Here are a few of the highlights and news tidbits from the month of March:

On the Boys’ Side

• Rising 14 Boys Pool - The team is in the midst of their first full month of training.  The coaches have been impressed with the level of talent and commitment.  Shaping up to be a fantastic pool.
• U14B Blue - Took 3rd place in the Premier flight of the Juventus Tournament with 2 wins, 1 tie and 1 loss.  Won their lone NorCal State Cup game for the month 3-0 against the Richmond Cobras advancing to the top bracket of the State Cup round of 16.

Champions League Viewing Party

Marin FC is excited to host a Champions League viewing party fundraiser on Saturday May 25 at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley.  There are only eighty seats available so please register now!  Can’t attend?  No problem.  Purchase a raffle ticket or two and show your support from afar.  Here are the event details:

Marin FC caught up with Marin FC alumnae and UCLA freshman, Madison Tye.  Here’s what she had to say:

Tell our readers a little about yourself.

I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and moved to California at the age of two.  I’ve lived in Marin Country ever since.  My mom, Dee, and father, Rick, didn’t play soccer, but my sister Alexis also played for Marin FC and is going to the University of Wisconsin to study/play soccer in 2014. I attended Terra Linda High School where I played varsity basketball for four years.

Major Changes Ahead

The first major change, that has already taken effect, is that referees in Northern California will no longer be able to renew their license with USSF.  Instead they’ll have to renew with the California North Referee Administration (or CNRA for short).  The second major change, which continues to be a work in progress, is the serious revamping of CNRA’s website http://www.cnra.net. CNRA has invested heavily in technology and the resulting website is one illustration of that effort.  A third change, still pending, will be a simplification of the various referee levels: grade 1 for FIFA referees, grade 2 for National and State referees, and grade 3 for the rest of us.

Here’s another great game video from Marin FC resident cameraman extraordinaire, Dan Edblom.  This one is Marin FC 98 Girls Blue versus Mustang Outlaws:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=196NJkiuBCM&feature=youtu.be

Dan donates his time and resources to create these videos so please take the opportunity to thank the man behind the lens next time you see him on the sidelines.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (March 26, 2013) – During last weekend’s id² Program Training Camp in Chula Vista, Calif., U.S. Soccer Women's Development Director Jill Ellis gathered the players from the girls side and shared a few words.

“I’m looking for Generation Next,” she said, reminding the group that U.S. greats like Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly once trained on the same fields. “And you guys are it."

Ellis’ message came on the first day of the March 21-24 camp at the Olympic Training Center, but it neatly summed up the opportunity, as players from more than 50 clubs and a dozen states had a chance to compete with some of the nation’s best players, listen to guest speakers, receive instruction from top-notch coaches and play in front of U.S. Soccer scouts.

The camp wrapped up on Sunday, serving as the first of two spring 2013 id² Program Training Camps and featuring 53 boys born in 2000/2001 and 67 girls born in 1999/2000.

Age groups were selected in order to align with the scouting priorities for the U.S. Soccer U-14 National Teams. At the camp, Michael Ndoumbe scouted for U.S. Soccer on the boys side, and Ellis, Louise Lieberman and Twila Kaufman evaluated the girls.

“We had an excellent camp with a very talented group of players,” id² Boys Program Director Gerry McKeown said. “The level of play was very high, and the other coaches and I were pleased to see that many of the participants improved as the camp progressed.”

In addition to id² Program staff and U.S. Soccer scouts, nine coaches from around the country were on hand to teach the technical, tactical and psychological lessons for success and development at a national level.

“As we often see, the girls got better and better each day as they become more comfortable with their surroundings and developed familiarity with the other players,” id² Girls Program Director Rory Dames said. “From top to bottom, the depth and quality of the player pool was very impressive, and hopefully they can walk away with everything they learned, bring that back to their own clubs and increase the level of their training sessions and games.”

The id² Program is an Olympic Development Program as approved by the United States Olympic Committee and U.S. Soccer Federation, and aided by their time in the id² Program, numerous alums have advanced into U.S. Soccer’s National Team programs. The next id² Program Training Camp will be held April 11-14 in Charleston, S.C., for boys born in 1999/2000 and girls born in 1998/1999.

The event got underway on Thursday, beginning with a focus on technical drills. Friday and Saturday brought two sessions each, with both drills and scrimmages, and camp closed after more games on Sunday. Players also benefitted from classroom sessions, like Ellis’ speech and a talk from McKeown.

On Friday evening, many of the players gathered to watch the U.S. Men's National Team take on Costa Rica in a World Cup Qualifying match, and McKeown used the game as a developmental opportunity by asking the group to write a report of the Americans’ 1-0 win, focusing on one player at their position and detailing strengths, weaknesses and how they impacted the outcome.

Consistent with the philosophies of US Club Soccer and the id² Program, the camp was free of charge for players once they arrive. There are no camp fees, and lodging, meals and training gear are provided at no cost by US Club Soccer and Nike.

List of attendees: Boys | Girls
Event Web page | Photos | id² Web page | id² Program Overview

The following summarizes news and notes from the Board:

U13/U14 Development Academy Announcement

Earlier this week we received confirmation from the United States Soccer Federation ("USSF") that we have been officially accepted into the U13/U14 Development Academy (boys only).  This is exciting news and small recognition for the hard work players, coaches and volunteers from parent clubs and Marin FC have put in preparing for the next level of play.  We are one of seven non-academy clubs that will join the five current academy clubs in NorCal to form the new U13/U14 Development Academy.  The U13/U14 Academy Program is a new “NorCal centric” version of the existing U16/U18 Academy program. Travel is limited to games in NorCal plus one regional and one national tournament.

Here are a few of the highlights and news tidbits from the month of February:

In Team Play

Here are a few updates from each of our teams:

On the Girls’ Side

• U14G Blue - No games.  Trained all month in preparation for a busy March with the Juventus and Vegas tournaments as well as NPL spring league play
• U14G Red - Went 2-0 against two tough teams, North Bay Elute and Davis Legacy, both top 10 ranked teams in NorCal
• U15G Blue - Went 2-2-2 with two wins over Placer United, ranked in the top 5 in NorCal.  The two losses came at the hands of De Anza, ranked in the top 5 nationally
• U15G Red - No games.  The team continued to train in preparation for their final event in March
• U16G Blue - Went 3-1 in NPL play.  Remain in first place with an 11-2-2 record with only a handful of games remaining
• U17G Blue - Went 1-2 in NPL play
• U18G Blue - No games.  Steady month of preparation in advance of their last tournament in March