But just the thought of an all-Chicago World Series is so tantalizing, so ridiculous, so unbelievable that it’s worth entertaining some thought.

What better way to spend Halloween then in Wrigleyville, right?

On the real world front, the Ozark Tigers are teaming up with the Ozark Park District to put on a youth clinic on Sunday October 12th. 3:00 to 5:00 pm, on the turf at Ozark High School. So if your kid wants to dream about playing on that surface in the future, it should be a fun time.

If your tastes lean more towards the international game, there’s a new website focused on ranking Club teams around the world, World Club Rankings. Every Friday he provides his list of the best televised games during the weekend, based upon his ranking algorithm. Bookmark it and keep it handy!

Cost for the symposium is $125 for active U.S. Soccer CoachesNet members and $140 for non-members. Registration includes a ticket (Section 209) to the game, day of game reception, and game day parking pass. Cost of registration also includes a personalized symposium packet which contains a 2008 Men’s National Team yearbook, a Best Practices booklet, a Kwik Goal gift, and a U.S. Soccer CoachesNet notebook. Registration is open to all coaches. “A” licensed coaches will earn two Continuing Education Units for attending the two-day symposium.

If you’re a Coach or would like to be, or want to learn more about the game, the annual Missouri “F” Coaching License clinic is being held at Lake Country Soccer this evening. 600 pm to 9:00 pm with the estimable Denny Vaninger providing the instruction.

Congratulations to the folks in Joplin, with the grand opening of the new Athletic Complex. The first phase brings Joplin 10 new, lighted tennis courts; four soccer fields that are able to accommodate players of all ages; and a baseball field suitable for high-school or college-level play. There also is a pro shop and concession stand with a patio and a maintenance barn.

College Home games this weekend:
Saturday Aug 30 at 5:00 pm - Drury hosts Columbia College
Saturday Aug 30 7:00 pm - Drury hosts Abeline Christian (W)
Sunday Aug 31 at 1:00 pm - MSU Women host Tulsa

The Missouri State Bears men’s team travels to Drake to open the regular season against Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Southern Illinois Edwardsville Cougars, last seen competing against Drury in the GLVC until their decision to go D1. SIU-E University has joined the Ohio Valley Conference which does not support Men’s soccer so we may yet see the Cougars in the Missouri Valley Conference. FYI - the Cougars lost to Bradley 1-4 this weekend.

The Missouri State Bear’s Women’s team travels to SEMO for a game Friday against the Ohio Valley Conference defending champions. They return Sunday for a home game against Tulsa.

The Drury Panthers Men face off against Oral Roberts University this evening while the Women travel to Texas A&M - Commerce for an official game on Thursday. Both return for their first regular season home games on Saturday (see above).

The Southwest Baptist Bearcats open the regular season at Oakland City University in Indiana on Thursday. They don’t play at home until September 20th although there will be road games at Rolla (9/2) and Joplin (MSSU on 9/13).

The Missouri Southern Lions travel to Tahlequah, OK this weekend. They will face Texas A&M on Friday and Truman State on Sunday. The Women are at Harding on Sunday.

The Missouri S&T Miners travel to Ashland and Tiffin (OH) for games Friday and Sunday. The Men and Women will play before they return home for games Wednesday September 3rd.

Lake Country Soccer is pleased to announce, that we will be offering an Academy for high school aged girls this fall 2008.

Purpose: The purpose of the Academy is to provide high school aged girls in the Springfield area including Southwest Missouri, training and development opportunities for the fall season. The academy focuses on individual fitness and skills.

Who can participate? The Lake Country Soccer Academy is open to any high school aged female soccer athlete domiciled in Springfield and/or Southwest Missouri.

Where & When? Academy sessions will be held at Lake Country Soccer. Most sessions will be conducted on Sunday afternoons between 2:00p and 4:00pm on the North fields (located between the Cooper Tennis Complex and the Killian Softball Complex) on field # 10. There may be some Wednesday early evening sessions as well. The program is anticipated to begin on Sunday, September 7th and will attempt to include eight (8) training sessions.

Sept. 7, 14, 21 and 28
Oct. 5, 12 and 26
Nov. 2

Dates and times noted above are subject to change.

How much? Each participant shall pay $60 which will include an official LCS Academy program uniform/jersey as well as registration membership with the Missouri Youth Soccer Association. Make checks payable to “Lake Country Soccer” and in the memo section be sure to write, “HS Girls Academy.”

Paperwork needed: Each Academy participant shall complete the Missouri Youth Soccer Association membership/registration form and the Lake Country Soccer Medical Consent and Liability release form, prior to any participation in this program.

Who will be the director of coaching? Bob Florez will be the director of coaching for this activity. Bob is an established member of the Springfield soccer community with an extensive experienced background as a player, coach, referee and community supporter. Bob will be in charge of developing the curriculum as well as instruction with guest presenters for the program. Bob can be reached by telephone at (417)-224-1616 or by email: OBOBO66@hotmail.com.

Additional questions can be directed to the immediate attention of Kelly Ross with Lake Country Soccer; via telephone (417)-862-3211 x102 or by email; kelly@lakecountrysoccer.org

Is this “Academy” a team or a club? The Academy is a Lake Country Soccer sponsored program which is not affiliated with any other club or team. The Academy is not designed to create a team or to start another club program.

The Academy is solely designed to provide high school aged girls training and development opportunities in the fall. Primarily, it is intended to provide a service to those girls who are not playing on a club team. However, the program is an open enrollment program regardless of which high school and/or club team a player is registered with in the fall.

Kelly R. Ross; M.Ed
Executive Director; Lake Country Soccer, Inc.
“The place to get your kicks in Southwest Missouri!”
2334 E. Pythian Drive
Springfield, Missouri 65802
Tel: (417)-862-3211
URL: http://www.lakecountrysoccer.org

It is the mission of Lake Country Soccer, Inc., to develop, promote and support the sport of soccer in Springfield and Southwest Missouri. In all areas we will encourage the soccer community to develop athletic excellence, self-esteem, responsibility and good sportsmanship. We will accomplish this through education, facilities, athletic development programs, tournaments, leagues and outreach programs.

Parkview Vikings Kid’s Soccer Camp

Monday, August 4th – Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
6:00 – 8:00 P.M.

Come join us at the 2007 Parkview High School Soccer Camp!
• All levels of players welcome and encouraged to attend
• Registration open to individual players and/or team registrations (Pre-K through 8th grade)
• Coached by PHS staff and players
• Low player/coach ratio
• Positive reinforcement
• T-Shirt and Snacks for campers

This camp is offered to give every boy and girl the chance to improve their skills and become a better player. We are proud of our program and want you to meet our awesome PHS players and coaching staff. All money raised goes towards improvements to our field or to help our program.

Campers need to bring: a “Soccer Attitude”, water bottle w/name, soccer ball, shin guards and cleats or tennis shoes. This year we will meet on our field which is west of the JFK Stadium and just south of the skate park on Thelma.

The cost is $35.00 (checks payable to PHS Soccer Booster Club), if you have any questions please call LaDonna Hansen at 773-2675

$50 / Camper
Limited to the first 50 campers
*A $10 discount is available for enrollment of two or more children from the same immediate family. Each child then pays $40 for the camp.

Camp Schedule
5:30—6:00pm Warm-up
6:00—6:30pm Technical exercises
6:30—7:30pm Small sided games

Camp Philosophy
The camp is designed to focus on fundamentals in a challenging environment. Campers will be grouped
based on ability, so that appropriate drills and games will be implemented to create a challenging learning environment for each group.

Registration
Final and on-site registration will be available the first day of camp on August 5th beginning one hour prior to the start time. Additional campers will be allowed to register as space permits providing the staff to camper ratio will not be affected in a way that diminishes the quality of the camp.

Registration and Camp brochure

T-shirt
All participants will receive a camp t-shirt. Be sure to mark the appropriate size on the camp application.

Equipment
Soccer ball, shin guards, water bottle and appropriate footwear. It is recommended that campers bring tennis shoes for indoor sessions in the case of inclement weather.

Location
The camps will be held on the MS & T campus. The primary location will be the MS & T soccer field, located behind the Gale Bullman Building on Bishop St. and 10th St. Location for inclement weather is either Miner Rec. located directly across from the Gale Bullman Building or inside the Gale Bullman Multipurpose Building.

2008 MS&T Soccer Camp Reward
Campers that attend the MS & T Soccer camp will gain free admission into every MS & T home soccer game when they wear their camp T-shirt and are accompanied by a paying adult

For more photos, including team photos, click on the photo to be taken to my Flickr website. You can download low resolution photos for free.

Local representatives on the All-Star team included Justin Bowenschulte and Cullen Barr of Springfield Catholic as well as Nathan Moore of West Plains Zizzers. Here’s the entire list of All-Stars, who represent the Top 10% (2 of 15 teams).

All-Stars: 2008 Missouri State Team Camp White Team
Front Row: Tyler Jordan, Shawnee (6); Justin Bowenschulte, Catholic (15); Cullen Barr, Catholic (16); Nick Johnson, Ralston (11); Lucas Bigford, Washington MO (13); Tyler Groh, Putnam City North OK (10); Taylor Hart, Conway AR (8); Caleb Dayer, Conway AR (2)
Back Row: Bryan Murray, Springfield SC; Garrett Holmes, TCA (12); Noah Vogt, Boone MO (14); Derick Allen, Shawnee (GK); John Beckman, Stillwater OK (9); Matt Bray, Putnam City North OK (7); Connor Silvestri, Conway AR (4); Tim Wallace, Washington MO (5); Trevor Young, TCA (3)

Caleb Dayer, Taylor Hart and Connor Silvestri of Conway were named to the Arkansas All-State team in May, enroute to their undefeated boys 7A state championship.

All-Stars: 2008 Missouri State Team Camp Maroon Team
Front Row: Eric Grisham, Washington MO (3); Matt Thies, Ralston (11); James Hsueh, TCA (8); Joey Carson, Shawnee (16); Nathan Moore, West Plains MO (6); Patrick Mallon, Washington MO (9); Dylan Reed, Conway AR (10); Thomas Tower, Stillwater OK (12); Josh Vanornam, Ralston (14)
Back Row: Chip Dutchick, Missouri State; Caleb Crenshaw, Choctaw OK (15); Taylor Thompson, Putnam City North OK (13); Dustin Deisher, Shawnee (7) ; Bryan Byars, Putnam City North OK (GK); Kevin Cabello, Putnam City North OK (5); Austin Fitzpatrick, Stillwater OK (2); Tyler Brom, Ralston (4); Kenny Boutsabouabane, Missouri State

JUST ANNOUNCED!

The Springfield Soccer Club’s Elite Skills Camp will feature Brian Bounds from Bounds Soccer Systems. Brian is a renowned soccer speed and agility coach who has worked with the Springfield Soccer Club in the past and we are pleased to have him back for this camp. He has trained soccer players using his specific soccer speed and agility sessions and this is a perfect way to gear up for the fall season - with one of the best.

This is truly a camp that will prepare ALL players for the fall club, middle school, high school and college seasons. Register Today as space is limited. Call 417-832-1552.

Spingfield Soccer Club
Elite Skills Camp
Ages 12-18
August 1st through 3rd

Springfield SC Summer Camps 2008

STATE CHAMPIONS. PLAYER DEVELOPMENT. COLLEGE PLAYERS.

417-832-1552 Office
417-863-6655 Fax
www.springfieldsportsclub.com
http://springfieldsoccerclub.blogspot.com

The Magic Goal is to master foot skills and to develop “quick feet” and a “soft first touch” as the foundation of our “techniques” by teaching sport skills in fun ways.

For more information, visit the Magic Soccer website.

Just one in a variety of drills and games to keep the kids engaged and involved at the Drury Panthers Soccer Camp going on this week. After walking off the pitch a bit before 10am today I’m already thinking how good their swim session is going to feel after lunch. Drink plenty of fluids kids!

Smugmug Photo Gallery

Camp #2—Panther Day Camp
Date: July 8‐11 (9am‐4pm)
Ages: 8‐14
Cost: $185

Focus: This program focuses on technical skills, small sided games, contests, and tactical development. All day campers will go swimming at Drury’s Natatorium. Campers can bring or have the option of purchasing a lunch.

Sample Day Camp Schedule:
9 am Camp Warm up 1 pm Competitions
9:30am Technical training 2pm Tactical development
10:15am Break 3pm Games
10:30am Small side games 4pm Camp ends
11:30am Lunch and swimming

2008 Drury Panthers Camp Flyer

General Information
• All camps will be held on Harrison Stadium (all weather field) on Drury’s Campus.
• Each Panther Day campers will receive a Drury Soccer Academy t‐shirt, soccer ball, equipment bag, and water bottle.
• After the application and check are received, each camper will be sent a map and camp confirmation.
• Lunch plans will be available for full day camps at a cost of between $5‐6 per meal.

• Any questions? Please contact:
Alf Bilbao ——— Ryan Swan
417‐873‐7449 ——— 417‐873‐7830
ablibau@drury.edu ——– rdswan@drury.edu

PS - the Panther Boys and Girls Mini Camp comes up later this month for High School teams that are looking for some Fall preparation. July 28‐31 with Girls going from 5‐7pm and Boys from 7‐9pm.