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After chatting with a few of the coaches, due to the expected rain today, tonight, and into the morning, as well as the colder than usual temperatures expected tomorrow morning, we will be canceling tomorrow's Coffee League sessions.
The final sessions are still scheduled for next week. If the weather is similar next weekend, we will probably give it a go. But two weeks in a row of weather like this wouldn't be enjoyable.Thanks to everyone for your patience during the build-up to opening day for the 2023 Coffee League Soccer Program. The program starts this Saturday and runs until Saturday October 21st - with a break week on Saturday October 7th for the holiday weekend.
Each event will be held at the Field behind the Convent. There is plenty of parking in the St. Barnabas parking lot.
Each week, PreK and Kindergarten will meet at a rotating start time of either 8:30am or 9:30am for their 1-hour session.
Each week, Grades 1-4 will gather from 9am to 10am.
Soccer shirts are delayed with no estimate on arrival time, so for the first week, please have the students wear their PE uniform or an old St. Barnabas soccer shirt - something they will be comfortable wearing while running around.
Rules of safety include the following: All children should have shin guards in order to play. Cleats are not required or expected. Gym shoes are perfectly fine. If plastic spikes are worn, they must be soccer cleats. Baseball or football cleats with a spike at the top of the shoe are prohibited. So are metal cleats. All jewelry is also prohibited including earrings. Younger children can cover new earrings with tape, but the best rule of thumb is that if ears aren't pierced before the season starts, it's best to wait until afterwards.Sunday looks to be a beautiful day. I will be at the soccer garage (next to the Convent) preparing for the season and invite all families to come kick the ball around for an hour or so. Stop by for as long as you'd like to see some friends and let the kids burn a little energy before dinner. I'll be there at 3:30p until about 5pm. No equipment needed.
We are days away from a roster release. Game schedules will then be released around Labor Day weekend with games starting as early as the Tuesday after the long weekend.
Coffee League Soccer Update:
Registration is still ongoing and will close after Labor Day. Please use the following link to signup. https://registration.buzz/barnabas/
The Coffee League events begin on the Saturday after Labor Day (September 9th) at the field behind the Convent. Start times for Pre-Schoolers and Kindergarteners will begin between 8:30a and 10:30a for each 1-hour session. We will release those rotating schedules the Tuesday after Labor Day (9/6).
Start times for kids in 1st thru 3rd grade will begin each week at 9am for their 1-hour session.
Please email saintbarnabassoccer@gmail.com with any questions.
Hopefully everyone is having another great summer. Soccer practices will begin in about 3-4 weeks, so we'd like to begin preparation for team rosters. Please see below for updates since our June update.
REGISTRATION
We also hope your kids have been dribbling the ball around the house, yard, or park at some point over the last few weeks in anticipation of the Fall Soccer Season. Team submissions for the Fall Leagues are due in just over three weeks. If your child(ren) is/are interested in League Soccer, please click the following Registration link to signup. https://registration.buzz/barnabas/ The Saturday Soccer Program (Coffee League) Registration will be ongoing through the beginning of school if you are still deciding to do both.
REFEREES
We are looking for referees for the Fall Leagues. Games for those will be played at Graver Park, Crescent Park, or the St. Walter's Field (Park 581). 5th and 6th graders can referee games in the 1st and 2nd grade games while 7th and 8th graders can referee 1st thru 4th grade games. StB Soccer alums are also welcome to referee.
The MHR League had a small (30 minute) training last year closer to the start of school - Details are not yet shared for this year. There are some helpful videos on YouTube (about 30 minutes each) to go over the basic rules for first time referees. All of these details will be better known closer to the season. Please contact us with interest.
SOCCER INFORMATION
Most StB Soccer In-Season updates are be posted more frequently on our Blogger page. The website for the Blogger is: https://saintbarnabassoccer.blogspot.com/. It is mobile friendly, so it's a good site to bookmark. Also, the initial game schedules for each League Team will be linked on the Blog with an ics download available for your individual calendars. None of the leagues use dedicated software, so we hope to have a single reference point for parents coordinating very busy schedules. More to come on this.
Please email saintbarnabassoccer@gmail.com with any questions. We look forward to seeing you in about 3 weeks!
2023 Spring Season Recap
The end of school is near and the weather is turning to summer, which is a far cry from most of our weather through the Spring Season. But the cold, wet, and dark nights in April led to some great soccer into May, landing all but two of our teams in the quarterfinals.
Our 1st - 4th Grade teams participated in the second season of the St. Linus Spring Soccer League. The league consisted of teams from Saints Barnabas, Linus, Alexander, Walter/Benedict, and Gerald and consisted of a 10-game regular season and a 1-week playoff bracket. In the first round of the playoffs, both 3rd/4th Red and 1st/2nd Red scored playoff victories to advance to the quarterfinals, however each team either lost to the eventual champion or to the team that lost to the champion. Thanks to each of our Spring Coaches for weathering, pun intended, the season. We look forward to participating with St. Linus again next Spring.
After a run to the semifinals last spring season, the JV team nearly repeated that performance with a quarterfinal loss to St. Nicks, who eventually lost to the number 1 overall seed that only gave up one goal all year - the finals are Saturday. Coaches Krabbe and Rivero joined forces with the Varsity team this season for practices and it showed from the first game that this team was a favorite to make the playoffs. After a rough first 10 minutes in the opening game, the JV team never trailed by more than one goal the rest of the season until the quarterfinal loss and won 3 of the final 4 games, drawing the 4th against St. Catherine - another playoff team. The kids finished the season by running their parents around Park 581 during our last scrimmage and then ran around with each other with some shared pizza from the coaches. We had a fun season and can't wait to build upon it next year.
For anyone that doesn't follow professional soccer, during the World Cup, there is a term given to the grouping of teams that the media declares the toughest - the Group of Death. Our Varsity Team ran into that this season as our Buckeyes faced the teams that finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th in the regular season, but Coaches Reilly and Rom reported that the Varsity Team had fun and vastly improved throughout the season - playing second overall seed St. Linus in a tough first half before their defense took out two of our players. The highlight of the season was a thrilling victory against St. Alexander, an annual favorite with Xander Rom scoring the game winner of a 1-0 victory. With a large group of 6th graders set to rejoin the rest of the 2022 semifinalists next fall, the future is bright heading into the 2023-24 Season.
We say farewell and best wishes to Colin Barry (Marist), Danny Barsch (Rice), Kobe Chancellor (Mt, Carmel), Emilia Czajkowskyj (Ignatius), Christian Dossous (Marian Catholic), Lucas Hennessy (Whitney Young), Brendan Reilly (Mt. Carmel), Julian Rojugbokan (Mt. Carmel), and Jacob Velarde (Rice) as they begin their next chapters in life. Rumor has it that most, if not ALL of them plan to try out for their soccer teams. This is the first Varsity class that I watched play more than just walking past them at the park. Seeing them at practice with the JV team, teaching them and working with them, makes me happy that they'll all be continuing to play and enjoy other things in high school. We might have to coordinate freshman games next year to cheer on our Buckeyes.
Summer Soccer Camps and Adult Rec "League"
Area high schools offer boys, girls, and co-ed soccer camps beginning the week of June 6th. As a sample, Br. Rice (boys), McAuley (girls), St. Rita (boys) and Marist (all) each have camps costing between $50 - $90 per weekly camp listed on their Athletics Summer Camps webpages.
For younger kids, Chicago KICS (kicsfc.com) is hosting two weeks of soccer camps at the Evergreen Park Sports Complex (91st St just west of Western) beginning the week that school ends. KICS hosts other camps around the area, but this one is close.
Week 1: 2nd - 8th Grade ( Co-ed)
6/12 - 6/15 9:00am - 11:00am
Week 2: 2nd - 8th Grade ( Co-ed)
6/19 - 6/22 9:00am - 11:00am
Register online with the link below:
https://evergreenparkhs.8to18.com/dashboard/catalog
If you have any questions, please contact:
Edgar Montelongo
edgar@kicsfc.com
Head Soccer Coach - Boys & Girls Soccer
Evergreen Park Community High School directly at .
KICS is not the only club soccer program in the area, but they are the only one that sends me info on camps and clubs. If others have information that would be great to share with the group, please do not hesitate to forward that information to me. Thanks in advance.
While it is not a camp or for kids, the Chicago Beverly Adult Soccer group (find us on Facebook Groups) hosts friendly, co-ed pickup games for players of all ages (16 - 65?) and skill levels (OMG to MLS). Generally 2-hour games start at 9am or 10am on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings depending on the weather. There is no cost, no membership, and no obligation. It's just soccer for fun and exercise.
2023 Fall Soccer Registration
Sign-up for the 2023 Fall Soccer Season is now underway at https://registration.buzz/barnabas/.
Saturday Soccer is our In-House Saturday Morning Coffee League for beginner and intermediate players from Pre-K thru 4th Grade to develop their soccer skills. The league kicks off on the Saturday after Labor Day and runs until the end of October. Rotating weekly sessions begin at 8:30a / 9:30a / 10:30a at the field behind the Convent.
League Soccer is competitive soccer, relatively speaking, played against other area schools. Players of all skill levels are grouped into two-grade levels (1st/2nd | 3rd/4th | 5th/6th - JV | 7th/8th - Varsity) per league. The younger groups will play approximately 10-games over a 6-week period with no playoffs. The older groups will play approximately 6 games with a short playoff after the regular season. League Soccer practices begin when school begins. Games begin around Labor Day and the season lasts until the middle of October. Game days are played upon the coordination of the League, usually Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for 1st/2nd and Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday for 3rd/4th.
Last year, JV and Varsity conflicted with girls basketball too often. Our intention is to work around those schedules as much as possible this year. The JV and Varsity coaches are meeting the week after school begins to start formulating a plan to create balanced teams next year. Playing multiple sports is hard on the kids and the parents and we will do our best to make sure those that want to be out on the pitch with us can do so.
Please contact Kevin O'Kelly at saintbarnabassoccer@gmail.com with any questions you might have.
Have a great summer!
Sign-up for the 2023 Fall Soccer Season is close to being underway at the regular registration page - https://registration.buzz/barnabas/.
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About Fall Soccer
Saturday Soccer is our In-house "Coffee" League for beginner and intermediate players. The aim of the program is to introduce kids to soccer if they have never kicked a soccer ball or to begin to develop skills for those that might have taken a camp or two in their early years. For parents, it is a great place to meet other new parents to Barnabas. Parents are somewhat involved in these sessions, either as a season team leader or a "coach" for some weeks. No soccer experience is needed, just a bit of patience. It is very informal, but a lot of fun. It is the only sports activity in the Fall that allows kids of all ages. from Pre-K thru 4th Grade to develop their soccer skills. The Coffee League kicks off on the Saturday after Labor Day and runs until the end of October, weather dependent. Rotating weekly sessions begin at 8:30a / 9:30a / 10:30a at the field behind the Convent. The times might change a little, but we will certainly stick with AM.
League Soccer is competitive soccer, relatively speaking, played amongst other area schools. Players of all skill levels are grouped into two-grade levels (1st/2nd | 3rd/4th | 5th/6th - JV | 7th/8th - Varsity) per league. The younger groups will play approximately 10-games over a 6-week period with no playoffs. The older groups will play 6 games with a short playoff after the regular season if we qualify. League Soccer practices will begin during that half-week when school begins. Games begin around Labor Day and the season lasts until the later part of October. Game days are played upon the coordination of the League - last year 1st/2nd played on Tues, Thurs, and Sat AM at 9am; 3rd/4th played on Wed, Fri, and Sat AM at 10:30. JV and Varsity are TBD, but knowing all of the conflicts we had with basketball last season, we will do our best to avoid some conflicts knowing we won't avoid them all.
Please contact Kevin O'Kelly at saintbarnabassoccer@gmail.com with any questions you might have. If you are not subscribed to our mailing list, a QR code is on the right side of this page, scrolling down just a bit.
Rosters are FINAL and the Schedules are PUBLISHED. Our first games kickoff as early as Monday April 3rd.
Downloadable schedules are available on the Barnabas Soccer Blog. Instructions on how to include them on your Apple or Google Calendars are available at the bottom of each Team Page.