number of teams and a 20% increase in the rain on Saturday.  Congratulations to USAi teams winning Championship and Finalist.  Scores and pictures of the winning teams posted www.USAindy.org 

Special thanks to our travel team managers and tournament committee members including Renee Johnson, Debbie Schneider, Terrie Maexner, Larry Rosenberg, Priska Mansfield, Cary Wagner, Bill Walters & Matthew Walters, Albert Aquiree, Greg Witczak, Dale Schaefer, Mark Turpin & Reed Turpin.  Thank you to all of our volunteers. USAi is truly blessed with the best families.  USAi works due to you. 
 

  

 

  

This article crossed my desk today.  It could have just as easily been written by several USAi Travel Coaches.  
Coaching girls as Title IX turns 40  
By Sarah Weld


"I stand on the sidelines watching my soccer team. I can hear my girls breathing hard as they sprint past, see their fierce faces. One of them collides with a player from the other team, fights to hang on to the ball, then takes off down the field.

For 70 minutes they run, dribble, fall down, tackle, shout, and (hopefully) score. And when they come off they are sweaty, eyes bright. And despite the outer trappings of being 12 years old -- they sport painted fingernails, listen to boy bands, flip their hair, and wear skinny jeans -- when they play soccer, they are tough, unrelenting, and commanding. All the adolescent nuttiness falls away and they are simply -- and beautifully -- soccer players. They are girl athletes, and above all, just athletes.

When I was 12 (circa 1977) my mother taught me how to throw and catch a lacrosse ball in our backyard. She had learned in her Pennsylvania high school, where the girls taught the boys how to play. But in college she played no sports, because there were scant few athletic opportunities for women in the late 1950s.

Then in 1972 came Title IX, which forbids any school receiving federal funding to discriminate on the basis of gender. As a result, girls crowded fields and gyms for a chance at something other than spectating -- 1,000 percent more high school girls do sports now than in 1972. Five hundred percent more college women play varsity athletics.

In addition to physical fitness and discipline, the benefits of athletics are vast. Girls who play sports respect strong muscles; model-thin legs don't help you jump high. Athletic girls make healthier choices about drugs and getting pregnant. If you smoke, you can't run. If you're busy with basketball or track and homework, there is little time to lose your way.

Arriving in high school in 1979, I was lucky to attend a school that offered many sports -- for me, soccer, cross-country skiing, and lacrosse. I went on to play two sports in college, and my time on the field saved my equilibrium throughout.

I still bike and run, but, sidelined due to injuries, I sorely miss my time on the soccer field. My role is now permanently as coach, cheering these young women on. I teach them how to be leaders and teammates, and how to deal with an off day. I remind them that cooperation isn't an exclusive choice, that sometimes it takes cutthroat competition to win games, that if you have a shot you should take it.

My job is to teach them what that feels like, so they can take it with them wherever they go, whether it be a board meeting, a laboratory, Carnegie Hall, or the Oval Office.

Speak out. Run fast. Fight back. Work in pairs, and as a team. Know when to support, and when to fly alone toward the goal, then smack the ball hard at its sweetest spot, and watch it fall like a slingshot just under the crossbar, slightly shaking the white ropes of the net as it drops inside. Then run shouting, arms high, into the crush of your teammates rushing to embrace you." 

(Sarah Weld is the co-editor of The East Bay Monthly, where this article first appeared. Weld, who coaches youth soccer for East Bay United/Bay Oaks in Oakland, Calif., played soccer and lacrosse at Harvard.)

 

Thank you for choosing United Soccer Alliance of Indiana.

 

Easy to donate to USAi directly & via UWCI

 

If you give to United Way of Central Indiana, you may designate all or some of your donation to the children of USAi by writing "Pike Youth Soccer Club" on your donation card.  This is a very popular way to donate to a worthy not for profit via your employer work campaign.
 
EMPLOYER & WORK PLACE CAMPAIGNS DONATION

If you complete a pledge forms, e-pledge, or donor card at work:  you may direct all or part of your donation to United Soccer Alliance of Indiana by designating "Pike Youth Soccer Club" on the donor or pledge card.  You do not need the "number" as such numbers often change and your company may have an unique number. 

Please check if your employer will match your contribution to the company Campaign.  If so, please make arrangements with your HR department or contact your Campaign coordinator.  Companies with workplace campaigns typically ask their employees to contribute through pledge forms or e-pledge so that each employee's contribution counts with their company campaign. 

All money donated to United Soccer Alliance of Indiana via employer campaigns goes to player Tuition Assistance or field development, unless otherwise designated by donor.  United Soccer Alliance of Indiana, Inc., is a 501(c)3 not for profit.  Your contribution is tax deductible.

Very USAi cool spirit wear in stock....

 

 (Contact Last Name) Family, 

 

USAi Spirit Wear is in stock and ready for immediate purchase at Soccer Village, Carmel, and Avon Sports Apparel, Avon.  You may also ask the sales associate for special order or custom decoration.  
USAi Spirit Wear is also available to order 24/7 online with Soccer Village to be shipped directly to your door or for pick up at Carmel store with no shipping cost.

To see the very cool gear, please visit the Spirit Wear page:
http://unitedsoccerallianceindiana.org/aboutus/spirit-wear/

 

  


 

Volunteer 

Next big volunteer opportunities included March Field Days, Indy Burn Cup April.  Register to coach Rec and Rec Plus anytime.

http://unitedsoccerallianceindiana.org/aboutus/volunteer/

 

Word From Our Sponsor: Land O' Frost

Land O' Frost Land O' Frost lunch meats, USAi's Platinum sponsor, wants to make a stronger effort to better communicate and be more closely involved with USAi's member families.. It's motivation to grow this program is fueled by the energy they see in children and their families participating together in healthy, well-rounded experiences.  LOF will send you special savings opportunities along with promotional announcements primarily via mail. The initial mailing will include a coupon for a free package of lunchmeat, followed by cents-off coupons throughout the year. Special offers will also include a yearly gift for each child whose parent has signed up for inclusion in this program. This special link (above)  http://www.landofrost.com/youthsports/ takes you to Land O' Frost and asks for your name, address, and please enter "Pike Soccer Club" name for now.  We will ask them to change it to United Soccer Alliance of Indiana for next season.   Land O' Frost absolutely will not share this information with any other company or party. It is solely for LOF's purpose of building stronger relationships directly with the leagues and parents of the children they support.   Click here to register, SELECT "PIKE SOCCER CLUB"   


Community Through Youth Sport Foundation, USA of Indiana, Fusion Soccer Academy, Avon Soccer Association, Brownsburg Junior Soccer League, Indy Burn, and Pike Youth Soccer Club are nonprofit organizations and depend upon individual donations to meet the annual budget. 

 

Community Through Youth Sport Foundation:  Improving the Central Indiana community through youth sport and developing fine young men and women, one child at a time.

  

United Soccer Alliance of Indiana:  Committed to providing the best possible environment for the community's youth through fun, fair play, and player improvement. 

  

Avon Soccer Association, Brownsburg Junior Soccer League, and Pike Youth Soccer Club founded in 1979 by parents to provide and promote the game of soccer within the community.   

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