At Lancaster, CA, site of the 2009 US Youth Soccer Far West Regional Championships, the Shadow 89 Girls opened Monday, June 15th against Northern California.  California scored first about 26 minutes into the first half.  The Shadow came out much stronger in the second half, and Marissa Mykines scored within the first few minutes.  The ladies rode this momentum and Jamie Etten scored off a pass from Averi Hallman eight minutes later.  The final goal of the game was scored by Tiarra Pittman on an assist from Kristi Wirtz.  The final score was a 3-1 win for Shadow.

On Tuesday, June 16th the girls played Idaho Xtreme.  The final outcome was a telling 12-0 win for Shadow.  Tiarra Pittman went on a scoring frenzy, starting the game out with an assist to Marissa Mykines, followed by five goals of her own (3 in the first half and two in the second.)  Ceri Palk started the second half off with a goal in the first few seconds.  Kaitlin Whitfield scored on a beautiful corner kick from Mykines about 15 minutes later.  Mykines then made three goals in about six minutes.  Her first was off an assist from Kristi Wirtz, followed by a sweet shot that the goalie made contact with, but was unable to save.  Her final unassisted goal was made about 27 minutes into the second half.  The girls’ final goal was knocked in by Aubrey Bot.

The 2009 Rainier Challenge, sponsored by the Washington Premier Football Club in Puyallup, was the first summer tournament for many of Shadow’s premier teams.  Having completed tryouts less than one month earlier and a handful of team practices, this tournament provided a great learning experience for all of our teams – several had never played outside of Eastern Washington and all have welcomed players new to Shadow soccer.

Kudos to our Shadow 96 GU13 Navy and Shadow 95 GU14 Navy teams who were undefeated in the tournament, but due to point differential, did not advance to the finals.  And, congratulations to our Shadow 97 GU12 Navy team who, in their first tournament outside of Spokane, won their division!  They won 2 out of 3 games in group play and beat Crossfire Premier 2-0 for the championship!

Shadow has the following 2009-2010 season opportunities available for players interested in joining our teams and playing soccer at the highest level:

Shadow 97 Boys U12 Navy:  Goal Keeper

Shadow 97 Girls U12 Sky:  Field Players

Shadow 96 Girls U13 Sky:  Goal Keeper

Shadow 96 Boys U13 Navy:  Field Players

Shadow 95 Boys U15 Navy:  Field Players

Please contact Shadow Assistant Coaching Director Niko Varlamos at nvarlamos@spokaneshadow.org if you are interested!
 

    What an exciting display for the beginning of the U11 Season with the Spring Classic held recently at the Polo Grounds and Franklin Park.  It was awesome to see all of our clubs united….and competing against each other!  It was amazing to see so many Shadow Scotties, Shadow Breakers, Shadow Sabers, and Shadow Storm uniforms…. It was a great display on the part of all of our families, coaches, and directors who have come together to unify. Thanks to you all for your support! The level of excitement, passion, and competition of each game was pretty neat to see!

    Each team grew, developed, and learned a great deal in their opening weekend and many positive steps were taken to teach our players more about the game, competing, and true sportsmanship. Great job to all and the Champions! On the girls’ side, the Shadow Sabers coached by Ray Starkey won the Gold Group, and the Shadow Sabers coached by Ron Nelson won the Silver Group!   On the boys’ side, the Shadow Sabers, coached by Sam Morse won the Gold Group, and the Shadow Scotties coached by Cary Chester won the Silver Group! Also on the boys side, congrats to the U11 Shadow Premier Boys coached by Owen Omiya, who competed at the U12 age group and lost in the Championship Game 3-2. Great effort gentlemen!

Youth sport in our society has become quite an animal to control.  Certainly, we can see the many benefits for our children playing sport—to meet new people, to interact with others, to develop social skills, to play, to enjoy, to begin a foundation for healthy living by being active, to find challenges, to develop different types of motor skills and to use their time productively…just to name a few.  However, we can also readily see some pitfalls of youth sport, especially competitive sport—early specialization, over-bearing parents, coaches bent on winning, over-scheduled calendars,  and self centeredness.

So, the question is why should the Spokane Shadow start a program for nine year olds?  Well, our answer is based on all the positive reasons above, as well as the negative ones!  The positive reasons because that is what sport can provide; the negative reasons because that is what sport can provide IF leaders of our youth sports do not lead.  We want to be a true leader.
 

In their first tournament of the new season, the U16 Boys won the Coeur d’Alene Tournament Championship on May 17th!  Playing up one age bracket in order to challenge themselves, they won the 8-team bracket with four straight wins - defeating the Penticton Pinnacles (2-1), Sandpoint Strikers (1-0), Idaho Thunder (2-0) and Missoula Strikers (3-0) in the championship.

Coached by Ray Smith, the BU16 Shadow team consists of one player from Cheney, two players from Moses Lake, one player from Pullman, one player from  Sandpoint, eleven players from Spokane and one player from the Tri-Cities.  This summer the team will travel to three out of area tournaments:  June (U.S. Regionals in Southern California); July (Crossfire Tournament in Seattle); August (Denver Cup).  In September, they will begin league play in the the state’s highest league, the PDL 1st Division.

May 17, 2009

The Spokane Shadow U17 & U18 girls showed very well combining for a 7-1 record this weekend at Washington Premier's Showcase of Champions.  The U17 girls went 4-0; defeating Eastside United Chelsea (2-0), Boise Capitals (3-1), Westside Metros (4-0), and FC Willamette (2-0).  The U18 girls went 3-1; defeating Boise Nationals (4-0), FC Portland Sage (5-1), CDA Sting (6-1) and dropping a game to Le Bois (1-2).

Overall there were 25 individual colleges, ranging from NAIA to NCAA Div 1, that attended the games the Shadow girls played in.  It was a great experience and the girls received a lot of positive feedback!

The unification of the soccer clubs in the Spokane Youth Sports Association territory has been approved at all levels and is moving forward, proving organizations can collaborate in new and exciting ways to bring their missions to the next level.  New ideas, new opportunities, and new goals can result.  

The Spokane youth soccer community is a shining example of collaboration; working to make soccer better for all players at every level to keep them playing and enjoying this game longer.  The unification between the Breakers, Sabers, Scotties, and Storm FC Select Clubs, and our premier Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club is unprecedented.  

Leaders and volunteers from all of these organizations have worked hard together to find ways to make soccer better for Spokane’s kids by unifying together.  This unification will be a gradual integration process:  This year U11 select and premier players, next year U11 and U12 select and premier players, and so on.

This is an exciting time to be a soccer player in the Inland Empire!

In the spirit of soccer,

Sean Bushéy
Spokane Shadow Technical Director

U11 Program Announced!

Mission Statement

Club Unification Overview

The Spokane Shadow wants to congratulate the U13G & U16G for their performances in the State Cup Semi Finals. 

The U13G lost 6-7 in shootout to Eastside FC.  They showed unbelievable grit and determination through regulation and 20 minutes of overtime.  The shootout was watched by hundreds of spectators who had stopped to see the shootout or were waiting for other games to begin.  It was an awesome environment for the girls to experience at such a young age!

The U16G lost 1-0 to the Northwest Nationals and had multiple chances hit the post, crossbar, just go wide and get cleared off the line. An exciting game to watch and the girls can be proud of their performance as they represented themselves very well!

Well done to all players, parents and coaches who participated in the 2009 State Cup!

The Spokane Shadow Youth Soccer Club congratulates its Class of 2009 Girls U18 team players and those who have committed and signed to play college soccer: