MARK YOUR CALENDARS

9/1 Fall Soccer Picture Day

RVES

9/19—10/3 Early Bird Winter

Basketball and Cheer Registra-

tion

10/10 Columbus Day—Office

Closed

11/6 Fall Cheer Pep Rally

11/11 Veteran’s Day—Office

Closed

11/19-11/20 HYS All Star Cup

Soccer Tournament

During the last few months, SYC lost two significant contributors to the

organization. George Angulo, a longtime volunteer, board member and

most recently SYC's VP of Operations, and John Betts, who for many

years served as SYC's attorney. Both passed away.

Both George and John added greatly to the club's growth, development

and ability to serve the youth of our community. They both exemplified

some of the best characteristics of a volunteer, which are crucial to an

organization like ours - objectivity, clear thinking, with a highly devel-

oped sense of community and SYC's role in it, and the ability to put the

club's best interest over individual interests. They each enriched the

club, and in turn the lives of thousands of area children, in unique and

important ways.

SYC is honoring George’s memory by issuing and displaying a GA de-

cal on each and every football players’ helmet this season. Look for

the decals on the back of the helmets as our players take the field.

Please take a moment and remember these two people. If you knew

them at all, you knew how much they cared about the club, its mission

and the youth we serve. Even if you didn't know John and George,

please take a moment and appreciate all of our volunteers, without

whom SYC could not exist. I was fortunate to know them both and am

humbled by their service to our club and the community.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Featured Volunteer .................2

Volunteers ...............................3

Top Tips for Athletes ..............3

VYSA Olympic Development

Program ...................................4

Health and Youth Sports ........4

Cheer Highlight .......................5

CHRIS SPERA

The Torch

September 2016 Issue

Springfield/South County Youth Club

7075 Newington Road, Unit G

Lorton, VA 22079 www.sycva.com

SYC HISTORICAL FACT

On May 17, 2007 SYC’s membership voted overwhelmingly to change

the name of the club from Springfield Youth Club to Springfield South

County Youth Club. The name change was in response

to the club’s need to correctly reflect the demographic

areas we serve.

“The most important thing to me is the friends that I’ve made.”

- Bill Russell

SYC: Tell us a little bit about your

background and family.

My wife Simone and I have lived in Spring-

field for about 25 years and have three chil-

dren – Alex 16, Emily 19, and Chelsea 26, all

of whom grew up participating in multiple

SYC sports.

SYC: What got you interested in vol-unteering with SYC?

Sports were a huge part of my life growing up

and I strongly believe they play an important

role in youth development, so I wanted to en-

sure my kids had the same opportunities and

positive experiences that I had. I have been

associated with SYC as a volunteer for 20

years – starting as a rec soccer coach in 1996,

and getting talked into becoming a league di-

rector shortly thereafter. As my daughters

moved on to travel soccer, I turned my atten-

tion to football and basketball, where I have

been ever since. I coached SYC football for 7

years and basketball for 13 years, serving as a

basketball league director for 11 of those, be-

fore becoming deputy commissioner and now

serving as the basketball commissioner. I was

also recently elected to a seat on the SYC

board of directors.

SYC: Do you have a child in the bas-ketball program now?

My youngest is now a junior in high school, so

I no longer have any children playing in SYC,

but he still participates as a basketball refer-

ee. As my kids wrapped up their SYC playing

careers, I stopped coaching and began focus-

ing my time and energy helping with the ad-

ministration and management of the basket-

ball program as the commissioner.

SYC: Why is the SYC basketball pro-gram important to you?

While I love all sports and participated in

many, basketball is very near and dear to me

and is the one that I spent the most time play-

ing (including the hundreds of game-winning

shots I made at the buzzer while playing alone

in my driveway). All three of my kids played

SYC basketball, and it became a part of our

family (and after sitting outside in the cold for

countless soccer, baseball, and football

games, basketball quickly became Simone’s

favorite sport!). With about 1,200 kids, bas-

ketball is SYC’s second largest sport after soc-

cer, and one of the largest basketball organi-

zations in Northern Virginia. We take great

pride in the quality of our program, and I am

proud to be a part of it.

2

FEATURED VOLUNTEER—JEFF REBA

3

SYC has volunteer opportunities throughout the year that can be completed by students. SYC assigns

and verifies volunteer credit for school, scouts, church, court, and other civic organizations. Contact

Nancy Cannon for current opportunities to volunteer.

“There are those who give with joy and that joy is their reward.”

-Kahlil Gibran

THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!

Top Tips for Athletes Headed Back to School

Sleep. 8-10 hours of sleep each night helps the body recover from the physical and mental challenges of the day.

Eat breakfast. If you are nervous or just don’t have an appetite in the morning to eat breakfast the first weeks of school, take breakfast to go. Cereal in a snack container, a bagel, half a sandwich, or smoothie might be just enough to help you stay focused and give you some energy in the morning.

Eat a healthy variety of foods all day. Try to take advantage of each opportunity to eat breakfast, lunch, snacks before practice, dinner, and maybe even another snack after dinner. Sports and school are demand-ing and require more energy. You’ll have the best chance staying healthy or recovering quickly. Check out https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate to learn more about food groups.

Stay positive and manage stress. Talk to friends and family about what’s happening in your day. Let your parent, teachers, and coach know if practices and homework have you feeling overscheduled. Ask for help on how to manage time and stress. Use relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or listen to music.

Stay hydrated. Bring a water bottle to school to sip during the day to help with focus. By paying attention to drinking and eating well each day you’ll show up for competition well hydrated. Reaction time is better when hydrated which helps prevent injury.

Sharon Coleman Staier, MS, RD, CSSD Family and Sports Dietitian playonnutriton@gmail.com

During this summer, the Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) Olympic Development Program

(ODP) provided open tryouts within 5 districts across the state of Virginia looking for motivated and

talented players with birth years of 2000 – 2005 to join the prestigious program. Springfield-South

County Youth Club (SYC) is designated in the “North” district and had a number of players desiring to

be a part this opportunity.

We extend our congratulation to those players from SYC that were selected amongst 100s of other re-

gional candidates to be a part of the VYSA ODP Program this year. Please be sure to reach out and con-

gratulate these determined and ambitious athletes, as well as those Coaches and Trainers that saw

their potential and motivated them to be better than they thought they could be.

2001 Girls Elena Beasley, Katheryn Weir

2002 Girls

Rachel Mayberry

2003 Girls Savannah Hensley, Madeline Seeling

2003 Boys

Brandon Arias

2004 Boys Luigi Candelaria, Anthony Orellana

For a listing of all those selected for the VYSA ODP Program, please see the following links:

Girls: http://www.vysa.com/docs/odp/DistrictODP/North%20Girls%20District%20Pool.pdf

Boys: http://www.vysa.com/docs/odp/DistrictODP/North%20Boys%20ODP%20District%20Pool.pdf

The U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program was formed in 1977 to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a National Team will be selected for international competition; to pro-

vide high-level training to benefit and enhance the development of players at all levels; and, through the use of carefully selected and licensed coaches, develop a mechanism for the exchange of ideas and curriculum to improve all levels of coaching.

VYSA OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

4

HEALTH AND YOUTH SPORTS

Staying active is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, and youth sports can play an important role in

your child’s health. Read more about how youth sports benefit your child here:

http://www.healthfitnessrevolution.com/top-10-health-benefits-youth-sports/

SYC Cheer has new uniforms!

Our old uniforms were over six years old so it was time to upgrade and give

our cheerleaders a fresh look. Our Rec cheerleaders are starting off the sea-

son in uniforms that emphasize the navy and

orange.

Our All-Star cheerleaders also received new

uniforms. We focused on a uniform that is of

performance/competition quality (similar to

high schools.) They were designed to stand out,

and have a removable liner so they are more

versatile for the year-round season.

A big THANK YOU to Nancy Cannon for supporting SYC Cheer through the

purchasing process, and for finding an organization that we could donate

our old uniforms to. Thank you to the SYC Board for approving our new uni-

forms on short notice. We are already receiving compliments on the new

look!

POLICY REMINDER

Concussion Training is

mandatory for all play-

ers, parents, and volun-

teers. Once you take the

training, it is good for

one database year. You

won’t need to complete it

again until the start of

summer sports registra-

tions.

5

FREE SOCCER MAGNET

If you are new to SYC Soccer

or did not receive a soccer

magnet last spring, just stop

by the SYC office to pick one

up!

Fall Field Hockey Novice

Clinics

Winter Basketball

Winter Cheer

Last Call for Fall Lacrosse

Clinics

REGISTER TODAY!

OPEN REGISTRATIONS

MISSION STATEMENT: Springfield/South County Youth Club provides athletic programs for

boys and girls ages 4 to 19 that promote character development, good sportsmanship, and ex-

emplary behavior. We strive to establish a nurturing and supportive environment which re-

flects, respects, and celebrates our differences, while embracing the richness of diversity within

our membership.

*Your Ad Here*

SYC is seeking Newsletter Sponsors for ½ page ads.

Contact nancycannon@sycva.com

for prices and availability.