Volunteers must like working with children!  Soccer experience is helpful, though ASA will provide coaching education at no cost to the participants.  The time commitment is about the same as a regular parent’s time commitment:  attend one or two practices per week on weeknights, and attend a Saturday game.

Practices start March 26 or later, and the season starts April 14 (April 21 for U6 and U7 play) and last 8 weeks.  ASA provides all equipment; all a volunteer needs to bring is enthusiasm.

This can be a great opportunity for soccer parents, young adults who just like soccer, and even high school or college students interested in volunteering with kids and sharing their enthusiasm for the game.  For high school students, this can even count towards your volunteer hours requirement.

For more general information, check out this page.  For answer to questions, please contact Bib Bigney, ASA’s Technical Director, at coachbob@arlingtonsoccer.com.

Please go to the link below and vote for him. You can vote once from each computer you have access to, home and work. It just takes a minute to vote.

You can view all of the the final entries and vote here:  http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/workshop/goalandsaveoftheyearvoting.asp

Arlington’s Rowdies Blue (U14 Girls) and Eagles Black (U12 Boys) both won the ODSL’s Randy Rawls Sportsmanship Award for the Fall of 2011.  This is a great recognition for our team’s hard work and fair play attitudes.  This is also a reflection of a great group of parents who stay positive on the sidelines!  One team from each division is granted this prestigious award based upon voting by the teams in their division.

The winning teams will be honored at the ODSL Preseason Meeting on March 25, 2012 and will be presented with a team trophy and individual awards for the players and coaches.

Elsewhere, Arlington’s Flame and Blast (both U16 Girls) won the WAGS Sportsmanship Award for Fall 2011 play in their respective divisions.  The teams were given this award after being nominated by other teams in their divisions.  The teams will be presented with a check to commemorate this achievement.

Congratulations to these teams, and thanks for representing Arlington in such a positive fashion!

Grant had an outstanding 2011, and he’ll receive his award on February 3rd in Richmond, VA at the Virginia Youth Soccer Association Convention.  For Arlington-area folks, ASA is hosted a reception for anyone who wants to come by and give Grant an “attaboy” or some other comment of choice.

What:  Congratulations Reception for Grant – with appetizers and a cash bar

When:  5 to 7pm on Sunday, January 29th

Where: Whitlow’s on Wilson (map link here) in the Sandbar Room

Who:  Anyone interested in saying “good job!” to Grant.  Players are welcome to attend.  No need to RSVP.  We hope to see you then!

This award is based on the nominee’s success in 4 areas: sportsmanship, player development, personal coaching development & community involvement.  Grant’s award reflects the following year in soccer for Grant:

-         Served as assistant coach for Virginia’s ’95 ODP boys team that won the national championship title in March.

-         Served as head coach of Arlington’s U13 Boys team, Impact Red, who won the State Cup this Spring, as well as finished  first in NCSL’s Division 1.

-          Grant took over as head coach for the ODP ’95 boys team who played for the national title under Grant’s leadership.

-          Grant led Impact Red to a sweep of preliminary games in the Region 1 Cup competition, and into the championship game, where his injury-depleted squad finished as runners-up.

-          Over Labor Day weekend, Impact Red won the top flight of the OBGC Capital Cup and became the number one ranked team for their age group in the nation on GotSoccer.

-          Grant continues to coach the ODP boys ’95 state team, as well as the ’99 boys district team, and Impact Red has succeeded in its first season in the newly formed VCCL North league.

Kika, a standout player at the University of Virginia, will travel to Sarasota, FL next week to participate in a week long training camp.  Players in this pool are competing for spots in the Women’s Professional Soccer league (WPS), the US Olympic Team and the full National Team.

During the past Fall season, Kika was very active in ASA activities; coaching in the Pre-K Program, working with players in the After-School Soccer Program and training the girls in the Academy Program.  All the players love working with Coach Kika and she did a great job with the players.

The ASA wishes Kika the best of luck at the National Team camp!

Based on their record of play, each team was granted admission to prestigious Region I league play this Winter/Spring.  The Region I Colonial League is available ONLY to those teams within the following State Associations of Region I:

Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York West, Pennsylvania West, Virginia, West Virginia

Representing ASA in the Colonial League are U15 Girls Athletica Red, U15 Boys Strikers Red, U16 Girls Flame, and U16 Boys Suprema Inferno.

The Region I Premier League is for the top sixteen teams through out the Region in the U14 to U18 age groups for both girls and boys. The competition is designed to allow the very best teams in Region I to play each other in a league format. With only sixteen positions available in any age group through out the Region, entry into the league is competitive.

Representing ASA in the Premier League is the U14 Boys Impact Red.

Congrats to all participants and good luck!

Given the seasonal break in regular soccer activity, now is a great time to attend some free coaching clinics and pick up some new tips or skills you can use this Spring.  Need some guidance on how to focus your players on certain topics?  Have only a little coaching experience and need to learn more?  Have a lot of coaching experience but happy to add new tools to your array of coaching skills?  Come out on Mondays and learn!

Sessions are planned around various topics.  Sessions will be held indoors at the Gunston Bubble (directions linked here) on Jan. 16, Jan. 30, Feb. 13 and Feb. 27, all in the early evening.

Full session details and schedules are posted here.

Questions?  Please contact Coach Bob at coachbob@arlingtonsoccer.com.

Make sure you explore your virtual iGiftBag’s great offers from local Arlington and national sponsors!  This iGiftBag includes gifts from sponsors such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, DC United, District Taco, Northside Social and Scoresports.

Please click the icon below to immediately enjoy your iGiftBag. You can bookmark your iGiftBag in your Web browser to easily access it until the offers expire.

Impact Blue Takes Top Division Title

Arlington Impact Blue (U-14 Boys), coached by Luis Gendive, took first place in ODSL Division 1 this weekend by beating CYA Cesena 97 by 5-0.  The defense, headed up by goalie John D., only gave up two goals over the  8 game season.  The team has placed in the top three in ODSL  Division I for its entire ten season career.

Arlington Impact Blue kicked off the season by taking first place in the August Cup Premier Division at the Maryland Soccerplex.

Members of the team are:  Hamza B., Nicolas D., John D., Geronimo K. P., Ryan L., Alexander M., Braian N. C., Saquib M. N., Adam N., Gus N., Lucas O., Pablo O., Michael P., Evan S., Caleb W., Brandon W., & Alec W.

The team was assisted by volunteer coaches George Shirley and Othmane Benkhallouk.

More recently, extra practice paid off as the team won the Hunt Country Classic U-14 Boys division.  (The U-12 Girls Red team also won)

Impact Blue didn’t give up a single goal throughout the four games of the tournament and scored 15.

U11 United White Claims Championship Victory in the Liberty Flight at the Bethesda Tournament

Coached by Glen Grey and Steve Olivarez in the tournament.

Through much “high adventure” over the two days of the tournament – three wins in three games over two days, the path to victory included a win over a team that had beat us in Fall NCSL season play. Then a championship game in which United White fought from a two-goal deficit to tie the game and send it to overtime, through two scoreless overtime periods, culminating in a dramatic and heart-stopping shoot-out at sundown in the rain as the light was fading – the boys have a memorable victory.

The other unique twist about our news is that, because of field availability, United White played three games on Sunday.  Hitting the field at 7:15 AM and not ending until nearly 5:00 PM.    By that time, all but two of some 70+ teams involved in the tournament had headed home, 8 of the 9 fields had been dismantled and even one goal from our field was dismantled.  It was getting dark, and raining.

The experience is one that they can all be proud of, remember, and should easily motivate and carry them over into the Spring season with a renewed love of sport, sportsmanship and soccer.  A great accomplishment for the ASA Club and fitting closure to a successful Fall 2011 season for the United White team. United White was complimented by opposing coaches and tournament staff for high level of sportsmanship.

U11 Comets-Red Team

The U11 Arlington Comets-Red girl’s team won the Chesapeake Division of the prestigious Bethesda Thanksgiving Tournament, which was held in Poolesville, MD, the weekend of November 12-13. In pool play, the Comets defeated LDC United Eclipse (3-1), MSC Academy Green (6-0), and SAC/HC United Premier Blue (3-2) to advance to the Championship, where they beat the Severna Park Lasers, who previously had not lost a game all season.  The Comets win was a total team effort, with outstanding offensive and defensive efforts by all players. Comets-Red players include Ana C., Mckenna C., Isabel D., Gretchen H., Samantha H., Savannah L., Lacey M., Maeve M., Maggie M., Macy M., Petie N., Carly R., Emily S., and Cadyn W. The team was coached by Jerry Ellison. 

U14 Boys Impact Red Win Top Division of 2011 Bethesda Tournament

The U14 Boys Impact Red won the top division of the Bethesda Tournament the weekend of 11/19-20.  The boys played in the Potomac bracket and won all 4 of their games to win the championship.  The first game was against a team from NY called Manhattan SC Cruziero.  The Impact Red won the game 2-1.  Next up was a German Club team from Eastern PA named Vereinigung Erzgebirga SC.  The boys won that game 6-0.  The semi-final game was a rematch of the opening game in the PDA tournament last may against one of the best teams in Region 1, Lehigh Valley United from PA.  The game was hard fought, but the Impact Red prevailed 1-0. 

In the final, the Impact met a familiar local foe in Chantilly United.  The first half was a good back and forth battle and neither team could break the other down.  In the second half, the Impact started to find their rhythm and created multiple scoring chances.  Chantilly’s goalie has historically been tough to beat and he was again very good keeping the game tied.  The match went into overtime and the rule was a golden goal would end the game.  In the first overtime, Joey F. got in the box unmarked with the ball.  He was about to finish when he was taken down form behind.  Joey calmly finished the penalty kick to clinch the win for Impact 1-0.  This is the Impact’s second tournament win for the fall 2011 season.

The food drive, benefiting AFAC, sought donations of food starting a little more than a month ago.  ASA teams were asked to compete with each other, and the team that donated the most food by weight wins a pizza party from Joe’s Pizza & Pasta.  The total donation this year came in at 3,441 pounds! By comparison, last year’s total was 1,929 pounds.

Many teams took part this year.  The top five were:

5 – U10 Girls Samba Blue, with 223 pounds

4 – U14 Boys Impact Red, with 280 pounds

3 – ASA Staff, with 295 pounds

2 -U11 Girls Comets (all 3 teams in the group?  Not sure) with 369 pounds

…and the winner is:

1 -U10 Boys Rangers Red, with 498 pounds!

Other participating teams included NWAL Lions / Driscoll, Aces / Conley, AK Stingers, Revs / Kelly, NWAL / Hamilton, NWAL Lions / Gray, Lightning Hoppers, AK Cosmos, AO Dragonflies, Storm Blue, Storm (white or red?), Civitans Stingers, Rangers White, Aces / Conley, Samba White, United Black, Eagles Blue, Aces / Mara, Tornados / Brewer, Aces / Love, Impact White, Civitans Bengals, NWAL Emson, Aces / Lent & O’Hara, Big Pink / Mingus

A huge THANK YOU to all of those who donated such a great amount of food to AFAC.  It is wonderful to be able to work together to help enrich the lives of so many.