BLUES CUP FAST APPROACHING

Dear Parents:

We are quickly closing in on the completion of our fundraising efforts for Blues Cup 2007 and we continue to need your help. The Blues Cup is our major and only fundraiser that the club sponsors once each year. We rely on it to raise approximately $300 per family to keep our overall costs down and to avoid raising dues to higher levels.

As program director I am asking for your support to meet our team objectives to support the overall club’s objectives. We can only meet our team and club goals with every parent’s support. Please do everything you can to support this effort and let your team fundraising captains know what you can contribute in terms of sponsors and advertisers. It is only with the help of every club member that the Blues organization can continue operating as a successful soccer club. Please do what you can to help! Thank you for all that you do to help our team, our club, and your daughter’s success in soccer.

Larry

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THE 2008-09 SEASON IS HERE!

Ahh! Writer's block is a pain in the anatomy (nice excuse). There is so much to say the only question is where to begin. The 2006-07 season concluded with some fantastic results seeing two Blues teams finish their season earning the right to represent our club at the US Youth Soccer Far West Regionals which were held in Las Vegas.

With limited preparation and resources coach Randy Dodge put together a fantastic Blues team at the U19 level and captured the club's 26th overall state championship. The team was made up of former Blues players now in college along with a handful of other collegiate level players from various universities nationwide. Once in Las Vegas the team battled their way all the way to the finals before falling short 2-1 against Sereno from Arizona.

They say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...well not in the case of the U15 Blues Bobak. Tad and his trusty assistant Duncan Love (aka C-3PO) once again masterfully guided their team to a birth in the regionals by winning the Far West Regional League and then parlayed that into a U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regional Championship by overcoming all of the obstacles. The girls defeated the Crossfire Premier team from Washington 1-0 in the regional final to punch their ticket to Frisco, Texas where the National tournament final four will be held July 24 - 29, 2007. If you are not heading down to the Lone Star State the Nationals will be covered live and you can follow the progress of the U15 girls here. There will be daily team reports, photos, press releases, up to the minute scores, etc. Good luck girls we are all with you; give it your all and regardless of results you can call yourself winners! U.S. Youth Soccer also has an interactive website you can visit to keep up with the National Championships.

As you can imagine sending these girls to Las Vegas for an entire week and then shuttling them off to Texas for another week is a costly endeavor for their families. Along these lines the U15 Girls have set up a raffle to help them offset some of their costs as they represent our club. You may have a good chance to win since the numbers involved are so small. Please download this flyer explaining how you can get involved in the raffle.

In other Blues State Cup news top to bottom overall it was another competitive season among all the clubs in Southern California. Five of our teams were knocked out in semifinal play (U10, U11, U12, U16, U18) while two of our teams fell short in the finals (U14, U15). A bounce or a goalpost here or there in some of these matches could have added up to an even more impressive club performance with regards to results on the field.

With respect to our club objectives we had another banner season of Blues Graduates who will be going onto further their educations at universities nation wide. Below is the list of where our 2007 graduates ended up. We are proud of you all! The 2008 graduates are currently in the process of being evaluated for college teams and making decisions on their college choice. Blues lifer Kelsey McGovern (right) was one of the early players to decide where she wanted to go to school. Kelsey who is a current member of the U18 Draluck team will attend Pepperdine in the fall. Once again on the right is a photo of a young Kelsey in her first Blues season...ha ha Kelsey, we got you! To follow the rest of the 2008 graduates as they make their choices check out our Graduation Class Page.

BECKHAM JOINS GALAXY

The following is an email sent to Blues News:

Hey Blues News!! This is Natalie Werner and I just wanted to share with you this awesome picture!!! Amanda Dudley and I took the opportunity to attend David Beckham's LA Galaxy press conference this morning. He entered and exited the field two or three times but wouldn't stop for pictures or autographs. Amanda and I were disappointed every time he passed us. But since we are so tenacious, we waited and found another way. We were not leaving that stadium without an autograph or picture. Amanda's mom, Catalina was amazing and picked up on the security guards talking back and forth in Spanish about where his next interview was. She quickly yelled at us to run up stairs to try to catch him. We had just missed him as he was walking into the room. Security tried to stop us but they were fighting a losing battle. They didn't know that the three of us and my 78 year-old Gma were on a mission. Catalina talked to the security officer about how Amanda had been running around with her 1999 vintage Manchester United Beckham jersey since she was two, and we weren't leaving before it was signed, and I wasn't leaving without a picture. So.. with security wrapped around our finger, they told us to wait right on the other side of the door where he soon would exit. It was about 15 minutes until he made his appearance. Right as he opened the door, Amanda and I both asked him if we could have a picture with him and get his autograph. He was so kind and generous, he said sure. He was impressed with Amanda's vintage jersey and was happy to sign it. We were both star-struck and asked if we could also get a hug which he so kindly shared. Amanda and I were both freaking out. As he walked away, the two of us ran about ten steps and started screaming and jumping up and down with excitement. David turned and laughed at us. It was and amazing day that we won't ever forget. I hope this picture is worthy of your celebrity page on the website. (:

See this photo and other exciting celebrity photos on our Celebrity Photo Album!

BLUES PARTNERSHIP WITH FUTURE FOCUSED

The SC Blues Board of Directors is pleased to announce our new collaboration with Future Focused, a San Juan Capistrano-based company that provides academic and life coaching skills and training for junior high and high school age students. Future Focused, beginning in the Fall of this year, will be providing a series of workshops for our players who are in grades 7 and higher to help them prepare for academic and personal success. The Future Focused workshops will be paid for by the SC Blues and is part of expanded services being provided by the club to our players.

Future Focused was founded by Blues Alumni Anne Luke along with co-founder Jennifer Connellan who have known each other since they were students at Santa Margarita High School in Orange County. Anne Luke was a member of the original Blues soccer team, first ever state champion, and went on to play for the nationally ranked UCLA Bruins soccer program. In 2003 she earned a Master’s degree in Counseling from Franciscan University of Steubenville.

The Future Focused program works with high school aged students to set goals and develop a clear vision for their future. The program has been highly successful in helping students improve their GPAs and prepare for future academic success. In their individualized life coaching and college counseling programs, they are able to connect with students and motivate them to achieve their fullest potential. With proven results and a great reputation with the students and parents in Orange County, Future Focused offers that competitive edge our student/athletes need. For more information, please visit their website at www.futurefocused.com or call directly at 949-276-4077.

Future Focused will also have a booth at Blues Cup 2006 at Rancho Capistrano and the San Juan Sports Park. Please stop by and visit with the Future Focused founders who can explain more about their programs and, specifically, about their new partnership with the SC Blues Soccer Club.

BLUES U14 KEEPER IN PAGENT OF THE MASTERS

Kelly McCormick (Randy Dodge's U14 goalkeeper) spent her summer mixing the art of soccer with the real thing. Kelly is one of the "nearly 150 cast volunteers that are transformed into a living artwork in a myriad of different mediums" at the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. The Festival of the Arts and the Pageant of the Masters are celebrating their 75th anniversary year. Kelly is part of the "La Patisserie Gloppe" picture which actually shows the audience how the living artwork comes to life. This is Kelly's first year as a regular but she has substituted when needed in the past two years. The Pageant of the Masters runs from June 5th through September 1st and Kelly will have participated in over 30 performances. She tells Blues News she has enjoyed meeting many different people, learning how the production runs and giving back to the community.