Dear Players and Parents,

Welcome to the 2015 OPRF Girls Soccer season. We are off to a great start!

Introductions:

My name is Emily Steffen, and I am the head Sophomore Girls soccer coach for the 2015 season. I have been coaching soccer at OPRF in the boys and girls programs for the last six years at a variety of levels, including spending last season as an assistant with the Varsity team, and I am looking forward for the opportunity to head up the Sophomore squad this year. In addition to coaching soccer and basketball, I have been an English and Reading teacher at OPRF for the past three years. Prior to teaching here, I taught and coached at Whitney Young in the city while attending graduate school.

As an OPRF alum, I am happy to be back on the huskie soccer field, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to take this program to the next level. To assist us on this journey, I am incredibly lucky to have Jason Fried—a teacher in the math department—as my assistant coach this season. He has also coached soccer for many years, and we are looking forward to collaborating with one another and with you to provide the best possible experience for your daughter this spring. Go Huskies.

Looking Back:

Thank you for attending the Parent Meeting on Saturday morning. If you were unable to attend the meeting, please send me an email, and I can provide you with the information that you missed. Please also make sure that you sign up for TeamPages, as that website is the platform through which we disseminate most program-wide information and changes to the schedule. I finished updating the calendar on TeamPages this afternoon, so the Game Schedule that appears online is the most accurate schedule to date.

It was great to get the opportunity to meet many of you yesterday. Coach Fried and I are really looking forward to spending this season with your daughters. They have been incredibly hard-working and patient these last two weeks as we have spent a significant amount of time teaching and learning together while preparing for our first official game against Naperville Central. We have worked hard and had a lot of fun, and Coach Fried and I are hoping to continue developing a positive, yet competitive, team culture that will allow your daughters to evolve into a strong community, grow and mature as athletes on the soccer field, build character, set goals and adopt a growth mindset, and leave the field every day with a smile on their faces.

I haven’t been this excited for a season in years.

Expectations and Reminders:

Away Games: Athletes are expected to ride to and from all away games on the bus as a team. Please arrange to pick your daughter up from school after we return home.

Practices: All practices will take place on OPRF’s campus, either at the Stadium or on the Lake Street Fields. Practice will begin at 3:30 (athletes should begin warming up around 3:15) and will go until between 5:30-6:00 most days. Practices will be longer towards the beginning of the season while we are teaching the program’s philosophy and going over set-piece plays, tactics, etc. In terms of equipment, all athletes have been given lockers in the Stadium, and they should leave their cleats, shin-guards, and running shoes in their locker for practices. They are also expected to wear OPRF soccer training shirts at practice every day.

Team Meetings: At least once a week, we will have team meetings in Coach Steffen’s classroom, 299, to discuss expectations, set goals, watch and analyze game film, complete grade checks, and discuss the tactical elements of the game. Athletes will always be reminded of these meetings via Remind101 or Teampages. If we begin or end the day with a meeting, we will always have a short practice as well. Please be prepared with proper outfits and shoes for practice every day that we do not have a game.

Attendance & Playing Time: Please look closely at the practice and game schedules that have been provided. We would appreciate your cooperation when scheduling your family vacations and other commitments for your daughter. If you have a doctor’s appointment, you are sick from school, or there is an emergency in your family or a funeral, then those absences will be considered excused. Please have your daughter contact Coach Steffen directly to report these absences. All other absences from practice will be considered unexcused.

If an athlete acquires an unexcused absence from practice, then she will have to sit half of the next game. Some exceptions for extenuating circumstances may apply—however, it is important to me as a coach in this program to remain consistent with these policies and reward the athletes who are present at practice with participation in games. Further, we have conducted individual meetings with each athlete about playing time and her current position on the team. Please encourage your daughters to speak to us directly if they are confused or upset about playing time this season.

We will have practice and two games over Spring Break, and all regular attendance policies will apply during that time.

Please contact me directly if you have any questions or concerns. I will be sending out a few more documents that include athlete expectations and game schedules. Thank you for your time! I am really excited to get the ball rolling and win some games!

All my best,

Emily Steffen

English and Reading Teacher, English Division
Sophomore Girls Soccer Coach
Oak Park and River Forest High School
esteffen@oprfhs.org
(708) 434-3577