U10 hot-line: 1-866-206-9066, ext. 8870#

News  (Archives)	About the Academy	Academy Goals
Schedule  (Fridays)	Player Pool	Pictures
Contacts	Miscellaneous Info	Soccer Links  (Maps)

This page was updated February 08, 2010.  Content changes frequently; use your "Refresh" feature to display the most current information.

News:

Spring season starts soon! (February 7)  We start regular training sessions on Monday, February 15th. We have the same practice schedule as in the fall; details are listed below. The U11 girls are on the same schedule as us each Monday and Wednesday, which expands car-pool options. Link: training session guidelines

NASA Academy U10 Girls @ United Quest Park (NASA North)
Day	Location	Time
Monday	Noonday Park, field 1	5:30 - 6:45 PM
Wednesday	Noonday Park, field 1	5:30 - 6:45 PM 6:55 - 7:30 PM: optional GK training
Friday	see Friday link	see Friday link

• Game schedule:  We'll play a local pre-season tournament the weekend of February 20-21. (We know many of our Cherokee kids are out of school the prior week. If you'll be out of town that weekend, just e-mail Ward and it won't be a problem to miss the tournament.) Regular weekly games start Saturday, March 6th. We'll wrap up with the NASA Friendship Cup tournament in late May. We'll post more details as they become available.

Lassiter 3v3 tournament - January 23: (January 13)  Lassiter High School is hosting a 3v3 tournament on Saturday, January 23rd. Some of our girls played in this event last year. The girls formed their own teams and directed themselves with guidance from Lassiter players. If your daughter is interested, check the Lassiter web site at www.lassitersoccer.org for more info. (It's not an official Academy event, but we support it.)

MLK Holiday scrimmage: (January 19)  We thank everyone who came out to the scrimmages yesterday. We had almost 50 girls attend! If we get another intersection of good weather and available field space, we'll schedule another scrimmage day in late January or early February before we start regular practices the week of February 15th. If so, we'll send a group e-mail with info.

The off-season: (January 7)  The fall season has come to a close, and the girls now start their winter break. We congratulate the girls for their effort and enthusiasm throughout a rainy fall season. We thank the parents for supporting their daughters and the NASA Academy program, and for their flexibility dealing with rain and indoor practices.

The girls made major leaps in individual skills and game awareness, and are starting to understand team play. Coaches are excited how well the girls were playing at the end of the season, and are eager to see everyone again when we start back up next year.

• Winter break:  We take a winter break until February. (Tentative start date for spring season training is the week of February 15.) If the weather cooperates, we usually try to schedule a couple of informal (and optional) scrimmage days during the winter break. If so, we'll send a notice via e-mail and also post it on our Academy web site.

• Academy Winter Workouts:  If your daughter would like to keep up with regular training during the winter break, NASA offers its annual Academy Winter Workouts program during December and January. NASA’s Girls’ Director of Coaching, Eric Ritter, will lead the sessions, which are built around developing individual technical skills, and how to apply them to the game through the use of small sided games. The program is offered at two different indoor locations, one near each NASA park. Link: NASA Winter Workouts (scroll down to Academy Winter Workouts)

• Playing at home:  Some girls prefer informal off-season play on their own schedule. We've come up with a wide variety of "play at home" activities. Our philosophy is encourage but don't require. A good way to approach this is to ask your daughter what she has learned and see if this leads to her wanting to do some "show and tell" with the ball. If the girls think it's their own idea to play, they'll have fun and improve. If they think it's a chore they have to do to please their parents, they likely won't get much out of it. (They're under-10s; we want to keep it fun!)

• Player evaluations:  We'll schedule player evaluation meetings during January. A typical evaluation meeting takes 15-20 minutes and includes an Academy coach and either or both parents. (The players don't attend.) A coach will review your daughter's progress, and parents will have an opportunity to share their thoughts about their daughter's progress and her overall experience in the Academy program.

GSA tournament update: (January 15)  "Well done!" to the girls who played in the GSA Academy Invitational tournament. The girls won both Saturday games, overcoming a 2nd half deficit, cold and wind to come back in the second game. They tied their Sunday game and ended up top in their group. We congratulate the girls for their efforts - they played well individually and also as a team. Thanks also to the parents for their enthusiastic support over a cold and windy weekend.

• Co-champions!  The tournament schedule had to be revised because of field space limitations, so championship games were canceled. The NASA girls won their bracket and would have advanced to the championship. GSA declared the NASA girls co-champions along with the Atlanta Fire team who won the other bracket. The girls will receive awards of some type (we haven't seen them yet), which we'll distribute the first week of spring practice.

Party! (December 4) We thank Lily and her crew of party elves for organizing Thursday's party. The girls had a great time! Hats off to the parents who were brave enough to step onto the rink for a skate.

TYSA Triumph Cup update: (December 1)  We made it halfway through the TYSA Triumph Cup tournament before heavy rain came through and canceled the Sunday schedule. "Yeah baby!" to the girls for their efforts! Here's a recap:

• NASA North Chalupny:  Won both Saturday games, and earned enough points to advance to the championship round.

• NASA North Tarpley:  Played very well: scored a last minute goal to tie game 1, then had a tough loss in game 2.

Cherokee Academy Cup update: (November 15)  The NASA North O'Reilly girls earn a "yeah baby!" for their play in the Cherokee Academy Cup tournament. The girls won twice Saturday, then tied Sunday morning against East Ridge (Chattanooga). The East Ridge team held the tie-breaker advantage (goals allowed), so they advanced to the championship round.

NASA silent auction: (November 9)  NASA has a great opportunity for you and your friends to help benefit the NASA soccer organization through a silent auction. Link: more information

Soccer sense quiz: (October 13)  Something different - we've put together a quiz. We ask that you spend 30-60 minutes with your daughter as she takes a soccer-sense quiz. You can use coasters or drinking glasses or board game pieces to setup the situations in the quiz. Kids should do the thinking and provide the answers, but parents can help as guides.

Uniforms - "ID" the generic items: (August 11)  Most uniform orders have been distributed. Uniform shirts are numbered. Other items (backpack, practice shirts, shorts, warm-ups) aren't numbered and will look the same for all players. We recommend labeling clothing items by using a laundry marker or Sharpie to note your daughter's initials and uniform number on internal tags / labels. You can customize backpacks with a luggage tag, colored wrist strap, ribbon, small stuffed animal, etc. This will help minimize lost & found situations. You may also choose to have warm-ups and/or backpacks embroidered.

• Backpack tips:  Here are some ideas for using the backpacks: ball and water storage; sandals or crocs; sunscreen (in a small zip-lock bag to prevent leakage); first-aid supplies (band-aids, Neosporin, tape or pre-wrap); extra hair accessories such as headbands or scrunchies; a towel; a large garbage bag to use as a "backpack raincoat" in bad weather. Game days: the "other" uniform shirt, shorts and socks in a large zip-lock bag. If you have other tips, please feel free to share them.

Communication channels: (August 4)  During the season, we recommend you check the Academy web site a couple of times per week - early in the week and again late in the week. We update our web site as needed, which is often multiple times a week. (Use your "Refresh" feature to be sure you see the most current information.)

We'll send occasional group e-mails, but you can stay current by checking our web site rather than waiting for e-mails. Another communication channel is our U10 Academy phone hot-line: 1-866-206-9066, ext. 8870#. We'll use this to post announcements about any last-minute schedule changes, usually weather-related. If you need to contact a coach, you can do so in person after a training session, or you can contact the coach via e-mail or phone. Link: contacts

• Rain guideline:  If there has been any significant rain in the previous 48 hours, please check our Academy hot-line to see if we've had to change any plans. Info on the Academy hot-line takes precedence over info on the general NASA field status hot-line.

Shameless commerce - Brasilian skills balls: (September 10)  Several of the girls have taken a shine to the "little blue" Brasilian futebols we bring out to practice. You can order these via the web: www.brasilianfutebol.com. We don't have any financial interest in the supplier, but our experience over the years is that the supplier is reputable and the futebols are fun, durable and help players improve their ball skills

2008-09 Girls

About the Academy: Formed in May, 2001, the NASA Academy is designed to enhance the development of the North Atlanta Soccer Association's girls at United Quest Soccer Park through professional coaching at the 8, 9 and 10-year old levels (what we call "U10" players). Our mission is to build a strong foundation for the soccer stars of tomorrow, while providing a fun and healthy soccer environment. We've expanded over the years to create U11 and U12 Academy programs. The Academy programs serve as a bridge between our U8 / U10 / U12 recreational soccer programs and the U13 select (i.e., "Athena") program.

2008-09 goofy girls

U10 Academy coaching staff (2009-10):

• Jay Ingram:  8th year coaching at NASA, 7th year as a NASA Academy coach
• Ward Swain:  9th year with the Academy, 12th year coaching U10 Athena at NASA

We’ll also occasionally have older Athena-level players join us as guest trainers. This will allow your daughter an opportunity to see the technical skills that higher-level players must possess.

Highlights of the Academy program:

• Training opportunities three times a week (currently Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
• Weekly friendly matches against other clubs' Academy teams
• Flexibility to move players freely between teams
• Athena Academy camp

The pool of players for the Academy will consist of 30-40 girls, most coming from the NASA recreational program at United Quest Park. We identify prospective players in three phases:

• Academy staff evaluates players during training sessions and games with their recreational teams during their league seasons
• We make further evaluations during informal scrimmages in May
• We complete evaluations through structured tryouts after the spring season

Players who are identified as strong candidates will be offered admission into the Academy. There is no obligation to join, however. If the level of commitment isn't right for your daughter or family, the NASA recreational program at United Quest Park will still be available as an option.

Links:

• Frequently asked questions
• Information for Academy prospects

Academy Goals:

• Create an atmosphere where young players are exposed to the game with an emphasis on skill development more than team development.

• Create an environment where players are allowed to flourish in a competitive arena in which the focus of quality soccer is more important than short-term success of winning versus losing.

• Educate our players and parents in the development process and club values.

• We'll measure learning and fun, not scores and standings.