The Santos 97 Girls soccer team is for girls born after August 1, 1996 through July 31, 1997 and traditionally called U11.  The team is a member of the Roswell Soccer Club, which organizes the activities and fundraising for the club.  The RSC Board of Directors works closely with the City of Roswell Parks and Recreation Department, who handle the operational issues such as scheduling, the fields and player registration.  This relationship provides the stability that is needed for a successful program.  The RSC board is elected by the membership and includes representatives for the Recreational, Academy and Select teams.

 

This fall season the team transitioned from 6v6 to 8v8.  They added some fresh faces from some local clubs and grew from just under 20 players to over 30.  Additionally, the girls got a great new head coach in Grant Kevins.  The team is quickly gaining respect in the state by knocking off the local competition, playing strong soccer and placing well in tournaments.

 

Coach Grant has a “B” license and came to the Santos from Concorde.  Grant played club soccer at Quest and high school soccer at Lassiter.  In college, he played Division I soccer as a midfielder and defender at West Virginia and Clemson.  Grant still plays soccer with with a local semi-pro team.  Grant brings energy and a commitment to make the team one of the best in the state through player development and “playing great team soccer”.   He also makes sure the girls have fun and enjoy the game.  Grant is assisted by Chris Berena and Alan Woods.

 

Coach Chris has been at the Santos since 2005 and has a USSF “D” license.  Chris coached at some of Chicago ’s premiere clubs, the Chicago Magic, the Sockers and the Arlington Heights Aces.  Chris played 1 year in Chicago’s Professional Development League for the Chicago Fire and in college at West Virginia and the University of Illinois at Chicago .  Chris will be using his background as goal keeper to work with the team’s keepers.

 

Coach Alan (or “Woodsy” as he is more popularly known) is the teams “fitness” trainer who can be constantly heard telling the girls to “pick it up”.  Alan was recently named head coach for the women’s soccer team at Oglethorpe University and continues to support the team.  Alan was a member of the US Men’s National team and selected 10^th in the first round of the MLS draft in 2000.  He played professionally for seven years.  Alan played collegiate soccer at Clemson University and the University of Notre Dame.  He has many years of coaching at the high school and college level.  Make sure to ask him about his football tryout experience while at Notre Dame.

 

The girls practice twice a week as a team, and Coach Grant has started an additional optional session for agility training.  At each team practice "MVP" awards are given to the players who showed the best commitment in practice.  These players get to take home the MVP "trophy" (a high heel shoe in the fall and a fashion belt in the spring) to decorate for the next recipient.  In addition to the 2 team practices a week, the club offers weekly skills clinics.  Each week a different theme is addressed.  Additionally, weekly keeper clinics are provided for specialized training.

 

This past fall the girls successfully entered 2 tournaments in addition to the Roswell 5v5 Shootout, taking the Finalist position in the Sugar-n-Spice and were Champions in the GSA Academy invitational in their division.  During the winter “off season” the girls were able to play futsal, which Coach Grant organized for all academy players.  Futsal emphasizes ball control and passing and will help the girls prepare for the spring season.  Additional winter fitness was provided during weekly conditioning sessions as well as through the seasonal “fun run” sponsored by the club. 

 

In the Spring the team entered the NASA Ice Breaker tournament and the Concorde Fire Challenge Cup.  Team China won their division in the NASA Ice Breaker tournament making it 3 tournaments in a row in which the 97 Santos Girls have placed a team as a finalist or champion.  The Concorde Fire Challenge Cup was rained out for Team Brazil, so they have entered the AFU Academy Classic which is held in May.

 

More information about the Roswell Soccer Club can be found at http://www.roswellsoccerclub.com   Tryouts for the team will be May 27^th through 29^th.  However, check us out by joining the “no obligation” pre-tryout camp the week of May 19^th.