Anna Maria College Men’s Soccer Coach Jake Pesarcik will be running a goalkeeper training program for us this winter. It is open to players in Grade 2-8. It will consist of four 30-minute sessions on Friday nights in the gym at Immanuel Lutheran Church. The dates are 1/31, 2/7, 2/14, and 2/28 . (No session […]
We will be offering several programs for the coming winter and spring. New offerings for the winter include Winter Futsal, Winter Turbo Training, and Winter Keeper Training. See below for details. You can register for any of these programs via SportsPilot. Winter Programs Winter Futsal (on a basketball court) This program will be offered to […]
Registration for spring travel soccer is now open. You can register through SportsPilot. Refer to our Travel Soccer page for details. We will hold assessments by early December. Stay tuned for specifics. We will also use level recommendations from previous coaches. The goal is to place players and teams at the ideal level where they […]
We all have experienced some type of trauma in our life. The ripple effect of a positive sport experience goes way beyond the field of play and benefits all who participate, regardless of ability level. Good Sport is an urgent health care intervention... not a parent entertainment industry or an elusive pathway to a college scholarship. Keep your eye on the prize.. ask what does your child need/want from their youth sport experience. And don't forget to thank the athlete centered great coaches that see the big picture. Thank you to Lou Bergholz for shining a light on this. #trainingforlife #SportForGoodAs Nelson Mandela once said, “#Sport has the #power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”
Playing sport has proven to be affective in its ability to help heal #trauma, and #neuroscience points towards a number of factors:
⚽️ Regular exercising teaches the #brain to heal itself by stimulating neurological brain responses and growth, helping with frontal lobe interconnectivity and thereby encouraging more rational responses to everyday stressors.
🏈 The sport experience provides the brain with opportunities to navigate challenges in order to attain set goals. As young brains cooperate, coordinate and synchronise, social confidence is experienced, impacting positively on mental health.
🏀 Trauma occurs when there is lack of safety, consistency and social supports. Playing in a team, meanwhile, is a safe environment with explicit rules, and it can include peer support and mentorship along with encouragement.
Trauma-informed brain science principles are contributing to the growing interest in sport for healing. Organisations such as Edgework design curriculum and programs that utilise sport as a healing mechanism. At the forefront of this evidence-based field, Edgework’s founder, Lou Bergholz, has a focus on what happens when development is disrupted, delayed or challenged, and on how people find their way through these obstacles. Edgework’s website at www.edgework-sportforhealing.com/ explains the sport experience as an intervention in the following way:
“When bad things happen to a person they leave a mark. For some people, the mark fades over time and they return to regular functioning. However, for many people, the experiences are so intense or so pervasive, that the mark becomes a wound. And that wound causes permanent changes to a person. This is what is called trauma.
Breakthrough research on the brain has helped us to understand the deeply damaging impact these experiences have on a person’s development. In essence, the brain gets rewired. This rewiring is the source of the feelings, thoughts, and actions that can pull someone into a vicious downward spiral in their lives. They get stuck.
To break free from this spiral, people need to be given the chance to experience more of the following:
• A sense of safety and security
• More consistent regulation of their emotions and actions
• A connection to people who look out and care for them
• Opportunities to feel skilled and successful
• Experiences that promote choice-making and a sense of control of their lives
• Ways to break out of feeling stuck in the past, and living in the present; even having a future, hopeful focus
• A re-connection to and joy in using their bodies on their terms.”
“Every single one of these is foundational to a well-run sport experience.”
For those interested in learning more about this exciting field, Edgework have many insightful resources on their site, including this great handout titled, ‘The Case For Sport As a Medium to Foster Healing From Psychological Trauma’:
704b5801-34ca-499b-b110-736a60d31bc2.filesusr.com/ugd/7b1a5d_02e707b46970427ea1e8619951a7adaa.pdf
Via Edgework Consulting
www.facebook.com/lou.bergholz
#neurochild #traumainformed #brainscience
TRAVEL SOCCER UPDATE: We are in the process of setting up teams and assigning coaches. We will be contacting teams by February 1. Indoor team practices will start after February vacation. Games should start in early April (if field conditions allow). All players in Grades 3-8 will need a new travel uniform. See the previous post for details.
After many years, Adidas has ceased production of our current travel uniform. We have chosen a new uniform with a two- to three-year life span (the longest possible). ALL travel players in Grades 3-8 need to order a new kit (a jersey with a number assigned by HYS, shorts, and socks). Note that there are separate styles for males and females. All players will receive an email (to the parent email used during registration) with directions from soccer.com on how to order the kit. These emails will be sent by February 1.
Another reason to help kids build a love of soccer, so they play through their youth and hopefully even through adulthood: Research now shows that exercise is good for the brain--improving mood, memory, and attention span...and even guarding against neurological disorders!
The brain-changing benefits of exercise
ted.com
What's the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today? Exercise! says neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki. Get inspired to go to the gym as Suzuki discusses the science of how working out boosts your mood and memory -- and protects your brain against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzhe...
