Hamlets Announce Tryout Dates for Wanderers and U -10's

See the flyer for more information.

Local Coach Named 2007 US Youth Soccer Boys Coach of the Year

Mike Elster from Sutton, MA has been named US Youth Soccer adidas Boys Competitive Coach of the Year. Recipients of the Competitive Coach of the Year awards are selected by the US Youth Soccer Board of Directors on the basis of sportsmanship, player development, personal coaching development and community involvement (citizenship).

Mike Elster began his soccer career at age 12 as a player for the then new Shrewsbury Youth Soccer program in Shrewsbury, MA. He continued his passion to play soccer as the co-captain of the first St. John’s High School Soccer State Champion team in 1986. Mike then went on to play at Connecticut College in New London, CT.

Upon graduation from Connecticut College, Mike moved to Virginia and began his coaching career in the National Capitol Soccer League. When he returned to Massachusetts in 1998, he became the Junior Varsity coach for Shrewsbury High School.

More recently, Mike has been a long time board member and coach with Sutton Youth Soccer, board member and coach with the Fuller Hamlets Soccer Club, District Select Coach, player on a men’s indoor team at the Habitat and outdoor Fuller Hamlets team, and the Boys Varsity Coach at Sutton High School for the past 2 seasons. One of Mike’s proudest accomplishments are the creation in 2002 of an annual charity soccer tournament with his wife and Sutton Youth Soccer where all proceeds have gone to the Kicks for Cancer program on behalf of leukemia and lymphoma and more recently working closely with the New England Revolution in support of their new foundation.

As a result of a nomination submitted in December 2006 by Tom Costa, President of Sutton Youth Soccer, which included letters of support from colleagues, parents, and players, Mike was named Massachusetts Boys Soccer Coach of the Year in the late Spring of 2007. Then in December of 2007 he was notified by Massachusetts Youth Soccer that he had been chosen as the Region 1 Boys Coach of the Year in the Competitive Division.  Region 1 extends from Maine to West Virginia.

As Region 1 winner, Mike was one of 4 finalists for the national award and invited to the US Youth Soccer National Conference that was held in Pittsburgh, PA this past weekend. The national Boys Competitive Coach of the Year was announced at the US Youth Soccer Awards Gala on Friday, February 8, 2008 as part of the US Youth Soccer adidas Workshop in Pittsburgh, PA.

The quote from US Youth Soccer sums it up best, “These coaches have committed to continued education and self-sacrifice to give back to the sport they love with the hope that they might enhance one of their players abilities and quality of life. US Youth Soccer and adidas are proud to highlight these Competitive Coaches of the Year for their time and efforts in contributing to America's youth through the great game of soccer. By promoting teamwork, discipline, fitness and fair play these coaches are making a difference.” Mike Elster has spent his entire coaching career giving back to the sport he loves and making a difference in the lives of the kids he coaches.

Mike Elster will be recognized by the New England Revolution professional soccer team at their home opener against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 7:30 pm at Gillette Stadium.

Dates for the 22nd Annual 2007 Hamlets Summer Soccer Camp are now available Don’t wait, get your application in early. Take advantage of our discounts for teams, two-week camp, three-week cam or multi-family members.

Download our flyer and application right here on our website.

Hamlets teams advance to the round robin play in State Cup Tournament.

Congratulations to the Hamlets U13 Girls (Bowden) and Hamlets U14 Girls (Coulter). Both teams advanced to the Elite eight in the State Cup.

The U11 Boys (Lucy) and Girls (Stand) teams are ranked in the top 10 in the KC Andre Cup.

The U12 Girls (Bagley) and Boys (Elster) teams automatically advance to the Quarter Final stages of the Paul Irwin Cup and Qualify for Division 1 play in the Fall. Both teams finished in the top 4 in league play this past spring.

Hamlets Have a Fantastic Memorial Day Weekend

3 Championships
 U13 Girls (Bowden) NEW ENGLAND SOCCER CLASSIC
 U12 Boys (Elster) NEW ENGLAND SOCCER CLASSIC
 U16 Girls  (Flaherty/Bazinet) Oakwood Invitational
 
1 Finalist/Runners-up
  U12 Girls (Bagley) Cape Cod Challenge Cup
 
3 Semi-Finalists
  U14 Boys  (Barlow) NEW ENGLAND SOCCER CLASSIC
  U13 Girls  (Pellon) Cape Cod Challenge Cup
  U12 Girls  (Perreguax) Cape Cod Challenge Cup

The U14 and U15 Hamlets Girls travel to Virginia for the PWSI Icebreaker

The U14 and U15 girls teams traveled to Virginia on March 24-25th weekend for their first outings of the spring. This was their first outdoor outing spring, both teams preformed admirably. The U14’s finished second in their group with record of 1 win, 1 tie and 1 loss. The U-15’s finished undefeated in regular time throughout the round robin play tournament, with 10 goals for and none against, to reach the tournament finals

U14

The tournament started on a low note but, with each passing game the 14’s touch improved and they regained their form; on field the teams’ chemistry, intensity and creative play continually improved. During the third and final game good opportunities being created and they were being capitalized on. Every player, played with a renewed sense of purpose and passion. It was a pleasure to see. The spring season promises to be successful.

U-14 Game Results

• Hamlets 1 VA Rush 2
  —Jill Goretti from Bryana Poulin
• Hamlets 1 N. VA Majestics 1
  —Poulin unassisted
• Hamlets 3 Quickstrike (NY) 0
  — Stephanie Wright from Stephanie Seagrave
  — MaryClaire Pelletier from Stephanie Seagrave
  — Bryana Poulin unassisted)

U15

The Final In the final game, the Hamlets were being outplayed early on. An early tactical adjustment allowed them to gradually take a firm hold of the game. They began creating strong counter attacks. On one such ‘counter’ the pressure they created forced a corner kick which the girls converted and put them ahead, 1-nil.

However, just minutes later, an untimely second yellow card was issued. This meant a red card for defender, Despina Proko. The Hamlets were now forced to play the remainder of the game down a player.

The score stayed 1-0 with 15 minutes remaining in the match, when again, the referee dealt the Hamlets another blow. A weak, hometown referee, awarded a free kick. FC Fredricksburg was given a penalty kick. They converted from the spot to tie the game.

The score would remain the same through two overtime periods. It was a gutsy performance by the short sided Hamlets team.

In the end FC Fredricksburg prevailed in the penalty kick shoot-out. The Hamlets can walk away with their heads high knowing that they finished the tournament without conceding a goal in round robin play and held the tournament high of (+) 8 goal differential. Congratulations on a job well done!

U-15 Game Results

• Hamlets 1 Waverunners (MD) 0
  —Kendra Woudenburg from Kelsey Jarosz
• Hamlets 7 RSC Express (VA) 0
  —Kelsey Jarosz (2)
  —Liz Fernandes (2)
  —Heather Dziembowski
  —Christi Palmer
  —Courtney Wood
  
• Hamlets 2 PFC Power (PA) 0
  —Dziembowski – Direct Kick
  —Kelsey Jarosz unassisted
• The Finals
• Hamlets 1 FC Fredricksburg Premier (MD) 2 (PK’s)
  —Despina Proko from Heather Dziembowski

U13 Hamlets Win the Busch Gardens Spring Soccer Shootout

The U13 Girls traveled down to Williamsburg over the weekend of March 24th to participate in the Bush Gardens Europe Spring Shootout hosted by the Newport News Soccer Club. The team had not been outside since early November and was itching to get onto the pitch. This was apparent during the first game, when hard work and excellent passing created opportunity for a wonderful finish to break the ice for the Hamlets 10 minutes into the game. The Virginia based FASA Premier team had not chance to catch their breath before a dominating Hamlets side made it 2-nil. The balance of the game continued much the same way with no goals, leaving little for the Hamlets goaltender to do.

The second game later Saturday afternoon was simply a continuation of the earlier match. The Hamlets came out gunning and passed around the opponent scoring 7 unanswered goals.

The next morning, the Hamlets opposed a determined and prepared Virginia Rush Swoosh team. The Hamlets were constantly bombarding the packed Rush penalty area but were unable to break the deadlock despite another excellent display of hard work, communication, and passing.

The 2 wins and 1 draw placed the Hamlets top of their group and they drew another Virginia Rush team for their semi-final game. Again, the girls were up to the challenge, when a darting run and excellent through ball gave the Rush defender no option but to foul the Hamlets’ striker conceding a penalty. The penalty was clinically finished and the Hamlets did not look back, scoring 3 more to win the match 4 nil.

FASA Premier would again face the Hamlets in the final, after they won a grueling semi final on the fifth penalty. An up-beat and rested Hamlets team was ready for the task at hand and scored the 1st of 3 goals after 13 minutes to collect their second tournament championship with a 4-nil victory.

Terrific weather, good fields, and excellent soccer from the Fuller Hamlets girls made for a very pleasurable weekend. The “rust” and fatigue that normally plagues this team in March was non-existent. The creativity, communication, and terrific finishing that normally eludes us until a few weeks into the season, was the best it has ever been. It was a wonderful start to what will no doubt be a great Spring Season for the Fuller Hamlets U13 Girls team.

Goalkeeper Session at Hamlets Camp July 10-14

Former Hamlets Coach Steve O'Neill is returning from Taipei and will running the goalkeeper camp on July 10-14th.

Steve coached for the Hamlets from 1998-2003. He has been in Taiwan for the past three years working with the Taiwanese National Olympic team as various levels.

He currently holds an English FA International Coaching License, FA Goalkeeping B license, UEFA B license and is currently enrolled in the Second half of the English FA's Advanced Coaching certificate and the FA's Goalkeeping A License.

We are delighted to have him back for a week as a lay-over stop before he travels to Europe to finish his FA coaching credentials and European goalkeeper coaching interviews.

Hamlets are U15 Maple Division 2 Champions

The Hamlets U15 Girls 2nd Division Champions earn promotion to Division 1 for the Spring 2007. Their record was 6-0-1 scoring 15 goals and allowing 1. The girls clinched promotion in the final game of the season with a nail biting 0-0 tie against Puma. Their tryouts are on June 21st @ Hassett Field and June 23rd @ Bowden Fields.

Hamlets send Six teams to the State cup and Andrea cup

Six Hamlets teams make it through to the round robin phase of the State cup and Maple U11 and U12 State Cup.
The Boys U11 team coached by Mike Elster and Girls U11 team coached by Gail Bagley have been placed in the top four in the seeding in the K.C. Andre Cup.
The U12 Girls team coached Jonathan Bowden are the number four seed in the U 12 Tournament and have qualified for the First Division in the U13's. The other U12 girls team coached by Rich Pellon missed qualifying for the tournament in a hard fought 1-0 loss against Bolts.
The U 11 and U12's will be playing at UMass Amherst the weekend of June 3rd and at the CRU fields June 17th & 18th.
The U13 Girls and U14 Girls coached by Seth Coulter and the U18 Girls coached by Paul Mumby are the additional three teams who will be playing at UMass Amherst June 3rd and 4th.

Hamlets Announce Tryout Dates for Wanderers and U -10's

In a recent decision, the Massachusetts Premier League in an attempt to control the explosion in the number of teams in the Under 11 age-bracket adopted a measure that offers Mass. Premier League play to Under 10s Girls and Boys in an 8-a-side format on fields smaller than the FIFA-mandated fields for players Under 11 and older. This means that the Hamlets Under 11 tryouts for Girls (June 14 & 16) and Boys (June 13 & 15) at the Bowden Fields, 605 Central Turnpike, Sutton will be open to talented Under 10s (born on or after 8-1 -96) but mainly for Under 11's (born on or after 8-1 -95 and attaining 11 years old between August 1, 2006 and July 31, 2007).

The new Under 10s 8-a-side teams, to be called Fuller Hamlets, will be open to players attaining 10 years old after July 31, 2006 and before August 1, 2007, and will have their tryouts as part of the Hamlets Wanderers' tryouts scheduled at Bowden Fields on June 12 & 19 (Boys) and June 12 & 20, 2006 (Girls). This means that from July 2006 onwards the incoming Hamlets Wanderers will be predominantly Under 8s and Under 9s (born on or after August 1, 1998) with some late-developing Under 10s, and exceptional Under 7s also accepted. The Hamlets Wanderers 2006-2007 and the new Fuller Hamlets Under 10s teams (prospectively two Girls teams and two Boys teams but possibly three of each), will train at the Fuller and Bowden fields as the Wanderers have done for the last 6 years.

U18  Fuller Hamlets girls sign letters of intent

The Fuller Hamlets U18 girls team are in the throws of preparing for the next stage of their soccer careers.

These are the girls, to date, whom are starting to get ready to begin their college careers and have signed a National letter of intent :

Erin Basinet Stonehill College,
Kelly Soper U Mass Lowell
Christina Rogers U Mass Lowell ,
Shannon Murphy College of St Rose
Tarah Hunter St. Anselm.

Our most sincere Congratulations go out to all the U18 Fuller Hamlets girls!

Hamlets Night at Gillette Stadium

(download pdf)
The Fuller Hamlets are joining up with the Revolution to have a Fuller Hamlets Night at Gillette Stadium.
It will be on May the 6th (a Saturday) at 4:00pm
The tickets are $14 a person and that includes free $15 parking.
The contact person for the club is Mike Elster.

If you have any questions please contact him at theelsters@charter.net

Hamlets teams travel south for pre-spring season tournaments.

There are a number of Hamlets teams which will be traveling before the season starts this April. These are the teams which will be traveling in March. The Girls U11 team coached by Gail Bagley have plans to travel to Virginia to play in the Jefferson Cup. The U12 Girls coached by J. Bowden will be traveling to MSC March Madness in Bethesda Md. The U13 Girls and the U14 Girls coached by Seth Coulter will be traveling to the PDA Spring Kick-off in Pennsylvania. The U15 Girls coached by Deb Flaherty will be traveling to Virginia in March.

Three hamlets girls get into the final stages of the NCAA tournaments.

Three Hamlets girls made it to at least the sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for three different teams in Division 2 and 3. Amanda Catalano made it to the semi-finals for University of Chicago in Division three, Michaela Morrisroe played for Assumption College and made it to the New England Regional Division 2 semi finals and Jen Conway made it to the the finals of the New England Division 2 for Merrimack College.

Hamlets U 13 Boy Travels to Lisbon in February with ODP

Kyle Gordon, on the Fuller Hamlets U13 Boys team made the State U14 ODP pool. Kyle is the youngest player in the U14 squad.  He will  be traveling to Lisbon, Portugal with the State team in February the 17th thru the 24th. On their tour, the Massachusetts ODP team will be training at  FC Benfica's new grounds and training facilities where the boys  will experience Benfica's elite coaching staff and play against a number of the Portuguese First Division  Academy Youth teams, (the youth teams of  professional clubs Portugal).

TWO HAMLETS GIRLS SELECTED FOR ODP NATIONAL CAMP

Two of the Fuller Hamlets girls playing of the Blackwatch Alliance U14 team were selected to play for the New England Division ODP Select Team.   Briana Docimo and Maura Fox were 2 of 10 Blackwatch Alliance girls selected from three teams to travel to Florida to participate in the USL National training camp and vie for positions in the National pool.

The Hamlets are extremely proud of their accomplishments. We wish them all the best while participating Florida.

Under 12 Girls Hamlets Team (Pellon) makes it to the Semi Finals in Connecticut

Rich Pellon's U12 Girls team had a solid weekend at the FSB Shootout
Tournament in Farmington Connecticut. Although the majority of the team had never played together and several of the Hamlets players were experiencing premier level soccer for the first time, the team won two out of their first three games. They qualified for Semi- final play on Monday morning as the number three seed.

Prior to the semi finals, the team showed its defensive strength, allowing only one single goal in three games. Saturday's first game versus CFC was a 1-0 win where the Hamlets team clearly dominated play. Sunday's first match was a tough loss to Simsbury on a late goal, ending disappointingly, 1-0 against the Hamlets. Later that afternoon, the girls rebounded well from their earlier defeat. The girls scored twice while the defenders and the keeper stayed off Stamford attacks and shutout Stamford out 2-0.

Despite going down three goals early in the first half against the number 1 seed. The girls mounted a solid comeback in the second half and scored two goals with a final score of 5-2 to Orange Ct. The eventual tournament winner. The girls had a wonderful tournament and the club was extremely proud of the girls performances. They exceeded all our expectations. Congratulations!

KATIA OF THE BRAZILAIN WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM IS VISITING BOWDEN FIELDS

THE FULLER HAMLETS SOCCER CLUB AND KELME ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT KATIA OF THE BRAZILIAN WOMENS NATIONAL TEAM IS VISITING BOWDEN FIELD ON MONDAY EVENING JULY 18, 2005.
Fuller Hamlets Soccer Club and Kelme are pleased to offer a clinic to all Hamlet players, Wanderers, and campers at Bowden Field on Monday evening, July 18th. Coaches and parents are also welcomed to attend. Katia is scheduled to arrive at 6:00 PM and the clinic will last for two hours. There will be ample opportunity for photographs and autographs after the clinic. See you there!

U12 GIRLS IN QUARTERFINALS

By placing within the top 4 of the Blue Division during this past year, the Fuller Hamlets U12 Girls automatically qualified for Division 1 next Fall and received a bye through the round robin play straight to the quarterfinals, which will be held this Friday evening at CRU park. Game time is 5:00pm. The Hamlets opponent in the quarter-finals is Mission. The semi-finals and finals will be held this Sunday at CRU Park as well. Good luck Hamlets!

U11 GIRLS SEMI-FINALISTS FOR K.C. ANDRE CUP

The U11 Girls, coached by Jay Bowden competed in the K.C. Andre Cup, losing to eventual champion South Coast Scorpions 2-0 in the semi-final round. In the Round Robin the Hamlets defeated South Coast Scorpions B Team 2-0. They tied Nova 0-0 and defeated South Shore Select 6-0. In the Quarter Final Round the Hamlets defeated Western United 2-0. This week Coach Bowden's team is holding open tryouts and is looking for top flight players that will bring the team to the next level.

2005-2006 Teams Announced – Opportunities to Play Available

Tryouts were held at Bowden Field earlier last month for the 2005-2006 season just ahead. The U11 – U14 teams play in the Massachusetts Premier League’s (MAPLE) fall season while the U15s and above prepare for their high school seasons. There are still limited opportunities to play available – contact us today for more information.

The Fuller Hamlets will field ten teams this fall in the U11 – U14 age groups. There are two girls teams and one boys team in the U11 group. Gail Bagley and Robbie Russell are a sister-brother coaching combination that played for the Fuller Hamlets and have come back to join the club’s coaching staff. Coach Bagley is in her second year as head coach and Coach Russell is a long time assistant. Coach Russell has assisted with teams that won state championships and reached the semi-finals in Region I action.

Jarred Stand joins the Fuller Hamlets staff as a first year head coach. Coach Stand is a former Hamlets player and was a four year player at Assumption College. Coach Stand was an assistant coach the past two seasons and worked in our Wanderers Program.

Mike Elster returns to the club this year as coach of our U11 boys team. This is Coach Elster’s second year as a head coach and he is a long time coach in our Wanderers Program. Many of Coach Elster’s boys have experience playing as “youngers” in U11 during 2004-2005. Other team members have come from the Wanderers.

Our U12 boys team is preparing for the season ahead. Allie Arscott returns to the club as head coach of the U12 Boys. Coach Arscott is an outstanding trainer and a true lover of the game. He previously coached teams in the club and is a long time coach in our Wanderers program. Coach Arscott will be assisted this winter and spring by Brian Catalano, former Hamlets player. Brian is a long time Hamlets Camp coach, goalkeeper coach and has his sight set on coaching his own team in the future.

On the girls side Jay Bowden is preparing his girls for another strong season. As U11s, Coach Bowden’s team finished amongst the top four teams in the state. Coach Bowden is a seasoned veteran coach and a former Hamlets player. Coach Bowden is looking to improve on last year’s record and achieve greater success.

Rich Pellon is also coaching U12 girls, he brings his experience as a lifelong player to the team. Coach Pellon is a former Hamlets player and presently coaches in our Wanderers program. This is Coach Pellon’s first season as a head coach and he has high expectations for his team.

The U13 Girls, led by Seth Coulter have made it known they are a team to be reckoned with. Coach Coulter’s team were State Champions in 2004 and semi-finalists this past year. This coming season they compete in MAPLE’s Division 1 and look to remain amongst the teams to beat in the season ahead. Coach Coulter is coaching our U14 Girls and he presently coaches for our Super-Y League affiliate Blackwatch Alliance as well.

Greg Avakian returns to coach U13 girls, his team plans to work hard, continuously improve and has a near term objective to reach Division 2. Coach Avakian is a long time coach and previously served as a board member of Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association.

Colin Gordon returns for his third season with the U13 boys. Coach Gordon’s team reached the state semi-finals in 2004 and qualified for Division 2 in the season ahead. Coach Gordon’s boys are looking to the season ahead with great anticipation and are striving to reach the Division 1 ranks.

Coach Coulter is taking over coaching duties for the U14 girls this fall. Steve Codner led the girls through three successful seasons, including a move into Division 1 this fall. Coach Coulter’s immediate goal is to make sure the girls remain in Division 1 through fall play and continue to compete in the highest levels of MAPLE. Coach Codner is a long time Hamlets staff coach and is continuing his work with our future players in the Wanderers Program.

There are still limited opportunities on all our teams for a special player. If you have what it takes to be a Fuller Hamlet contact us today! For an opportunity to try out for one of our teams contact us by E-mail at FullerHamlets@charter.net.

Memorial Day Champions

Over the 2005 Memorial day Weekend the Fuller Hamlets Under 14 girls traveled to the Nashua Girls Memorial Day Tournament in New Hampshire.

The girls had been to this tournament several times, each time without bringing back any silverware. This time, however, they were not to be returning home empty handed.

The Hamlets girls opener was against Copa United. The halftime score was 0-0, after an energetic halftime speech the final result was 4-0 in the Hamlets favor. The following day ended in the same manner as Saturday's results, the Hamlets girls beat Odessey Sport from Maine 1-0 and after a thunder and lightening storm delay the Hamlets played RUSC and beat them 1-0.

The girls qualified for the semi-finals. The match was against STS. 4-0 was the final result and some terrific goals were scored, a crossed ball from the stopper Colleen Bazinet to the striker Armanda Roy comes to mind.

The girls now got to play in the final against the Rhode Island Rays. This was a dramatic end to end battle. Ending with a brilliant set of passes from our 18 yard box from left mid, Erin Kinnback, she launched the ball down the wing to Maura Fox who distributed a cross half way down the Rays lefthand sideline to Hannah Moriarty who, on an open field run placed the ball UNDER the crossbar in the right hand side of the goal. A memorable goal to end the season on a very high note.

Fuller Hamlets Girls are triumphant at the Nike New England Soccer Classic

The Fuller Hamlets Girls Under 11 Soccer team improved on their fourth place state ranking by capturing the championship at the New England Soccer Classic on Cape Cod this Memorial Day Weekend.

The girls, coached by Jay Bowden, faced some fierce premier level soccer teams. During pool play, the Hamlets competed against the South Coast Scorpions SC (MA), number one ranked team from Massachusetts, to a 1-1 draw. They were victorious over Explosion FC (MA) 6-0, and beat the Crusaders United Soccer Club 1-0. In the semi-finals they advanced to the final round by beating the South Coast Scorpions SC B (MA) 1-0. In the championship game the girls held off a tough Seacoast United SC from New Hampshire to squeak out another 1-0 victory for the Cup. The weekend was a culmination of an outstanding team effort, offensively and defensively. The ten goals that were scored for the Hamlets over the weekend were by ten different Hamlet players and they shut down the opposition by allowing only one goal the entire weekend.

On the weekends of June 4 th and June 11 th, the Hamlet girls travel to UMass Amherst as they will be battling for the K.C. Andre Cup Trophy and the title of the 2005 Girls Under 11 State Champions. Go Hamlets!

Hamlets U-12 Girls make final four at PDA Spring Kickoff.

The Fuller Hamlets U-12 Girls coached by Seth Coulter attended the PDA Spring Kickoff. The team was placed into the Cup division where the brackets featured 10 teams ranked within the top 25 of Region 1 and 1 team ranked in the top 25 from region 2. In round robin play the Fuller Hamlets defeated Ohio Premier (State Champions) 3-1 having previously beaten them 1-0 at Bethesda last November. They subsequently lost to Massapequa 2-0 (ranked #10 in the region) then followed up Sunday with a 2-0 win vs Ewing Express (ranked #15 in the region). The team advanced to the tournament semi-finals as the wildcard where we lost 3-0 to tournament finalist PDA Tsunami who is currently ranked #5 in the region.

Inaugural year of Hamlets Composure Training is big success

The inaugural session of the Composure Training program developed by Fuller Hamlets U-12 Girls coach Seth Coulter and sponsored by the Fuller Hamlets Soccer Club concluded on Friday, March 11, 2005. The two groups included approximately 60 local players from U-11 through U-15 boys and girls covering a wide range of skill and playing experience.

The 8-week “progressive training” approach challenged players to perfect fundamental foot skills; to increase soccer strength and quickness utilizing plyometric exercise regimens; to improve decision making and comprehension of a variety of 1v1 situations; and to develop “full body ball feel.”

Players were exposed to a rigorous training program with daily foot skills or conditioning regimens designed to reinforce and build on each week’s topic. Through the progressive training approach a more comprehensive understanding of scenarios and greater proficiency with foot skills was achieved resulting in the confidence necessary to effectively utilize the techniques under the pressure of game situations.

The following are comments from players, coaches and parents highlighting positive results achieved from the Composure Training program:

“… played wonderful Saturday night. Her ‘composure’ and control with the ball was great. I know she has the mind for center midfield but her touch with the ball during the fall was inconsistent … her improvement was remarkable. Thanks!”

“My decision making has increased dramatically. The situations seem to develop slower.”

“This is the best soccer training camp I have been to.”

“…looked forward to the clinic each week. She practiced the foot skills on her own. She was very excited when she got a goal using a technique she had been taught in this clinic. I would strongly recommend it!”

“…I think he has gotten more out of this program than most he has attended…It has shown what practice and work can do to his performance.”

“This has been the best program of all because it incorporated foot skills, real game situations and fitness. It motivated them to practice at home because they saw improvement during the clinic. I think they really appreciated the intellectual aspect ….”

For more details on the Composure Training Program and future clinics contact Seth Coulter (coulter4678@hotmail.com).

Super Y League Alliance is formed!

Friday 18th February (Providence, RI) – Black Watch Rhode Island, Nova SC, Fuller Hamlets and Crusaders United SC is pleased to announce that they have officially formed Black Watch Alliance, which is a girls Super Y League teams beginning in April 2005. For the first time, Rhode Island and Southern MA will have several top-level youth soccer clubs working together to provide the best opportunities available to the most deserving players.

Black Watch Alliance will not take the place of the regular premier portion of the Nova, Hamlets or Crusaders United programs. Instead, this is an opportunity for their players to seek out additional playing and player identification opportunities. In order to make this the best experience possible for everyone involved (players, coaches & clubs), Black Watch Alliance will work together to ensure that there are no conflicts with the players’ current club schedule and to keep the cost as affordable as possible; these have been the biggest stumbling blocks for players wanting to participate in the Super Y League in the past.

Nova SC, Fuller Hamlets and Crusaders United SC have been at the forefront of girl’s development in New England for many years. Their professionalism, integrity and passion for the game are second to none. “The experience that Rick Skelly (Nova), Tim Dunn (Crusaders United), and Marc Bowden (Hamlets) bring to the table is impressive on its own, but then you add their outstanding coaching staff and the pool of quality players and this relationship quickly became a no-brainer - last year alone, they combined for 4 MA girls state titles and one (1) runner-up. I am very excited to work with these clubs, and I am confident that nobody will be able to match what Black Watch Alliance has to offer.” stated Scott Cannon, Director of Coaching Black Watch Premier - Rhode Island.

Practice and Participation Details to follow soon.