Ela Soccer Club

It’s unbelievable that we are already nearing the middle of our fall season.  Much has happened since the spring worthy of note.

Ela Elite Program Expands

I am excited to announce the expansion of Ela’s Elite program to include boys in the U16 and U23 age groups.  The purpose of the Elite program is to provide a place to play within the club for those players that are able to compete at the highest level possible through their high school and college years.  For our high school age players the Elite program provides a higher level of training and greater exposure regionally and nationally which will hopefully result in more collegiate opportunities.  For college age players the U23 Elite teams will provide a place to play during the summer months to ensure the players maintain their sharpness leading into the fall collegiate season.  Our long term goal is to provide Elite level teams at all high school ages and at the U23 age group.  For more details regarding the Elite program visit the Elite tab on our website and related articles about our Elite U17 girls’ success at last year’s nationals held in Frisco Texas. 

Ela State and National Success

The quality of the Ela program continues to grow as evidenced by the strong performances on both the state and national level this summer.  Congratulations are in order for the U18 boys and to coach Matt Hammett for their 2^nd place state cup finish on June 7^th and 8^th .  Congratulations are also in order for the U23 boys Elite team coached by Robert Meschbach for winning the national title out in Seattle Washington in August.  Details of both team’s success as well as the accomplishments of our other teams this past summer can be found on our web site. 

Ela Welcomes Tony Duffy and Robert Meschbach

I want to extend a warm welcome to Tony Duffy and Robert Meschbach both of which joined the club this year.  The addition of both of these men provides added depth and experience to our quality training staff.

 Tony has over 24 years of Professional coaching experience in the U.S, Australia and Scotland.  Tony was selected as Illinois Youth Coach of the Year in 2002, and has been very active in the educational side of coaching including instructing and evaluating coaching courses on behalf of IYSA for the past 10 years.  He has also been an Olympic Development Program evaluator for the state of Illinois.  Tony played professionally in Australia and Scotland and was a member of the Scotland National Team. Tony holds a USSF, Australian and Scottish National A License. 

 Robert has over 10 years of professional coaching experience in the U.S.  Robert led Eclipse Select U16 teams to the USYSA National Championship in 2001 and 2003. In the past year he led FC United U18 boys to a USYSA Illinois State Championship and Ela Elite U23 men to a USASA National Championship.  Robert also led the Saint Viator Girls Varsity high-school team to back-to-back ISHA State Championships in 2002 and 2003.  Robert has played professionally in Austria, Germany and in the US.

 Important Help Needed

One of the great things about our club is the many wonderful volunteers that help to keep things running smoothly.  In this regard we are expanding our volunteer base for two very important club functions, marketing and fundraising.  We are looking for outgoing volunteers preferably with some time available during weekday business hours.  This volunteer position will be responsible for providing greater exposure for the club inside and outside the community with the goal being to expand club membership.  In addition the volunteer will be asked to approach local businesses regarding marketing partnerships with the club and much needed corporate donations.  If this volunteer position is successful in generating income and increasing the membership we expect it could become a part time paying position.  If you think you have the personality and can spare the time please contact Jackie Marais at (847) 726-8794 to set up an interview.

 Kelly Don’t Go!

Lastly, it is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our Little Kickers director Kelly Naughtrip.  Any praise I could lavish on Kelly would be an understatement.  She has five years of volunteer service as the Little Kickers director and volunteer fundraiser.  The success of the Little Kickers program has been and will continue to be the foundation of our club.  We will truly miss her service although I suspect we will still see her kicking around the side lines from time to time.  Kelly’s departure leaves a big hole to fill.  We need someone to step in as the Little Kickers director beginning in the spring.  If you are interested in helping please email Jackie Marais at jackie.marais@elasoccer.com

The 2008 USASA National Soccer Cup Finals were held recently in Seattle. The best men’s and women’s U23, Over 30, Amateur and Open teams from around the country met at Starfire Stadium for National playoffs.

Representing U23 men for Illinois was Lake Zurich’s Ela Elite. To qualify Ela Elite won the Illinois State Cup and the Region 2 State Cup finals this summer. Ela Elite also won the Schwaben, Green & White, and Lake Forest FC23 tournaments held in June and July.

In Seattle, Ela Elite beat the Philadelphia Junior Lone Stars 3-0 in the semifinals and then won 3-0 against the Arizona Sahuaros to become the 2008 U23 National Champions.  Congratulations to the team and its coaches Robert Meschbach and Eric Kuehl.

Team members are Mike Armour (Warren), Brian Byrne (Buffalo Grove), Matt Carlson (CT), Jeff Degroot (Prospect), Nick Gauna (Evanston),  Andrew Graham (Glenbrook North), Jordan Gyuricza (St Viator), Kevin Harrigan (Downers Grove South), Steve Hosch (Danville), Erik Johnson (Libertyville), Steffen Jovcic (Niles West), Thomas J King (St Viator), John Kornfeld (St Louis Univ. HS), Erik Lundgren (Stevenson), Tom Lynn (Libertyville), Justin McCord (Prairie Ridge), Cosimo Patano (Leyden), Frank Patano (Leyden), Paul Pedtke (Evanston) , Mike Richter (Carmel), Jeremy Rielly (Evanston), Nick Rizzo (Weaton St Francis), Karl Ruter (Glenbrook South),  Andrew Stewart (Stevenson), Steffen Vroom (Libertyville), Matt Zelensek (Oswego), Elie Zenner (Evanston).
 

Our Ela Elite U18 gals just won’t take a summer break.  They represented us at the FC Milwaukee tournament August 15th – 17th, bringing home silver in the Women’s U19 Gold bracket division.

Although they remained toe to toe the first half against the 5 time state champions, FC Milwaukee, they were defeated by a single goal in the second half (1-0).

They arrived  at the games short-handed.  Earlier in the week they lost Michelle Rowley (Mundelein HS), one of their starting defenders, to a broken collarbone.    In addition, due to summer commitments, some players were unable to compete.  However, the team played the hand they were dealt and did an outstanding job with the talent that they did bring to Milwaukee.

With only 12 players, this first year team won Saturday (4-0) against MYSC Blue (Milwaukee).  They did not show any signs of weakness when they won their second game (2-0) against the Waukesha Freedom (ranked 3rd in Wisconsin), this time covering the field with only 10 players. 

13 players on Sunday were enough to tie (1-1) the NSA Premier Tigers (ranked 3rd in Illinois).  It was an especially sweet victory because they had lost to them (4-0) just two weeks prior in Muscatine.  Even with a tie, their calculated goal differential was enough to win the bracket. 

They shutout the Rockford Dactyls (2-0), in the semi-finals, which dropped them into the championship game against FC Milwaukee.

The Ela organization congratulates the U18 team for their hard work and determination.  They overcame their  obstacles and were rewarded with some mighty sweet success.
 

The Team

Kelsey Armour  (Warren Twnshp HS)
Katie Budd  (Antioch HS)
Kim Carroll  (Mundelein HS)
Abby Eckstrom  (Mundelein HS)
Ashley Gustafson  (Cary Grove HS)
Alex Hauser  (Carmel HS)
Megan LeBaron  (Grayslake Central HS)
Jenny Miranda  (Mundelein HS)
Maddie Ogrinc  (Carmel HS)
Liz Perrenot  (Carmel HS)
Michelle Rowley  (Mundelein HS)
Natalie Saunders  (Niles North HS)
Kelly Schoen  (Carmel HS)
Charlotte Seidel (Lake Forest HS)

 As the 2007/2008 soccer season was winding down, the U18 boys cranked it up and competed in the State Cup Finals June 7 and 8th. They kicked their way into the finals with some impressive wins against these top state elite teams:

Opponent             Score

Eclipse Select         3-2

Galaxy Blue            4-0

FC Chicago            4-3

The team took second in the final game against FC United. Coach Matty Hamnett has been the team trainer since the majority of the juniors were 13 years old. Almost all of the players have come through the Ela program. Expect this young team to rally again next year. Although six have now graduated high school, the remaining team is strong and ready for another successful year.

According to Got Soccer’s rankings, the U18 team is ranked 4th in the state and 23rd in Region II. From June 20th to June 22nd, the remaining U-17 (Juniors and Sophomore) team participated in a college Showcase Tournament in Kalamazoo Michigan, coming away with the 1st place trophy.

Congratulations to the team and coach Matty for an outstanding season!

2007/2008 High School Seniors
Reid Bergstrom         LZHS
Bobby Gas              Carmel
Zac Khoshbin           LZHS
Edwin Lagunas         Carmel
Justin Pennino          LZHS
Erich Rojek              LZHS

2007/2008 High School Juniors
Ryan Duffey            Stevenson
Ryan Loris               Stevenson
Andy Lynch             LZHS
Brad McCurley          LZHS
Mike Osmera            Warren
Jeff Owens              LZHS
Brady Rein               LZHS
Jake Schauer           LZHS
Drew Wycoff           Carmel

2007/2008 High School Sophomores
Brett Harper             LZHS

Recently Ela Soccer entered into an agreement with Woody’s Restaurants to provide concessions at Heritage Oaks Fields.  The concession stand is located between all the fields, near the parking lot, at Heritage Oaks.  Woody’s provides many services at the concession stand to our program, with a percentage of the revenue generated to be returned to the club.   Some of the items sold at the concession stand include:

• Pizza
• Hot Dogs
• Pretzels
• Nachos
• Gatorade
• Water
• Bratwurst
• Polish Sausage
• Gum and Candy
• Ice Cream

The concession stand also provides ample space for team parties, birthday parties, and team meetings.  Woody’s also has a token program, which greatly benefits Ela Soccer.  Instead of our parents purchasing snacks at a local store for the team after the game, parents would purchase tokens from Woody’s to hand out to the team for items at the concession stand.  Download token program form.

Proceeds from the concession stand will be used to fund important Ela Soccer programs such as field development and maintenance, and marketing of our club.  Most importantly though, programs such as this continue to assist Ela in keeping our fees down as much as possible.

As always, we here at Ela thank you for your continued support of our program.

Sincerely,

Mike Montemayor
Vice President Travel
Ela Soccer Club