There are many questions about regarding the Jerseyville Strykers Soccer Club and I would like to take a moment to answer those questions publically.
As many of you know, Strykers has been in existence since 1991 primarily
to train youth soccer players to take their game to the next level. We have had
various levels of success with local tournaments and competitive leagues in the
area. In the past, our primary focus was to develop boys and girls aged 8 – 14.
Last year we expanded our reach and added a high school girls team. All nine of
our coaches are licensed with the United States National Team Curriculum
Certification to ensure players receive the best instructional practices. One of
our main community outreach objectives has always been to hold a soccer camp at
the beginning of August that was open for all soccer players from third grade
through eighth grade while allowing the high school players participate as the
coaches. Underlying all of these activities has been a very strong dependence on
local businesses and individuals to financially support these endeavors.
This year, however, the Club has decided to take a step back to evaluate
several areas of our outreach. At the foundational level, Strykers exists to
serve as a support for the soccer needs of the community and that
will never change. The reality is that the community has drastically improved
its focus on the sport. One of our former girls soccer players, Sammi Ferguson,
has gone on to set several records at Blackburn College. Alison Guerra also
attends Blackburn College and was offered a scholarship to ensure that
opportunity. Our high school boys, coached by Scott Burney, Rick Sims, and Scott
Woelfel, are coming off of the best numerical record in the school’s history and
hope to surpass the distance set by the 2003 team that made it past the regional
game and lost in the Super Sectional game, finishing in the top 16 of the state.
The high school boys team hosted an early soccer camp for boys and girls with
approximately sixty participants. Our Parks and Recreation Department, led by
Angela Sullivan, has introduced “Tiny Tots Soccer,” which focuses on players’
first experiences with the sport. In addition, the Parks and Recreation
Department has contracted with Elite FT to hold a soccer camp at Dolan Park the
week of July 30th. All of these accomplishments are positive steps
for the growing needs of soccer in this community.
So what exactly is current purpose of the Jerseyville Strykers Soccer Club? What is the club doing now?
Again, we are here to offer support. First of all, we have decided NOT to hold our annual
soccer camp and completely throw our support behind Justin McMillan’s Elite FT
Camp sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department the week of July
30th. It is difficult in this tough economy to justify asking our
local players to commit to three local camps, two of which would have been held in consecutive weeks. By supporting Elite FT, we allow local players to receive professional level training while also providing that same opportunity to our high school boys
players who will begin their season the following week. For information
regarding this camp, please visit www.eliteft.com or call the Parks and Recreation
Department at (618) 498-2222.
Secondly, Strykers is committed to growing soccer at the high school level for girls. We
held tryouts for available positions in June and will have seventeen girls
playing in the Southern Illinois Soccer League in the fall. Girls from
Jerseyville, Litchfield, Gillespie, and Hillsboro will participate in this
highly competitive league which features O’Fallon Kicks, Gateway FC, Belleville
FC, Alton United, among others. All games are played at the O’Fallon Sports
Park and schedules can be found at www.sisl.org. Coached by Ryan Arter and Jim
White, the team looks to focus on increased training time in Jerseyville and
Gillespie while developing consistent technical performance during matches. By
playing competitively with Strykers last year, Jen Brakenhoff from Litchfield
was able to receive a soccer scholarship to play for Greenville College. She
attributes her experience with Strykers as a huge advantage in helping her be a
freshmen varsity starter for this year’s team.
Finally, Strykers coaches are taking some much needed time to step back, evaluate our future objectives, and look for more opportunities to grow soccer in our community. We did not request any additional financial support from the community this year. And we decided, based primarily on the interest level of parents and their willingness to commit to the competitive league with SISL, not to continue with any competitive youth
teams this season. We are encouraging all of our players to sign up for either
the Jerseyville Parks and Recreation fall league [www.jerseyville-il.us/parks] or the Alton Parks and Recreation fall league – although Alton’s registration deadline has already passed. In addition,
there are several questions that need to be addressed, and taking this time away
from some of our commitments will give us ample time to adequately address
them.
If
you would like to know more about the Jerseyville Strykers Soccer Club, please
contact Brad Kimble through E-mail: [email protected], or check out
the Strykers’ Web site at http://jerseyvillestrykerssoccerclub.weebly.com.
As many of you know, Strykers has been in existence since 1991 primarily
to train youth soccer players to take their game to the next level. We have had
various levels of success with local tournaments and competitive leagues in the
area. In the past, our primary focus was to develop boys and girls aged 8 – 14.
Last year we expanded our reach and added a high school girls team. All nine of
our coaches are licensed with the United States National Team Curriculum
Certification to ensure players receive the best instructional practices. One of
our main community outreach objectives has always been to hold a soccer camp at
the beginning of August that was open for all soccer players from third grade
through eighth grade while allowing the high school players participate as the
coaches. Underlying all of these activities has been a very strong dependence on
local businesses and individuals to financially support these endeavors.
This year, however, the Club has decided to take a step back to evaluate
several areas of our outreach. At the foundational level, Strykers exists to
serve as a support for the soccer needs of the community and that
will never change. The reality is that the community has drastically improved
its focus on the sport. One of our former girls soccer players, Sammi Ferguson,
has gone on to set several records at Blackburn College. Alison Guerra also
attends Blackburn College and was offered a scholarship to ensure that
opportunity. Our high school boys, coached by Scott Burney, Rick Sims, and Scott
Woelfel, are coming off of the best numerical record in the school’s history and
hope to surpass the distance set by the 2003 team that made it past the regional
game and lost in the Super Sectional game, finishing in the top 16 of the state.
The high school boys team hosted an early soccer camp for boys and girls with
approximately sixty participants. Our Parks and Recreation Department, led by
Angela Sullivan, has introduced “Tiny Tots Soccer,” which focuses on players’
first experiences with the sport. In addition, the Parks and Recreation
Department has contracted with Elite FT to hold a soccer camp at Dolan Park the
week of July 30th. All of these accomplishments are positive steps
for the growing needs of soccer in this community.
So what exactly is current purpose of the Jerseyville Strykers Soccer Club? What is the club doing now?
Again, we are here to offer support. First of all, we have decided NOT to hold our annual
soccer camp and completely throw our support behind Justin McMillan’s Elite FT
Camp sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department the week of July
30th. It is difficult in this tough economy to justify asking our
local players to commit to three local camps, two of which would have been held in consecutive weeks. By supporting Elite FT, we allow local players to receive professional level training while also providing that same opportunity to our high school boys
players who will begin their season the following week. For information
regarding this camp, please visit www.eliteft.com or call the Parks and Recreation
Department at (618) 498-2222.
Secondly, Strykers is committed to growing soccer at the high school level for girls. We
held tryouts for available positions in June and will have seventeen girls
playing in the Southern Illinois Soccer League in the fall. Girls from
Jerseyville, Litchfield, Gillespie, and Hillsboro will participate in this
highly competitive league which features O’Fallon Kicks, Gateway FC, Belleville
FC, Alton United, among others. All games are played at the O’Fallon Sports
Park and schedules can be found at www.sisl.org. Coached by Ryan Arter and Jim
White, the team looks to focus on increased training time in Jerseyville and
Gillespie while developing consistent technical performance during matches. By
playing competitively with Strykers last year, Jen Brakenhoff from Litchfield
was able to receive a soccer scholarship to play for Greenville College. She
attributes her experience with Strykers as a huge advantage in helping her be a
freshmen varsity starter for this year’s team.
Finally, Strykers coaches are taking some much needed time to step back, evaluate our future objectives, and look for more opportunities to grow soccer in our community. We did not request any additional financial support from the community this year. And we decided, based primarily on the interest level of parents and their willingness to commit to the competitive league with SISL, not to continue with any competitive youth
teams this season. We are encouraging all of our players to sign up for either
the Jerseyville Parks and Recreation fall league [www.jerseyville-il.us/parks] or the Alton Parks and Recreation fall league – although Alton’s registration deadline has already passed. In addition,
there are several questions that need to be addressed, and taking this time away
from some of our commitments will give us ample time to adequately address
them.
If
you would like to know more about the Jerseyville Strykers Soccer Club, please
contact Brad Kimble through E-mail: [email protected], or check out
the Strykers’ Web site at http://jerseyvillestrykerssoccerclub.weebly.com.
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