Happy New Year! — January Club News — Jan. 5, 2026

 

Players and coaches at Emerald City's annual Holiday Jamboree on Dec. 29, 2025

 

CLUB CALENDAR


Jan. 3–March 1: High School Boys Winter League

Jan. 3–April 12: High School Girls League Play

Feb. 7–April 5: U11 to U14 Boys and Girls Spring League

Feb. 23–27: High school boys 2026–27 tryouts (details TBA)

April 10–12: U11 to U14 Washington Cup first round, Tukwila

April 24–26: U11 to U14 Washington Cup final round (for teams advancing), Pasco

Supplemental tryouts – parent volunteers needed!



Supplemental tryouts take place this week for prospective new players to check out the club! Invite your friends, neighbors and classmates with this link.


We also need parents/guardians for easy 15-minute volunteer shifts at various fields, checking in supplemental tryout players. TIA! (Note: For current players, sessions labeled “supplemental tryouts” in Teamsnap will be regular practices.)

Coach Education Update – John Hamel, Executive Director of Coaching


Emerald City FC is committed to ongoing education and continued learning for our coaches. In late November and early December, ECFC sponsored a United Soccer Coaches National Diploma course right here in Seattle. Ten ECFC coaches were joined by 21 other coaches from local clubs as well as from Minnesota, Alaska, and Canada, to further their understanding and knowledge of theory put together in practice.

Membership survey results – Patrick Negron, ECFC Board President


Many thanks to all those who completed the Club’s membership survey! We appreciate your thoughtful input as we work to improve the experience the Club provides. The Board and Club leadership have carefully reviewed all survey input. We have identified several common themes and are actively developing updates to policies, programming, and operations to address those shared priorities.


John Hamel has been working directly with our coaching staff to address coach-specific feedback. All coaches received formal reviews over the break, with survey input incorporated into those evaluations. As part of our ongoing commitment to coach development, individualized improvement plans are being created, and we’re proud to have sponsored the coach professional development described above.


We’re also excited to announce that we have hired Nancy Chaney as our Director of Communications. In addition to leading club communications, Nancy will also oversee event coordination throughout the year, helping bring greater consistency to both planning and communication for our members.


Some other changes are already underway as a direct result of your survey feedback: Fitness training will now be offered two days each week, allowing for improved access and flexibility. We are also reviewing how we deliver mental performance training to ensure it is more age-appropriate, particularly for our younger athletes. Derrek and his team are actively working through those details.


Thank you again for your engagement, honesty, and support. Your feedback plays a critical role in shaping the future of our club, and we look forward to sharing additional updates as plans continue to develop.

Winter practice fields



January and February practices are posted on Teamsnap for all teams. The fields are the best options we have, though they are less preferred locations for some families. If the location and/or time of a practice make it too difficult for your player to attend, just let your coach know.

Fitness training



We’re excited that we’ll have fitness training sessions available both Tuesdays and Fridays in the new year. Players are welcome to attend either one or both sessions, as they wish. Watch your Teamsnap for fitness training sessions.


Player evaluations



Players on U11 to U14 teams will receive a Player Evaluation from their coach by mid-January. Players on U15 to U19 boys’ teams should have received a goal-setting form to fill out and discuss with their coach. Players on U15 to U19 girls’ teams will receive their goal-setting forms by the end of January.

Holiday Jamboree – that's a wrap!


It was a chilly but sunny and beautiful December Monday — perfect for playing soccer! Roughly 75 ECFC players of all ages showed up to kick around at the UW’s IMA field #1. We stretched our holiday legs, got some touches in, and drank tasty hot cocoa with marshmallows! Thank you to everyone who came out!

 
 

Sponsor Partnership Opportunity



Call for uniform sponsors! Do you know of a business or organization that might be interested in sponsoring Emerald City FC during the 2026–28 season cycle? If so, please contact marketing@emeraldcityfc.org for more information. Thank you!


Thank you to our Sponsor

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