Winter BallMasters Registration Deadline Approaching--Some spaces still available before Dec 10th registration deadline.

MYS Premier Soccer Academy BallMasters is the only winter training program of its kind in the area. It is a must for every serious player.

MYS PSA BallMasters will provide the best learning environment, social, and competitive training opportunity for players at every level. The sessions will be conducted by what is widely recognized as the finest professional coaching staff in Northern Virginia.

Three distinct programs will be offered:

*The MPS U9 to U11 BallMasters program will be held indoors and will be $200 per player.

To learn more about this exciting program, go to www.mcleansoccer.org.

Attention Parents: Cyberbullying Is On The Rise Unfortunately the growth in the use of electronic communications has also been accompanied by new social problems. The recent incident in Missouri involving a mother who launched an online bullying campaign against 13 year-old neighborhood child highlights the seriousness of this issue. As a large organization with more than 4,000 players, we should all be sensitive to the potential issues associated with inappropriate use of email, social networks, blogs and other electronic communications used by parents and our children.

Virginia is one of the more progressive states regarding cyberbullying, and has enacted several laws dealing with what they call "harassment by computer" (see Code of Virginia 18.2-427, 18.2-416 and 18.2-152.7:1). According to the Connect for Kids Website (www.connectforkids.org), ".a person is guilty of 'harassment by computer' if, intending to intimate or harass, he or she uses a computer or network to "communicate obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd.or indecent language, or make a suggestion/proposal of an obscene nature, or threaten any illegal or immoral act. Harassment by computer is punishable by up to a year in jail or substantial fine." As we would not tolerate physical bullying, abuse or other inappropriate or unlawful behavior by or against members of our Club, parents, players and coaches should be equally sensitive to inappropriate electronic communications aimed at the referees, their teammates and opponents, as well as Club and other league officials.

Club News

Spring 2009 On-Line Registration Will Open December 15^th Registration will open December 15 for Recreation, MPS Travel, MYS Travel, U5 Soccer and TOPSoccer. Be sure to get your son or daughter registered by January 15th to take advantage of the early discounted fees which will be in place then. MYS welcomes new players to our club so please share the registration information with your new friends and neighbors who may not know about us. Remember, all players in all programs have to register every Fall and Spring season to participate. Please contact Eileen Hopkins, MYS Administrator, if you have any registration questions admin@mcleansoccer.org

Respecting Our Neighbors and Our Fields With the recent opening of our fields at Spring Hill Park, MYS continues to be spot lighted whenever field-related issues arise. We are in the process of updating our field allocation and usage policy as well as supplying an FAQ which helps clarifies many of the most frequent questions. It is critical that all MYS members, families, coaches, and referees follow the MYS guidelines - in particular please remember never to cut through neighborhood yards to access fields. Given the ongoing complaints of neighbors and the associated Fairfax County scrutiny, we ask that you be particularly attentive to MYS field policies. Thank you for your support.

MYS 2008 Financial Report The fiscal year (July 1, 2007 -June 30, 2008) was an outstanding success as revenues from recurring operations were up, expenses were down, and the Club donated $1.8 million to Fairfax County for two new synthetic turf fields at Spring Hill Recreation Center all while serving more than 4,300 area children. More than 90% of MYS's expenditures go directly to player/field/game related expenses. In fiscal 2008, MYS reduced its expenses from recurring operations by 13% compared to fiscal 2007. While Most of MYS's revenue comes from players' fees, this year MYS members donated more than $55,000 and Fairfax County granted $10,000 to the Field Development Initiative. In addition, Capital One Financial Corp. donated field time and the law firm Greenberg Traurig donated legal services.

These successes in fiscal 2008 would not have been possible without the tens-of-thousands of hours given by hundreds volunteers that manage our Club's operations and coach our teams. On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you to all our coaches, referees, volunteers, contributors, and members for your time, support, and passion. Your efforts are making a positive impact on the lives of thousands of children in our community.

For a detailed report of the Club's FY08 financials (July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008), please go to www.mcleansoccer.org and click on Home/About Us/Financials.

Team News

Congratulations To Our New State Champions! MYS has enjoyed another strong season of Virginia State Cup tournament play this fall with the MPS Freedom U18G and MPS Hurricanes U16B wining the State Cup in their respective age groups. The MPS Freedom, coached by MYS Technical Director Clyde Watson, won their second consecutive Virginia State Cup for the Club and the MPS Hurricanes, coached by David Kenna, has won an unprecedented three State Cups in a row for MYS.

All told, MYS showed very strong at this year's fall State Cup outing with a total of 14 MYS and MPS teams entering the tournament. Four MPS teams advanced to the semi finals in their age group brackets giving MYS the distinction of being the Virginia club with the largest number of teams in the State Cup semi-finals. The U15G MPS Strikers, the U16G MPS Dragons, the U16B MPS Hurricanes, and the U18G MPS Freedom all battled in semi-final games on championship weekend, October 25-26 in Richmond.

The VYSA State Champions will play in the Region I Regional Championship Tournament, July 2-7, 2009. The Region I Championships will be held in Huntington, West Virginia. The Region I winners go on to play the US Youth Soccer National Championships to be held in July of 2009 in Massachusetts.

The Virginia Youth Soccer Association State Championships (or State Cups) is a state championships competition conducted annually by the Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) for boys and girls teams in the Under 12 through Under 19 age groups. The Virginia State Cup is a single-game elimination tournament. Depending on the age group, 30-50 teams from across the commonwealth play in the tournament each year.

Outstanding Sportsmanship Recognized The U14 girls MPS Power received the WAGS sportsmanship award for the Fall 2008 season. The Power was nominated for the award by the other teams in its division. Making the recognition all the more impressive is the fact that the Power completed the season as division champions with a record of 8-0-1 (undefeated), scoring 24 goals while yielding only 5 goals. The team is trained and coached by Jamil Faryadi, Clyde Watson and Kris Ward.

Suburban Friendship League (SFL) Success This season 51 SFL teams walked away with 28 playoff trophies-a great end to the season! Suburban Friendship League is the league in which MYS's U12 to U19 House teams play. Says program manager Jane Scott-James, "I run into people who are not sure if their kids can continue to play House beyond 6th grade, 8th grade, 12^th grade. And I tell them they certainly can. This program has seen a lot of growth during the last ten years-we are thrilled there are kids who want to play recreation soccer all the way through high school!"

Special Offers

Holiday Gift Idea: "Classic" McLean Youth Soccer Sweatshirt At the recent Spring Hill Park opening ceremony, MYS provided a limited number of "classic" club gear to participants. The interest in these items was so high that we have now re-created the classic look on new sweatshirts. They are now available at PJ's Sports located at 7500 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church. Remember all MYS members receive a 10% discount on all purchases. Just say "MYS" when paying.

Special Offer On Adidas Get a 30% discount off an entire purchase at any Sport Performance, Originals, or Factory Outlet store from December 4th through December 7th . Go to http://www.mcleansoccer.org/page/show/40619-adidas and print the coupon.

Lost and Found Did you know that MYS has a lost and found page on our website? http://www.mcleansoccer.org/page/show/59814-found-items. To report a lost of found item, contact webmaster@mcleansoccer.org to have the item posted.