We thank all the girls who attended our 2017 NTH Junior Academy Girls soccer program tryouts. We loved the girls’ effort and enthusiasm!

We are excited to invite 32 new players to join our returning players for the 2017-2018 soccer year! Link:  group photos (and eventually a video or two)

Invitations

Coaches meet after each tryout session to review the tryout candidates. We determine if each player earned an invitation to join the Junior Academy Girls program, or if we need to see her another night, or if we think she is not yet ready for the environment.

We have invited the following players to join us for the 2017-2018 soccer year. Girls are listed by tryout number, not by name. (For U9 through U12 Academy Girls tryout results, check the NTH tryouts page.)

• new player tryout numbers:  4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29, 30, 35, 41 (D), 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52
• new player tryout letters:  C, D (41), E
• returning Junior Academy player tryout numbers:  3, 10, 15, 16, 20, 33, 39, 45
• late tryouts:  new player tryout initials:  AB (team camp), AG (team camp), IW (Sept.)

We sent an e-mail to each invited player’s family to confirm the invitation. If your daughter’s tryout number is listed above and you have not yet received your invitation e-mail, please e-mail ward.swain(at)nasa-ga(dot). If your daughter was invited, jump to the “What happens next?” section below for further information.

Missed tryouts?

If you missed our tryout sessions due to vacation or another schedule conflict, but are interested in the NTH Junior Academy Girls program, please e-mail coach Ward to arrange an informal tryout.

Not invited?

If your daughter isn’t invited to join, we strongly encourage her to continue playing! (Handled properly, this is a great opportunity for her to learn resilience and develop self-motivation.) The NTH recreational program has leagues for players age 4-19, and participation doesn’t require a tryout.

She should set a goal of becoming a player who wants to have the ball at her feet (has the confidence to dribble and looks to score goals), stays alert when teammates have the ball, and works hard on defense to regain possession when the other team has the ball. If your daughter wants ideas for improving her skills, please check our play at home activities.

If she loves the game and sticks with it, she’ll always have a chance to achieve her goals. Players develop at different rates, and a player who isn’t invited to join this time around may blossom by this time next year.

Over the 16-year history of our Academy program, we’ve had many cases where players tried out one year and weren’t invited to join, but kept playing and made it into the Academy program the next time around. These players showed that determination and effort (and sometimes an extra year of maturity) can help you reach your goals.

What happens next?

1. Make an informed decision:  We want everyone to be fully informed about our program. Please review the information and links below for general information about the NTH Junior Academy Girls, along with details about fees, our schedule, and player / parent guidelines. If you have questions, please contact coach Ward.
   1. Junior Academy overview and goals
   2. Frequently asked questions
   3. Junior Academy fees
   4. Schedule:
      1. Summer 2017:  We’ll have parent orientation meetings in June, dates TBD. The girls are off until Academy Team Camp in August. We may have an occasional informal kick-around, but we won’t have any regularly scheduled training. (NTH offers summer camps and a summer training program for players who are interested in scheduled training. If the girls want to practice skills on their own, here’s a list of play at home activities.)
      2. Fall 2017:  We’ll start regular practices in August, exact date to be determined pending field maintenance schedules. Girls in the United Quest Park group typically practice Monday and Wednesday. Girls in the Metro North Park group typically practice Tuesday and Thursday. (Girls are welcome to attend practices at the other park if they want additional training opportunities.) We’ll start our regular season the weekend after Labor Day. We’ll finish the weekend before or weekend after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
      3. Winter 2017-18:  We’re off December and January. We may have an occasional informal kick-around, but we won’t have any regularly scheduled training. We fully support girls playing basketball or participating in other activities during the break. NTH offers winter training for players who are interested in scheduled training.
      4. Spring 2018:  We’ll start regular practices in February, exact date to be determined. Weather permitting, we’ll play an intra-Academy festival in late February, then start weekly Junior Academy play in early March. We’ll finish the season by playing in the NTH Adidas Cup tournament in May.
      5. Summer 2018:  Players will go though tryout sessions for the 2018-2019 soccer year. (Current invitations to the NTH Junior Academy are in effect for the 2017-2018 soccer year.) Our older girls (2010 birth years) will tryout for the U9 Academy group, while our younger girls (2011 birth years) will tryout for Junior Academy again. Tryouts typically start the Tuesday after Memorial Day.
   5. Player and parent guidelines:
      1. training sessions
      2. game days
2. Notify the coach:  Please respond via e-mail to coach Ward by Friday, June 9th to let him know if you accept the invitation. (There is no obligation to join. If the level of commitment isn’t right for your daughter or family, the NTH recreational program is still available as an option.) Please include the following info in your message:
   1. Your daughter’s name and date of birth
   2. Her preferred park (Metro North or United Quest)
   3. Her uniform number preferences (link:  uniform number selection)
   4. Parent names
   5. Phone number(s)
   6. E-mail address(es)
3. Registration:  Registration opens Tuesday, June 6. NTH Registrar Jane Jarrett will e-mail all new and returning players with registration details.
4. Orientation meeting:  We’ll have parent orientation meetings at each park in mid June.
5. Uniforms:  We started a new uniform cycle for the fall 2016 season. The cycle lasts through the spring 2018 season. New players will need to order the uniform package. We’ll review the ordering process during our orientation meetings in June. Please submit uniform number requests by Monday, June 12th.