Each season the coaches in the ODSL vote for a team in their division which exhibits the best sportsmanship toward opponents, referees and opposing fans.  The prestigious award is named after Randy Rawls, one of the leagues original founders and its first President.  The award honors the winner’s sense of fair play, something for which Randy was renowned as he sought to bring soccer opportunities to the youth of Northern Virginia. 

BRYC is pleased to announce that three of its first-year ODSL squads have been honored with the award for the Fall 2013 season, including the U9 Boys Strikers, coached by Yong Kim; the U10 Girls Panthers, coached by Mike Newman; and the U12 Girls Ligntning, coached by John Decker.  (Only three other soccer clubs earned more honors.)  BRYC prides itself for a record of sportsmanship and fairplay and we are very proud that these three teams continue in that tradition. 

Each of the winning teams will receive a handsome team trophy and individual awards for each team member, coach and assistant.  Teams that are returning for the Spring 2014 season will receive tickets for players and coaches to a DC United or Washington Spirit match where they will be honored at halftime.

Thanks to the efforts of long-time Senior Division Deputy Commissioner Doug Alcorn, and long time coach of Senior Division boys and young men (but now also coaching his much younger twins) John Kelleher, the annual High School girls and boys alumni holiday games were held in late December, with over three dozen alums and current U16/19 players squaring off in seventy degree weather...in late December! (Recent past history for the alumni match includes bitterly cold weather and cancellation due to a snow-covered Wakefield Park.)  

Kelleher reports that the alumni boys had the better of it in their match until the teams were more evenly split at half-time.  For the girls, despite the appearance of Katie P. and Jane W., (right) who played for Alcorn's original She Devils team ten years ago (but he still identifies by first name and last initial!), the numbers weren't high enough until they were "supplemented" with a few "ringers", e.g. coaches and parents who came as spectators but were roped into action.  Alcorn reported a "competitive" match.   

Thanks to Doug and John for their part in bringing something a little "extra"  to Braddock Road Youth Club.  Their enthusiasm and care for the kids, even after they age out, go off to college, and become young men and women, is part of what makes BRYC something special among local area youth clubs.

  
Coach Martin Quiroz’ U19 Girls All Stars                       Coach Mitch Bennett’s U9 Girls All Stars

On a rather cold and damp November weekend (perfect weather for playing soccer, perhaps, but not so much for the parents?) two squads of BRYC girls punched their tickets to the final match of their brackets before coming up just short of their championship goal, nonetheless earning trophies as tournament finalists.  

After a respectable record during Saturday's preliminary games, the U19 girls got an opportunity to play (almost) full-length games on Sunday, defeating Chantilly 1-0 on a goal by Caitlyn (Bubbles) T. with an assist from Marisa G. and besting a physical Herndon squad 2-1 on goals by Marisa and Nora M. (assist from Bubbles). Nora's game winner hit the back of the net with 90 seconds left in the game. Playing for the championship against a Burke team the BRYC girls had defeated 2-1 on Saturday, the girls ran into a stout defense and the game ended 0-0. The Burke team had the better penalty kickers on Sunday and took home the championship trophies.  

Veteran coach Mitch Bennett took his squad of much less experienced U9 Girls to their date with destiny, losing the final match by the narrowest margin of 1-0.  For some of the girls, possibly playing in their first tournament and coming up against a team that was just as determined to win as they were, there were a few moments of tears as the game ended.  But after a few consoling words from the coach, a congratulatory handshake and the repeated mantra "Good game!  Good Game!", by the time the girls accepted their Finalist trophies they were almost all smiles.  (The far right picture below may be fuzzy because of fading light but it’s still the webmaster’s favorite!)

Congratulations to the girls and their coaches, and to all the BRYC boys and girls who participated in the tournament.  Win, lose, or draw, their selection to an All Star Squad is something to be proud of.  Better luck to all next spring.

An opening game loss to a team from Burke on September 7 turned out to be the only loss of the season for the U19 Boys squad coached by Mitch Peyser, with the assistance or Coaches Rich Bautista and David Burns.  The team compiled an impressive 9-1-1 overal record, including five wins in a row to end the regular season and two more tournament wins to earn the SFL championship trophies.  After giving up four goals in their first game the boys gave up only nine more in the next nine game combined, while scoring 39 of their own, for the best goal differential of any of the 44 SFL teams in action this season.  The regular season winning streak included victories over teams from Springfield, Northern Virginia, Vienna, McLean, and Prince William. In tournament action, after half-time ties, the boys twice turned up the heat in the second half to beat Haymarket by a score of 3-1 and Prince William by a score of 4-2.  Congratulations to the boys and their coaches for their great season.

For the 13th consecutive season (since the tournament’s inception), BRYC will be sending a host of recreational All Star squads to the Herdon Cup tournament, sponsored by Herndon Youth Soccer.  Two squads of U8 Boys, coached by Erin Silks and Mike White, will be playing at Floris Elementary School while the U8 Girls, coached by Alan Simpson, take to the pitch at Coates ES...all in Herndon.  The U9 Boys, coached by Mike Essig, will be at Baron Cameron Park in Reston.  The U9 and U10 Girls, coached by Mitch Bennet and Joe Wiley, respectively, will be together at Patriot Park. while the U10 Boys, coached by Mike Cranna, are at Clearview ES.  The U11 Boys, coached by BRYC Recreational Soccer alum Hernan Contreras, will be in the opposite corner of the county at Lee District Park.  The U11 and U12 Girls, coached by Andy Seamans and Siobhan Starrs, respectively, will play their games at Pine Ridge Park, while the U12 Boys, coached by Tracy Seamans, will be far away at Nike Park.  The U14 Boys, coached by Todd Cryblskey, will play their games at Herndon High School while the U14 Girls, coached by Tom Small, are at Poplar Tree Park.  Rounding out the BRYC entries, the U16 Boys, coached by BRYC veteran Bob Heyer, are at South Run Park; the U16 Girls coached by Josh Rock are playing on the beautiful Arrowbrook turf field; and the U19 Girls, coached by Martin Quiroz, are also on the turf at Lake Fairfax Park.  All the coaches and their teams are hard at work since the regular season ended.  We wish them well.

Meanwhile, six of the Fall’s eleven new ODSL squads didn’t want their seasons to end and have entered the Hunt Country Classic, co-sponsored by the Fauquier County and Northern Virginia Soccer Clubs.  Coach Yong Kim’s U9 Boys Strikers, Coach Carlos Merino’s U11 Boys Lions, Coach Mohamed Diaw’s U11 Boys Gunners, Coach Mike Newman’s U10 Girls Panthers, Coach Tim Poole’s U11 Girls Avengers, and Coach John Decker’s U12 Girls Lightning will all travel a little further to participate at fields in Prince William and Fauquier Counties on the same weekend as the Herndon Cup tournament...which is only fitting as many of these boys and girls would have been playing as All Stars.  

And finally, Coach Jim Clark’s U13 Girls Rage ODSL squad, who were BRYC Recreational Soccer’s first ODSL squad and won the West Virginia Mountaineer Open in their first post-season appearance last Spring, a precursor to a great fall season with a record of 7-0-0 and no goals against (heading into their final game of the season on Saturday, November 9), have entered the Atlantic Cup tournament, sponsored by the Virginia Rush Athletic Club in Virginia Beach, in early December.  We wish them continued success.

The webmaster is hoping a few of these teams will provide him with stories and action photos following their tournament activities.

Beginning with the Battlefield Tournament over the Columbus Day weekend, where they boys made it to the finals with a 3-0 record before losing a heartbreaker to Vienna Youth Soccer (VYS) in the finals, Coach Anthony Pagano’s U10 Boys Dynamo have shown BRYC’s colors well...and with a bit of their own touch...pink socks to show their support for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Coach Pagano says "there’s hardly anyone on the team who doesn’t know somebody close to them who has been affected by that disease."  

It was the coach’s son Nathan who suggested the team should do it and the rest of the team supported the idea enthusiastically as "one small way we could show our support for those who have suffered from (breast cancer)."  Kudos to the boys for their initiative and thoughtfulness.

Pictured at the right, referee Dan Cho and Team Manager Irma Rupar during the team’s pre-game inspection (including a couple of boys who didn’t get the word!) and roster check before their 2-1 victory over Vista Heat  on October 26.

For the many volunteers, especially the coaches, that it takes to maintain a first-rate program like BRYC’s, the end of another soccer season is a bittersweet time.  All Star coaches will be busy through the end of November before they get to relax, but for the others, this Saturday marks the end of having to race home from the office for an early practice, or having to wake up on a frosty Saturday morning to set up a field for the first game of the day.  For that they are no doubt thankful.

At the same time, for some who live and breathe the beautiful game, or simply enjoy spending a few hours a week on the pitch with the kids, especially those coaching the younger set in the "Mini-Kickers" Division, seeing just how far the boys and girls have progressed in a season has to be one of the great rewards of coaching.  

Take the U7 Boys "Sonic Strikers", coached by Rorik Ebbesen, assisted by various parents during the season including Yong Kim (father of Benjamin) and Mike Kucharczk (father of Robert) on Saturday mornings when the boys are playing two simultaneous games.  At the beginning of the season it was getting used to goal kicks and kick-ins instead of coaches constantly keeping a ball in play.  By the end of the season it must be of some satisfaction to now watch the boys "kind of" understand what the diamond formation is all about...or at least understand what the coaches mean when they tell the boys to "move up" or where they want them to be on the field if they are a forward, a defender, or an "all field" player.  It almost seems a shame that the season is so short and ends so soon.  (It doesn’t have to. There is, after all, indoor soccer to fill those long winter months!)

If you really want to stay involved, the EXCOM (including the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners, League Directors, Registration, Uniforms, Fields, Referees and other supporting cast) continues to meet through the winter months in preparation for the spring season. There are at least one or two open positions for the spring season.  We’d love to have you join us.  Call or email Commissioner Dan Lemieux if you’d like to be more involved.

(Thanks to parent/photographer Ilean Kucharzyk for her photos from the Strikers hard-fought late-October game against the Eagles.)  

After becoming Fairfax County Park Authority’s first "partner" in the turfing of Wakefield Park, and after working with Robinson High School in 2012 to turf their stadium and practice fields, BRYC formed another partnership this past spring to turf both the stadium and practice fields at Woodson High School.  After the Cavaliers innagurated the stadium field in their first Friday night football game of the season, BRYC was right behind with a full schedule of soccer on Saturday and Sunday. With the practice fields used principally for simultaneous cross-field, small-sided games, BRYC now has up to seven turf field slots available for play most weekends, using them for recreational, ODSL, and NCSL matches.  

On Sunday, October 20, the webmaster took in three ODSL matches during the afternoon action, with everyone from the U9 Girls to the U16/17 Boys able to play the beautiful game in beautiful weather on beautiful synthetic surfaces.  But even in less than beautiful weather, many more BRYC games can now go on than was the case when a bunch of volunteers had to get up early on Saturday mornings to see if the grass fields were playable after a night of rain.  

Check out a few action photos from the weekend’s ODSL action, featuring Coach Pierre Martel’s and Susie Hamrock’s undefeated BRYC United U9 Girls.  

   
Additional photos from their game as well as photos from Coach Jim Clark’s and Fred Welther’s undefeated BRYC Rage U13 Girls, and Coach Louis Riesco’s and Dane Markel’s 3-1-2 BRYC Lumark SC (who played to a nail-biting 1-1 draw against the division’s only undefeated team which traveled all the way from Charlottesville) will be posted shortly on the ODSL page linked from the menu at the top.

D.C. United co-owner Jason Levien and Washington D.C Mayor Vince Gray have announced plans for a $300 million project which would result in the Red and Black having a new, 20,000-seat stadium at Buzzard Point by 2016.  United’s current home, Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, is a half-century-old relic.  Meanwhile, most other MLS clubs have built soccer-specific stadiums in the last five to ten years.  

If the plans go forward, United will pay the cost of constructing the stadium but the city will pay the cost and/or make the deals for the land, currently owned by the development firm Akridge, by Pepco, and by investor Mark Ein. Of course the deal also needs the approval of the D.C. Council, which is not a sure thing after the significant cost overruns in the building of Nationsls Park.

The stadium plan comes after years of on-again, off-again plans and announcements, and even the possibility of the team moving either to Maryland or Virginia.  

BRYC has been a strong supporter of D.C. United over the years, with BRYC Nights at RFK Stadium being one of the most enjoyable evenings out for BRYC players and their families.  BRYC has purchased a block of season tickets to D.C. United games for many years, used for prize drawings and Thank Yous to our many hard working volunteers.

With just one week before opening day on Saturday, September 7, BRYC (particularly Fields Coordinator Trish Moxie and Referee Director John Davis) is working hard toward publishing final game schedules.  But there’s been a hitch.  Due to a number of factors, in particular that we have not  yet received a use permit for Saturdays at Wakefield Park, all of our U13 to U19 schedules will almost certainly change from the drafts currently being passed around and posted for review by our League Directors and Coaches.   Once we have space at Wakefield, the dominoes will fall!  

For the younger set, the U5 coed and U6 boys and girls game locations cannot be decided until we determine which fields will be available (pending completion of turf field construction at Woodson HS, for example), though their game times can be set now so, for planning purposes, it’s really just a matter of location.

Happily, U7 through U12 schedules are not affected by the delays noted above and will be available and posted very soon.  Please pass this information on to anyone who says they have seen their game schedules – they might just be drafts and may be changed. Thank you for your understanding.

The traditional BRYC Pre-Season Coaches’ Meeting was held on Tuesday, August 20th at Olde Creek Elementary School.  Coaches get together before the beginning of each soccer season to exchange information, ask questions, and especially to get their team rosters as well as practice and game schedules for the upcoming season.  

Fall season practices may begin immediately, and indeed some coaches had their first practices within days.  All registered players should expect to hear from their coaches within a week of the meeting.  If you haven’t heard from a coach by August 28, contact the appropriate League Director whose name and phone/email address appear on this web site on the individual leage page under the Mini-Kickers, Junior Division, and Senior Division tabs above.

Coaches will distribute uniforms or uniform elements to any player who purchased them online at the first team practice.  BRYC’s fall Uniform Exchange/Purchase night is Thursday, September 5.  That will be your only opportunity before the start of the season to purchase uniforms or uniform elements if you didn’t order online, or to exchange new uniforms ordered online in the event something doesn’t fit.

BRYC is very focused on trying to give our kids every opportunity to grow as players. We have been beefing up our training for players with more offerings like footskills, goalie training at introductory levels and higher levels, and more focused training from professional trainers through our partnership with Golden Boot. 

This summer BRYC is partnering with Golden Boot to hold a BRYC Exclusive Summer Camp, to be held the week of July 29-August 2 from 9am - 12pm, with sessions for players of all ages... U4-U19. The younger players will have a Mini-Kickers Camp with a choice between two 90-minute sessions. The older age groups will have a single three-hour Player Development session.  It’s going to be right in our backyards... at Lake Braddock Lower, and Golden Boot is giving our players a $20 discount on the cost!  

For more details head to our Player Development page.  Do it quickly!  We are well over half full for the camp, so sign-up soon!