SuperBlue North Kicks Off

Because of the increase in soccer popularity here in Texas Sheela's soccer academy has committed to establishing a select soccer team in the Allen and McKinney areas. The 98s will be that first team. Select soccer doesn't start until the U11 year. So we are still a year and a half away. The academy teams feed in to the select clubs much like farm teams feed into minor league baseball. The club that SuperBlue feeds is Sting. Sting has a long and very prestigous history and is known for a very aggressive training regime, strong team discipline and a very strong "sisterhood".

Last year was a spent arranging the team and developing some of the players skills, this year the focus is going to switch to developing the team as a unit. They have been partnered with an older select team in a Big sister-Little sister program. They expect to have social functions monthly: attend baseball games, fun runs for charity, pasta dinners, bounce house parties, things to help them develop friendships. This year they will start every game and every practice with a double column run around the field. Sheela loved the run when they practiced at the Sting complex, it looks good and makes them know that they are part of a team. At the Sting complex they also got to see that it wasn't just a team thing it was a club thing. Every team did it, and they do it all the same way, two columns of girls at a controlled pace. The goal is not to leave the slow girls behind, the goal is to all fall in step. This year they wont be allowed to step on the field if they aren't in the proper uniform (even for practice), with their shirts tucked in and their socks pulled up. This year they will be keeping personal stats, not game stats but speed on a sprint, the number of times they can juggle the ball and shot percentage on an untended goal. This should actually show them theirimprovement over time.