Club Soccer in Eau Claire
So, I have been focusing my posts on high school soccer so far as I attempt to chronicle Cooper’s last year of high school soccer. It has been a fun ride so far for Memorial and I hope they can keep it going. Of particular fun for me is the number of boys that came up thru the Club program in the area…and the number I had the good fortune to coach…either a little…or in some cases, a lot. Memorials roster has a large number of seniors and almost all have come up thru Eau Claire United with a few also moving to St. Croix Academy over the years. I think 7-8 of the current starters on Varsity all played together back as U10 and U11 players. Great that we have a local club to help develop these kids and get them off on the right path. Many of Cooper’s best friends are also his soccer teammates from all these years. Very cool!
So, what is Club soccer and how has it progressed in Eau Claire. We have a few ways for kids to get exposed to soccer in Eau Claire, the two main are Parks & Rec sponsored by the city of Eau Claire and also AYSO, the worlds largest youth recreational league. If you have driven by Soccer Park on a Saturday in the Spring or Fall, then you know all about AYSO. Parks & Rec keeps Soccer Park busy all summer with recreational games. The rec leagues are similar. Good Sportsmanship, Fair Play, Equal Playing Time, Have Fun and enjoy the game. They are awesome programs and serve our community well. In 1995 a local group of parents got together because they wanted something more for their kids playing soccer. A more competitive experience to develop their skills and to push their game to a higher level. Competitive leagues were started in Minneapolis in the early 70’s and earlier in Wisconsin in the Milwaukee and Madison areas.
Eau Claire United (ECU) was founded with the following Mission Statement. “The Eau Claire United Soccer Club is committed to teaching fundamental soccer skills, instilling confidence and building a love for the game of soccer, while developing players to their highest competitive level.” Over the years ECU has had 300-400 players in their club, hovering around 300 for the past few years. Teams from U9-U18 are formed and play teams in Western Wisconsin and the eastern part of the Minneapolis area. Kids looking to advance their game and who want to make soccer a primary sport, generally gravitate over to ECU around 10-11 years old. Club soccer offers players excellent training, a great experience in leagues and tournaments, and offers a path to high school soccer for the serious player. As well in our area is another Club…Chippewa Strikers. They offer a similar experience to ECU focused on players in Chippewa Falls and surrounding communities on the north side of town. A bit smaller than ECU but providing a similar opportunity for the serious soccer player
Why Club Soccer. As a participant in club soccer for 15 years, it really is about the opportunity to advance the skills of serious players while providing a great experience for the kids to develop work ethic, teamwork, friendships and a love for the game. Eau Claire United has taken a serious approach to their training and coaching. They require all coaches to be licensed, generally an E License, and also have made a push to get more coaches licensed at the D level. This is a serious training program and ensures the coaches are prepared to build excellent soccer players. No grabbing mom or dad on the first day of practice to coach….No Will Ferrell coaching tactics from “Kicking and Screaming”.
Oh man… you must watch this movie if you are a soccer fan…so funny. Get the ball to the Italians!! I have seen a few coaches like that, played against a few and that is NOT the philosophy at Eau Claire United. I plan to write more on club soccer but will leave you with this thought. We have a ton of players in the two rec leagues in Eau Claire. How can we get them exposed to ECU and Chippewa Strikers for those serious players who want to develop. Most parents of young kids 6-8 years old, know nothing about ECU. Must be a way to fix that. As well, feels like there could be some opportunity to get our two Club programs more integrated. Both Clubs tend to have success from U9 thru U12, but when they hit U13, and team rosters go from 14 to 18 both clubs tend to struggle to field top-level teams that can compete against the best teams in Minneapolis. To the point where many of the best players from our area are leaving our clubs to go play in St. Croix in order to experience the highest level of competition.
Eau Claire United U15Girls
I also wanted to share a bit about the current team I coach, U15 Girls at ECU. I have been fortunate to coach for ECU the past 10 years and have had a great group of young ladies the past 4 years. What an awesome group of players, and families. They work so hard in practice, play so hard in games, show wonderful character and sportsmanship and by the way, are pretty good as well. Over the years we have had some good success, winning our share of tournaments and finishing high in league. The past year was more difficult as we played at the highest competitive level in our league (C1) and did not get many positive results…but did win two tournaments!. We really developed as a team, but this age group is where ECU struggles a bit more due to our size.
We played a tournament recently and I wanted to share a few images and videos . A tough weekend as far as results, but we played really hard and I was proud of the effort and quality of play.
An early morning game and trying to get the girls ready. 8:00 games are tough! Especially on Day 2. Ellie, Grace, Kendrah, Shelby, Greta, Nevaeh, Teagan, MJ, Emily, Marissa, Josie, Molly and……..Addison…where are you?
What is better than getting new shoes! Look at those smiles. I am an Adidas man myself, so I must give a shout out to Grace for her fine selection of boots. Molly and Greta…Nike…really! And those colors, oh my. Grace had the smarts to pick an awesome color, Kentucky Blue!! More playing time for Grace coming soon.
Here is the money shot! Regardless of the score of the games, and whether we won or lost…this is my lasting memory from the weekend. How fortunate to have a chance to coach wonderful young ladies, so respectful, such hard workers, so talented. Can’t wait to see them in high school, giving it their all. Thanks for your hard work ladies! Parents..you should all be very proud of your girls!
And now a few highlights. One request for the players…can you score when we are on our half of the field so I can get more video please. Missed a great PK from Greta.
A nice corner that turns into a cross.
Good build up play and attempt form the left. Keep shooting!
Well, if that had gone in…it would have been the goal of the tournament.
I learned it is hard to get video when you are coaching. Need to figure that one out. We have another tournament in October and are training hard to get ready. I have a feeling our results will improve. We got our tough luck tournament out of the way, right ladies!