FALL 2008 YEAR IN REVIEW

The NHSA FALL 2008 soccer season has come to a close. In just our third season, we have nearly 220 players and had over 600 people attend our end-of-season banquet Saturday at NORTHFIELD PARK!

By far, our third season has been the best so far! We increased our number of players for the third straight season and we have expanded with u-12 as part of our academy next spring along with TRAVEL SOCCER for u-10 boys and girls and u-12 girls.

We are proud to welcome KATIE KRUSE to The NHSA Travel program and we are pleased to work with area coaches from the middle school and high school. We are also working with The Macedonia Rec center to grow travel soccer in the area. We are pleased that the soccer community in NORDONIA HILLS is working together to grow and improve soccer in our area. These are very exciting times with a very bright future for our sport!

The level of play in u-6, u-8 and u-10 is greatly improved over last season thanks to a more experienced and energized group of coaches. It's exciting to see the growth and to see the kids having so much fun. We are all building a strong foundation to a bright soccer future for NORDONIA HILLS!

As I said at Saturday's banquet, we have accomplished so much in a short period of time. It's hard to believe we have three seasons in our history already! It's exciting to see travel soccer come together for The NHSA! Yes, we have accomplished quite a bit together, but we have plenty more work to do and lots to improve upon. We are far from perfect and need to continue to grow with fresh ideas and energized parents, players and coaches! With your help, I am confident that we will make that happen!

I would like to thank our league VP TOM SEASHOLTZ for the countless hours of preperation for TRAVEL SOCCER and for working with our coaches to improve the quality of coaching and overall play. Tom spends a great deal of his own time coming up with ways to make The NHSA better from top to bottom.

NORTHFIELD VILLAGE MAYOR VICTOR F. MILANI deserves a great deal of credit for his tireless support of The NHSA! He attends nearly all of The NHSA practices, games and events and is instrumental in the behind-the-scenes success of our league.

NICK MILANI has been a critical part of our success as well. From painting fields, gettin' plates for the banquet, setting up the practice and game fields, the weekly email and just about everything else, he has given a great deal of time making sure we get things done right!

LISA THELLMAN, KIM GRINER, MRS. MILANI, DAVE at SCOREBOARDS, the crew that keeps smith park in great shape...THANK YOU!

Of course, it's THE PLAYERS, PARENTS and COACHES that breathe life into The NHSA! Thanks for an awesome season this Fall. We had a blast and are proud to be THE LEAGUE HAVIN' THE MOST FUN! See you this SPRING!!!

FAVORITE PIX FROM THE FALL '08 SEASON...

Throughout the season, I have taken several pix of The NHSA. Its an opportunity to see all the players, parents and coaches have a blast bringin' the league to life! These are just a few of my favorites throughout The Fall Season. There are many more pix found in our photo galleries here on the site!

It's not easy bein' green! I went GREEN for NHSA Day at The NORDONIA Varsity Girls' game. I have to admit, goin' green covered up a few of the bald spots!!!

Yeah, sure that's a great action shot...but look at the striping on the field and that snappy lookin' goalie jersey (those are the things that Tom and I pride ourselves in : ) )

Just another pic proving that we are THE LEAGUE HAVIN' THE MOST FUN! Coach Kevin Sopata deserves a lot of credit for all the awesome activities on Thursday nights!
Face paint night...a huge hit....wonder how she is gonna top that for Halloween.... : )
Festive face paint....and BAM! A sack 'o prizes! Again...The League Havin' The Most Fun!!! BAM!

OK...so that's my daughter...give me a break...if you were the picture taker guy, you would put your daughter in there too.....just sayin'....


Love the Fall Colors in this shot...this was our second PLAYDATE IN THE PARK at SMITH PARK! We had a blast that day!

Just a pure soccer pic!

....remember that scene in HOME ALONE? ....just sayin'....

just simply a cute kid sittin' on a ball.

....yes, we are planning a U-INFANT age group in the near future....

What a great action pic in the rain. I liked this pic so much I put it on the front of the website! Why cancel soccer on rainy days? If we did, we would have missed this awesome moment!

Coach Kevin rocks! By the way, we plan on starting a U-ARMY age group soon! NOW DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY!!!

Get that kid a HOOLA HOOP!!! Actually, he's playing one of our favorite "drills" in THE NHSA....TOP GUN!!! The kids love it!!

AGAIN...great Fall Colors....and awesome action shot!!!

Pure action shot...this was our second PLAYDATE IN THE PARK at Smith Park!

Uh...this is The NHSA version of modern art...kinda..

THANK YOU FOR AN AWESOME YEAR IN PICTURES WITH THE NHSA!!! We truly have a good time growing soccer in NORDONIA HILLS! As you look through all of our photo galleries, it's clear that we are putting a lot of smiles on faces and raising the level of soccer in our area! ~af

NHSA NEWS AND NOTES...

COACHES NIGHT OUT: The NHSA hosted its coaches for a night out at SCOREBOARDS Thursday night after practice. Several coaches were out for a big

night in Northfield for good times....

PLAYDATE IN THE PARK: With no school this past week, a handful of NHSA players from every age group played soccer at Smith Park and had pizza for lunch last Friday...

TRAVEL SOCCER: After last week's NHSA Travel Soccer announcement, league prsident Allan Fee, league VP Tom Seasholtz and Northfield Village Mayor Vic Milani attended The Nordonia Knights Varsity Girls soccer game. The Knights tied Twinsburg at 1-1. Head coach Katie Kruse has joined The NHSA as coach of the newly forming U-12 girls travel team. Tryouts coming soon.....for more info, reach out to Tom Seasholtz at 216-262-8193.

Allan Fee, Tom Seasholtz, Nordonia Varsity Girls coach Katie Kruse and Northfiled Village Mayor Vic Milani at Nordonia Monday night.

NHSA NEWS AND NOTES...

BREAKING NEWS!!!! NORDONIA VARSITY GIRLS COACH KATIE KRUZE HAS SIGNED ON TO COACH U-12 GIRLS TRAVEL SOCCER FOR THE NHSA! WATCH FOR TRAVEL SOCCER INFO THIS WEEK!!!

COACHES NIGHT OUT

IS COMING UP THIS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9TH AT 7:30PM AT SCOREBOARDS IN NORTHFIELD. ALL NHSA COACHES FROM ALL AGE GROUPS ARE INVITED TO COME JOIN US DRINKS AND STUFF.....WE PICK UP THE TAB....

THE NHSA IS HEATIN' UP WITH BONFIRE!!!

THE NHSA IS HOSTING OUR FIRST BONFIRE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16TH AFTER PRACTICE. ALL NHSA PLAYERS, COACHES AND FAMILIES ARE INVITED TO JOIN US AT SMITH PARK ON HOUGHTON FOR A BONFIRE AND TREATS. THERE IS NO SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY.

THE NHSA ADDS TRAVEL SOCCER!

NORDONIA COACH TO COACH U-12!!!THE NHSA IS EXPANDING TO U-12 AND ADDING TRAVEL SOCCER!! WE WILL BE OFFERING A GIRLS U-10 TRAVEL TEAM, A U-10 BOYS TEAM AND A U-12 GIRLS TRAVEL TEAM. WE ARE THRILLED TO ADD NORDONIA VARSITY GIRLS COACH KATIE KRUZE TO THE NHSA FAMILY! SHE WILL COACH THE U-12 NHSA GIRLS TRAVEL TEAM. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT TRAVEL OR HAVE AN INTEREST, TALK TO TOM SEASHOLTZ OR CALL THE NHSA AT 440-570-2593.

NHSA DAY AT NORDONIA!!

NHSA DAY AT NORDONIA. AFTER OUR GAMES ON SATURDAY , OCTOBER 11 TH (NEXT SATURDAY) JOIN US AT NOON AT NORDONIA FOR THE NORDONIA VARSITY GIRLS GAME AGAINST WOOSTER. THIS IS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOUR PLAYER EXCITED ABOUT THE GAME AND TO SEE OUR NEW U-12 TRAVEL COACH IN ACTION. WE WILL BE DEPARTING THE PAVILLION AT SAGAMORE PARK AFTER THE GAMES. THIS IS OPEN TO ALL NHSA PLAYERS AND FAMILIES.

WHOOO HOOOOO!!!! LET'S PARTY!!!!

END OF SEASON BANQUETIS COMING UP SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH AT NORTHFIELD PARK AT NOON. JOIN US AFTER THE FINAL GAMES OF THE SEASON FOR A SPECIAL AWARDS PRESENTATION AND LUCHEON. WE ARE ASKING THAT NHSA FAMILIES PROVIDE A SIDE DISH OR DESSERT. WE WILL PROVIDE MORE INFO NEXT WEEK AT PRACTICE.

CLAMBAKE AND ICE CREAM SOCIAL HUGE SUCCESS AT NHSA'S SMITH PARK !

From day one, the mission of The NHSA has been to grow soccer in the area and breathe life into the community. Our goal has been to bring people together by bein' the league havin' the most fun! Friday's WILDE AND FEE CLAMBAKE AND ICE CREAM SOCIAL has helped us accomplish that goal!

It's hard to believe that a little over a year ago, SMITH PARK was best known for it's sledding hill and that's about it. Today, it hosts THE NHSA and just hosted one of the biggest events in NORTHFIELD VILLAGE's history.

Northfield city officials estimate that nearly 1,000 people attended Friday's Q104 WILDE AND FEE CLAMBAKE AND ICE CREAM SOCIAL at The NHSA's Smith Park..... Several NHSA families attended the first time event at SMITH PARK. LOLLEY THE TROLLEY transported nearly 800 people to the event from Northfield Plaza to the park.
The bands VITIUM and INTRIGUE provided the musical entertainment for the event.

Northfield Village Mayor VICTOR MILANI and Q104 Program Director DAVE POPOVICH share a moment at the clambake and ice cream social. Q104's REBECCA WILDE, GLENN ANDERSON, PRODUCER NICK, TIM RICHARDS, JEN TOOHEY and BRIAN CONROY were on hand. VONDA WARD, ELMO and hundred of dozens of clams also attended the event.
The NHSA would like to thank Mayor VIC MILANI, The City Council, Northfield Police and Fire, Q104 radio, SCOREBOARDS, SPINNATO'S, MR. CHICKEN, MOOTOWN, HANDLES, ROMITO'S and the thousand people who attended this first time event. Our goal is to make the clambake and ice cream social an annual event at Smith Park. We appreciate your support and thank you for attending.

THE NHSA ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS...

TOM SEASHOLTZ is Vice President and Co-Founder of The NHSA. He is a critical part of our league's success. His work behind-the-scenes and as a coach has been key to helping us grow as a soccer league. We often get asked many questions about why we do what we do as a league. In this blog entry, Tom answers some of YOUR FAQ's.....

1. How are we doing?

So far we have been working on getting the kids a lot of time working with their feet and getting comfortable with the soccer ball. The coaching director for Ohio Youth Soccer (Tom Turner) tells us that we need to focus on getting kids as much time with the ball as possible. We do this through games and drills that look a bit chaotic. Games we play have names like "Pac Man" and "Sharks and Minnows". They are intended to let the children learn from the game rather than to force them into solving the problems that soccer creates in a specific way. The youth soccer organization has told us that this develops more creative players. Kids that are in this age group are not focused so much on team play and a lot of their attention is needed just to focus on their feet and the ball. Kids in this age group also tend to have a pretty short attention span. That is why we try to rotate through the games pretty quickly to help keep their interest. From an organizational perspective we have challenges related to our success. With 220 kids we have 17 fields to manage. This is a pretty daunting task on practice and games days - and we are working to get better at it :)

2. Why don't we have fixed teams?

Answer: We are focused on developing the individual player - not creating a winning team. We believe the kids can wait to have a team focus. At early ages it is important for them to get experience and to develop as an individual player. The team strategies and positions can be taught as they get older and have mastered the basic skills that they need to be an advanced player.

3. Why does my child's play vary from week to week?

You may see your child playing really well in practice or games one week and then struggling with some of the concepts that they seemed to get the next week. This is very normal. A lot of times concepts they learn this season will not come out until the next season.

4. How do the game days work?

Game days may change from week to week. The main things we do are dividing the kids into teams that they will play on for the hour of games. We find that it is easier to bring all the kids together into one large group so that we can divide them up more evenly. That is why they don't stay with just their groups. The tournament format we use is based on changing fields when you win or lose. This provides for a leveling of the teams as the day progresses and provides for a competitive environment. I have seen a lot of great games! Unfortunately the kids and parents need to move when we do this and it can be a bit confusing.

5. Do you have enough Coaches?

Sometimes we are a little short on coaches to help run the fields on game or practice days. Because of the format that we play we need more parents and coaches to help facilitate the games. If we have one coach who has a conflict we will need a parent to volunteer to help run a field. If you are willing to do this please see me or any of the coaches and let us know you are willing to help run a field or drill. We have had parents step up to do this and it is a huge help!

6. What can I do to help my child become a better player?

Encourage them to have fun! Don't criticize their performance - encourage their effort. Make time to play with them at home. Watch Soccer with them. Going to a high school game or watching soccer on TV may help them visualize the game in a different way. Please feel free to forward this on to anyone else who might find it helpful.Thanks again for being a part of the NHSA. I look forward to seeing all of you this Thursday! If you have any questions feel free to give me a call.

Tom Seasholtz - Group C LeadVice President - NHSA216.262.8193

COACHES GET SNAPPY NEW JACKETS!

The entire coaching staff is decked out in the new NHSA coach's jacket. Not only does it look cool with the snappy logo, some coaches report looking slimmer in the new all black jacket.

COACH KEVIN GOES ON THE WARPATH...

There is no question that KEVIN SOPATA loves coaching in The NHSA. His passion for the game and for working with kids is clear during EVERY Thursday practice....Coach Kevin is one of the key people in helping The NHSA be "THE LEAGUE HAVIN' THE MOST FUN!"

Coach Kevin is available to come to your home to make sure your player gets their homework done, does their chores and is in bed on time! He'll also have them up at 0600 doing soccer drills! (we're kiddin'....uh, kinda...)

...seriously...Kevin is awesome with the U-10 kids! He is dedicated to making The NHSA the best youth soccer league in Northeast Ohio! In his third season with the league, he has done a great job teaching kids soccer and has made sure they have had a blast learning the game!

RAIN OR SHINE, NHSA ROLLS ON...

At the end of today's U-10 games at Smith Park, I asked the players if they liked playing in the rain....they all screamed back "YES!!!!" I then asked, who would rather play on a nice sunny day...there was silence. To me, that best answers the question, "why play in the rain?". We took a total of 5 phone calls this morning asking if the games were a go. If there is no lightening and it's not too cold, we are on! The NHSA prides itself in bein' "the league havin' the most fun"..and seeing the kids play in the rain today was a strong indicator that we are living up to that mission... ....sometimes, bein' a kid is all about gettin' muddy and wet on a soccer field.......
......even the spectators were all smiles at the rain-soaked U-10 games Saturday....
....at the U-8 fields, rain didn't stop BUCKEYE fans from showin' their colors......
.....while the parents watched from the pavillion, the kids were havin' a blast on the field....

Despite this weekend's heavy rain, The NHSA enjoyed another soccer Saturday at Smith Park and Sagamore Park. We thank all the players, parents and coaches who helped make today's game another huge success!

~af

KRAZY HAIR NIGHT A BIG HIT WITH THE U-10!

KRAZY HAIR NIGHT was a huge success with the u-10 players at Thursday's practice at Sagamore Park.....several players earned prizes for participating including the ultimate KRAZY HAIR winner....
The u-10 players have theme nights on Thursday scheduled thru the entire season. If you did not get the list of special nights, reach out to Coach Kevin Sopata.
The NHSA prides itself as "The League Havin' The Most Fun!" Our goal is to have our players love learning and playing soccer! Our theme nights have been a huge success. We are thrilled that our kids are havin' a blast so far this season and appreciate your support in makin' our league so much fun!

OPENING WEEKEND A HUGE SUCCESS!

THE NHSA kicked off it's third season officially on Saturday with games at Smith Park and Sagamore Park. We are all pleased with how smoothly our first week of the season has gone. It can be difficult getting everyone organized with uniforms, snack schedules, coaches and groups. Our experience as a group is paying off. Even the rain didn't hinder an awesome Soccer Saturday......

For more pix from Saturday and the week, make sure you check out our photo gallery.... click here

The U-10 players played a 2-hour session at Smith Park including skills awards. They also enjoyed the new goals at the park.

We appreciate your support in the first week of the Fall '08 season..The NHSA is a success because of you the players, parents and coaches. We welcome your feedback! This is YOUR league and we want to ensure that your soccer experience is AWESOME!

Thanks for a great WEEK ONE...let's have an awesome WEEK TWO!

~af

EVERYONE "BUZZING" ABOUT NHSA OPENING NIGHT!

U-10 Coach Kevin Sopata wraps ups the first practice of the season with some closing comments. Kevin begins his third season with the NHSA as Lead Coach of the U-10 players.

The FALL '08 NHSA season got underway with Thursday's all ages practice at Sagamore Park. The night proved to be the most organized season opener in the NHSA's young history with players, coaches and families quickly falling into place.

A brief bee attack early in the practice sent several U-8 players and their familes scattering to safety. Park officials assure us that the problem with the bees has been solved.

The organized first practice is credited to pre-season uniform distribution and hours of work behind the scenes from Tom Seasholtz, Northfield Mayor Victor Milani, Nick Milani, Sherry and Nate Jucha and the rest of the NHSA staff. The NHSA also recognizes the strong support of Northfield, Sagamore Hills, Northfield Center and Macedonia residents who have built the NHSA from the ground up.

The table is set for a strong 2008 Fall Soccer Season with The Nordonia Hills Soccer Association. Thank you for helping us generate "BUZZ" about the fastest growing soccer league in NorthEast Ohio!