Hello MIFC Families,

We are near the end of our fall season and planning for the final week. This season has seen us have a great run of dry and relatively warm weather. To summarize the scope of this fall season, we’ve had:

• 900 kids playing across our Microsoccer, Recreational, Juniors and Select/XL programs this season
• 4 Recreational teams participating the WYS Rec Cup. Good Luck!
• 22 competitive select and XL teams playing across NPSL and WPL leagues
• 200 5- and 6-year olds experiencing soccer for the first time in our Microsoccer program with Coach Elliot Fauske and his team
• Over 300 kids across 22 teams in our fall recreational program. Thank you to our volunteer coaches! The kids benefit so much from your investment of time.

We want to highlight some of our upcoming events that you can read more about here and on our website:



• Annual Coaches Meeting and Annual Board Elections – Taking place at VFW Hall on November 9^th. All coaches, managers and other volunteers are invited to celebrate our fall season, honor graduating seniors and their coaches and hear our special keynote speaker. Food and drink is provided as well some fun prizes. We are looking for a club treasurer candidate to fill out our board. Please contact us if you are interested.
• Our annual MIFC Late Fall Skill Clinic – Starts this week and not too late to register. A great way for kids aged 5-11 to continue developing their skills in a fun learning environment.
• Register soon as well for our Winter Sharpness and Parent Camp as well as Winter/Spring Juniors programs. Keep an eye out for those announcements.

Finally, I need to close out with a message regarding sideline behavior. As you know youth sports relies on volunteers and referees who are committed to provide a kids a venue for fun, learning and physical expression. It has been a growing trend across all youth sports for referees and coaches to be subjected to bad and sometimes abusive behavior by parents at games and sometimes even at training. For youth referees who are often testing their confidence in their first jobs one bad experience with verbally abusive parents or coaches can mean the end of their experience. We have had a few incidents this fall that have caused kids to quit already. By the way, adult referees deserve the same respect and treatment even though they often have more agency. So I ask that you all reflect on your sideline conduct. As the old saying goes – you can pick a role – coach, referee, or parent. Pick one. If you chose to be a parent then do not talk or comment on the referee. They are doing the best they can. They are trained well, are often high level players themselves and have no interest in one team or another winning. Everyone misses calls or makes mistakes on the field. Just accept that it’s part of the game and learning process and cheer your team, kid and club on.

Thanks for reading and we will see you on the pitch!

Greg Snyder

MIFC Board President

Coaches Corner: MIFC needs referees!

Looking for an opportunity to earn some money? Become a soccer referee. MIFC is always looking for referees and we can put you to work straight away. Refs earn $40-$55 per game as an assistant ref and $40-$75 as a center ref.  MIFC always needs referees from all groups: players, parents, soccer fans, and encourages everyone to consider the opportunity of supporting the club and the players becoming a referee.  Referees are an important part of the soccer community, and a great way to engage in an active way with the sport.

If interested for you or your older children over the age of 13, check out these upcoming referee clinics in Washington:

Nov 10 ⎮ 10 AM - 2 PM in Tukwila

Nov 12 ⎮ 10 AM - 2 PM in Redmond

Dec 2 ⎮ 10 AM - 2 PM in Tukwila

Dec 9 ⎮ 9 AM - 1 PM in Redmond

Don't miss out on this opportunity! For more information and to get started, head over to Available Clinics (wareferees.org) and for more information on how to get involved with refereeing, head to wareferees.org or ask for information at info@mifc.org. 

Upcoming MIFC Programs - Late Fall/Winter!

Late Fall Skills Academy. MIFC is bringing back it’s skill camp for U6-U12 players who want to continue learning and polishing up their technical skills after the fall season is over. This 5- week clinic starts Wednesday November 8th and running through December 13th run by MIFC long-term coach Elliot Fauske and his staff and designed to make players better at ball control, passing and decision making. Wednesdays starting 4:30 – 6:00 at South Mercer Fields (Turf Softball Ptich). The cost is $100 - Register Now!

Also coming up are MIFC's Winter Sharpness and Parent Camp as well as Winter/Spring Juniors programs. Keep an eye out for those announcements. As always, for more information on MIFC's year-round soccer program offerings please visit the MIFC website at www.mifc.org and go to the Programs tab.