Wanted to share this article that Coach Mulvaney shared with me in regards to specialization in sports. We encourage athletes to play other sports for several reasons but i think this article explains the importance to do so.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/sport-specialization-increases-injury-risk-for-high-school-athletes-study-finds/2017/01/25/49dcda1a-e24c-11e6-a453-19ec4b3d09ba_story.html?utm_term=.cad80696a7dd

Go Huskies!

The OPRF coaching staff would like to invite all parents and guardians to join us this Friday for our 7th Annual Soccer Social.

The great thing about this event is that it is PARENTS and COACHES only!!!
Come and support the OPRF Women’s Soccer program and meet the other parents & coaches.

WHEN: THIS FRIDAY March 17, (6:30-8:30)
WHERE: Skrine Chops (7230 W. Madison St. Forest Park) 2nd Floor Private Room.
COST: $50 per person prepaid or paid at the door. (Cost includes appetizers and entree samples, Car Magnet, Yard Signs and an entry to win a prize at the end of the evening. A Cash bar will be available as well)

Raffle tickets for prizes will be sold.
Just a glimpse at some of the prizes
Cubs hats, Sox Hats, Bulls hoodies, BlackHawks t-shirts and sweaters, Gift cards, bluetooth speakers, movie tickets, OPRF gear & more)

We hope to see everyone come out to spend some time with other soccer parents and meet the coaches.

Thank you in advance for your support during the 2017 season

Ignacio Ponce
OPRF Varsity Coach

Thank you for attending our parent/player meeting this past weekend. We are excited to get our season on the way and thankful for your support. Our coaching staff is anxious to start playing and I am sure the players are as well. We have a full schedule lined up and I would like to thank everyone ahead of time for your ongoing support in attending our games.

Please review the parent player handbook and handouts with your family to make sure you understand the season rules and expectations. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact your coach through teampages.com or by email.

Please do not forget to use teampages.com as your main source of cummunication regarding games or schedule changes during the season. You can go onto teampages and provide them with your cell number to receive text messages if you would like.

Once again on behalf of of the OPRF coaching staff thank you and welcome to the OPRF Soccer Family

Coach Ponce

Dear Parents and Players of the OPRF Girls Sophomore Soccer Team,

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and send along the list of expectations and team goals that our team has already covered last week (attached below as a word document). We’ve been off to a great start! We won’t let this weather stop us from having an incredible season. In addition to beginning the season with multiple opportunities for learning new techniques and tactics, we have had the opportunity to scrimmage (and tie!) the varsity squad, learn new set plays, and spend time in the classroom developing individual and team goals. I have been impressed with how coachable and eager to learn this particular group of athletes has proved to be, and I look forward to practice every day. It has been a joy to work with your girls.

A little about myself: my name is Emily Steffen. I graduated from OPRF in 2005, and went to undergrad at Colorado College followed by grad programs in English and Film at the University of Chicago and English Education UIC. I have been teaching English and Reading at the high school for the last five years. Prior to teaching, I began coaching boys and girls soccer in 2010 and I have coached three years of girls’ basketball at OPRF. I have also coached girls and boys soccer at Whitney Young and the Lagrange Celtics. I am really looking forward to working with this group of girls at the beginning of my eighth season of coaching soccer.

This past summer, I completed my USSF National C License, and I am excited to begin implementing many of the things that I learned to help your girls become successful soccer players, while strengthening their positive character traits and developing growth mindsets. I love coaching at the Sophomore level because we get to focus on both the physical and mental aspects of the game. This is my third year as the Head Sophomore coach, and I always like to begin the season by working on creating mental giants and increasing the self-esteem of all of our athletes. Prior to coaching sophomores, I assisted at the varsity, junior-varsity, and freshman levels in the boys and girls programs at OPRF. Team chemistry and character development are incredibly important to the success of every team both on and off the field, and I’ve been really impressed with your athletes’ commitment to the process thus far. It’s going to be a great year!

We are very lucky to be joined by Laura Turk as our co-coach this season. She comes to us from The Wolcott School in Chicago with eight years of teaching experience in physical education and art. Further, she has coached soccer for many years and played at the college level. She has provided us with a fresh, positive perspective and has assisted in creating curriculum for goal-setting and vision creation that will help us all be successful, strong women both on and off the field. Welcome, Coach Turk!

Unfortunately, due to inclement weather, our practice and game schedule will be modified this week, but I will do my best to communicate via Teampages to provide you with consistent updates. Further, the best way to get information is directly from your athletes (I communicate with them frequently through the Remind101 text messaging app on their phones) or by emailing me at esteffen@oprfhs.org. I check my email intermittently throughout the day—while teaching—and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.

During a normal week, practice schedules will vary, but the girls have been notified that they can expect to be with us until 6pm on any given day for practice. We will rarely have the space and time to practice until 6, but they can expect to be with us from 3:30-6:00pm on the days when we have the opportunity. The rest of our rules and expectations are listed below. Each girl has signed a copy of this “contract” and we went over the document in depth at our team meeting last Tuesday. Please feel free to ask me any questions by emailing me directly at esteffen@oprfhs.org.

Lastly, I want to reiterate that I am really excited for this season. Every year, I like to teach the girls that our recipe for winning at the Sophomore level is to have fun, work hard, and learn something new every day. If they leave practice or a game having accomplished all three of those things, then they can call that day a win. We may not be the biggest or fastest team on the field in every game, but we will be mental giants and have a positive outlook that has growth as students and athletes at the center of our focus this season.

I look forward to meeting all of you at the Soccer Social this Friday at Skrine’s. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns. Thanks!

Take Care.

Emily Steffen

Due to the inclement weather, all games and practices have been cancelled for today. Games will be rescheduled for a later date. I will inform everyone of any changes for the rest of the week.

Coach Ponce