This Month in Marin FC – May 2018
This Month in Marin FC summarizes the month’s news and notes in a series of ‘high-level’ briefs from various club constituents.
In This Edition
From the President
Here are a few highlights and news tidbits from the past month:
Anyone remember the rains? Me neither! Some clouds remain, lingering over Marin, but they seem to be more of those of renaissance paintings than the ones intent on wreaking havoc with fields and scheduling. So, while the cumulus float harmlessly by, we can turn our focus to everything that’s about to happen.
Informational Meetings
We held our first 2018-19 standing room only Parent Informational Meeting at the Embassy Suites on April 23rd. To help anyone who couldn’t attend, a second meeting has been added:
Thursday, May 4th, 7-9pm
Redwood HS, Krepps Meeting Room
395 Dougherty Drive, Larkspur
The meetings include a club presentation and Q&A session with our Senior Technical Staff. With numerous advancements in the works, the meetings are good for current club members and those new to Marin FC.
Tryouts
Obviously, a big part of the club’s current focus is on preparation for May’s tryouts. We’re finalizing fields and coach scheduling now to ensure that things run as smoothly, completely and as efficiently as possible. Volunteers will be much appreciated. If you can and wish, please announce yourself to the staff organizing things at the field, and they will find you a job. Current Marin FC and Central Marin players are automatically registered, but if you know other young lovers of the game, please encourage them to register on our website.
Spring Institute
The last sessions of the inaugural Spring Institute will occur over the next couple of weeks. After surprising enrollment and a soggy start, the staff settled in and really got to know the players. Reports are positive across the board. Players appear to have had a great experience, and the coaches feel that clear development of skills and tactics were in evidence over the few spring weeks. We will continue to retool and advance the program as it promises to play a big part in opportunities and options available to our players in the spring of ‘19.
Supporting Our Players, Coaches and Teams
Marin FC continues to press forward in many ways both on and off the pitch, as the more we can support our players, coaches and teams, the more they are freed to focus on their efforts. Specifically, we will be expanding our strength & conditioning and injury reduction program with specially scheduled sessions in addition to team trainings. Previously our instructors were visiting trainings, so additional dedicated times will elevate training effectiveness and supplement players’ regular instruction.
For our coaches, Marin FC has adopted and expanded concussion injury education and training. All coaches are required to renew their coursework each year, and this year Marin FC widened the material and typical eight question protocol and expanded it to 24 questions while making the program more easily accessible. We also raised the bar for certification.
New also, and worth a visit, Marin FC is proud to celebrate those of us who are departing for bigger things. Our website ‘graduates’ page catalogues all those whom we can no longer call our kids.
Lastly (for now), Marin FC has officially launched ‘The Crew’. This set of dedicated volunteers will be out and about during games in their distinctive yellow club polos. While tasked to prepare the fields, their presence is also intended to monitor the sidelines and ensure that both our and our visitors’ conduct exemplifies the beautiful game.
Sun in the Forecast
Whether under the clouds, or in the rains that will certainly return, soccer at Marin FC will surely shine. As State Cup runs wrap up and the spring league comes to an end, we’ll get to paint a new picture together, clouds included.
Evan Cross, President
From the Director of Coaching
Here are a few highlights and news tidbits from the past month:
Info Night Update
We hosted the first of two info nights for prospective Marin FC players in late April. The event was incredibly well received, with well over 200 people in attendance. Topics included team formation, budgets, and the referee program as a source of player development and fundraising. Another event is planned for Thursday May 3 at Redwood High School.
Spring Institute Update
The Spring Institute saw sustained success post Spring break, as the weather finally turned in our favor. Our coaching staff ran several “three-a-week” training session with an average of 70 attendees. Session focus is on appropriate warm-up, technical work in areas such as passing, receiving and dribbling, and small-sided games, ranging from 1 v 1, to 2 v 1, to 2 v 2, to open play in 4 v 4’s.
In State Cup News
State Cup play resumed, with the 99B Blue, 01B Blue, 04G Blue, 02G Blue and 01G Blue still vying for state supremacy at the quarter-final stage.
League Updates
April welcomed lots of league play, as both NPL and NorCal Premier leagues heated up.
College Night
Our older group DOCs, Kelly Coffey and Dave Frank, ran a highly informative college night this past week, with approximately 85 players in attendance from our 03’s to our 00’s. Guest speakers included Emiria Salzman, Head Women’s Coach at Sonoma State, Zlatan Sahmanovic, Head Women’s Coach at Menlo College, Dave Frank, Head Men’s Coach at Dominican University, Kelly Coffey, Head Women’s Coach at Dominican University, and Logan Mobley from ESM Prep, a service that helps kids with the recruiting process. Additionally, we had current standouts, Jack Singer of the 99B Blue, who is heading to Cal this fall to play, and Megan Dillon of the 99G Blue, who is headed to Connecticut College this fall to play, round out our esteemed panel.
Casey Walls
Casey Walls, who played for the 01B Blue and the 02B Blue the past two years, is currently representing the 03 Youth National Team in Italy. USA beat Italy in their opener, 2-0, and then beat Croatia in their 2nd game, 2-0 as well. Casey started both games and will likely be starting against Slovenia in the quarters the day this newsletter goes to press! He’s #23 in the following picture.
– Josh Kalkstein, DOC
In the Spotlight
This month’s spotlight features an interview with UC Riverside freshman, Elizabeth Martin. Here’s what she had to say:
Tell our readers a little about yourself.
I was born and raised in Petaluma, CA but my parents are from Mexico. Our family of five includes me, my older sister Vanessa, younger brother Damian, and my dad and mom, Rafael and Lourdes. I went to Casa Grande High School and graduated in 2017. I played three years of varsity soccer, two years of varsity track and field, and one year of freshman basketball. Last fall, I moved to the Inland Empire of Southern California to play division 1 soccer at UC Riverside.
Recollect your Marin FC experience if you will.
I only played two years at Marin FC but they were by far and away my best and favorite. I loved everything about the club, and my team was the best group of down to earth girls from all over the bay area. Before joining Marin FC during my junior year of high school, I played on a boys’ team and ran track to stay in shape. Joining Marin FC was by far the best decision I’ve made in 10 years of playing soccer. From the coaching staff to traveling around California with the best group of girls, my memories and experiences with FC will stay with me forever.
What other schools did you look at and why did you ultimately pick UC Riverside?
While I had other offers from smaller D3 and D2 colleges from all over California, I originally committed to Sonoma State my fall semester junior year. I decommitted the following spring semester because I wanted to get away from home and get a UC education. I ultimately chose UC Riverside because it was away, but not too far, from home, it was a UC school, the coaching staff were amazing, and it was in the middle of “all things” Southern California.
What were some of the adjustments you had to make to successfully transition from club to collegiate ball?
The biggest difference between college and club is the intensity of the game and the general skill level of teams. Thanks to Tyler Gottschalk, I was accustomed to playing higher level teams, which certainly helped in making the jump to the collegiate style and pace of play.
Summarize your collegiate soccer career to date. What have been some of the highlights?
My first year of college was exciting and full of new experiences. One of my favorite highlights was starting the first two games of the season as a center back, before pulling a quad late in game two and nurse my way back to health over a month. Even during rehab though, I travelled every weekend with the team, bar one. My favorite trip was to Colorado because I’d never been there and was taken aback by the difference in culture and scenic beauty.
What are you learning as a collegiate athlete that you’ll take into post collegiate life?
Since I’ve only been a college athlete for one year, there is a lot that I can still learn in my next three years. So far, I’ve learned that taking care of your body, as in taking time to recover, eating healthy, and properly fueling your body, are all major keys in lasting out a long and challenging season. Hopefully after college, I’ll maintain those habits, so I can play long into the future.
From athletics to academics. What are you studying?
I’m a biology major with a pre-med concentration.
Any interests outside of soccer?
Outside of soccer, I love finding good places to eat, or new recipes to make at home or a nearby kitchen.
Any thoughts about life after college?
After college I would like to go play somewhere outside of the U.S. or go to med school if pro soccer isn’t a possibility. Ultimately, I plan to use my qualifications and experience to go work in the Peace Corps.
The Marin FC alumni community is alive and well. Do you keep in touch with many of your former teammates?
I keep in touch with several of my former teammates through pre-season, spring or conference play. To name a few, locally Sarah Young plays at UC Irvine and Sydney Spina plays at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. More distantly, Chase Geffert and McRae Fried play at Penn, and Lauren Foehr is at the University of San Diego. It’s always nice to see familiar faces lined up on the other side of the midline.
Anyone you want to thank or recognize at Marin FC?
I’d like to thank my coach, Tyler Gottschalk, for making college soccer a possibility, and for supporting me during the recruiting process. My long-life dream of playing college soccer wouldn’t have become a reality without his help.
Before I let you go, give us a little insight into your interests and passions. Name three books on your book shelf, three gadgets you couldn’t live without, and three artists/bands in your IPod.
Three books on my bookshelf include When Nobody was Watching by Carli Lloyd, The Hate You Give and A Brief History of Time. Three gadgets I wouldn’t live without are my watch, phone and laptop. Three artists on my iPod include Miguel, SZA and Russ.
How can our readers follow you if they’d like to track your athletic activities?
They can follow our team at https://gohighlanders.com/index.aspx?path=wsoc.
From the Director of Development
Eloi Run Registration is Open
Register Now!
Registration is open for the 3rd Annual Eloi Vasquez Marin Headlands Memorial Run and Walk on June 9th, 2018. Join hundreds of friends and families in honoring and celebrating Eloi Vasquez’s life and achievements, and in doing so keep his memory alive and support the Eloi Vasquez “Living for the Game” scholarship fund. With the help of our vibrant community, the past two annual events have raised $80,000 of the $125,000 needed to fully fund one full scholarship in perpetuity in Eloi’s honor. Accordingly, we urge you to be one of the many that crosses the finish line on June 9 and raises the $45,000 needed to keep his legacy alive forever.
Eloi Vasquez (1995 – 2015) was a resident of Mill Valley, a Marin FC soccer standout and a student-athlete at UC Berkeley. He was tragically killed in a car accident on March 28, 2015. After his death, his family and friends launched the “Living for the Game” scholarship fund to embody Eloi’s dedication to family, commitment to personal growth and academics, and passion for the game. The fund awards a grant annually to a female and/or male Marin FC soccer player or players that personify Eloi’s character and spirit on and off the field.
The event offers competitive and non-competitive run options as well as two walking courses. Prizes will be awarded to winners in the men’s and women’s competitive bracket. Participants that register by May 15th, 2018 are guaranteed to receive a free custom-designed event t-shirt.
Got Team News?
To share a game summary or tournament recap:
- Visit MarinFC.com
- Locate ‘Media & Info’ under ‘About Marin FC’ at the top of the page
- Click ‘Submit an Article’
Alternatively, click here: https://forms.marinfc.com/submit-an-article/
Edited posts will be added to our website homepage “latest club news” section and posted on our Facebook page within 48 hours. We encourage you to use this tool to keep all in the club informed re: individual and team accomplishments. A big thanks to those of you that use it already.
– Ian Tonks, Director of Development