Mercer Island FC Newsletter
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December 2017  

MIFC Player Winter Sharpness & Free Parent Skills Registrations is OpenWinterSharpness
Popular Winter Training Program is Back 

Mercer Island FC has offered our popular Friday Night Winter Sharpness training program  for our players for years. Starting January 5th and running through the end of February, the program allows players to scrimmage with other players of their age and skill level under the watchful eye of Mercer Island High School boys Coach Colin Rigby, assisted by experienced Mercer Island FC and Eastside FC coaches.  

Not only do the kids get high quality academy style training from great coaches, but the parents get a free training session too! Aaron Byers, MIFC's Vice President of Player Development, has the parents come and do some of the same activities the kids are doing and progressing through. You get a full understanding of why we do these activities with the players, and you have a lot of fun. Last year we had 30+ parents work with Aaron each Friday night.  Of course, you can always use the 90 minutes to go have a dinner with your spouse. But then you'll miss out on the fun of learning the same skills as your son or daughter. 

Winter Sharpness/Parent Skills is held under the lights at the Mercer Island High School Stadium. Cost is $125. 

Mercer Island Based EFC Juniors Winter/Spring Program Registration Now OpenEFCJuniors
Program geared to players looking for continued soccer development and training (birth years 2009,2010,2011)

A message from Eastside FC RCL Juniors Director Colin Rigby - 

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate you all on a great and successful season this last fall. We saw all the teams progress dramatically and had a lot of fun too. 
 
Here is a chance to bring the groups back together and keep the progress going! 
 

Below is the schedule for the Winter/Spring RCL Eastside FC Juniors 
·  First week of practice: January 23rd, 2018
·  First weekend of games: February 3rd and 4th, 2018
·  No games on these weekends: February 17th and 18th, 2018 (Presidents Day Weekend) and March 31st and April 1st, 2018 (Easter Weekend)
·  Last Weekend of games: April 21st and 22nd, 2018
 
Registration is herehttps://go.teamsnap.com/forms/94354
Details are herehttps://www.eastsidefc.org/our-programs  
Program Flyer is here2018 Winter/Spring EFC Juniors
 
We are trying to magnify the success of this league to the rest of the Island, so if you have friends who are interested, please feel free to introduce them to me, and we can get them signed up. The program is open to new and returning players. 
 
Happy Holidays!!!
 
Colin RIgby
Eastside FC  Director RCL Juniors
Mercer Island High School Head Coach Boys Soccer
MIHS Girls Win 1st State Soccer Title   MIHSGirls
High School Team's Season Success due in Large Part to MIFC Player Development Efforts

The Mercer Island High School Girls soccer team concluded their stellar season with a 4-1 win over previously unbeaten and #1 ranked Stadium High School on November 18th. Seniors Jessie Stenberg and Kendall Riley led the way with Stenberg scoring 3 goals and Riley leading the lock-down back line. Emily Aaron had the other goal for MI as the girls finished their season with a 16-1-3 record and the program's first state soccer championship. 

For the complete story on the championship match, check out the Seattle Times article here -  Mercer Island Girls Win 1st State Title


MIHS Girls Soccer State Champions with MIFC Connections:
- 40 Players between Varsity and JV (not counting 21 on JV-C team)*
- 35 of 40 are MIFC alumni
- 29 of 40 have played with MIFC at least one season since 2014/15
- 21 of 40 are playing MIFC Select in 2017/18
 
* - Based on tryout results in August. Players may have moved between teams or if additional players were added after tryouts.
MIHS Seniors Reflect on their Early Soccer Careers with Mercer Island FC MIHSSeniors
Jessie Stenberg and Kendall Riley got their start in MIFC Microsoccer program

Kendall Riley and Jessie Stenberg were two Senior stars on the Mercer Island High School Girls State Championship team who got their start with Mercer Island FC. 

Kendall started playing soccer for MIFC in 1st grade. She continued with her MIFC team through the 3rd grade. In 4th grade, Kendall tried out for and made the Eastside FC Premier "A" team. Since then, Kendall has played for Eastside FC and Mercer Island FC Select teams.

Kendall has many fond memories of learning new skills and making new friends in those early years. 



Jessica Susan Stenberg, better known as "Jessie", is a lifetime Islander who grew up enjoying Mercer Island sports from an early age.  

Starting with MIFC MicroSoccer back in Kindergarten and progressing through the Boys and Girls Club spring soccer program, Jessie spent a couple years with Eastside FC before transitioning to Mercer Island Select in order to make it easier to play multiple sports.  Her MIFC Select soccer teams included MIFC Fierce and most recently MIFC Force.

Jessie looks forward to returning to the Island in the future to work with the younger girls in the soccer program and give back to the soccer community.

BU19 MIFC Storm Wrap up their Soccer Careers with a Silver Medal in District 2 Championship Match MIFCStorm
Coach Jenny Probert and the team have been together since U6 Microsoccer

One of the real highlights of a program like Mercer Island FC Recreational Soccer is seeing a team come together at an early age and stay together through High School. Jenny Probert and the boys of the BU19 MIFC Storm have had just such an experience. 

On November 18th, the Storm played for the District 2 Championship and a chance to go to the State Recreational Cup tournament. Alas, not all stories have a fairy tale ending, with the Storm losing in penalty kicks to settle for the silver medal. It was the team's final game after 13 years together. 


This is what Jenny Probert, Coach of MIFC U19 Storm, had to say after their last match: "This is the best group of guys I've ever known. They played their hearts out tonight and left everything they had on the field. We lost on penalty kicks on the 10th shooter. A really brutal way to lose in a final... Huge props to every single member of the Storm. You are a coaches dream and I am so very proud of you all! It's been my great honor coaching you. I just can't believe our run is over, but I'm so excited to see what you all accomplish next!"
End of Season Coach Appreciation and Graduating Senior Dinner a Big SuccessCoachAppreciation
MIHS Coaches Colin Rigby and James Valles Headline the Evening

A Mercer Island FC tradition is the end of fall season appreciation dinner. It's a chance to recognize and thank our volunteer coaches, trainers and graduating seniors. Held in early November before many of our coaches are on to their wintertime activities, this year we got to hear from MIHS Boys Coach Colin Rigby and MIHS Girls Coach James Valles. 

After a dinner catered by MIFC club sponsor  Pagliacci Pizza, Coach Rigby and Valles talked about their respective programs, what they look for in players, and the role that Mercer Island FC plays in developing young players for the high school soccer teams. As noted above in the article about the MIHS Girls soccer state title, a majority of the players on the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams are products of the MIFC program. Many are still playing on MIFC teams through their high school years. 

Concluding the evening was the recognition of four MIFC teams with graduating seniors - the BU19 United coached by Brian McGee, assisted by Kern & Rory McGee and Mark Hasall; GU19 Wildcats coached by Scott Barbara; the BU19 Storm coached by Jenny Probert; and the BU19 Gunners coached by Greg Snyder.

MIHS Coaches James Valles and Colin Rigby
Volunteer Spotlight - MIFC Vice President of Recreational Soccer Sarah LeClercqVolunteerSpotlight
VP of Recreational Soccer makes sure our players and coaches have a fun, successful season

The backbone of Mercer Island FC is our Recreational Soccer program with nearly 80% of the club's players playing on over 75 Recreational teams. Ensuring that the players and coaches have a positive, successful experience is the responsibility of our VP of Recreational Soccer. For 2018-19, we'll have Co-VP's with Sarah LeClercq and Erik Viafore sharing the role. This month we get to learn a little more about Sarah.

With 4 very active boys playing soccer and a history of volunteering in our community, Sarah was a logical choice to approach about joining the MIFC board 4 years ago. In addition, Sarah was a soccer player herself growing up and still plays on an indoor women's team, so helping develop young soccer players comes naturally to her. 

Interested in Working with the Mercer Island FC Board?
We're looking for enthusiastic parents who'd like to contribute to the club's success WorkingWithBoard

Mercer Island FC board is comprised of parent volunteers who oversee the club's Micro, Recreational and Select Soccer programs along with player, coach and referee development activities. Board members are enthusiastic soccer supporters, some who played soccer in high school and college, others who hardly played growing up. But all share a commitment to the club and a passion for providing high quality opportunities for Mercer Island girls and boys to pursue their soccer goals at whatever level they aspire to.

Learn more about current MIFC Board members here. If you are interested in getting involved or learning more about the board responsibilities and various volunteer opportunities, email MIFC Past-President Toby Suhm at toby_suhm@msn.com.
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