Become a USSF referee this summer!
New clinics just announced in July and August!
Fun fact: 90% of all referees you see out on the field are from Seattle based families who have a child participating in youth soccer!
Do you have a child participating in youth soccer this upcoming fall? Are you ready to get involved?! Well you are in luck, three new USSF referee clinics have just been announced, brought to you in part by SYSA!
Available USSF referee clinic dates and locations:
Thursday July 27th
Jefferson Park
4:00 - 8:00 PM
Wednesday August 16th
Magnolia Playfield South
5:00 - 9:00 PM
Monday August 21st
Eagle Staff Middle School
4:30 - 8:30 PM
How to sign up for the clinics:
Navigate to www.wareferees.org
Under the ‘Instruction’ tab select ‘Clinic and Events Schedule’
Select ‘Never been a USSF Referee….’
Look for ‘New Referee (PreClinic Online)’ register and do the online study
If you seek a scholarship select the ‘pay by check option’ and no promises, but we will help where we can
All field sessions are the same so pick the one that works best for you.
Support your player, team, club and SYSA by becoming a USSF referee!! You do have to be 13 for this program.
Stay tuned for more clinics and opportunities in September and beyond. Any questions, email Duncan at duncaninseattle@gmail.com
Don’t miss our FIVE Sysa Coaches Education Clinics in August!
We are less than 2 months away from kickoff of the SYSA recreational fall league! Each year this league is made possible through the effort of hundreds of volunteer coaches. Because of our amazing volunteers 10,000+ recreational soccer players in Seattle and Shoreline get to play soccer every fall (if you would like to volunteer this year, please let us know here).
To help set our volunteer coaches up for success, this year we are offering a series of FIVE in-person coaching clinics in August for all SYSA coaches.These clinics are for all of our recreational league coaches and are especially helpful for coaches volunteering for the first time.
Coaches clinic at Lower Woodland in August 2022
At each of the five coaching clinics, our professional staff will provide insight, tips, and guidance to help you run effective practices where players can both have fun, and learn and grow. We will answer any questions you have and provide knowledge suitable for all levels of coaches during these sessions.
Here are the five clinics we have available:
TUES AUG 22ND @LOWER WOODLAND #7
Clinic #1 Technical: Focus on the FUNdamentals
5:30 - 7:00 pm - with Coach Lance
WED AUG 23RD @LOWER WOODLAND #7
Clinic #2 Team Management: Effective Planning for your Games, Sub Patterns & More
5:30 - 7:00 pm - with Coach Ken
THURS AUG 24TH @LOWER WOODLAND #7
Clinic #3 Tactics: Small group Tactics within Teams System
5:30 - 7:00 pm - with Coach Berry
TUES AUG 29TH @LOWER WOODLAND #7
Clinic #4 Technical: Improve your Teams Ball Striking
5:30 - 7:00 pm - with Coach Jimmy
WED AUG 30TH @LOWER WOODLAND #7
Clinic #5 Goalkeeping: Incorporating your Keepers into your Practice
5:30 - 7:00 pm - with Coach Corey
RSVP for the clinic(s) of your choice and plan on meeting at the field 15 minutes prior to the start time. Bring your water bottle, soccer shoes and pen & paper to take notes. If you have any questions, email davidg@sysa.org.
(If you would like to volunteer to help coach at your neighborhood club this upcoming fall season, please reach out here and we can connect you. Opportunities are available for U10 and up SYSA fall league teams, and also for individual club's Micro Academy programs in the younger age groups. If you are a high school student that would like to help coach, many of our clubs offer the opportunity to earn volunteer hours through coaching.)
Official 2023/24 sponsorship announcement!
We are excited to announce
Darigold FIT
as an official Seattle Youth Soccer Association sponsor for the 2023/24 soccer season!
This new SYSA partnership with Seattle-based Darigold will help provide youth soccer players across the region with everything from uniforms to free products and funding for city wide soccer events and camps. Darigold FIT will be donating to help with jerseys, products, signage, and sponsorship of special events.
Overview of the Darigold FIT sponsorship:
official uniform sponsor for 1000 SYSA players (500 at Hillwood Soccer Club and 500 at Capitol Hill Soccer Club)
official sponsor of the 'Darigold FIT Coach of the Year' awards
presenting partner of the 2023 SYSA City Tournament
official sponsor of Seattle United summer camp program
"Darigold FIT delivers sustained energy with 75% more protein and 40% less sugar per serving than whole milk. It's also lactose free for easy digestion. Darigold FIT packs more good into your favorite meals, whether you're starting your day over a bowl of cereal or ending it with a hearty homemade recipe." For more information on Darigold and Darigold FIT, visit them online here.
'League Washington' announcement for SYSA U17 and up rec Fall teams!
We have some exciting news to share! As many of you know, it can be hard to keep recreational soccer teams together in the older, high school age groups. In an effort to keep rec soccer alive and well for everyone, SYSA has joined forces with 5 other local recreational organizations, plus Washington Youth Soccer, to create a league specifically for our older players: enter League Washington!
League Washington is a recreational youth soccer league developed to reinvent the soccer experience for high school athletes. Not only will this new league create an active, social, fun outlet for participants, but it also brings with it:
the opportunity to play new teams outside the bounds of same SYSA teams you may have been playing for years
the chance to broaden our soccer community and make new connections through our mutual love for the game
a fresh way to keep players engaged with the game through their high school years, which is extremely valuable in regards to physical, social and emotional health
with the increase in number of teams available to play, more appropriate matches will be able to be made in regards to level of competition
If you are playing U17 and up this fall with your neighborhood SYSA club, League Washington will be the league you participate in. The season runs Sept 9 - Nov 18. Games will all be held in the Seattle Metro vicinity, with fields in Everett being the furthest north, Snoqualmie the furthest east, and Issaquah the furthest south.
More information about the league can be found here.
Congratulations to our 2022 'Of the Year' award winners!
Boys Competitive Coach of the Year – Matt Dorman, Seattle United
Girls Competitive Coach of the Year – Kary Whitney, Seattle United
Administrator of the Year – Sue Brangwin, Hillwood
Administrator of the Year – John Clark, LVR/SYSA
Volunteer of the Year – Chris Tuttle, Mt. Baker-Lakewood
Girls Recreational Coach of the Year – Jeff Scott, McGilvra
Boys Recreational Coach of the Year – Tom Powers, Woodland
Recreational Winter Futsal League - Games start Feb 11th!
Exciting news! Seattle Youth Soccer Association has partnered with BC Soccer Training to host an indoor futsal league for 6 games this winter.
Games will be held on Saturdays in Queen Anne Gym. The league is for U9-U12 players only (2015-2011 birth years).
Registration closes Wednesday February 8th at midnight!
Photo courtesy of BC Soccer Training
Why Futsal? Futsal improves ball control, passing, dribbling, quick thinking, and so much more. Not only is futsal training fun for youth players, it offers many benefits for growth and development of players on and off the soccer field including:
Improves speed of play and ball skills.
Allows players more touches on the ball than normal during a game.
Helps players develop confidence in tight spaces.
Enables players to solve problems and be creative in moving the ball around their opponents.
Great way for players to stay active in the off season!
Program dates: Feb 4th through March 25th (no games during Mid-Winter Break)
GAMES START THIS WEEKEND, SIGN UP NOW!
For more information and registration links visit https://www.sysa.org/winter-futsal
Questions? bcsoccertraining@gmail.com
2022 City Tournament Winners
The 2022 City Tournament finals took place on Saturday December 17th. Here are all the winners and finalist, in age group order:
Bu11 Div 1 - LC Blue Angels
Finalists - Mag thunder
Bu11 Div 2 - LC Rocket Turtles
Finalists - LC Bombers
Gu11 Div 1 - McGILVRA Comets
Finalists - HW LightnING Bolts
Gu11 Div 2 - LVR Rainbow Unicorns
Finalists - Bal raging kitties
Bu12 Div 1 - HW Tsunami
Finalists - LVR Huskies
Bu12 Div 2 - Mag Firehawks
Finalists - Bal cascadia dragons
Gu12 Div 1 - LVR Pink Kitties
Finalists - LVR TC Unicorns
Gu12 Div 2 - WD Milky Way Dragons
Finalists - LVR Golden Dragons
Bu13 - LC Rebel Alliance
Finalists - BAL Ewoks
Gu13 - McGilvra Raptors
Finalists - LVR Dragonflies
Bu14 Div 1 - LVR Alpine Strikers
Finalists - WD Thunder sharks
Bu14 Div 2 - LVR Red Dragons
Finalists - HW Fireballs
Gu14 - MAG Dynamites
Finalists - HW speedy cheetahs
Bu15 - BAL Rangers
Gu15 - BAL Flash
Finalists - Mag Magnificent
Bu16 - MAG Mandrills
Finalists - MBL Falcons
Bu19 - MBL Dragons
Finalists - WD RipTIde
Gu19 - LVR Sounder Girls
Finalists - WD Swarmettes
Honoring Coach Jose’s Legacy
Last month, the world lost a dedicated and passionate servant of the game and a true friend to the families of South Seattle's youth community. SYSA Recreational Coach Jose Martinez left this world November 6th 2022 after succumbing to a brief bout with cancer. He was a distinguished coach and board member with Beacon Hill Youth Soccer where he managed his Latino community youth soccer program called Tecos. In 2018, he was honored as SYSA Girl’s Coach of the Year.
Photo courtesy of Beacon Hill Youth Soccer
Jose coached youth soccer in Seattle for decades. His wife Evonne tells us “Jose was an athlete most of his life and a dedicated coach throughout his life. As his children grew old enough to play sports, he coached each one of them in a variety of sports depending on the season; baseball, softball, basketball, wrestling. In later years, he dedicated his life to coaching youth soccer. He coached at the premier, middle school, and high school levels and was a Nationally licensed soccer coach with additional advanced training. Although he could have continued to coach for premier teams or charged significantly for his training services, his focus was in providing high level training opportunities to youth and families that would not have been able to afford it otherwise, especially within the Latino and immigrant community."
"Jose loved to work with young people who were not given the same opportunities by other coaches because of their lack of skill or because of limited abilities that made it challenging for them to make progress in a linear fashion. His patience and great respect for each player and his focus on skill development and not on his teams’ winning was what eventually led to his players becoming very skilled and he often had championship level teams as a result. In addition to teaching his players soccer skills, he also stressed the importance of always doing their best in whatever they attempted, including academics and maintaining their familial relationships. He was not just a coach - he was a mentor, a confidant, an advocate, and his teams became more like extensions of families that he led as their respected elder.” (Evonne Martinez)
Photo courtesy of Beacon Hill Youth Soccer
Jose and his Tecos club enhanced SYSA diversity while providing an invaluable service to the families of Seattle’s south end community. Many of Jose's families were challenged with multiple barriers including language, poverty, access to technology and transportation, as well as racial discrimination encountered on the pitch. Yet Jose always kept pushing forward, encouraging and believing in his players and teaching them the importance of character, respect and community regardless of what others around them were doing. Jose will forever be remembered for giving the Latino community opportunities for youth development and for expanding the reach of BHYS and SYSA, all contributing to enriching the Seattle soccer community as a whole. (Larry McCann, BHYS Registrar)
Photo courtesy of Beacon Hill Youth Soccer
Carlos Enriquez is a former player and friend of Jose, and has many fond memories of running into Jose around town during his community outreach work with Seattle United. Here's a story of a recent time when Carlos's outreach work crossed paths with Jose's Tecos team:
"A few years ago, the Mexico National team was in Seattle during the summer for a friendly against Paraguay. I was put in charge of finding 60+ Latino youth from the area to help with the pregame ceremony. They helped carry the flags, line up with players, and a few other tasks. I reached out to several youth leaders that had predominantly Latino youth on their teams to be a part of this event, Coach Jose and his Tecos was one of them. On game day, the Tecos were the first to arrive ready to roll. We were in the stadium with all the kids in one big room for hours waiting to hear about our tasks. As you can imagine, that was a very complicated couple of hours with 60 or so youngsters in one room doing what youth are not engineered to do…..sit and wait.
Some rowdy spirits arose as one would imagine in that situation, but we made it. A thing that stood out to me was how well behaved, polite, and kind the Tecos kids were. I personally floated between all the groups to try and keep the kids entertained, so I know first hand the differences in how the kids acted in such a challenging situation. The organizer that I worked with also went out of her way to point it out to me. I’ll never forget this moment, I think it truly captured what coach Jose did on the field.
He taught far more than soccer to the kids. He taught them to be great young athletes AND how to be kind and respectful people. As my teammates and I reflected on how he treated us while we played for him, the things that came forth was: respect, encouragement, and belief…….all delivered with that brilliant Jose Martinez humor.
He will be missed tremendously and his leadership in the community will be very hard to replicate. I know the community will work hard to make sure his legacy lives on." (Carlos Enriquez, Seattle United Community Outreach Director)
As we close out this tribute, we here at SYSA would like to say thank you Coach Jose. Thank you for your years of dedication and love to both the game and to the hundreds of young lives that you have touched and positively impacted. You will be missed.
"In the end, lo and behold, it’s not really about sports at all. What matters most for youngsters is learning about themselves, and learning how to get along.
For the vast majority of kids, the games themselves will fade over the years. What will remain are the friendships and life lessons from the 21st-century village that sports can provide and that kids so desperately need outside of the structure of the classroom."
- Larry Stone, Seattle Times Reporter from Lessons Learned July 2018
SYSA Fall Photo Contest Winners! FEATURE category
Wow! We received over 200 entries for our first ever SYSA photo contest! We want to thank everyone who participated and sent in images. There were so many amazing and memorable entries that really showed the spirit of fall soccer. Winning images were voted on by SYSA staff members and were selected on the criteria of being fun, engaging moments that captured the enjoyment and energy of the game.
Below see our picks for top 3 FEATURE images, plus 3 honorable mentions.
Additional images will be shared on our SYSA Instagram account over the next several weeks. Be sure to follow us to see your images featured!
1st place - Walter Kitundu
U7 Ballard Narwhals celebrate after a goal
2nd Place - Molly Gaines
U8 Ballard Fireballs celebrate after a game
3rd Place - Stuart Isett
U13 Ballard Stars cheer before a match
Honorable mention: Steve Parent
U9 Beacon Hill Girlillas huddle up
Honorable mention: Kelly Smith
U11 McGilvra Fireworks post game photo in a torrential downpour
Honorable mention: Kevin Davison
U10 Hillwood Spicy Banana Splits group shot
If you enjoy taking photos and want to continue to share them with us, we would love that! Especially during the upcoming City Tournament and All-City Jamboree! Send images and videos to photos@sysa.org at any time throughout the season. Photo credit will always be given when an image is used.
SYSA Fall Photo Contest Winners! ACTION category
Wow! We received over 200 entries for our first ever SYSA photo contest! We want to thank everyone who participated and sent in images. There were so many amazing and memorable entries that really showed the spirit of fall soccer. Winning images were voted on by SYSA staff members and were selected on the criteria of being fun, engaging moments that captured the enjoyment and energy of the game.
Below see our picks for top 3 ACTION images, plus 3 honorable mentions.
Additional images will be shared on our SYSA Instagram account over the next several weeks. Be sure to follow us to see your images featured!
1st place - Brian Sperry
U11 Magnolia Dragons vs McGilvra
2nd Place - Eugene Tagawa
U7 Beacon Hill Ninjas vs Mount Baker Lakewood
3rd Place - KIM NELSON
U15 Ballard Dragons vs Magnolia
Honorable mention: Stuart isett
U13 Ballard Stars vs McGilvra
Honorable mention: Mimi Jung
U9 Ballard Roblox Ninjas vs Woodland Soccer Club
Honorable mention: ANNIE SWITZER
U9 Electric Cobras, Shorelake Soccer Club
If you enjoy taking photos and want to continue to share them with us, we would love that! Especially during the upcoming City Tournament and All-City Jamboree! Send images and videos to photos@sysa.org at any time throughout the season. Photo credit will always be given when an image is used.
City Tournament Weather Update
NOVEMBER 29th - In light of today's weather, and the continued forecast, we want to check in today with some important information for you all regarding City Tournament.
❄️ SYSA will NOT cancel games for the City Tournament unless our field providers close the fields due to the cold temperatures and/or accumulated snow.
❄️ The referees CAN cancel the game at the field should they decide the field is unplayable.
❄️ Plan to play all games as scheduled unless you are notified by SYSA.
❄️ We will monitor the forecast in the days ahead and communicate all closures as soon as we are able to.
With this in mind, please be sure to dress your players appropriately and allow plenty of time to get to the fields each evening. Please work with your opponent to clear the field lines of snow if need be. Finally, remember that propane heaters are not allowed at any field in Seattle or Shoreline.
Wishing you all great soccer in the tournament games ahead!