We finished our spring season by playing in the NASA Friendship Cup tournament over the weekend of May 21-22, 2016.
Sunday PM update: What a weekend! Two of our four teams advanced to their division’s championship matches, and the other two finished 2nd in their brackets. Link: 2016 Friendship Cup tournament recap
Sunday preview
Sunday master schedule
| Day, Date | Time | Location | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, May 22 | 9:15 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (a) | DSG 08G Wambach |
| Sun, May 22 | 10:30 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Brian (a) | TYSA Triumph U8 Gold |
| Sun, May 22 | 10:30 AM | UQP 5 | NASA Jr Acad Dunn (H) | Tophat TH26 Navy |
| Sun, May 22 | 10:30 AM | UQP 8A | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (a) | NASA G25 Yellow |
| Sun, May 22 | 2:30 PM | UQP 4 | ||
| Sun, May 22 | 2:30 PM | UQP 4 | ||
| Sun, May 22 | 2:30 PM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (H) | championship match vs. Tophat |
| Sun, May 22 | 2:45 PM | UQP 5 | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (H) | championship match vs. LSA Sharks |
NASA Junior Academy team Brian
- Plays Sunday at 10:30 AM at Quest 4 vs. TYSA (Tucker).
- Will advance to the championship match with a win if NASA team Dunn beats or ties Tophat.
- Could potentially advance with a tie if NASA team Dunn beats Tophat and tie-breakers fall in team Brian’s favor.
- Will be eliminated with a loss.
NASA Junior Academy team Dunn
- Plays Sunday at 10:30 AM at Quest 5 vs. Tophat Navy.
- Could advance to the championship match with a win if NASA team Horan loses and tie-breakers fall in team Dunn’s favor.
- Will be eliminated with a loss or a tie.
NASA Junior Academy team Horan
- Plays Sunday at 9:15 AM at Quest 4 vs. Dacula.
- Will advance to the championship match with a win or a tie.
- Could potentially advance with a loss, if tie-breakers fall team Horan’s way.
NASA Junior Academy team Sonnett
- Plays Sunday at 10:30 AM at Quest 8A vs. a NASA U9 Academy team.
- Will advance to the championship round with a win.
- As we understand the tie-breakers, if the game ends in a tie, team Sonnett would end up in a PK shootout with the NASA U9 Academy team to see who advanced.
- Will be eliminated with a loss.
Quick links:
- About tournament play
- Challenges
- Entry fees
- Paperwork required
- Team assignments
- Schedules
- Player and parent notes
Tournament play
- Tournaments differ from league play, also called Academy game days. Link: about tournament play
- Competition format: Each team has a 3-game guaranteed schedule (two games Saturday, one Sunday morning), with a chance to advance to a championship game Sunday afternoon.
- Official tournament web site: http://clubs.bluesombrero.com/Default.aspx?tabid=316338. The official tournament web site is the first source for any late breaking schedule changes. The tournament web site’s software provider also offers a mobile app for Apple and Google devices. Link: GOT Soccer mobile app
- Weather updates: Check the official tournament web site or the NASA field status hot-line: 770-220-4089. We’ll update our own NASA Junior Academy hot-line and Twitter account when possible, but our Junior Academy channels could lag the official tournament weather communication channels if changes are posted while we’re driving or coaching.
Challenges
Tournament experiences are affected by the number and quality of teams in our brackets. The U8 Junior Academy age group doesn’t tend to attract a lot of teams (U7 even less so). This year’s U8 bracket has six teams: three of our NASA Junior Academy teams, and one Academy team each from Dacula, Tophat and Tucker. There are no U7 teams entered.
- We will have intra-Academy games (“us vs. us”) as part of the tournament.
- We will have one team playing in a U9 Academy age group.
- Our U7s will be mixed with U8 teammates playing against U8 Academy teams.
- We’ll have to recruit 1-2 guest coaches to help cover our games. (Each team plays 3-4 games over the weekend, which means lots of games to coach.)
- The younger the players, the more likely they will tire in the 2nd game of the day.
Weather issues:
- In case of bad weather, tournament games could be delayed, shortened, converted into penalty kick shootouts or canceled altogether. The tournament host organization makes these decisions. Some tournaments offer partial refunds for canceled games, some don’t.
Entry fees
- Tournament entry fees are not included in the Academy fees you pay to NASA. Entry fees for the tournament itself are $48 per player (this covers the $420 per team team entry fee plus a $25 coach per diem).
- Other expenses for the fall and spring season total $12 per player. The main expenses were laminating player passes and parent game day rosters, web hosting fees, telephone hot-line fees, and the cookie cake for our Fall Finale Festival. Link: about fees
- If your daughter is playing in the tournament, write a check for $60 to our treasurer, Heather Prymak, and deliver to her before a practice or to Ward after a practice.
- If your daughter isn’t playing in the tournament, write a check for $12 to our treasurer, Heather Prymak, and deliver to her before a practice or to Ward after a practice.
- If you choose to pay cash, please deliver in person to Heather or Ward in an envelope with your daughter’s name on it, and get confirmation from Heather or Ward that the cash has been received.
Tournament paperwork
- Individual medical consent forms needed: We’re required to present individual player medical consent forms for 2015-2016 (along with team release of liability forms) during tournament check-in on Friday, May 20th. If you have not yet submitted a medical consent form (we collected some last summer at our orientation meeting and Academy Camp), please deliver to Ward after a practice the week of May 9th or May 16th. If you have access to a scanner, you can scan the form and e-mail Ward the digital file. As of May 19th PM, we have received medical consent forms for all players. Thank you!
- We’ll collect signatures for team release forms before / after practice the week of May 9th and May 16th. As of May 19th PM, we have collected release form signatures for all players. Thank you!
Team assignments
- Team rosters are larger than our regular league play rosters. Main reasons: multiple games per day is more physically challenging for the players, which means we need more subs; tournament rules require rosters to stay fixed, so we can’t borrow a player from another NASA team in case of illness, injury, traffic delay, etc.
- We can’t move players between teams to work around schedule conflicts. If your daughter has a conflict with a scheduled game, she will still be eligible to play in her team’s other games.
- There are a bunch of factors that go into team assignments. If you have any questions about the rosters, please feel free to ask Ward in person at the Family Fun Day or after a practice the week of May 16th. (E-mail isn’t the right format for this discussion.)
Team rosters:
Warm-up captains: Girls whose names are listed in bold print are warm-up captains. The captains are responsible for gathering their teammates and starting pre-game warm-up. (Coaches may be finishing a game on a different field when warm-up is due to start.) C1=game 1 captain, C2=game 2 captain, C3=game 3 captain. Link: warm-up ideas
| Team: | NASA Brian | NASA Dunn | NASA Horan | NASA Sonnett |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division: | U8 Gold | U8 Gold | U8 Gold | U9 Red |
| Schedule: | NASA Brian | NASA Dunn | NASA Horan | NASA Sonnett |
| Players: | Bernard | Davenport | Carter | Grant, E (C1) |
| Brown (C3) | Grant, A | Joswick | Hardin | |
| Cox (C1) | Hauenstein | Joyner | Manning, Ad | |
| Hickson | Maddox | Kauffmann | Manning, Al | |
| Hock (C2) | Porter (C2) | Parker (C3) | McMasters | |
| King | Rahaman | Peake (C1) | Noorbehesht | |
| Ollmert | Shirley | Poage | Prymak (C3) | |
| Weeks | Tate | Poklemba | Rodman (C2) | |
| Winters | Whalen (C1) | Preston (C2) | Smith | |
| n/a | Wright (C3) | n/a | n/a |
Schedules
- Each team plays 3-4 games during the weekend: two games on Saturday, one or two on Sunday (including a Sunday AM game).
- We’ll post game captain assignments and uniform colors the week of the tournament.
- The first three games are guaranteed regardless of results. Teams can qualify for a Sunday afternoon championship mach based on the results of the first three games.
- Tournaments follow a different set of schedule standards than our regular Junior Academy game days. This tournament includes 300+ teams in multiple age groups spread across multiple venues, so we’re just a few small pieces of a large jigsaw puzzle. We don’t have control over schedules or venues.
-
home uniform
away uniform
Uniforms: Home (H) and away (a) designations are posted in the schedule section. The general rule of thumb: if we’re the home team, girls should wear their blue shirts, blue shorts and yellow socks. If we’re the away team, girls should wear their white shirts, white shorts and yellow socks. Girls should always bring both sets of uniforms in case of color conflict. Link: what to pack in backpacks on game days
NASA Junior Academy team Brian schedule:
| Day, Date | Time | Location | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, May 21 | 8:00 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Brian (a) | NASA Jr Acad Horan (H) |
| Sat, May 21 | 1:00 PM | UQP 5 | NASA Jr Acad Brian (H) | Tophat TH26 Navy |
| Sun, May 22 | 10:30 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Brian (a) | TYSA Triumph U8 Gold |
| Sun, May 22 | 2:30 PM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Brian (a) | potential championship match |
NASA Junior Academy team Dunn schedule:
| Day, Date | Time | Location | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, May 21 | 10:30 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Dunn (a) | DSC 08G Wambach |
| Sat, May 21 | 1:00 PM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Dunn (a) | NASA Jr Acad Horan (H) |
| Sun, May 22 | 10:30 AM | UQP 5 | NASA Jr Acad Dunn (H) | Tophat TH26 Navy |
| Sun, May 22 | 2:30 PM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Dunn (H) | potential championship match |
NASA Junior Academy team Horan schedule:
| Day, Date | Time | Location | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, May 21 | 8:00 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (H) | NASA Jr Acad Brian (a) |
| Sat, May 21 | 1:00 PM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (H) | NASA Jr Acad Dunn (a) |
| Sun, May 22 | 9:15 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (a) | DSG 08G Wambach |
| Sun, May 22 | 2:30 PM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (H) | potential championship match |
NASA Junior Academy team Sonnett schedule:
| Day, Date | Time | Location | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, May 21 | 9:15 AM | UQP 6B | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (H) | SSA Northside U9 NSA Gold |
| Sat, May 21 | 1:00 PM | UQP 8C | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (H) | Dacula DSC 07 Sauerbrunn |
| Sun, May 22 | 10:30 AM | UQP 8A | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (a) | NASA G25 Yellow |
| Sun, May 22 | 2:45 PM | UQP 5 | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (H) | potential championship match |
NASA Junior Academy master schedule:
Here’s a master chronological schedule for all our teams. If you plan to stay at the park between games, your daughter is welcome to sit in the player’s bench area and watch her “sister” NASA Junior Academy teams.
| Day, Date | Time | Location | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, May 21 | 8:00 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (H) | NASA Jr Acad Brian (a) |
| Sat, May 21 | 9:15 AM | UQP 6B | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (H) | SSA Northside U9 NSA Gold |
| Sat, May 21 | 10:30 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Dunn (a) | DSC 08G Wambach |
| Sat, May 21 | 1:00 PM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (H) | NASA Jr Acad Dunn (a) |
| Sat, May 21 | 1:00 PM | UQP 5 | NASA Jr Acad Brian (H) | Tophat TH26 Navy |
| Sat, May 21 | 1:00 PM | UQP 8C | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (H) | Dacula DSC 07 Sauerbrunn |
| Sun, May 22 | 9:15 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (a) | DSG 08G Wambach |
| Sun, May 22 | 10:30 AM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Brian (a) | TYSA Triumph U8 Gold |
| Sun, May 22 | 10:30 AM | UQP 5 | NASA Jr Acad Dunn (H) | Tophat TH26 Navy |
| Sun, May 22 | 10:30 AM | UQP 8A | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (a) | NASA G25 Yellow |
| Sun, May 22 | 2:30 PM | UQP 4 | ||
| Sun, May 22 | 2:30 PM | UQP 4 | ||
| Sun, May 22 | 2:30 PM | UQP 4 | NASA Jr Acad Horan (H) | championship match vs. Tophat |
| Sun, May 22 | 2:45 PM | UQP 5 | NASA Jr Acad Sonnett (H) | championship match vs. LSA Sharks |
Player and parent notes
- Venue: All of our games are scheduled at United Quest Park. Fields 1-6 are in front of the clubhouse; fields 8A, 8B and 8C are behind the clubhouse.
- Arrival time: Girls should report to the game field 30 minutes before kickoff for warm-up. Parking will likely be a challenge, so you may need to drop your daughter off near her field so she can start warm-up while you find a parking spot.
- Weather updates: Check the official tournament web site or the NASA field status hot-line: 770-220-4089. We’ll update our own NASA Junior Academy hot-line and Twitter account when possible, but our Junior Academy channels could lag the official tournament weather communication channels if changes are posted while we’re driving or coaching.
-
home uniform
away uniform
Uniforms: Home (H) and away (a) designations are posted in the schedule section. The general rule of thumb: if we’re the home team, girls should wear their blue shirts, blue shorts and yellow socks. If we’re the away team, girls should wear their white shirts, white shorts and yellow socks. Girls should always bring both sets of uniforms in case of color conflict. Link: what to pack in backpacks on game days
- Tips for parents: We ask that you be your daughter’s biggest fans, and all the other girls’ 2nd biggest fans. Please help us keep the environment positive and fun for the players. Link: game day guidelines for parents
- Coaches: Our teams will play a total of 12-16 games over the weekend. Ward will coach most games. We’ll have guest coaches filling in when we have multiple games at the same time. Depending on results, we may have to recruit a guest coach for one of the Sunday afternoon finals.
- Footwear: Girls should wear their normal soccer shoes and also bring sneakers, slides, sandals or flip flops. After games, the girls should remove their socks, shin-guards and soccer shoes, and switch to more comfortable footwear. This will help their feet rest and also allow time for footwear items to dry out.
- No jewelry: Tournament rules state “No jewelry of any kind may be worn.” The referee has final say on this. Our recommendation is to leave jewelry at home.
- Proper hydration: It’s likely to be HOT this weekend! Please make sure your daughter is staying properly hydrated. This includes drinking plenty of “good” fluids before, during and after games. Please also make sure she brings a large insulated water jug (minimum half-gallon) to each game. Link: hydration guidelines
- Nutrition: Good nutrition can have a huge impact on your daughter’s performance over the weekend. Link: nutrition for soccer
- Before games: The girls should eat a high-carb, low-fat breakfast a couple of hours before their first games. A small amount of milk is fine with cereal, but the girls should skip milk as a pre-game beverage.
- Between games: The girls should eat a snack (one or two items such as low-fat crackers, an energy bar or a banana) soon after their first games. The best between-game fluids are water or sports drinks like Gatorade or PowerAde; avoid milk during this period.
- After each day’s 2nd game: The girls should eat some type of carbohydrate snack as soon as possible after their second games. This is one time when sweets are actually a solid choice. (Many nutrition experts say that after hard or long bouts of exercise, sugar is actually good for you.) They can eat a big meal after they get home. Milk is fine during this post-game period. (Chocolate milk has become popular as a recovery drink.)