The 2009 edition of the Ina Kristiansen Memorial Cup concluded Sunday evening, June 7, with two Matanuska Soccer Club teams earning championship honors. In all, five of seven MSC boys teams moved onto the semifinal round, with United 92, 95 and 99 all falling there. The MSC United 00/01 boys also finished the tournament undefeated, though in the U10 bracket there was no knockout round to play.

On the girls side, MSC Polaris 99 finished group play in a three-way tie for first place, but was kept out of the championship round by a single goal in the tiebreakers.

The first annual MSC Friendlies will take place over the weekend of May 30-31 on the turf at both Eagle River and Chugiak high schools. Overall, there will be 34 full-sided matches contested between 29 different Alaska teams, including teams from Cook Inlet Soccer Club, Alaska Rush, Full Force, Northern Lights, Kenai and Eclipse.

Concessions will be available on site; there will be other games and individual-skill contests for players, and TR Stoneback, Coerver® Coaching NW Director, and other members of the Coerver® Alaska staff will be also be presenting a one-hour informational symposium on Coerver® Soccer Schools and Programs, preceded by a field demonstration from recent graduates of Alaska’s first Coerver® Center of Excellence.

June 8, 2009 - June 12, 2009
British Soccer Camps provide players of all ages and abilities with the rare opportunity to receive high-level soccer coaching from a team of international experts. Each day includes individual foot skills, technical drills, tactical practices, small-sided games, coached scrimmages, and a daily tournament. Equally important, the Challenger coaching staff provides your child with lessons in respect, responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and leadership.

Camps will be held for MSC pre-competitive and academy players aged 6 through 10. Click here for more information or to register now.

Forty players, representing four different clubs, graduated from the inaugural Coerver® Coaching AK Center of Excellence on Friday, March 6, 2009. The 18-week advanced development program culminated with an evening of individual skills testing, with all players setting new personal bests in several categories, including juggling, ball mastery, fast footwork and speed dribbling.

Many of the graduates are now eligible for the next COE session, beginning in summer 2009, while others will progress into the new Center of Excellence--Elite, which kicks off in April.  

Seven MSC premier groups, including both boys and girls teams, will be traveling outside Alaska during summer 2009 to play in a variety of high-level tournaments. Playing in outside tournaments offers many benefits for MSC players, including exposure to a higher level of play, and for older players, exposure to scouts and college recruiters.

Teams will be playing in the Sounders FC Adidas Cup, US Club Region G Championships, the Nike Crossfire Challenge, the NHB Cup in Huntington Beach, CA, and the Thanksgiving Surf Cup.

Matanuska Soccer Club will conduct another training camp for club teams and coaches throughout the week of February 28 - March 7. Director of Coaching TR Stoneback will lead the training, which includes at least one session with each team in the club, as well as two field-training sessions for MSC coaches and one classroom seminar.

Topics include integrating individual-technique training into the team concept and getting more from small-sided games.

For more information, please see the club calendar at right.

With just over a month remaining until the club’s spring player-identification jamboree, any new or prospective players are encouraged to contact the appropriate MSC age-division director or team head coach to inquire about slots for 2009 competitive teams.

All MSC teams are currently training and/or playing in the winter UAYSL league, and as always, new players are welcome to trial with existing MSC teams at any time.

For more information, please use the Contact Us tab at left, or contact the appropriate age-division director, found on the MSC Coaches page.

Members of the MSC United 98 boys traveled to Las Vegas in October to compete in the Mayor’s Cup, joining players from three other clubs to form the inaugural AKFC elite travel team. The boys defeated top premier teams from Nevada and Arizona, winning 6-0, 5-1 and 6-0 in their first three games, before finally bowing out after penalties in the semifinals to Mustang SC from Cal North.

Alaska’s first Coerver® Coaching Center of Excellence opened this fall at the Wasilla Sports Complex, with identified younger players embarking upon an 18-week advanced individual training curriculum. Players were selected for the Center of Excellence (COE) after a four-week identification program, which included an introduction to the Coerver® method.

Following the evaluation period, the COE players were assigned to one of three training groups, divided by age and skill. The program culminates with a final session on Friday, March 7, and a player graduation.

MSC Director of Coaching TR Stoneback and Technical Director Troy Letherman, pictured above with Alfred Galustian and Charlie Cooke of Coerver® Coaching, and Senior Staff Coach Katie Miyake, traveled to St. Louis, MO, in January to take part in the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of American Convention. Beyond the NSCAA activities, the MSC coaches attended the annual Coerver® Coaching sessions, which included presentations on improving the training environment for the next generation of young American players.

Twenty teams in three divisions competed in this year’s Wasilla Thanksgiving Invitational, held over the holiday weekend at the Wasilla Sports Complex. Competition was stiff, but MSC teams prevailed with the titles in two divisions, as the United 99/00 boys took home the under-11 crown and the United 98 boys dominated the field to win the under-13 title. The NLSC Predators boys were crowned champions of the under-15 division.