Hello Sporting Families, 

We hope everyone had a great weekend of soccer as the weather was beautiful. 

As a friendly reminder, when you are watching a game at our CCR facility you must wear a face mask out of respect and safety for everyone. If you don't want to wear one then please watch the game from your car. 

We want to follow strict state and club guidelines where we create a safe environment for everyone who comes to our CCR facility. Those who refuse to wear a mask, their player will be removed from the game immediately by their coach. Those same rules apply for all our away games. 

Thank you all for your support, cooperation and understanding. 

Regards, 

Andrei Popescu

Sporting CT Marketing Director

Hello,

We are super excited to get SGA coaching staff involved to work with our Sporting CT goalkeepers this fall season. Dan Gaspar is one of the best American soccer coaches with incredible soccer career and for our kids to be able to be coach by him and his coaching staff is something special.

Dan Gaspar coach in 3 World Cup's with Portugal, South Africa and Iran and he is only American coach to be working with all 3 top Portugal clubs SL Benfica, FC Porto and Sporting FC. He was also coach for University of Hartford and Central Connecticut State University. 

Goalkeepers training will be on Monday nights.

5.30-6.30pm 2012-2009 boys and girls goalkeepers

6.30-7.30pm 2008-2007 boys and girls goalkeepers

First training will be Monday September 14th, goalie session will  run each Monday until November 2nd. Rain dates are November 9th and 16th.

We are highly encourage all goalkeepers to attend this sessions. If your team practice at same time goalkeeper session will take priority over Sporting CT training. (you can join your team after gk training is over).

Regards,

Goran Vasic

Sporting CT Executive Director

2015323778

Hello Sporting Families, 

Our Neck Gaiters are IN and ready for pick up tonight Tuesday (8/25) and tomorrow, Wednesday (8/26) from our Country Club Road location from 6:00pm - 7:00pm on both evenings. Frank and Goran will be there on those two nights. 

You can pay when you come there OR make a check to Sporting CT or Middletown Youth Soccer. If you have already paid and sent your check, no worries. 

If you want to order and you haven't got a chance, please click here to place your order. 

Thank you all for your orders. 

Regards, 

Andrei Popescu

Sporting CT Director of Marketing

Hello everyone,

As we all know this is season of lot of family vacations and traveling. 

If you are going on vacation or traveling to one of these states you will have to quarantine for 14 days before return to training and Country club road fields.  Zero Exceptions. Health and safety of our players, parents and coaches is most important thing so please follow all recommended rules!!!!!!!!!! See link bellow for states that are mandate to quarantine if you visit as family after returning to CT!!!

https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/coronavirus/watch-live-at-4pm-gov-lamont-to-provide-update-on-states-coronavirus-response-2/2304921/

Regards,

Goran Vasic

Sporting CT Executive Director

2015323778

Hello MYS Sporting CT members,

Our Country club road fields will be officially open for use on Monday June 22nd. We are doing everything possible to provide safe environment for all our players,coaches and parents . Please read our club guidelines and rules all of us need to follow in order to keep spread of the virus to the minimum.

Click on this link to read players, parents and coaches responsibilities https://www.leagueathletics.com/Page.asp?n=119003&org=sportingct.org

If you plan on attending our Tryouts 2020/21, SOL GVSA Summer Training or Summer Camps please complete and sign electronically our Sporting CT COVID 19 Waiver. Sign here to fill out the form electronically. 

This rules applied to all team trainings, tryouts, GVSA SOL summer team training and our Sporting CT summer camps. As restriction start to change with local and state government regulations and orders we will inform you with any rule changes.

We hope to see you soon on the field again.

Regards,

MYS Sporting CT Board of Directors

Hello Everyone, 

We are very excited that we got recognized and featured by EDP Soccer where we have shared our culture and why SPorting CT is such a special place to be part of. Please read to learn more about our club. Our retention rate has been excellent over the years where we keep seeing players coming back and trusting our club with their development on and off the field. 

Please read the exclusive interview by Goran Vasic who is our Executive Director and you can also click here to read the full article. 

Also, you can SIGN UP for TRYOUTS HERE. 

Q&A SESSION WITH SPORTING CT

Name- Goran Vasic - Executive Director
 

Hello Sporting Families, 

We would like to share with you that we are committed to USYS NEW ENGLAND CONFERENCE SEASON which will be managed by the EDP. Please take an in-depth look at the email we have just received as we are a committed club member.

FRISCO, Texas (June 2, 2020) — The USYS New England Conference, managed by EDP, is set to kick off its inaugural season of competition in the Fall of 2020. Currently, 12 clubs have committed to supporting the New England Conference, and those clubs anticipate having teams compete in the conference’s opening season.

Additional clubs and teams will take part in the New England Conference’s first season, and a full field of competitors will be announced following the team registration period. Additional details on Conference registration will be available in the coming weeks. Click here for more information on team eligibility and the pathway into the USYS New England Conference.

As one of 13 Conferences in the newly transformed USYS National League, the New England Conference provides a competitive league platform for teams and clubs from various USYS State Associations, primarily: Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The conference offers competition in the 13U through 19U Boys and Girls age groups.

Clubs committed to the USYS New England Conference:

“The New England Conference is excited to have the support of so many top clubs in the area and looks forward to providing a consistently high level of competition,” said Jen Marcella, league manager for the USYS New England Conference. “There are many talented players in the New England area, and we look forward to providing the best possible environment for development, along with opportunities to compete in other programs.”

The New England Conference’s top divisions offer its teams an opportunity to qualify for the US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional Championships, which are held annually each summer. All teams within the New England Conference also have the opportunity to take part in the National League Showcase Series, which provides teams with a chance to play cross-conference matches in a national setting with increased exposure to college, professional and national team scouts. 

“New England has a long history of producing quality teams and tremendous players. We’re thrilled to provide a pathway via our enhanced National League infrastructure for those teams and their players to showcase their talents,” USYS CEO Skip Gilbert said. “The USYS New England Conference, managed by EDP, will offer a high level of competition for teams to challenge the region’s best.”

For more information on the National League and its 13 Conferences, including the New England Conference, click here.

Regards, 

Andrei Popescu

We are very happy to announce that we have reached an new agreement with Minuteman Press, to be our uniforms sponsor for the next two years.
We like to thank Charlie Lazich and his company for believing in what we doing and for continuing to be part of Sporting CT family as our main sponsor.
Minuteman Press has two locations,
512 Main Street Middletown and
195 West Main Street Avon.

For more informations visit :

http://www.middletown.minutemanpress.com

More exciting news about our Sporting CT program coming out soon..

Hello Sporting Families, 

We would like to encourage our players to take some of the US Soccer coaching licenses that the Federation has made available. Those are online grassroots courses that are great for coaches, coaching parents who volunteer and our players who truly want to expand their knowledge about the game and work with kids. 

Please click here to LEARN MORE about the US Soccer Online education program. 

Click Here to Create a FREE Coaching Profile. 

Click here to learn more about the REFEREE Program. 

Each grassroots coaching course is about 1-2 hours long at most and it costs $25 . Those are great introductory courses that will help our players knowledge and teach them how to become better leaders by working and helping the younger kids through camps, clinics, and different training or leadership programs. 

We already have a good number of our older players who are reffing and helping coach at different clinics throughout the year. This is a great way to earn community service hours and later on get paid. It's also a great way to coach a few hours a week while in college. 

We would highly recommend to all our high school players who enjoy working with kids to take the online courses for 4vs4, 7vs7, 9vs9 and 11vs11 to build a great coaching foundation that will not only help them with their soccer path but also in their life. We want to build leaders within our teams and communities and the more we use our resources the more knowledgeable we become. 

Please take a look at the photo below to find out more about the Coaching License Pathway and the Referee Pathway. 

Also, if you would like to work in our 3vs3 Tourney, Spring Camp or Clinics just let us know. 

For those who are interested in the referee program. 

Regards, 

Andrei Popescu

Sporting Director of Futsal and College Pathway

Hello Sporting Families,

We all want our players to lead fulfilling and healthy lives. At SportingCT our parents are no different. Watching your child follow his or her passion is beyond satisfying. It is a sensational feeling full of joy and fulfillment. That is what it feels like to have your student-athletes attend Sporting. We care about all our players and parents and we want to help and prepare you for the college level if that's your goal. We have created a detailed High School Timeline so players and parents can follow and easily find the information they need to easily identify the right school fit. 

We always take our service to another level and as a result, we keep preparing ourselves to always serve you in the best way possible. When it comes to college recruiting this is not a 4 years choice, IT'S A LIFETIME DECISION. That's why it's important that we educate our players and parents to understand the differences in divisions so they can keep a broader perspective. Once student-athletes know what they want they will be closer in identifying the right school fit based on their academics and athletic abilities. If you have any questions please contact our College Pathway Director, Andrei Popescu at info@lead2rise.com. 

Please feel free to look at the latest information released by NCAA: 

• Academic Requirements and Core Courses
• Our Three Divisions 
• 2019/20 Guide For The Collge Bound Student-Athlete 

If you can't view the information in this email please click here to read the timeline on our Sporting website. 

COLLEGE RECRUITING TIMELINE

FRESHMEN YEAR

• Start planning now, take the right courses and get the best grades possible.

•  

  SIGN UP for a FREE profile page at EligibilityCenter.org for information on NCAA Eligibility. 

  Find your high school list of NCAA approved courses at EligibilityCenter.org/courselist.

  Build a powerful resume and always keep it updated. 

   

• Your grades are crucial and be on top of it. If you are falling behind ask for help immediately. 

• Your high school will calculate your GPA, which will correspond with your class rank. Eventually, these statistics will be used to determine your admission into schools and potential academic scholarship. 

• Most colleges will use your grades from your “core” academic classes:  

• Go watch local D1, D2, D3 college games to get an understanding of the different levels of college soccer in the United States

• You are not only competing against local and state talent but also international players. 

SOPHOMORE YEAR

• Continue to focus on your grades and begin to challenge yourself with Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes and if your school offers it, Dual Enrollment classes where students can earn both high school and college credits. 

• Take the PSATs in the fall. Most area high schools will offer this test for free during the regular school day. This is a great opportunity for students to become accustomed to the test format and test length. 

• Contact college coaches of schools you may be interested in (see questions below for help) prior to college showcases and once your resume is in place. 

• College Showcase Tournaments will list the college coaches that will be attending that specific tournament: 

• Attend college ID clinics and summer camps of schools that you may be interested in (use the questions below as a guide)

• Go watch local D1, D2, D3 college games to get an understanding of the different levels of college soccer in the United States. 

• Plan college visits and take tours of schools you may be interested in. 

• By the end of your sophomore year in high school, you should try to identify 20-30 potential schools that meet your academic and athletic aspirations. 

• If you know that you want to play Division I or Division II college soccer, register with the NCAA Eligibility Center at the beginning of your junior year. If you are unsure about what level you want to compete at you can still register: 

• Always keep your options up until you commit. 

• Consider D3 schools as well because they can often time offer great academic packages. 

JUNIOR YEAR

• Continue to focus on your grades and begin to challenge yourself with Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes and if your school offers it, Dual Enrollment classes where students can earn both high school and college credits. 

• Your junior year is a very important year for your academics and a year that colleges will focus on when they examine your transcript, so continue to work hard and stay focused. 

• Register to take the SAT and/or the ACT tests

• When you register for the SAT or ACT, you can have your scores sent directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center using the code 9999

• Contact college coaches of schools you may be interested in (see questions below for help) prior to college showcases. 

• Structure your email to coaches and look at our photos below. 

• College Showcase Tournaments will list the college coaches that will be attending that specific tournament: 

• Attend college ID clinics and summer camps of schools that you may be interested in (use the questions below as a guide)

• Go watch local D1, D2, D3 college games to get an understanding of the different levels of college soccer in US or near you. 

• Plan college visits and take tours of schools you may be interested in. 

• By the end of your junior year in high school, you should try to identify 10-12 potential schools that you are seriously considering based on your academic and athletic aspirations. 

• Be proactive with the recruiting process and email coaches. 

• Time management is a skill that can be mastered and by now you should be able to have a good idea because you need to plan accordingly and stay on top of your work. 

• Consider both academics and athletics in your final decision and ask yourself “If I’m not playing soccer at this school, is this the school that I still want to be at?”. If you answered YES, then that's the school for you. 

SENIOR YEAR

• There is a misconception that colleges will not look at your senior year grades - this is very inaccurate. Your senior grades will be sent to the colleges you apply to and they will be factored into the admissions process. Stay focused and continue to work hard

• At the beginning of your senior year, you should have your college search narrowed down to 2-5 schools that you are seriously considering

• Confirm your eligibility status with the NCAA Clearinghouse at the start of your senior year

• Register to take the SAT and/or the ACT tests in the fall

• Meet with your guidance counselor, apply to the schools that you are seriously considering and ask selected teachers to write you a letter of recommendation. Be mindful of application deadlines as every school is different

• Submit your FAFSA application. This determines how much aid you qualify to receive:  

• Plan any final college visits and tours in the fall. 

• Contact any of the colleges that you are seriously considering prior to any event you could get scouted. 

• Follow up with all of the schools you are seriously considering and weigh your options before making your final decision. 

• Consider both academics and athletics in your final decision and ask yourself “If I’m not playing soccer at this school, is this the school that I still want to be at?”. If you answered YES, then that's the school for you. 

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

• If you want to play sports at an NCAA Division I or II school, start by registering for a Certification Account with the NCAA Eligibility Center at eligibilitycenter.org. If you want to play Division III sports or you aren’t sure where you want to compete, start by creating a Profile Page at eligibilitycenter.org. 

  • To play sports at a Division I or II school, you must graduate from high school, complete 16 NCAA-approved core courses, earn a minimum GPA and earn an ACT or SAT score that matches your core-course GPA.

   

  

   

        CORE COURSES

  • Only courses that appear on your high school’s list of NCAA core courses will count toward the 16 core-course requirement; visiteligibilitycenter.org/courselist for a full list of your high school’s approved core courses. Complete 16 core courses in the following areas: 

    Division 1 - Complete 10 NCAA core courses, including seven in English, math or natural/physical science, before your seventh semester.

    GRADE-POINT AVERAGE

    The NCAA Eligibility Center calculates your grade-point average based only on the grades you earn in NCAA-approved core courses.

    • DI requires a minimum 2.3 GPA. 

    • DII requires a minimum 2.2 GPA.

     

    SLIDING SCALE

    Divisions I and II use sliding scales to match test scores and GPAs to determine eligibility. The sliding scale balances your test score with your GPA. If you have a low test score, you need a higher GPA to be eligible. Find more information about test scores at ncaa.org/test-scores.

     

    TEST SCORE

    You may take the SAT or ACT an unlimited number of times before you enroll full time in college. Every time you register
    for the SAT or ACT, use the NCAA Eligibility Center code 9999 to send your scores directly to us from the testing agency. We accept official scores only from the ACT or SAT, and won’t use scores shown on your high school transcript. If you take either test more than once, the best subscore from different tests are used to give you the best possible score.

OUR THREE DIVISIONS

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER ABOUT COLLEGES AND RECRUITING
 

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COLLEGE

1. Is this a four year or two-year school?

2. Is the school public or private? 

3. Where is the school located?

4. Is this in the country, small town, or in an urban area?

5. What is the campus like, compact or spread out?

6. How large is the school, what is the undergraduate enrollment?

7. What are the strongest degree programs offered, and which are the best academic departments?

8. Does the school have my potential major/career interests? It’s alright if you don’t know what you want to do as a career now - most people don’t

9. What is the growth potential for internships?

10. Do most students live on campus or in off-campus apartments?

11. What is student housing like?

12. Do the members of the soccer team room together?

13. What transportation is possible from my home to the campus? Bus, train, flight?

14. What is the academic calendar - quarters, semesters, trimesters?

15. What do you do to help players with their school work? Tutoring provided? Academic advisor?

16. If I’m not playing soccer, is this a school that I want to be at?

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COLLEGE PROGRAM & TEAM

1. Does the school offer my major

2. In what division does the school play (NCAA I, II, III, NAIA, NJCAA)?

3. In what conference is the team?

4. What important non-conference teams are scheduled?

5. Do I want to start and play as a freshman?

6. What were the team’s conference and overall record this year?

7. How many players will there be on the roster next year?

8. How many players will travel with the team?

9. What training happens after the season?

10. What is the preseason schedule?

11. What is the practice schedule during the season? Morning, afternoon, night?

12. Including meetings, training, travel and matches, how much time is required?

13. What facilities and staff are available to take care of injuries and rehab?

14. What is the style of play you want to see?

15. What are your goals for the team?

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COACH'S NEEDS FOR THE TEAM

1. How many seniors are graduating?

2. Are there redshirt players returning?

3. What positions do you have open on the team and where would I fit in?

4. How much playing time should I expect as a freshman?

5. How many other players are playing that position?

6. Are you recruiting other players for that position? Have you committed to any?

7. What role does the coach see you have within the team. 

QUESTIONS TO ASK GOING FORWARD

1. Which tournaments will you be attending?

2. Will your school be hosting any ID clinics or camps that I can attend?

3. Have you talked to my coaches?

4. What’s the next step? 

5. What should I do? 

6. Do you see me as a serious candidate?

QUESTIONS TO ASK AFTER YOUR VISIT

1. How did I feel and how I liked the coach’s personality?

2. Do I feel his coaching style will mesh well with my playing style?

3. Is the school in my price range?

4. Did I enjoy the team members?

5. Did the school have what I wanted academically?

6. Is there growth potential within my major?

7. Do I like the campus? Was I comfortable?

8. If I’m not playing soccer, is this a school that I want to be at?

TIME MANAGEMENT BY DIVISION

SLIDING SCALE

SAT / ACT TESTS DATES

Regards, 

Andrei Popescu

Sporting Director of College Pathway

Hello Everyone,

We would like to welcome all our sponsors to our Sporting CT family. We believe in their services and highly recommend them to our community. Small businesses are always welcomed to better serve and help our communities' needs by providing quality services and products.

If you would like your business or your organization featured please let us know. 

Having a great location and a turf field facility it's always key to attract potential customers for your business. Each day we get over a hundred people walking at our outdoor facility and thousands over the weekend from CT, NY, NJ, MA, VT‚ and‚ other states and many local clubs from our area.

If you are looking for a prime spot to advertise your business, look no further. We provide sponsorship opportunities for your business starting at $650/year where you get one banner 3 by 5 feet on our field and your business logo on this page starting on June 1, 2019.

If you are interested please contact Andrei Popescu at popescu8@hotmail.com for further details. We are a 501-C3 non-profit organization.

Contract Length & Price:

• 1 year - $650
• 2 years - $1,200‚ (save $100)

LOGO DETAILS:

• Email us your logo details in PDF
• We can add your logo from any date 
• All checks have to be made to: Middletown Youth Soccer, P.O Box 852, Middletown, CT 06457.
• Our $650 banner fee includes your custom banner as well.

BY NUMBERS:

• Over 10,000+ monthly site visitors
• Over 1 million+ total site hits since 2012
• Over 1,000 active monthly users
• 34 Sporting Premier Teams + SOL GVSA Summer Select Teams
• Each weekend over 20+ games played
• Hosting 30+ games per weekend during the fall and spring season
• A high customer retention rate of 90%+ of returning customers.
• Over 16,500+ emails in our database.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR 1 YEAR‚ ($650/YEAR)

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR 2 YEARS‚ ($1,200/YEAR)

Regards,

Andrei Popescu

Hello Everyone,

We are super excited to open up our Sponsorship Opportunities where we welcome businesses like yours to promote their quality services and products to a much bigger audience who could potentially become your loyal and returning customers. Often times businesses fail due to their lack of being promoted in front of their niche customers base. We are confident that by advertising with us,  you'll gain a greater customer audience who's ready to learn more about your business and use your products and services. We have kept all our pricing very low so small business can afford it. 

Having a great location and a state of the art turf field facility it's a great opportunity to attract potential customers for your business. Each day we get over a hundred people walking at our outdoor facility and lots more over the weekend from CT, NY, NJ, MA, VT and other states and many local clubs from our area. Our field is located at 395 Country Club Road in Middletown and we are super proud of our location and how easy is to get to it. 

If you are looking for a prime spot to advertise your business, look no further. We provide sponsorship opportunities for your business starting at $650/year where you get one banner 3 by 5 feet on our field and your business logo on our Sporting website starting on July 1, 2019. 

We are in the process of looking for partnerships and if you are interested please contact Andrei Popescu at popescu8@hotmail.com for further details. We are a 503c non-profit organization. 

Contract Length & Price: 

• 1 year - $650
• 2 years - $1,200 (save $100) 

LOGO DETAILS: 

• Email us your logo details in JPEG and PDF
• We can add your logo from any starting date 
• All checks have to be made to: Middletown Youth Soccer, P.O Box 852, Middletown, CT 06457. 
• Our $650 banner fee includes your custom banner as well. 

BY NUMBERS: 

• Over 10,000+ monthly site visitors
• Over 1 million+ total site hits since 2012
• Over 1,000 active monthly users
• 34 Sporting Premier Teams + SOL GVSA Summer Select Teams
• Each weekend over 20+ games played 
• Hosting 30+ games per weekend during the fall and spring season
• A high customer retention rate of 90%+ of returning customers. 
• Over 16,500+ emails in our database.

Regards, 

Andrei Popescu 

Hello,

Sporting CT club  have partner with Next Gen international this spring season for some age group players to have opportunity to travel to Europe and expirience lifetime opportunity to play in prestigous MIC tournament in Barcelona Spain (last week 2007 boys) trip to England to play against premier league academy teams (this week 2006 boys) and visit to France to play PSG soccer academy and other top clubs teams and also attend couple world cup games in person including USA- Sweden game for some of our 2006 girls this June.

This is just beggining what we have plan for upcoming year we want to take some our talented teams to compete against some of the best teams around world so our players get expirience and knowledge but also see next level of play as well learn about different cultures in the world.

More news about this opportunites will come after tryouts are over and we finalize our teams for 2019/20 season.

Regards,

Sporting CT

Middletown Youth Soccer, Family Members

 

 

Hello,

We want to thank all our members for coming to Italian society club Tuesday night for college pathway presentation. Coach Andrei did fantastic job with his presentation and we had some great college coaches in attendants that give us some very valuable informations to help out our athletes choose what is right way for each of them  to go about choosing college they want to attend.

We hope all of you had great time.

Hello Sporting CT families,

Our Sporting CT 2003 boys had attend Nationals tournament in Aurora Colorado this past weekend. What a great exposure for our club and our team this trip was. It was nice to be around one of the best teams in USA and compete against teams from other states. We tied our first game 1-1 against team from California, second game we won 2-0 against team from NY and our last game we lost 2-0 against Columbus Ohio team.

Overall  we miss semifinals on goal differential but we are so proud of run this team had last 6-7 months. Our boys had won so many tournaments, league games, playoff games and made it to nationals as CT State cup champions. We set bars very high before season started with our goals and we made almost to the end one game short of nationals championship game but we have something to look forward next year and get better individually and as team and come back for national championship trophy...

This boys are great example for all our younger age group teams that with hard work, talent and good coaching everything is possible, we are all looking forward for more Sporting CT teams to reach this level and expirience next level of play in tournaments like this one..

Congratulations to our Sporting CT coaches and players on winning the State Cup. When you see great success at this level it starts with the right player developmental philosophy which our club continuously works on implementing daily in all our players.

Without committed, hard working and talented players and coaches who endlessly dedicate their time and trust into our club over a long period of time, none of this would be possible.

When all the details are in place, the big picture will come once we master the execution process. It’s easy to see our goals and objectives coming to life. This is a process and it can be very beneficial if you commit yourself to it and give it your best no matter the outcome.