The boys' team won 1-0 and the girls' team won 5-0.

Mr. Hannon captured the winning goal in the boys' game.

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I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome all parents, players and friends back for another year at SSES and the Soccer Academy. I know it was a busy summer for both the academy players and staff. Some of which you will read about in this newsletter.

As with every year I try to find ways to improve our program to ensure we meet the ever changing needs of our players and families. One such example is that Shane will have a greater role away from the field, creating more communication with parents and taking charge of the general day to day operations. This newsletter is one of the ways we will keep parents informed of what is going on in the Academy.

Many of our kids were busy over the summer playing soccer. The highlights included : Jabril Jamal, Zach Rubin, and Justin Greenberg reaching the semi-finals of Southern Regionals and Mikey Lopez and Omar Vallejo finishing second at Southern Regionals. Celia Pellegrini was on the Lonestar 93 team that won Southern Regionals and finished 3rd in the country. Shelby Redman won the U16 National Title with her 92 Dallas Texans Red team. In addition, Mikey represented the US U-15 National team; Justin Sealy was called to the full Bahamian National team for a World Cup Qualifying match against Jamaica; Omar Vallejo was selected to go to Chelsea FC in London for an elite tournament featuring top pro clubs from around the world.

The year has got off to a great start. The players are working very hard and I’m excited to get to know the wealth of new talent that we have in the Academy this year.

As always feel free to pick up the phone or drop me an email, with questions, concerns or just for a chat.

Bobby

by Bobby Murphy, Director of St. Stephen’s Soccer Academy

The Soccer Academy has begun training after a good summer break for all. Many of our kids were busy over the summer playing soccer. The highlights included : Jabril Jamal, Zach Rubin, and Justin Greenberg reaching the semi-finals of Southern Regionals and Mikey Lopez and Omar Vallejo finishing second at Southern Regionals. Celia Pelligrini was on the Lonestar 93 team that won Southern Regionals and finished 3rd in the country. Shelby Redman won the U16 National Title with her club team. In addition, Mikey represented the US U-15 National team; Justin Sealy was called to the full Bahamian National team for a World Cup Qualifying match against Jamaica; Omar Vallejo was selected to go to Chelsea FC in London for an elite tournament featuring top pro clubs from around the world.

by Shelby Redman, Junior

Thankfully I had great support from my coaches, who pushed me to be completely back and fit to play with my team, the Dallas Texans, for the National Championships. I lived with one of my teammates over the summer in Dallas, which was one of the best, most physically exhausting “preparation” summers I have ever been through.

Our team train four times a week with a scrimmage game usually on the weekends. Every practice went for two hours with 30-45 minutes of conditioning at the end. Then, with any spare moment I had, I trained with the Texan 91’ team so that I knew I was 100% back physically for Nationals. The summer was grueling but definitely worth it in the end.

The anticipation to start playing our games heightened when we were at the player luncheon. When you have all the Regional and National League champions in one room, there is a tense atmosphere because you know in the back of your mind that every team that has made it this far is only looking to win and nothing less. After the luncheon our team agreed we should have a team meeting, and we said to each other that this was our year and despite of the two previous years, the third time would be the charm. Everyone was on the same page, and we were willing to do whatever it took.

All the bracket games seemed to go by really quick. We had 2-0-1 record coming out of group to the championship against Chicago Eclipse. The Eclipse are our biggest rivals so it seemed fitting we should play against them for the title. We came out victorious after a long, brutal game, 4-2.

by Omar Vallejo, Junior

Last December my Lonestar 92 team went to Orlando, Florida to participate in the prestigious Disney Showcase Tournament. Disney along with Adidas made an agreement with Chelsea FC to send the top players of the tournament to the 1st Chelsea Invitational Tournament. My team had an amazing tournament and a teammate and I were fortunate to be selected and have the opportunity to represent the U.S. and our club.

I left Mexico 3 weeks prior to the trip in order to prepare for this opportunity. I stayed with Bobby and Coach Bubb. I worked hard and felt well prepared. The weekend before the trip my Lonestar team played against Rayados from Monterrey and Stoke City from England here at St. Stephen’s. I got a taste of what to expect.

I flew to Orlando where I met the rest of the team. We had two training sessions as a team at the Disney Complex. The next day we left for England. The flight was long but fun because I got the opportunity to know more about the rest of the team. We arrived in London the next morning and we went to Stamford Bridge Stadium. We took a tour of the complex, got to see the Chelsea locker rooms and trophies. Also, we went shopping at the Chelsea Store.

After settling down, we had another training session at the Chelsea training grounds. The next morning after practice we got the opportunity to watch the Chelsea’s first team practice, including Didier Drogba, Deco, Michael Essien and Michael Ballack.

In the group stage we played against FC Tolyatti from Russia, Bayern Munich from Germany and Ajax from Holland. The scores were 2-1, 1-0 and 1-1; we qualified first with 7 points. In the semifinal we faced River Plate from Argentina, an amazing team with skillful players, we ended up losing 2-1 and had to play for the 3rd place. In our final game we faced the team from Russia again, and we ended up losing 2-1. All the games were played at a high level, with high speed and intensity.

During the trip we got the opportunity to watch the Premier League game between Fulham and Arsenal, it was an amazing experience to watch my favorite team Arsenal, and some of my favorite players like Adebayor and Van Persie, play in a League game. The stadiums atmosphere was good and the players put on a show for us. It was one of the best things I have experienced.

by Celia Pellegrini, Sophomore

Little Rock, Arkansas, July 21st 2008, several of my teammates and myself arrived at our hotel for the U.S. Youth Soccer National Tournament. The energy coming from my team and from the hundreds of other boys and girls there was overwhelming. Making it to Nationals was an amazing and inspiring experience for me, not only the tournament but the journey getting there as well.

Starting in fall of 2007 we ended premier league tied for second, undefeated, and with only four goals scored against us. This was the best result any girls Lonestar team had ever had in Premier league and was one of the best seasons my team had played. We went to State still undefeated and had only had 1 goal scored on us during the spring season. Winning state ensured us a spot at The Regional Tournament, something we had been looking forward to since our loss in the regional quarterfinals the previous summer.

This year regionals was in Raleigh and Wilson, North Carolina, a beautiful but very long drive (25 hours, not including several picture/ restroom breaks, and the time we spent looking for missed exits and our hotel at 1:00 a.m.)We won our group defeating Phoenix Red (AR) 9-0, Team Boca (FL) 1-0, and tying D'Feeters (NTX) 2-2. We found ourselves in the same place as last year, determined not to fall short this time, and we pulled through with a 4-1 win over NOKC United (OK). In the semifinal we played FC Dallas, one of our biggest competitors and a team who we knew very well. After dominating the majority of the game we ended with a 2-1 win and were on to the finals. To win regionals had been something my team had dreamed of and worked for the entire year. After the final whistle blew, and we realized that we had won, first amazement, than elation took over. The drive home was short with a gold medal hanging around my neck.

By winning regionals we had qualified for Nationals, something I had never realize I would be a part of in my life. Training became even more intense, with several practices, some two-a-days, for the weeks building up to the tournament.

Jim Wain, our coach at the time, was consistently urging us to take a look around and notice that while everyone else was having a nice Texas summer we were out in the middle of the heat training. And while this may sound terrible it meant a lot to us, and really proved that we had what it took, and that all this hard work would pay off. The joy of winning regionals had dulled a little, and the anticipation for Nationals had begun to sink in.

At opening ceremonies, all the teams were seated and served while the heads of youth soccer gave speeches. We saw highlight reels from the previous tournament and from all the regional championships including some our boys teams. Then, the trophies were brought in. Each age group has their own trophies with name plates engraved with the previous winners. Certainly not your average cup, some of them needed two men to carry it down the red carpet to the display table. All the players in the room were filling with the anticipation that they could be the next team featured on one of those trophies.

After a short training session to get our legs loose and get rid of some nerves we were able to spend our night as a team in the hotel.

In our first game we played KCFC Intensity, and it was nothing less than intense. we pulled out a 1-0 win but lost Allison Smith, our center forward in the process to a injury. This was definitely a test of my team's strength. To lose our midfield playmaker Samantha Gonzales before the tournament and Allison during the game, we had to come together to achieve our goal. Our next game against one of our biggest rivals Dallas Texans was one of the longest games I have ever played. We came out strong and had a 1-0 lead at the halftime. Then Texans came back to tie the game 1-1. Minutes later we pulled ahead again, and the score was now 2-1. Much to the disappointment to my team we ended up tying the game as they scored a late goal. This game really tested us. We were disappointed in ourselves for letting the win slip away but we had learned from our mistakes and worked hard to finish the game. Our last game was against So Cal Blues. We lost 2-0. That was one of the most memorable moments I had ever had. It was hard to take the comforting words from our families and friends when we knew that we were no longer in the running for first. This was the last game Jim would ever coach us and Aubree would ever play with us. It was not something that was easy to cope with. It was more than losing a game, we had worked so hard to get to that point and it did not feel good to not go all the way even when the reward was right there in sight.

We left Arkansas with third place medals.

The memories made on this trip are something that I will remember forever especially in the upcoming seasons I have ahead of me. The experience can only make me better, and push my team and myself harder so that the next time we are presented with the opportunity we might be able to win it all.

by Justin Sealey, Junior

In October 2007 I was selected for the Bahamian u-23 Men’s National Team for our Olympic Qualifiers. I found out from Bobby at the end of a session, and I was ecstatic, all of my training and hard work had finally paid off and I had made the squad. My teachers and coaches were a tremendous help to me ensuring that I was able to miss 10 days of school and stay on top of my academic commitments.

We had been given a tough draw with Haiti and Jamaica in our qualifying group. Up first was Haiti, a notoriously physical team. Given that I was 5 years the junior of all the other players I was very nervous, and even more so when I found out that I would start at center defender.

We were disappointed in our performance though things were not going to get any easier for us against the traditional powerhouse of the Caribbean. I was probably more nervous before the Jamaica game, than Haiti as I had a better idea of what to expect. My task was to mark Luton Shelton of Sheffield United, then playing in the English Premiership. Here I was marking this guy who was playing week in and week out against some of the best players in the world. Every Bahamian man gave his all and although I suffered a broken nose, compliments of my Jamaican friend it was a small price to pay for keeping him of the scoresheet and we secured an historic 1-0 victory. This was the first time the Bahamas had ever beaten Jamaica.

When I returned to Austin coach Hue (Jamaican) picked me up, though he was unable to congratulate me on the way back to school.

This July I was shocked and delighted when I received a call up to the Bahamian Men’s National team for 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier. I trained hard for this too, but I didn’t really expect to make the squad but I was named in the 18 players. This was the full men’s national team, so once again I was the youngest but this time it was by an average of 7 years. We were scheduled to play Jamaica once again. The Reggae boys were out for revenge after the u23 defeat the previous October, we knew we were in for it playing them in the famous Kingston stadium “the office”. Jamaica destroyed us both games, and it was even more disappointing that I didn’t get to play, but my coaches talked about how I’m young, and I was brought there for experience, which I did enjoy. I talked to professional players playing in England who gave me advise and encouragement.

Congratulations to senior Colin Trabold who ran his first marathon on October 12 in Chicago. 26.2 miles is an awful long way. Thank you to Miguel Lopez Sr. for the wonderful photographs he has taken.

Just a quick welcome to our new middle school players, Noah Binford, Thomas Hatton, Carson Rogge, Kimberly Griffith, Ally Arnett, Jessica Johnston and Garret Shomaker.

New in the upper school are Luis Garcia, Jose Martin, Isaac Hamui, Esteban Villareal, Mauricio Santillan and Alexis Alduncin from Mexico, Connor Clark from Saudi Arabia, Pavel Terselich from Syria, Lauritz Hopf from Germany, Shin Takano from Japan and locally we have Elizabeth Cumberbatch, Gabriella Petrucelli, Emily Sura, Brooke Hepfer, Stephanie Moench and Max Grossenbacker.