Graham Women’s Soccer

2016

Information I need From You

-Cell Phone Number (to notify players of changes in schedule and other information)

-Email address (if you are on Facebook and would like to be added as a member of the Graham Women’s Soccer Group)

Offseason Training Opportunities

Winter Schedule

-Lifting and Conditioning

  • High School Weight Room
  • Tuesdays: 4:30 – 6:00pm
  • Saturdays: 9:00 – 10:30am
  • Strength Standards

-Footskills Training

  • Elementary School Gym
  • Wednesdays: 7:00 – 8:30pm
  • Thursdays: 7:00 – 8:30pm
  • If school is cancelled, the session for that day will be cancelled.
  • No session on Thursday, 2/11/16 due to a school program
  • Last session date is Thursday, 3/31/16

Spring Schedule

-Lifting and conditioning

  • Same days and times as listed above

-Open Fields

  • Location: Middle School Field
  • Dates and times are not yet set. Once they are, the schedule will be posted on the Facebook page and sent via text message.

Summer Schedule (tentative)

-Lifting and Conditioning

  • Same days and times as above (unless a practice day is scheduled for that day)

-Open fields

  • Location: Middle School Fields
  • Days: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (unless a practice is scheduled for that day)
  • Time: 4:30 – 6:00pm

-Practices (all practices run from 4:30 – 6:30pm)

  • Thursday, June 2nd
  • Monday, July 11th
  • Thursday, July 14th
  • Thursday, July 21st
  • Monday, July 25th
  • Tuesday, July 26th
  • Wednesday, July 27th
  • Thursday, July 28th
  • We are only able to have 10 instructional days during the summer (the days we play in the tournament – see below – count toward this total), so please do your best to attend these sessions.

-Summer Tournament

  • 20th Annual Northmont Good Samaritan Soccer Classic
  • Saturday, July 16th – Sunday, July 17th
  • First games begin at 7:00am
  • Final games begin at 6:00pm
  • We will field either 1 or 2 teams
  • We will only field 2 teams if we have 30+ players confirmed to play
  • Cost will be no more than $20

Preseason / Tryouts

-Mandatory Fall Sports Meeting

  • Location: Middle School Auditeria
  • Date: TBD (probably around the 27th of July)
  • Time: TBD (usually at 7:00pm)
  • Required forms:
  • 2015-2016 Physical Form
  • Athletic Code of Conduct
  • Concussion Form
  • Emergency Medical Authorization
  • Risk and Release
  • Links to these forms can be found at under the “Resources” heading in the lower left part of the webpage
  • Please have these forms filled out before the meeting – this will expedite the process tremendously. Your daughter will be unable to participate in tryouts or practice unless all these forms are filled out.

Tryout Schedule

-Monday, August 1st - Tryouts Begin

  • 4:30pm – 6:30pm
  • Meet at High School Track
  • Cooper Endurance Test
  • Wear running shoes
  • 12 minute Run
  • Varsity: requirement is 6 laps for field players, 5.5 for keepers
  • Junior Varsity: no lap requirement, but everyone is expected to take the test if they wish to have a spot on the team
  • If the heat is excessive, we will hold the Cooper Test later in the evening
  • High School Practice Fields
  • Change into cleats
  • Technique and Tactics Assessed

-Tuesday, August 2nd - Tryouts Continue

  • 4:30pm – 6:30pm
  • High School Practice Fields
  • Technique and Tactics Assessed

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-Wednesday, August 3rd - Final Day of Tryouts

  • 4:30pm – 7:00pm
  • High School Practice Fields
  • Final Assessments
  • Final Decisions Made and Announced
  • Decisions are given to players individually along with feedback about their strengths and weaknesses
  • Traditionally, I have grouped players into three categories:
  • Varsity – players that are the most technically and tactically sound.
  • Junior Varsity – players that still need time to develop in an environment that is less results-oriented
  • JV Plus – players that are on the cusp of making the varsity team, but are not quite in a position to regularly contribute in varsity games. These players practice with varsity (as long as they’ve passed the Cooper), but play games with the junior varsity team.
  • These decisions are not final. Each of the last two years, there has been a player that started on junior varsity and earned their way onto the varsity team.

In-Season

-Practices

  • Junior Varsity Practices will be held weekdays from 4:30 – 6:00pm unless otherwise specified
  • Varsity Practices will be held weekdays from 5:50 – 7:00pm and non-game Saturdays from 8:00 – 10:00am

-Games

  • Below is the schedule as it currently stands. The junior varsity schedule has not yet been posted. Additionally, there may be changes made to the varsity schedule before or even during the season (e.g. Indian Lake did not field a team last year). I will make everyone aware of these changes as soon as possible, but you can also find the most up-to-date schedule at:
  • Varsity:
  • JV:

2016 Graham Girls’ Varsity Soccer Schedule

Date / Day / Time / Opponent / Home/Away
8/20/16 / Saturday / 11:00am / Southeastern / Away
8/22/16 / Monday / 7:00pm / Miami East / Away
8/25/16 / Thursday / 7:00pm / Stebbins / Away
8/29/16 / Monday / 7:00pm / Urbana / Home
9/7/16 / Wednesday / 7:00pm / Tecumseh / Home
9/10/16 / Saturday / 11:00am / Greenville / Away
9/12/16 / Monday / 7:00pm / Kenton Ridge / Away
9/17/16 / Saturday / 5:30pm / West Liberty-Salem / Home
9/19/16 / Monday / 7:00pm / Bellefontaine / Home
9/21/16 / Wednesday / 7:00pm / Benjamin Logan / Away
9/24/16 / Saturday / 6:00pm / Dunbar / Home
9/26/16 / Monday / 7:00pm / Indian Lake / Home
9/28/16 / Wednesday / 7:00pm / Greenon / Away
10/1/16 / Saturday / 5:00pm / Botkins / Home
10/3/16 / Monday / 7:00pm / Northwestern / Away
10/10/16 / Monday / 7:00pm / Shawnee / Home

Final Thoughts

There are nearly six months from now to the first day of tryouts. Last year, our program made significant progress. We were competitive in every game we played and cut our goals allowed from 53 to 37. We increased the number of goals we scored from 21 to 38. We are poised to take a big leap forward this year. We only graduated two seniors this year, but as I’ve said many times before and will continue to say, all varsity spots are open. If you want one, you will have to earn it. I’ve put together many opportunities together for you to get faster, stronger, better conditioned, and better with the ball. None of these sessions are mandatory. However, attending these sessions will allow you to take any guesswork out of what you should be doing. Also, since you will be training with other players, you will be pushed harder than you would if you were training on your own.

Whether you utilize these training sessions or not, please do not wait until the last few weeks to start conditioning. This is a good way to get shin splints or even stress fractures. If you come out to our conditioning sessions, your mileage and intensity will be gradually increased so your body can adapt to the new demands being placed upon it without breaking down.

Finally, if you feel like you need additional work with your fitness or your soccer skills, I am always available as a resource to help you get better. All you have to do is ask.