MESSAGE FROM MURRAY

Coach Neno with his team

It is a great time to be a member of the Edge family. Since the merger that created the club 5 years ago, the Edge organization has never been stronger in terms of playing and coaching talent.

The club continues to have teams competing in the highest levels of soccer in Chicagoland and we continue to have a number of our senior players graduating to play college soccer every year. We even had a former player sign professionally in Europe recently. The future is bright for our club! 

2016 was an immensely successful and rewarding experience, but we're ready to make 2017 even better. In this issue of the newsletter, we give some advice to parents on officiating etiquette as well have some important club updates. Check out coach Cesar Ramirez's profile. 

ADVICE FOR PARENTS

By Murray Findlay

As you may have read on a number of our communications that we have sent over the past few months there has been an ongoing shortage of qualified referees throughout Chicago willing to coach youth soccer games this Fall. This has been largely due to the reluctance of young players to take up refereeing long term due to verbal abuse that many have to deal with at youth soccer games on a weekly basis. From speaking with other clubs our Edge parents have a relatively good reputation in terms of conduct throughout Chicagoland but we should always strive to get better.

Although we send a number of players to collegiate soccer each year, even with the large numbers we have in our club the chances of your son/daughter playing in college is relatively small. The chances of them receiving money on a soccer scholarship is even smaller and the chances of turning professional smaller still, almost miniscule. With these odds, we have to focus on teaching our young players life lessons that they can keep with them beyond their soccer playing years into adulthood.  Lessons such as good sportsmanship, cooperation, commitment, focus, discipline, dealing with adversity and the pressure of competition are just a few of the important takeaways from a youth soccer experience that are applicable to any work environment.

Changing the Game by John O'Sullivan

I read Changing the Game by John O Sullivan over the holidays. It is an excellent book which bills itself as a parents guide to raising happy, high performing athletes. It is filled with the latest research on the subject and I found it very useful from a coaches perspective in terms of the roles and responsibilities of the parent, coach, child dynamic. He offers a number of great insights into the subject including a list of behaviours that I thought could be useful for our parents to know. So taken from the book, below is the list of ‘8 Ways to be a Great Sporting Parent.”

1. Model Positive Behaviours

Be a positive role model for your child.  Sport should be an extension of your familial values and behaviours, not a suspension thereof.  Don’t talk badly about the competition or the coach/referee.  Its OK to appreciate the athletic skill of a competitor.

2. See the future, but enjoy the present.

Are you consistently looking towards the next level, the next team, the next season? If you are, you’re missing out on the most important game, the one being played today! If you’re not enjoying the present moment, your child will grow up before you realize it.

Leave them alone in the ride home from games, take your child to the field and let them teach you something.

3. Encourage risk taking and find joy in the effort

Competing leads to winning and losing, thus competing is inherently risky. Don’t downplay the importance and challenge of risk taking by saying “Great job out there, maybe you’ll get it next time.” That’s vague encouragement and not helpful to an athlete’s development. Instead say “I love how you really went for it out there on that one play. You didn’t get it, but I was so proud that you didn’t give up!” Strong, specific words of encouragement remind an athlete it’s okay to take a risk and fail so long as she did all she could to be successful.

4. Celebrate the competitor above the winner

The difference between losing and getting beat is in the effort expended during competition. A competitor never loses; they get beat, and getting beat fuels the competitor to improve. In every game, there is a winner and a loser. Defeat can be the seed of discontent your athlete needs to be motivated to work harder and smarter next time.

5. Foster independence by allowing your athlete to take control

Believe it or not, by taking a step back, you give your child the room to step forward and claim the sport for herself.  An elite athlete experiences enough pressure to perform well from his teammates, the coaching staff, and from himself. He doesn’t need the added pressure of an overzealous parent with good intentions! Allowing and fostering independence is critical. There’s no escaping the mean, evil-spirited opinions, the rude comments, and the difficult situations that will confront an athlete. 

6. Treat the coach as an ally, not an adversary

If you treat the coach as an adversary, how do you think your athlete will treat him? You and the coach want the same thing: for your athlete to be successful (though you might see different paths to making that happen). Once you know that the coach values your child not just as an athlete, but as a person, then step back and let him or her coach. You won’t always agree with every decision, and your child may struggle at times, but instead of saying “what’s wrong with this” try “what’s good about this?” There is always learning to be had if you look close enough.

7. Encourage academics

Eventually, all athletes have to one day turn in their jersey and find a new passion. Very few elite athletes play beyond college and an infinitesimal number make decent money playing professionally. An education is not a backup plan if athletics doesn’t work out: it is the foundation from which your athlete will build a life upon, athletics or not.

8. Just love watching your kids play

Sports goes by way too quickly, so enjoy every moment. Do so by simply saying “I love watching you play.”

If you have given your best, and you can say to yourself “I have done what I can while maintaining sanity, health and the well being of my family and relationships,” then by all means you are a successful sports parent.

Simply take a step back, let the athletic journey belong to your child, and give your best effort. Just do your best, and have fun doing it.

Not only will your kids notice it, they will love you for it! And that is the ultimate reflection of success.

5th ANNUAL EDGE FEST

Saturday, February 11th is the 5th annual Edge Fest. The fundraiser will take place at the 19th Century Club and go from 7:00-11:00 p.m. Food will be provided by 2MAYTOZ and local beer from Kinslahger Brewing Company along with a couple period cocktails.

This year we will be showcasing two live performances from Oak Park's School of Rock. Their Oak Park Show Team will be performing rock'n'roll hits from across the ages. Shows at 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. You don't want to miss these performers, they're amazing.

Proceeds for this event benefit the Chicago Edge SC financial assistance program.

Buy tickets for Edge Fest today!

There will also be free babysitting services at your home (tips appreciated) provided by Chicago Edge high school players. Contact Murray Finday for available sitters.

COACH PROFILE - CESAR RAMIREZ

Coaching in Motion?

Coach Ramirez

Cesar Ramirez has no time for “dinosaur coaching”. While he is one of the newest coaches at the Chicago Edge SC, his style of positive-driven activity is already making an impact. 

Coach Ramirez, a Chicago native, fell in love with soccer at a very young age. He often watched soccer with his father, a huge fan of the Mexican club Chivas, before he understood what was happening. But that love of soccer did not immediately translate to his own athletic pursuits early on in his life. 

“Actually didn’t play soccer in high school. I was all about basketball and Michael Jordan and the Bulls,” Ramirez said. To be fair, it was the nineties in Chicago, and there wasn’t much American soccer that captured the imagination. “Now, anything involved with soccer I’m involved with.”

Once he arrived at Phoenix College, however, Ramirez picked up soccer and has played the sport ever since. However, his path to coaching the Chicago Edge Soccer Club took a few more twists and turns. While working as a yoga instructor and coaching travel soccer in Chicago, he met Director of Coaching Murray Findlay’s wife, Tanya (also a yoga instructor). He then played against Murray in various recreational/club matches around the city.

Ramirez first worked on some summer camps with the club a few years ago. However, the fall of 2016 was his first full-time season with the Chicago Edge. He’s already tried to bring in some of his own philosophies while also adapting to the Edge’s main tenet of enjoyment. 

“It just so happened I was looking for a coach to work at one of our summer camps with the PDOP. I couldn't believe how consistently positive he was and how well he interacted with the young players at the camp,” Coach Findlay said. “I have worked on him ever since then to try to get him to come and coach with the Edge.  Luckily, things fell into place at the start of the Fall and Cesar joined our club.”

As for the static coaching styles he terms as “dinosaur coaching”, Coach Ramirez moves in the opposite direction. 

“I try to stay positive. Other coaches do things a little bit differently but I encourage the team to work hard and make sure everyone is enjoying the game while also challenging them,” Coach Ramirez said. “I try to make my sessions dynamic with a lot of movement instead of standing in line,” Ramirez said. “I would say I also put a big emphasis on ball control and ball skills. It doesn’t really help if you can run all day but you can’t control the ball.”

After coming from a much smaller club, he’s also thrilled to be part of a “larger and better organized club”. The transition from his old club was rather abrupt, but he credits the other Edge coaches and the parents for helping him adapt quickly. 

Ramirez has plied his trade for all of the Edge’s U12 teams. He’s excited to be coming back to coach for next year and is very thankful for the support he’s received from Directors of Coaching Murray Findlay and Gavin Richards and the parents. He is also an avid fan of Liverpool and Steven Gerrard in particular.

“Gerrard’s not the flashiest but he worked hard!” Ramirez said, although one would assume he’s slightly less enthused with Gerrard’s MLS exploits. 

Whatever the case, Ramirez is an exciting new coach for Chicago Edge SC and his presence on the sidelines will be greatly appreciated.