Aptos Soccer Club

Spring Newsletter 2008

www.aptossoccer.org

Hello Soccer Families!

Thank you for having your soccer player participate in Fall Soccer last year.  It was a very successful season thanks to you and all of the volunteers.  We want to make it even better this year, so we need to start planning now for our upcoming Fall soccer season. 

Refereeing

We had a great season last year filled with lots of fun but there was one area that we need to improve--our severe referee shortage.  We all love soccer and all that is does for our children; exercise, team spirit, sense of community - but the game is not a game without proper officiating - for safety and fairness reasons.  We have a new board position of Referee Coordinator and he will be making sure that all of our refs are ready and trained to do the best possible job (thank you John).  Aptos Soccer Club is also hosting a Class 8 Referee Class in April.  There are only 25 spots.  The class is an 18 hour course that costs $25 to sign up and another $25 if you pass the test on the last day of class (you must be at least 12 years old, adults are welcome too).  If you want to sign up, check our website to see if there is still room in the class.  If it is full, look on the county soccer website www.sccyl.org and check into the other club’s classes--you can get licensed anywhere.  It’s a great way to make money, get some exercise and learn the game!

Coaching

We always need coaches.  If you are interested, please mark the box on your child’s registration form.  You can also go on our website to download the Coach Disclosure form that needs to be sent in.  We will be hosting some great coaches training classes to teach you everything that you will need to know (thank you David, Bill and Mike).  Aptos Soccer Club will help you every step of the way, so if you don’t think that you have enough experience, we will help you make the season a successful one.  I’ve never heard any coach say that they regretted coaching a team.  It’s really a lot of fun.

Advanced Soccer

We will be holding Advanced Soccer (Division 3) tryouts for the Aptos Soccer Club teams April 19th and April 27th (For teams and times, check our website).  If your child was very successful in recreation soccer and desires a more challenging soccer environment, they may want to consider trying out for an Advanced Soccer team.   Out of the 10 game season, 5 games are played in Aptos, approximately 2 games are played in Santa Cruz County and approximately 3 games are played in the San Jose area.  For more information, please go to the Aptos Soccer Club website and choose the “Advanced Soccer” tab.  If you have any comments or questions about Advanced Soccer, please contact Doug Evers at 688-8501 ext. 03.

Raspberries and Surf City Coffee Fundraiser

We will be doing the same thing as last year with our raspberry and coffee fundraiser.  Orders will be placed early in the season and picked up on picture/play day.  This was a very successful and healthy fundraiser for the club.  Let's make it equally successful this year!  The $125 registration fee does not cover everything that Aptos Soccer Club offers and this is how we make ends meet.  Expenses include: field rental, referees, uniforms, CYSA fees ($34.00 each player), equipment, training, photos and administration.  If you want to give a straight donation at registration time, that is a great way to help us make ends meet.  When you divide the number of hours that your child gets to play and practice by the amount that you put in, it’s a great deal for what they end up getting. 

Opening Day and Picture/Play Day

Mark your calendars now - Our soccer season opening day will be Sept. 6th and run through November 15th.  Our Picture/Play Day will be Saturday, Sept. 20^th at Aptos Junior High School.  We look forward to another fun-filled day!  Rain or shine!  The basic picture package is included in your registration fee, but you are always encouraged to buy more.  We will be using Larry’s Photography again because they did such a great job last year, rain and all!

Coach/Player Requests

Coach and Player requests make it very difficult to create fair and even teams.  Last year, at the Team Parent meeting, I asked the Team Parents if they wanted to keep or get rid of “requests”.  They voted to get rid of coach, player and carpool requests because it really isn’t fair when trying to make teams even.  Nothing is worse than seeing a team of all friends who are either--really advanced or really inexperienced.  I hear many complaints of teams that are winning every game or losing every game--it isn’t fun either way.  So this year there will be NO team, coach or player requests.  If you absolutely need a carpool request for work reasons, call me at 688-8501x01 and leave me a message.  But our experience is that most of the carpool requests are not valid.  Take this as a chance to meet new players and families.  We will try to balance the teams by age and schools that the players attend.   

Website

Our website is a wealth of information which is constantly being update (thank you Todd).  Game schedules and other information may change, so check out the website periodically for the latest information.  The Polo Field hotline to check for closed fields due to rain is 454-7906.

Registration

You can either mail in your registration forms (2 copies) and a check or bring them to Walk-Up registration.  Please remember to bring or mail 2 copies.  If you are a new player, we need a copy of your county issued birth certificate.  The registration fee will go up this year due to county league fees, but where else can you get a great soccer experience for only $125.00?

Sponsors

What better way to get your company name out there but to be an Aptos Soccer Club sponsor?  Email Curt at cabramson@baileyproperties.com for info and directions on how to be a sponsor. 

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns - please feel free to call the soccer line and leave a message for me or any of the other board members at 688-8501.  Thank you to our new board of directors and coaches for making this season a success. 

See you at registration!

Kris Kirby, President

Aptos Soccer Club

Aptos Soccer Club Board of Directors

Vice President               Marcy Meier                            Safety Coordinator                    Heather Braga

Treasurer                       Cathie Giuliani                         Sponsor Coordinator                 Leslie Strohm

Secretary                      Leslie Strohm                          Fundraising Coordinator             Rob Morse

Rec. Registrar               Kris Kirby                               Coach Training                           David Lee

Div. 3 Registrar              Lydia Sanchez                        Game/Field Scheduling              Chris Klein

Uniforms & Equip.          David Lee                               Website Coordinator                  Todd Anderson

Referee Coordinator        John Armstrong                     Rec. Boys Coordinator                Beth Martorano

Advanced Soccer           Doug Evers                            Rec. Girls Coordinator                Marcy Meier

Picture Day Coord.         Nikki Harris                           Referee Scheduler                      Colleen Corrigan