Peoria Soccer Club August 2016

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1 A letter from the President: On behalf of the PSC/Legends Board of Directors, I would like to welcome you and your family to another fun and exciting season of travel soccer. PSC/Legends is a family oriented club. We have many new and exciting things that have happened over the last few months. We hope to bring you this newsletter on a monthly basis. The newsletter will give us an opportunity to reflect back on the past and keep you informed about the upcoming Club events. As most of our kids are now back in school, many of our children's teachers will ask our kids to write about their summer...well below is the PSC/Legends look back at the summer of The first major change was obviously the collaboration between Peoria SC and Peoria Legends. Although there had been discussions going on for months the collaboration was not official till late May. The new partnership between the two clubs on top of the record number of new players from other local clubs made the Fall evaluation period the biggest that we have seen. The Club is now well over 300 members. The size of the Club is a major factor in being able to offer our members the best club experience by being able to place players within the correct age group and playing ability. Thank you to the leadership of Nathan Wagner and William Hudson for making this collaboration a reality. The next major change this year was the US Soccer's new birth year mandate. It was the opinion of the PSC/Legends Board of Directors to stick to the new guidelines as closely as possible. We felt and still believe that by following the US Soccer mandate, it will lead to more competitive play for our teams and give our players the best opportunity to progress. The rule change has been a struggle, as almost everyone has a new group of teammates. However, with the clubs collaboration and the influx of new players from other clubs it has helped everyone to know that we all are stating over fresh. Also this summer the we were able to secure a Club sponsorship from Junction City. A big thank you to Kevin LaFollette in helping PSC/Legends in making this a reality. The Junction City logo will be worn prominently on all team jerseys. This sponsorship allowed the Club the opportunity to seek an additional professional coach. The board decided to hire a second British Soccer trainer from Challenger Sports, Sean Lally. Sean will be here this Fall to work with all of our teams. Perhaps the biggest news this summer was the hiring of Jason Pena to take over as Director of Coaching. Jason was most recently with FC Peoria where he was a coach, offered private training, established many training programs and served as FC Peoria's Director of Coaching and much, much more. Jason will be a year round employee for the Club allowing PSC/Legends the opportunity to put together a quality winter training program. We all look forward to learning from Jason. This is a major hire for Peoria SC. We are very excited to have Jason on board with PSC/Legends. Over the next four to five newsletters, Jason will be introducing himself to the Club. I encourage you to reach out to him when you see him at the fields and at games. So as you can see PSC/Legends didn't sit on the couch and eat chips all summer. It was fun and exciting and now we are ready to start playing the game that your child loves. Have a great season everyone! Jerod McMorris President PSC 2016/2017 Peoria Soccer Club Board * Jerod McMorris President * Scott Sorrel Vice-President * Steve Wicker Treasurer * Emily Shilevinatz Secretary * Craig Storey Director of Coaching * Jason Pena Director of Coaching * Kara Harris Director of Communications * Steve Wicker Webmaster/IT * William Hudson Member at large * Pete Serrahn Member at large PSC Board contact information can be found at:

2 Welcome Jason Pena! Coaching, Teaching, and Learning Lessons from the Game Soccer is more than a sport or a pastime for me. It s more than a job and passion to me as well. Over my time playing soccer, the game has served to condition me to the ups and downs of life and to apply the best technique & tactics to insure I have put my best forward no matter the end result. I have learned to accept the result, but that I don t have to be satisfied with it and the game has tested me many times this way to be better. I am a proud product of the Peoria Park District recreational program, Peoria Parochial Soccer Association, Dunlap High School, and Peoria Soccer Club. The highlights of my playing career include IL State Select-ODP (97-98), IHSCCA All-State South (98), NCCAA All-American honorable mention (00), CCAC All-Conference (00), NAIA National finals (01), (NCCAA National Championship (02), and Colorado Springs Blizzard PDL semi-pro (03). I have been coaching for 15 years and served for 10 as a Director of Coaching in Peoria. I have hold 7 national licenses from NSCAA, USSF, USYSA, and USASA. Currently I am working on a masters in K-12 Education at the American College of Education scheduled to finish in January. Over the next few newsletters I will share some of the lessons learned and lessons I will teach through the game of soccer here at PSC. For this month I will detail my introduction to competitive club soccer with follow-up installments on the grooming received through high school, college, semi-pro, and how I became a coach. In my role here I hope to shape the soccer experience for the players at PSC to foster a love of the game that brings them to the club one day in the future with their own son or daughter. Club Soccer-Developing a Love for the Game Part 1 Playing the beautiful game did not come easy for the shortest player on every team he ever played for. And it especially didn t start that way turning up to my first travel team tryout as a 7 th grader terribly behind in the sport. It all started the year before when my younger brother of 2 years was invited to join a travel team and I observed the development of his skill over that time with envy. A former Nigerian professional soccer player named Yomi John was his coach and he was nothing short of royalty to us. The sibling rivalry and camaraderie that developed during countless backyard battles and juggling contests propelled us from the bench to the starting lineup and taught us that practice doesn t make perfect, but it does make better and that s good enough for now. Seeing progress motivated us to keep practicing, planning, preparing, and perfecting. I started reading fitness and muscle magazines at the grocery store every time my mom shopped which resulted her buying them because I was trying to improve. A work ethic would emerge from those revelations and when I can see that same light bulb turn-on in a player s mind I know they are learning the value of hard work and benefits of dedication. It doesn t happen overnight though. At 12 years old with only recreational experience I did not make the team as it was very competitive and had a highly regarded coach. There was usually only one team per age group and one club back then so I practiced with my brother s team all fall & winter and was finally invited to my age group for the spring. My brother s teammates were mostly better than me which really pushed me to work on my own to catch up. It was difficult to start so far behind, but I disciplined myself for the first time to a cause. Upon joining my new team, I spent the entire spring season living out versions of classic bully scenes I had watched in movies, on TV, and read in books. My nickname was scrub. Rarely getting to play and confidence completely deflated I was a minnow among sharks and conscious of it. I had a speech all planned for my parents that I wasn t going to soccer tryouts for fall because I wanted to try tennis like my friends at school. Ultimately it didn t feel right. I questioned what I was made of, who I was, who I wanted to be, and what I wanted to do which are new and heavy concepts for an 8 th grader to be. So instead I trained myself all summer and went to the first practice only to find that the coach had taken the majority of my team to merge with Springfield so the rest of us were out of luck. A team was pieced together and we spent that fall losing for the most part yet getting better. I had gone from no play time to captain in 3 months, but in the spring the merger fell apart so my former teammates returned. I didn t know what to expect as we met again on the fields of Detweiler Park, but by the end of the season I had earned their respect, their trust, and surprisingly enough, some friendships to this day. I learned to forgive and I learned how to lead. I learned exactly how I did NOT want to treat or be viewed by my teammates, friends, coaches, and the players I coach. I think my tormentors learned something from that exchange also. I wish I would have included referees in that list, but I have since made peace with all the ones who may have drew my ire. In the training journal I kept during that time I wrote word for word, Respect isn t always given so earn it and you are never done earning it (unless you are Michael Jordan). With confidence restored and light bulb lit, I entered freshman year. To be continued.

3 Coach Navetta s Bio Personal Background From Okemos, Michigan (suburb of Lansing, MI) Graduated from Michigan State University Married with 4 children Playing Experience College Albion College (Freshman Year All conference) High School Okemos High School (Captain, All Area-Junior/Senior Year, All State- Senior Year) Olympic Development (ODP) Michigan State Selection Team Club Michigan Wolves Detroit, MI (National Indoor Champions, 3 rd Place Outdoor National Championship) Midwest Soccer Academy All Star Team Selection (traveled to Holland/Germany for training) Coaching Experience 3 years Currently pursuing USSF E License Kyle Tompkins Bio Coach Kyle Tompkins is new to Peoria Soccer Club this season, but is very excited to become integrated into our program and develop our players. Coach Kyle is an attorney at Hasselberg Grebe Snodgrass Urban & Wentworth and lives in Metamora with his wife and daughter. Coach Kyle was a 3-year varsity starter in soccer at East Peoria Community High School and was named to an allconference team his senior year. His passion for the game has continued beyond his competitive playing days, and he hopes to instill the same passion he has into his players. Coach Kyle holds a Class E license for coaching through US Soccer s youth program. His coaching philosophy also centers on the individual development of players through simplifying the game to basics and repetitive touches on the ball. As a former defender, Coach Kyle emphasizes disciplined defense as a foundation to control possession and create scoring opportunities on offense. He believes that anything can be achieved through hard work and patience.

4 Joshua Jones 2002 & 2003 Boys This is my 7th year with the club. I have went from a Parent Coach to a Elite Coach which is respected around the Illinois area. My first year at the club I started with 7 kids. Going into this year I have 33 kids divided into two teams.. God is good My Philosophy as a coach. It is very easy to learn having fun. If the kids are not having fun, I believe that the kids are not learning. (My opinion). Using that philosophy I am currently ranked 27th in the state of Illinois out of 189 teams. At one point I was 10th in the state. Numbers doesn't lie Haters do...lol I thank Peoria Soccer Club for letting me grow as a coach and for that I will give them 100% of my dedication. David Kilgore Goalie Trainer Born and raised in central Ohio, I started playing on a travelling team when I was 8 and still use the original team bag (from the 80s)! I played two years while attending Ohio Northern University. Other than soccer; I enjoy kayaking, bird watching, and I have been taking banjo lessons for a couple years. Noel Zerbonia 2002 & 2004 Girls Coached and trained: SFC 4 yrs, PND 4 yrs, Legends 6 years. Played for PSC 1970 Eagles for 6 years, Bergan HS 4 years, Aurora University 2 years. Work at Caterpillar. married and live in Washington IL w/ 3 girls and a dog. USSF D License. Roma Bogdan Balea 2007 Boys This is my 4th year coaching for PSC. I've obtained the USSF E-license in the summer of I have two kids in the club, Paul who's playing for 2004 (U13) White team and Theo who's playing for 2007 (U10) Roma - the team that I coach this year. Outside of soccer I enjoy traveling and doing other sports, tennis and ski being next on the list. Favorite quote: "Champions don't stop until they get it right" - Billie Jean King. Brett Miller Girls Coach Former PSC player myself for the 82 Eagles. Played soccer since about 5 years old starting out in park district soccer and finishing up at ICC. Loved playing the game of soccer but have found a greater love since beginning coaching 3 years ago.

5 Jerod McMorris Girls Coach Ever since I can remember soccer has been a part of my life. I played at Danville HS, played club soccer at EIU. I have played in adult leagues in Peoria till my coaching and kid s activities took over. With all the years of playing soccer my real soccer education started when I became a coach. I have been a PSC coach for 5 years. This is the 3 rd year coaching the 2007 age group. I have 3 kids playing for PSC/Legends. Last summer I obtained a USSF E license. My favorite soccer quote is Train Hard, Fight Easy Boyd Roberts III Boys Two year High school Varsity player Wheaton North High School Certified USSF referee between Coach with Peoria Soccer Club since 2012 Current USYSA E Coaching License Holder Current At Large Board Member for PSC Tournament Director since 2013 Professionally Partner with general practice law firm of Hasselberg Grebe Snodgrass Urban & Wentworth specializing in injury litigation, family law and criminal defense. Married to Alison and father of five children, including Max (2004 boys team) and Charlie (2005 boys team). I enjoy many leather bound books and smells of rich mahogany. Craig Storey I have been Director of Coaching with PSC for 2 years. Before this I worked in Wisconsin with two clubs, one whom I turned from a rec program into a travel program and one where i coach state level teams. I live in England and obviously due to this love football and watch it and play whenever I can! I am looking forward to my last season with PSC before I transition out of the DoC role and working alongside Jason to ensure PSC Legends continue to make strides forward as a club and family in the community. I am very pleased with the progress we have made over the past 3 or 4 season since I became involved and hope we continue to push forwards after I am gone. Bradley Schreiner Have been playing soccer since 4 years old and currently still play recreationally year around. I love the sport and have taken that love to spark a passion for coaching which I truly hope to continue my entire life. I'm going into my 4th season coaching this fall after working up until now with almost all ages under 11 years old. I thank the club so very much for the potential they allow myself and all coaches to achieve. In turn playing into the utmost of importance the youth and their achievement of potential season after season.