Soccer Merger to Provide Unprecedented Opportunities for Kids

SIOUX FALLS, SD - A historic union of the region’s two oldest and largest soccer organizations will bring unprecedented opportunities for kids. The leadership of Dakota Gold Soccer Club and Sioux Falls Soccer Association has unanimously voted to merge their entities into one superior organization with the stated vision of being nationally recognized as a leader in both recreational and competitive youth soccer. Last year more than 7,000 kids participated in soccer through the two entities and their tournaments had more than a $4,000,000 economic impact on Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls Soccer Association successfully launched its “soccer for all” mission in 1981 and has maintained that standard for nearly 3 decades. Six years later Dakota Gold Soccer Club was created with a focus of providing kids age-appropriate skills training led by professional coaches and the opportunity to compete regionally at the highest possible level. President of the former Sioux Falls Soccer Association, Dr. Lyle Van Hemert, a local chiropractor, said the union was made possible by a united focus on what is best for the kids. “In every one of the countless meetings with coaches, players and parents over the past year someone has told a story of how unintended barriers between organizations have limited the ability of kids to move back and forth between teams to find the best match for their ability and desire to compete. Today those barriers are gone. Now it is truly about kids and the wonderful life skills they can learn from the game of soccer,” Dr. Van Hemert said. President of the former Dakota Gold Soccer Club, Michele Weber, agreed with the power of the united focus on kids. “So many people were instrumental in the creation of this union. Coaches who previously competed against each other. Professional staff that risked programs they had passionately created. Countless people who have volunteered their efforts to make both of these organizations the premier entities they are. Everyone was able to put all those feelings aside to create the best soccer environment for the kids of this region,” Weber said. Augustana College Head Women’s Soccer Coach Brandon Barkus has been named Interim Director of Coaching for the merged organization. Barkus also helped the two organizations facilitate the merger. “This has been a labor of soccer love for me. Everybody wins in this union. The recreational program will benefit from the presence of more professional coaching staff. The competitive program will benefit from a larger pool of players. And most of all, the kids will benefit by being able to find the right soccer fit for them in a unified organization without boundaries between levels. This movement was a groundswell from area coaches. Without their vision and passion this would not have happened,” Barkus says. The merged organization has begun a nationwide search for a permanent director of coaching. The goal is to have that position filled by late summer 2009.

Classic Tryouts/ Advanced League Tryouts

We apologize for any inconveniences we have decided to cancel the classic tryouts/ former advanced league tryouts for June 16th. We came to this decision because of Sertoma Rd. is closed along with the lack of parking in addition to the goals being moved for the Regional Tournament. These tryouts will be held at the according age groups in July at the Harrisburg complex. July Tryout Schedule.

2009 State Cup Champions

Congratulations We have completed the 2009 State Cup Competition for South Dakota and want to congratulate the Teams from the Sioux Falls Soccer Association on there success. We had 10 Teams travel to Pierre South Dakota to participate in the event. Teams battled through cold rain and up to 35 mph gusts on Friday but finished the weekend with beautiful weather on Saturday and Sunday. We had 4 teams come home with the title of State Champions.
Congratulations to:
U14 Boys Sioux Falls United Seekers
U16 Boys Great Plains Quest
U17 Boys Great Plains Force
U18 Boys Sioux Falls United Fury

Also congratulations to the teams that Participated and gave a strong effort and showed great pride in representing the club.
U13 Girls Sioux Falls Rhythm
U14 Girls Great Plains Extreme
U14 Boys Sioux Falls United Sparta
U15 Girls Sioux Falls Corazon
U16Great Plains Velocity
U19 Boys Great Plains United

How do we measure success?

There are already a multitude of articles saying that winning and losing are not the correct measures of success in youth soccer, instead we should measure the development of the players. OK, perfect. The next obvious follow-up question then is, "How do we measure the development of a single player?" If US Youth Soccer can answer this question in a way that is helpful to committed coaches and understandable to parents with limited playing experience (and paying the money to have their kids involved), they may be able to turn this overly organized youth soccer system of ours into a much more effective development program.

Cary McCormick
Arlington, VA

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Special Thanks.

The Sioux Falls Soccer Association has been busy preparing for the New Year and the new age of soccer in Sioux Falls. The back room, where we often hold coaches meetings and store equipment, has been redesigned to offer a great advantage to our program. The area will be utilized for training players, referees, and coaches. This training facility will be a huge help in that we can continue working on all phases of education throughout the winter. The best part about the addition of this facility is the people that made it happen. We had many companies step up and provide a great deal of time and resources. We would like to give special thanks to the following companies;

Sioux Falls Construction
Midwest Field Turf
Oppold Construction Company
Sands Drywall Inc.
Friessen Painting Inc.
Hander Plumbing & Heating
Tessier's Inc.
Thompson Electric
Norberg Paint