We are excited to welcome Amanda Rosellini to the Soccer Shots Los Angeles team! Amanda will intern in the SSLA office as well as coach sessions in the westside and south bay. In addition to her love of kids and soccer, Amanda has an interest in journalism, social media, and event planning. She is highly motivated and we look forward to her addition to the team!
“Right when I saw the posting, I got very excited because this would be the ideal position for me. I have been playing soccer since I was 5 years old and I know what a positive impact sports can have on a persons life. Not only is soccer my passion, I absolutely love kids. I am the oldest of four siblings and have taught all of them how to play soccer.”
Amanda recently graduated from Simi Valley High School in 2011 and started at Santa Monica College as a communication major. She has been playing soccer since she was 5 years old and has continued to love it more and more through the years. She began playing for a competitive club team when she was 12 years old where they ended up coming in second in the National Cup.
She is the oldest of four children in her family and has always loved kids. Amanda is truly excited to join Soccer Shots. She feels the idea of teaching children the fundamentals of soccer is so exciting!
Currently, she is on the SMC team and hopes to transfer to a four year college and continue playing. In addition to soccer, Amanda enjoys running, hiking, surfing and basically anything that gets her outside.
I stumbled upon this quote yesterday and I smiled because I am lucky enough to work for a company that impacts youth all over the world. After watching the terrible events that occur in the news, including the most recent tragedy in Chardon, OH, I can’t help but wonder what happened in this boy’s life that drove him to commit such an act. Did he not have a role model or a positive influence in his life? Was there one incident in this child’s life that shaped who he would become? Although we may never know, it is safe to assume that this could have been prevented.
As a Soccer Shots Director, I receive a handful of emails each season from parents stating how much their child LOVES his/her coach. It puts a smile on my face because we take such pride in hiring a staff that we believe shares our mission to impact youth positively. Managing a group of 3-5 year olds can certainly be a challenge. But if that instructor is with us for the right reasons, they will undoubtedly make a difference in the life of a child.
“Children are one-third of our population, and all of our future.”
Kids are the future, and we must invest in them as we would a 401k. The time and energy that I have put into working for Soccer Shots has been rewarded tenfold. Every time I walk into a center and see the children’s faces light up to see someone wearing a Soccer Shots jacket, it makes it all worthwhile. Not only are those children eager to be physically active, they now have a positive role model in their life. Next time you have an opportunity to dish out a high-five and make a child smile, take it. You never know what that moment might mean in the life of that child.
We have been a proud partner of the Los Angeles Soccer Academy since 2011 and wanted to share a few exciting new clinics that they are offering. These highly specialized clinics are for 8-12 year old kids.
(Guest post from Alvarez Ricardez, Club President, Los Angeles Soccer Academy)
This is open to all members and non-members of LASA, so bring a few friends out, no RSVP required!
We’ve added a few more clinics to our schedule (including an all girls program) to give you several options for Elite Feet, Striking/Finishing and Goalkeeping options. Please check out our new days and times here:
Elite Feet
This is a challenging skills clinic for players of all ages and is open to both members and non-members of LASA. No RSVP is needed, just come on out ready to work hard and have fun! The fee for this clinic is $10, please bring cash and pay the coach before the clinic begins.
Schedule:
Boys Ages 8-12: Tuesdays 4:30-5:30pm with coach Alex
Girls Ages 8-12: Fridays 4:30-5:30pm with coach Jesse
Clinics are held at Cheviot Hills park. Coaches will focus on the following technical areas of development:
Ball-Control (fakes, feints, moves)
Dribbling (change of pace and direction)
1v1 (creativity, confidence, composure)
Striking/Finishing
This is a challenging striking and finishing clinic for players of all ages and is open to both members and non-members of LASA. No RSVP is needed, just come on out ready to work hard and have fun! The fee for this clinic is $10, please bring cash and pay the coach before the session begins.
Schedule:
Co-ed Ages 8-12: Fridays 5:30-6:30pm with coach Michael
Clinics are held at Cheviot Hills park. The finer technical points of striking and finishing the ball will be emphasized. An excellent clinic for forwards and midfielders.
Striking and Finishing (finesse, accuracy, approach)
Goalkeeping
This is a challenging goalkeeping clinic for players between 8-12 years old, and is open to both members and non-members of LASA. No RSVP is needed, just come on out ready to work hard and have fun! The fee for this clinic is $10, please bring cash and pay the coach before the session begins.
Schedule:
1st and 3rd Friday of every month 4:30-5:30pm: Open to all LASA and non-LASA players $10.
2nd and 4th Friday of every month 4:30-5:30pm: Registered LASA club goal keepers only (FREE).
Clinics are held at Cheviot Hills park with coach James. The finer technical points of goalkeeping will be emphasized.
How to correctly use your feet, body and hands
Approaching every attacking situation, from 1v1 to set pieces
Diving and saves from every angle
Ball Distribution
We are very pleased and excited to welcome Jonathan Karacozoff to the Soccer Shots Los Angeles team.
Jonathan is a recent transplant to Southern California and currently lives in Marina del Rey. He grew up in Sacramento, and began playing soccer at the ripe old age of five. After high school he attended UC Berkeley where he majored in political science and minored in education. Growing up Jonathan played every sport, but soccer quickly became one of his favorite sports. While in high school he became actively involved in rugby, and translated his soccer skills over to the rugby pitch (rugby was a spin off from soccer). He still has a passion for both sports, and is excited to see them grow in the United States of America.
Growing up in a house with a physical education teacher as a mother led him to have a life long passion for teaching.
While at Berkeley he had the opportunity to work with the Sage Project, which is a non-profit charity that mentors young children in the bay area.
Having had such a positive experience through the Sage Project, Jonathan is proud to continue teaching the youth of America through Soccer Shots.
In addition to Soccer Shots you can find him working for the company KozFit, which is an enterprise he founded with his brother. In his spare time he can be found playing sevens rugby, soccer, working out, pursuing higher knowledge, and hanging out with family and friends.
We are very pleased and excited to welcome Lindsey Munce to the Soccer Shots Los Angeles team.
Lindsey grew up within a household surrounded by sports and fell in love with the game of soccer when she was 8 years old. Whether playing alongside her father, winning trophies with her team or simply trying to keep up with her older brother she knew at a young age that soccer would always be a part of her life.
While attending the University of Oregon, Lindsey participated and helped lead a summer program for kids on military bases around the world. This program ignited a passion for not only working with children but culture and travel as well. Since then, she has lived and/or studied in Italy, England and most recently Ireland of which she retains dual citizenship.
In the summer of 2009, she left her home and event management career behind for Belfast, Northern Ireland. There she volunteered for Habitat for Humanity for 3 months and joined them to film their 15th anniversary project in Romania in which 250 volunteers built 10 homes in just 5 days. From this life changing experience, she produced an award-winning documentary that appeared in film festivals around the world as well as a promotional film that has globally increased volunteerism in a number of Habitat for Humanity affiliates.
In Soccer Shots, Lindsey has found the perfect combination of a love of kids and passion for organizations that strive everyday to make a difference and is thrilled to be a part of the team!
Soccer Shots is proud to partner with the U.S. Soccer Foundation and its Soccer For Success program, an after-school program that aims to fight childhood obesity and provide positive social benefits. Check out this video from a Soccer For Success event in Los Angeles last month, which two Soccer Shots Co-Founders (Jason Webb and Justin Bredeman) were able to attend.
“It’s about building the whole child. Soccer is just the hook.”
-Shellie Pfohl, Executive Director, President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition
(Guest post from Coach Alia at Soccer Shots Los Angeles)
Encouragement is the gift that every child should receive. Although this statement seems obvious, encouragement really does make a difference in a child’s life.
I was coaching at Life House Preschool and about two sessions into the program a new child enrolled in my class and I was absolutely thrilled! The kid who was new to the class seemed apprehensive about playing soccer however he came along and attempted to play in all the games. About midway into the session I noticed that he was crying and I went over to him to see what was wrong. He informed me that he was sad because he did not think his mom would pick him up after lunch. I informed him that he had nothing to worry about because he would see his mom soon.
During this situation I saw more than the need for his mother, I also saw a kid who was easily upset and scared. I could easily relate to this child because when I was younger I was very much like him. I was very shy and was often afraid to talk to other people so I was quiet and kept to myself. What really helped me when I was younger was to have somebody encourage me and let me know I was doing a good job in whatever I was doing.
I knew that this child needed encouragement.
What made the situation even more perfect was the fact that the word of the week was encouragement! During the session I explained what encouragement was and had all the kids cheer for one another throughout the session. At the end of the session I also had everyone clap for this kid to show him that he did an amazing job that day at soccer.
During the following week to my surprise this kid did not cry at all!
Instead he was laughing and having a great time throughout the whole class.
I was very excited about this because I know that the other kid’s encouraging words made a difference in this child’s life. It doesn’t take much to encourage a child but it can make an enormous impact on their life in a positive manner. Each and every day, no matter how small it is, encourage a child. It may seem trivial however it can make giant impact in a child’s life.
On November 2, 2011, Soccer Shots and its nonprofit arm, Global Goals, got to officially convert their fundraising efforts to real, live, positive impact. Soccer Shots franchisees nationwide raised money through Global Goals over the past year in order to install a SportCourt – a multi-use athletic court – on the asphalt grounds of Avon Avenue Elementary School in Newark, NJ (see Jason Webb’s recent post with more information on the installation and the impact it will have on the school and community).
Check out our video HERE of Jason Webb, Soccer Shots Partner and Co-Founder, speaking to Dominique Lee, Founder & Executive Director of Avon Avenue Elementary School, about the exciting news!
Soccer Shots is a leader in youth soccer development for children ages 3-5 & 6-8.
Offered at preschools, daycare centers, and parks, our nationally recognized non-competitive skills program offers a high energy, fun, age-appropriate introduction to the wonderful game of soccer.
Soccer Shots is owned and directed by Rian Heim and his wife Alyssa. Their passion for soccer and working with youth was their motivation for bringing Soccer Shots to Los Angeles. 2011 marks the fourth year that Rian and Alyssa have been running Soccer Shots here in Los Angeles. Together they make every effort to deliver a solid program that children, parents, and schools will benefit from and enjoy. They currently live in Playa Del Rey with their one year old son Charlie and dog Buddy.
Soccer Shots Los Angeles Blog
