articles, team info, tournament info, colorful play by plays, and of course those awesome pictures. To submit something for an upcoming newsletter just email Nathan Thomas at nate4kwv@msn.com
As the season progresses we will update the newsletter along with some special additions after tournament play and individual accomplishments.
Thanks in advance for everyone’s help in making this an awesome season!!!!
Stingers and ODP
The Olympic Development Program is a national organization offering a very competitive and skilled level of soccer training and play for U.S. youth players. Instead of the usual U-12 to U-18 teams we are used to the ODP is divided into player’s dates of birth. Coaches for the program usually come from Universities within the state (our own Florin Marton) and games are usually played against other ODP teams from around your region.
On Super bowl weekend we had 6 girls represent West Virginia in the first ODP tournament of the season and on the following weekend some of our boys did the same at their first event.
This really says a lot about the Stingers Club to have such a good showing in the ODP program. Keep up the good work and never give up trying to reach your goals!!!!
Coaches "at a glance"
For the next couple of issues we will be featuring our coaches bios. John Reese is the U-12 boys coach. I lived in England for seven years as a kid and played soccer almost everyday. From 1982-1984 I played in Berlin Germany for a German Club Team. In 1982 I also played for a US Military Team in the amateur world cup in Henglo, Holland. I earned a scholarship to play soccer at West Virginia University my freshman year in 1985. I was the captain of the team in 1987 and 1988. I established the Roane County Soccer Club in 1994 and ran the club for 5 years until I left. I was an assistant coach for Bridgeport under Ian MCara for 2 years (2001 and 2002) and have coached in the Bridgeport youth leagues for 5 years. I am currently the Bridgeport High School Boys Varsity Soccer Coach.
Stingers Player Makes Region One Team
Caitlin Wilson, a member of the 1992 girls ODP team was selected to the regional pool at the region one camp in July. The camp is held each summer in Rhode Island and is attended by players from 14 states. She was the only West Virginia player to make the pool this year.
As part of the regional pool Caitlin is attending two region one training sessions. The first was held the day after Christmas for four days. The training was held in an impressive indoor facility just outside of Hershey, PA. Fifty-six field players attended the session along with 12 goalkeepers. At the first session, the players were told that there were 3,000 girls that tried out for ODP in region one’s 92 age group and that they should be proud of themselves for making it into the pool. However, the pool would be cut in half in the next year so the girls are being evaluated constantly. The pool training was a not only a training session but a tryout.
The second session will be held in April during Spring Break in New Jersey. It will consist of a round robin tournament against various State ODP teams.
In Her Own Words
The trip up to Harrisburg took about 4 hours. We stayed in a Holiday Inn. It was the day after Christmas so it was hard leaving so soon after the holidays. On the first night I was so nervous I felt sick. I barley knew anyone there and I was worried about staying by myself without anyone I new. But the longer I was there the more relaxed I got and the more girls I got to know.
I really liked the coaches there and I met a lot of girls from different states. They were mostly from PA West, New York, Virginia and New Jersey. My two roommates were nice. Chloe was from PA West and the other girl named Angela, was a goalie from New York West. I got along best with Angela. Haha Chloe wasn’t the nicest girl there. We got lucky because there was only 3 of us in our room everyone else had 4 to a room, but the problem was that there were two beds and three girls. Well the beds were queens so they had plenty of room in them, but of course Chloe had to have her own bed because she refused to share a bed. So she volunteered Angela to sleep on the floor. So for the rest of the week I let Angela share with me because I didn’t want her to sleep on the floor like Chloe wanted. Angela and I got along really well. After the shower and before we went to bed Angela and I would watch a movie and Chloe would listen to her ipod, but some nights the three of us would just talk.
In the morning we would have training sessions and then afterwards we would go to lunch. For lunch we went to places like Wendy’s. Then we went back to the fields or hotel after we finished. After the afternoon session we would go eat at a church that made us dinner. The food kind of made me sick. The food was ok I guess but it wasn’t the kind of food you would eat right before the night session The night sessions were usually 6v6 or 11v11 tournaments. They were really fun. I got along with most of the girls but there was one girl there that really scared me. She was like a foot taller than me and could probably pass for a 35 year old women. SHE WAS A BEAST!!!! She was an awesome striker but NEVER passed the ball!!!!!! She was really rough too. She like grabbed a defender’s throat trying to get the ball away from her. I was like “AHH!” So she had to be the girl I feared the whole time.
In the middle of the week we had an afternoon activity. The whole regional pool went to Hershey Park. We ate at the Kit-Kat café and then went downstairs to get souvenirs and candy. Afterward we took the candy factory tour. We soon went back to the hotel to rest for an hour. After our break we went back to the field to play more soccer. That day was probably my favorite day because they gave us some time to relax, get away from all the stress, and got to chill with our new friends.
Some people thought I was from western Virginia not the state West Virginia. I thought that was pretty weird. Some people didn’t think we were even in region one since they haven’t seen very many of us come every year. One guy came up to me and told me that it was great that I was there to support my state.
Each day seemed to get longer and longer because you started to get really tired the more the week went on. At the end of the very long and tiring week I was beat. I was tired, my knees were burnt from the turf we played on, and I was so sore! The drive home seemed really short because I slept almost all the way. There were a lot of “wicked sick” players that had made the pool. (Haha “wicked sick” was what all the girls from Massachusetts said.) It was an awesome experience to play with them. I had a great time. I hope I can make the team next year.
Upcoming Events
We hosted the Bridgeport Indoor Tournament this year which was held on February 19. The games were held at Bridgeport High School, Bridgeport Middle School, and Salem International University.
Take a look at ‘The Latest Sting’ for details.
We will also be attending 3 tournaments this spring. The first tournament will be April 29-30 in Dublin, OH at the Ohio FC Nike Cup Challenge. http://www.ohio-fcncc.com/ The second will be Memorial Day in Erie, PA at the Memorial Day Shootout. http://www.familyfirstsportspark.com/SPORTS/SOCCER/memorial%20day%20shootout/memorialshootout.html
These first 2 tournaments will have all Stinger teams participating. The third tournament will be decided on a team by team basis. Our options include WVSA State Championship, Darrel Moore Memorial Classic, WVSA Open Cup and others which would be out of state. Your child’s participation in these tournaments is imperative to the team, club and their development. Please reserve these weekends now so there are no conflicts.
Reminders To Players
· Bring plenty of H2O to practice
· Don’t forget your gear. (ball, shingaurds, shoes, jersey) It’s your responsibility not mom and dads.
· Your team is what will make you successful this season. Have a good attitude on and off the field and have fun with each other.
The Latest "STING"
What a great first ever Stingers indoor tournament!! We had 53 teams participate representing over 9 travel clubs and numerous recreational teams. Our teams did great! Here’s a quick list of how they did.
The U-10 boys took second place while the U-10 girls never quit fighting and came in fourth. The U-12 girls came in second and third in their bracket and the U-14 girls also took second and third. The High School girls had the biggest hill to climb with over 15 teams in the bracket and had a great showing coming back from a couple loses to finally win big taking the championship while the other High School team made it all the way to the quarterfinals.
The Sidelines
From: Florin Marton, Stingers S. C. President & Technical Director
I’d like you to ask a few questions of yourselves:
- How important is soccer to my family and I?
- Why do I play soccer?
- What are my goals in soccer?
- What is the highest level I want and hope to play at?
Think about these questions and find your own answers. (The true answers, usually, can be found [hidden] somewhere in your heart and soul…) Feel free to email your answers to me at florinmarton@wvstingers.com I will give you the answers that should lead your steps to playing for the Stingers Soccer Club … in the next issue of the Buzz.
