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Dear Parents and Players,
Welcome — or welcome back — to a new year of Shorecrest Middle Division Girls Soccer!
Coach John Hutton and I hope everyone will have a fun, enjoyable year in which both their athletic, interpersonal and leadership skills will develop and flourish.
The MD team is designed to provide both a stepping stone to Shorecrest's Jr. Varsity (Grades 8-10) and Varsity (Grades 8-12) teams... as well as a chance to learn a new sport for girls who previously never got around to soccer.
You'll find that while we expect a lot from the girls in terms of on-time attendance, good sportsmanship and effort, the atmosphere around the team is positive, encouraging and fun.
What's new? The big news is that we will have one MD team this year and that all 8th grade girls have been invited to try out for either JV or Varsity this year. Varsity Coach is Neal Wolfrath (he teaches 3rd grade at Shorecrest); JV coach is Christine Idinge (she teaches 7th grade algebra). 8th grade girls who don't feel comfortable playing for JV will, of course, be welcome to play for the middle school team. (And we might occasionally borrow an 8th grader on JV for MD!)
Because we'll only have one MD team this year, there will be lots more games!
8th grade girls who did not begin practice with Coach Wolfrath this week should plan to join one team or the other on Monday, October 25 unless they are still playing a fall sport. They must finish their fall sport first before they can join a winter team. Please make sure your daughter lets her coach know if she will be late coming out because of a fall sport.
A few things to know:
Equipment: For practice, each girl should wear shorts, t-shirt, soccer socks, NOCSAE-approved shinguards (referees will randomly check for this; there is a little tag on the shinguards or it should be indicated on the packaging), and cleats (plastic, not metal). We recommend sending in a supply of ponytail ties because they disappear quickly and are always in demand.
There are water fountains in the baseball dugouts, but if your daughter wants to bring her own water bottle or Gatorade, that's no problem. We insist on water breaks and hydration.
Do not wear to practice or games: earrings, wristbands, jewelry, necklaces, etc.
Practice: You'll receive a practice and game schedule from us in the next week or so. Every girl is expected to attend eery practice. That said, we understand that schoolwork, doctors appointments and other family issues do occur. When your daughter will miss practice, the coaches should be notified, preferably by her. Missing practice the day before a game will result in not starting that game, no matter what the player's ability.
Practice starts Monday, October 25 @ 3:15 p.m. on the softball field in front of the Sher Center. We will practice Monday through Thursday the first week and likely the week of November 1, as well.
Parents are welcome to watch practices; we might even put the willing ones to work!
Cuts: There are none. Everyone makes the MD Girls Soccer team.
Games: When you receive the game schedule, it will include both the game time and, if it is an away game, a reporting time when the girls must be on the bus to leave Shorecrest. Buses leave from the basketball court behind the gym. The buses wait for no player!
We love to have big turnouts of family and friends at our games, both home and away. Home games are played at the football field behind Shorecrest; away game maps and directions can be found on the Shorecrest website here:
http://www.shorecrest.org/?page=ath_directions
Shorecrest charges $5 admission for adults and $2 for students to all middle school sports events; you can avoid this by joining the Booster Club. Here's how:
http://www.shorecrest.org/?page=Booster_Club
Most away games will also have an admission charge, although it varies from school to school.
Parents Meeting: We'll schedule it for the first week of November, after practice. Stay tuned!
Team Parents: We need one or two parents to take charge of organizing post-game snacks at home and away -- and a pre-game snack for away games. Team parents will also coordinate parent volunteers at the Shorecrest concession stand and ticket booth, as well as organize an end-of-season award party. Volunteers should contact me directly.
Uniforms: The school will provide uniforms to all players. The girls are responsible for keeping these neat and clean during the season and returning them at the end of the season. (They can keep the socks we distribute!)
Roster:
Dulci B - 8th
Nadine S - 8th
Annie G - 8th
Alex P - 8th
Kylie H - 8th
Ana R - 8th
Caitlin B - 8th
Sionna M - 8th
Demi T - 8th
Amanda P - 7th
Tessa M - 7th
Peninah B - 7th
Bailee M - 7th
Sage F - 7th
Francesca J - 7th
Laura H - 7th
Victoria V - 7th
Katie J - 7th
Kai G - 7th
Holly M - 6th
Olivia D - 6th
Sophie W - 6th
Nicole L - 6th
Kendall P - 6th
Multy O - 6th
Camille P - 6th
Olivia R - 6th
By the way, we know some of the girls may be wrapping up fall sports or may be participating in Beauty & the Beast until the beginning of November. Please just let us know when they will be available to join us at practice.
And if your daughter wants to play but hasn't signed up yet, it's not too late!
Blog: The Shorecrest MD Girls Soccer team has a blog of its own. I post game results, schedules and schedule updates, elated news and links, and as many photos as parents can submit. You can receive email updates or subscribe via RSS:
http://shorecrestmdgirlssoccergold.blogspot.com/ .
About the Coaches: Bob Andelman is in his fourth year as a MD Girls Soccer coach. His daughter, Rachel, is a 9th grader and the school and is a soccer player. Coach Andelman — a Shorecrest parent for 10 years – is a writer of books and magazine articles. He and his wife Mimi have been married for 22 years and live on Snell Isle.
John Hutton is also in his fourth year as a MD Girls Soccer coach. He is a father of two daughters (including former Shorecrest PE instructor Amber Hutton) and a son, and a grandfather of five (with #6 on the way). Coach Hutton — a retired banker from upstate New York — has been on the faculty of the Shorecrest Lower Division for the past four years. This year he is assisting kindergarten teacher Meagan Conroy. He and his wife Bonnie have been married for 39 years and live in New Tampa.
We will make every effort to communicate with you via email whenever there is news about your daughter or the team, and you are welcome to contact me directly at this email address or at the phone numbers below if you have any questions at all during the course of the season.
Go Chargers!
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