December Newsletter - Kent School District

SFS December Newsletter
Players of the Month
Here are the players of the month for November. Thank you coaches for your input and all
the players worthy of recognition from each school. Every winner receives a prize. Here are just a
few of the players chosen by their coaches.
Soccer Award- Shows consistent effor t and desir e to get better fr om ever y game, pr actice
and match.
Name – Fabiola (Female)
School –Beverly Park
“ It all came together for Fabiola when a ball rolled in front of the goal. She set her plantfoot and
rocketed the ball into the upper left corner of the goal. Her incredibly hard work ethic has helped
her improve with her ball work and positioning. She never quits hustling even during
warmups. She’s a great example of how hard work and applying yourself results in great
improvement!
Nutrition Award– Displays a desir e to lear n about
nutrition and participate in answering questions
Name– Asal Alqaysi (Female)
School—East Hill
“Always the first to raise her hand when it comes to
answering question about nutrition. She listens very well
and she always lend a voice of encouragement to other
players.”
Asal about Eating healthy fruits have vitamins and
mineral that can make your body strong.
“Breakfast is the most important food it gives you energy in the morning and helps you focus in
class. Dairy is healthy because it has calcium and vitamin D that helps our bones. Young people
like me need 8-10 hours of sleep at night to help us keep healthy, have energy and grow.”
Leadership– Attitude is positive and they show r espect and compassion for teammates,
coaches and parents. The whole team benefits from having this player around.
Name– Avacu Luna
School– Kent
“This player has showed to the coaches what it really means to be a leader. From helping with set
up and passing out snacks, to on the field guiding other players to what they need to be doing, he
has stepped up throughout the program. It's amazing to see players grow in this program not only
with soccer skills but also in their character.”
Page 2
SFS December Newsletter
Soccer Skills: Keeping Possession
To even have a chance of scoring, your
teams needs possession of the ball. Good possession is when all the players are involved,
passing and moving together. This is much easier said than done, especially when you have
defenders tracking your every move, looking to
steal that precious ball from you. One of the
best players at knowing how to keep possession, is English midfielder, Jack Wilshere.
To improve your possessive abilities, work on your
ball control. You can do wall passing, or kick-ups,
where you boot the ball in the air and try to bring it
down. If you have teammates to pass with, play a possession game. If you have up to 6 or 7 players, make a
circle with one or two defenders on the inside, trying
to get the ball as the players on the outer circle keep
possession, using only two touches to pass.
“It’s important to always try and play forwards,
because that’s where the goal is, but if you can’t go
forward, play sideways – keeping possession is the
most important thing. To do this you have to have
a picture in your head of what you’re going to do
with the ball before it comes to you. The most important thing about keeping possession or beating a
player is your first touch – if that’s good you can do
whatever you want with the ball.”
Nutritional Goals: Red Fruits
Page 3
Mentorship Moment: Growth Mindset
The difference between great soccer players,
great students and average ones, is not natural talent,
but mindset. The ones that become great have the
Growth Mindset, meaning they are constantly looking
to improve and learn from their mistakes, believing
that skill comes from hard work and can be obtained
no matter what your talent level is in the beginning.
While those who stay at the same level and don’t
improve have a Fixed Mindset, meaning they don’t
look to learn from mistakes and believe that talent is
something you are born with, and stays the same.
People with the Growth Mindset want to take
on challenges, while those with fixed mindsets are
afraid of challenges because they don’t want to fail.
Ask any successful person, and they will tell you
becoming great comes from constant improvement
and willingness to learn. It doesn't matter if you
struggle with something now, with the Growth
Mindset you can be great at it in the future.
Community Engagement: Diversity
Diversity: a range of different things
Can you guess how many positions there are in soccer?
Well normally, we have a goalkeeper, two center defenders, right
defender, left defender, two center midfielders, left winger, right
winger, and two forwards. That’s eleven different positions! That
means 11 different people with different skills, mindsets, and
attitudes. That is a lot of diversity. But diversity is something
that can make great soccer teams and communities.
Imagine if you had a team of players that all played
forward and were really good at shooting. But, there were no
defenders or anybody to play goalkeeper. You would probably
score some goals, but you would have even more scored against
you. Our community requires a lot of diversity, as well. Imagine
if everybody was teacher but we had no bus drivers. What would
happen? The teachers wouldn't have anybody to teach too
because all the students couldn't get a ride to school!
Everybody has a talent, whether it’s on the soccer field
or in the classroom. From passing and dribbling to math and
English, there is useful position for everybody in the community.
We should try to embrace diversity and know there is no talent or
job that is not needed.
Recent Events
November brought us plenty of action. All nine schools had matches at either one of the two
tournaments, at Alpac or at East Hill. These were the last tournaments of Fall 16’ season.
Many matches were played. Players played hard. Parents cheered relentlessly. Coaches led with
diligence. No rain nor wind even dared interrupt us. This was soccer for success.
Thank you players for your pure and genuine joy of the game. Thank you to the parents for being a part
of our program and supporting our kids in their endeavors. Watching our players enjoying the game
while surrounded by fanatic parents taking photos and cheering on their teams, is always a sight to behold. Thank you to coaches, for always being in the serving mentality and taking the time and effort to
provid for our SFS community, and being leaders and teachers for the youth. We all are looking forward to the next time we can compete and share the game together.
Current & Upcoming Events.
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The end of the Fall 16’ season is around the corner, with all schools completing their final practice
by December 16th. Before then, each school is having a family banquet night to celebrate the hard
work and accomplishments of the past three months. Thank you to all who participate in this
communal event.

Coaches appreciate night is Wednesday December 21st. It will take place at IFLY in Tukwila.
Hours are 4 30pm to 8 30 pm. There are 36 spots reserved. It will be first come, first serve. Spots
are reserved for a coach, plus one friend or family member. Please RSVP with Cameron Stone if
you will be attending this event.

Though the next season won’t start until Spring of 2017, Soccer for Success will still seek to create
events that will keep its players active. Newsletters will still be released during the Winter months.
Volunteers Needed!
Our program has hundreds of kids to support. This program is designed to use soccer as a
tool to give today’s youth a greater chance of succeeding, by providing resources, exercise,
knowledge and building community. We need volunteers to help facilitate events and be
mentors for our youth. Among the list of possible duties are;
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Teach kids fundamentals of soccer at
practices and/or matches
Lead & encourage healthy lifestyles
Be a positive force that will listen and support
kids who need it
Teach about the impact of nutrition &
encourage a healthy diet
For more information, contact Cameron Stone
[email protected]
Sounders RAVE foundation
On Saturday November 19th, Soccer for Success had a tournament at East Hill. But this was not any
ordinary event. If you attended, you would have noticed a big green tent with the Sounders logo on it.
This was the Sounders RAVE Foundation. If you went over there you would have found tons of soccer
players lined up, spinning the prize wheel or taking part in the juggling contest. This was a very special
occasion as foundation gave SFS players tickets to Sounders playoff game against the Colorado Rapids
on November 22nd! In addition, the top 10 jugglers got to go onto the field at halftime to accept a
$10,000 check, donated to Soccer for Success! For many, this was the first ever Sounders game they
had been to, and it was an experience worth remembering. Here is a report of the game from East Hill
player, Asal Alqaysi
“Have you ever been to a sounders game? The main idea of the first paragraph will be my
experience. The main idea of the second paragraph is about what I noticed. The main idea of the final
paragraph is about how I got to be on the big screen. Keep reading to find out what happened to the
sounders.
The main idea of this paragraph is about my experience at the sounders game. My experience at
the sounders game was new because I had never been at a sounders game before or any game. There
was lot of people at the sounders game. We had to cheer for the sounders so they could win and they
won the game by 2 goals to 1. The main idea of this paragraph was my experience.
The main idea of the second paragraph is what I noticed. I noticed that the other team was
cheating and the ref didn’t even call it. First the other team did a hand ball. One of the players elbowed
someone in the face (the last two the refs called). The main idea of this paragraph was what I noticed.
The main idea of the third paragraph is how I got on the big screen. My sister won the soccer
juggling contest so we can go on the field she had the third highest score. On half time we got to go on
the V.I.P lobby so we could get ready. After that we finally got to go on the field and we were on big
screen TV. But the most exciting thing was that they gave $10.000 to our soccer for success foundation!
The main idea of this paragraph is how I was on the big screen.”
Now you know what happened at the sounders game it’s almost like you were there. The main
idea of the first paragraph was my experience. The main idea of the second paragraph was what I
noticed. The main idea of the third paragraph is how I got on the big screen. If you haven’t been to a
game hopefully you consider going to a sounders game someday to tell your story.”