We wrapped up the fall 2016 season in style with our Fall Finale tournament. (Check the link for photos and a video.) We’ll post a fall season wrap-up as a separate post sometime during Thanksgiving week.

We start our 2016-2017 winter break Sunday, November 20th. Spring season practices will start in February, exact date to be determined in late January. (Past history usually has us starting the Monday after the Super Bowl.)

We recommend the girls take a break from adult-organized soccer for 2-4 weeks. But they don’t have to become couch potatoes!

Playing at home

Some girls enjoy informal off-season play on their own schedule. Girls can arrange a small group of friends or play on their own. For small groups, the girls could get together once or twice a week to play, rotating between each girl’s yard. The girls can decide what they will do, or the host girl can create the day’s activity list.

If you’re looking for ideas, we’ve come up with a wide variety of “play at home” activities, most with video demos, covering games for pairs or small groups of players, plus lots of different solo fast footwork, dribbling, passing, receiving and juggling activities.

Outside the box

Does your daughter want to put her soccer ball away for a while but stay active? Basketball, dance, gymnastics or martial arts are good options. The body movement in those activities relate well to soccer (agility, balance and coordination are important in all), and the basic tactics in basketball are similar to those in soccer.

Informal scrimmage days

If the weather is good, we usually try to schedule an informal (and optional) scrimmage day either New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, and another on the King Holiday. If so, we’ll send a notice via e-mail and also post it on the News page of our Junior Academy Girls web site and on our Twitter feed. These events are mostly free-play scrimmages with minimal coaching.

NTH winter training

If your daughter would like structured training during the break, NTH offers a Girls Academy winter training program. Link:  more info