Dear Carolina Velocity Families,

Welcome to the 2019-2020 Season! We are glad to have you as a member of our soccer family. Each week, we publish a newsletter to keep you in the loop as to what’s happening at the club. We’ll announce events, tournaments, community-service opportunities, game summaries, and more! We look forward to a fun and exciting year!
SATURDAY! TAILGATE! PRO SOCCER & GAME DAY FUN!
We’re kicking-off the season with a club-wide Tailgate Party and pro soccer match! NCFC plays Bethlehem Steel this Saturday night. Purchase your tickets today!  Enter Code: VELOCITY

The club will sit together in the North Stand. Cost is $10 per ticket. Come out and show your Velocity pride and support our local pro team! All eyes are on Hurricane Dorian this week, and we hope the storm will stay offshore, but if the situation changes, and the game is cancelled due to weather, NCFC will issue a raincheck.

Parking Lot Map - Tailgate is at 5pm Parking Lot D.
Game Day Info - Where to be and when.
Sign up for Game Day Experiences ! - Players interact with the pros!

Ball Boys/Girls – must be age 12+
Bench Warmers - during pre-game warm-up
Player companions – walk the pros onto the pitch
Fan Tunnel Participants – cheer on our local pro team as they take the field
Special Guests - Velocity U8s and U9s play a 6-8 minute half-time scrimmage
WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

Goldsboro Champions League, Bryan Multi-Sport Complex - Saturday U11-U14s
Greensboro - Bryan Park Soccer Complex Saturday ELITE DA 15s, 16s, 19s v NC FUSION DA
MAC Sports Complex - Sunday Academy Teams
ONE-ON-ONE TRAINING!
Our fantastic coaches are available for one-on-one and small group sessions to help your player take their game to the next level. Choose a day and time that suits your schedule.The extra practice will make a world of difference in your player! Contact your coach for details.
GOAL KEEPER TRAINING

Goalkeeper training starts next week! We have two time slots allocated for specific age groups:
 
Monday 9/9 at 7:15 - 8:30 PM U8 - U12 MAC Soccer Complex
Tuesday 9/10 at 7:15 - 8:30 PM U13 - U18 East Cary Middle School
 
If you have Team practice at this time please attend the GK Session over your team practice. Contact Andy Thompson with questions.
ASK ALAN!
“Ask Alan!” is a new Q+A column with Alan Smith, our club Ambassador. As many of you know, Alan played for Manchester United FC and Leeds United FC. As a former star in the English Premier League, Alan has a wealth of experience and knowledge that he's eager to share with our Velocity kids.

If your player has questions about soccer - Alan is happy to answer them. Does your player need advice on tactics or technique? Want to know what Sir Alex Ferguson is like as a coach? Is VAR all its cracked up to be? Go ahead, and ask Alan!
Email questions with ASKALAN in the subject line. We'll collect your questions and forward them on to Alan to read. Be sure to include your player’s name and age. We'll include players' questions and Alan's answers in our upcoming issues.
FIELD NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS August 17-18, 2019
A handful of Velocity teams participated in pre-season tournaments in Charlotte and Wilson with incredible results! Congratulations to all of our Carolina Velocity Teams! Below are game summaries for a few of our participating teams.
1st Place U19 Boys PUMA King

SUMMARY BY ANDY THOMPSON
Velocity 01 Red has changed a bit this season, as a few players have graduated and gone onto college. One player even went onto Spain to play professionally for Malaga City. We picked up some quality additions to make this squad much more balanced moving into the 2019-2020 season.
 
Starting the season off with the Charlotte tournament was a challenge. Saturday we started slowly as the boys and I worked on the team’s strengths. Moving into Sunday the boys played well in the semi-final. Building on the positives of the semi-final, we raised the bar and the boys played outstanding soccer in the final. The boys won 8-0 against a solid Charlotte Independence team. 
 
I’m very proud of these boys. On Saturday, we struggled to gel as a team simply because it was the boys first time playing together. Sunday was a different ball game. I set specific goals for each player to hit, and we for sure hit them! We have a great group of boys here, and I am excited to see the progress through the season.
1st Place U15 Boys Puma King

SUMMARY BY ANDY THOMPSON
Velocity 05 Elite is a new team formed off the back of a great camp team. We have 18 boys eager to participate in competitive soccer. The 05 Elite is an exciting group of boys that will progressively get better each week through training and games. It was difficult to gage what we might expect from the tournament, but each and every player performed to a high standard in order to come out victorious. 
 
It was exciting to start a new era for 05 Velocity. We saw many great things through the weekend, but we as individuals and collectively as a team have a long way to go to meet my expectations. Slow steps is all we can ask for, and throughout the weekend we saw the boys having to dig deep and test their mental strength, which they for sure did coming from behind in the second game on Saturday to win 4-2 and winning the final on Sunday 3-2 with a golden goal winner.
Wilson Summer Explosion Cup  - U11 1st Place Winners
SUMMARY BY COACH SCOTTY
Velocity U11 Boys were given the opportunity to play in the Wilson Summer Explosion. This was a chance for me as a coach to get the players out of their comfort zone. For the majority of the players on the team it was their first time on the 9v9 field. This was a big transition for the team from the academy 7v7 last season. 

I wanted for the team to get the feel of what it is like on the bigger field, different formations, bigger goals etc. We also have a couple of new faces join the group who are new to Velocity, so it was also a chance to get the boys playing together as a new group. I was so impressed with how every player represented Velocity over the full weekend.

It was great to see them on the field, having fun, playing some great soccer whilst wearing the Velocity badge on their chest. The success this weekend was fully deserved, and hopefully the first cup win of many. The boys showed fantastic attitude, skill and most importantly willingness to learn throughout the two days.

Although it is early days, and early in the season, the performances of the players this weekend were great, considering we hadn't even started our regular practices yet! This is a starting point and we will only get better and continue to improve. We have a long way to go to get the boys playing at the level they are capable of, but with a lot of work and concentration in practice we can sure reach the potential. With a tough game in Clinton this week, the team looks forward to the start of the regular season competing in the Carolina Champions League. 
Camps and Clinics!

The future looks bright! The Academy Teams' pre-season camps were action-packed. The players worked hard and they are on track to have a wonderful season ahead!
Alan Smith's August clinic was very well attended. NC Courage player, Mackenzie Meehan, was there to lend a hand. The day was a success even though lightning and rain cut the session a bit early.
Social Media and Photo Sharing

Did you snap great photos at the games or practices this week? Share them with the club! Tag your photos on Facebook or Instagram @carolinavelocityfc #TheVelocityWay. Have a great game summary or Velocity story and photos to share in the newsletter? Please send your pictures and news to Velocity Newsletter .