April 2014

The Keeper

Club Night 1

Coach Lam Understands 2

Volunteers Needed 3

Concession Stand Update 4

High School Soccer Ball

Runners Needed 4

PSC Tournament Update 5

Inside this issue:

April 2014

The Keeper

On Tuesday April 16th, the Portage Central Women's Soccer team will be hosting the Kalamazoo Central High School Maroon Giants at Mustang Stadium. This is also Club Night for the Port-age Soccer Club. This means if you are a player in 6th grade or

younger and wear your PSC jersey, then you get in Free. The

Players will get to come in and have a chance to watch the lady Mustangs play on the "Field of Dreams". Please work with your team to arrange as many parents, players and fans to come cheer on your Mustangs and watch some fast paced action packed soc-cer.

Portage Central Soccer Women’s Program Record

1983-2013

Wins Losses Ties

501 113 48

www.PCHSSoccer.org

PAGE 2 THE KEEPER April 2014

Coach Brian Lam Understands……….. If you have read Coach Lam’s bio you know he began playing competi-

tive soccer at the age of 5 and continued throughout high school. He

attended Loy Norrix where he was the only sophomore to make the

varsity team. In his junior year they made it to the Semi-finals of State

and as a senior he was elected captain. He had a standing offer to play

at K-College from (then) coach Hardy Fuchs, but decided to attend

Michigan State to concentrate on academics.

Since high school, he has played on and off in men's leagues, co-ed

leagues, and indoor leagues, both in Kalamazoo and while in Denver.

He follows professional soccer and continues to study the game. Like

many of our volunteers, Coach Lam continues to give of his time out-

side of the soccer community where he volunteered with KRESA

through a program called Guys Read.

What you don’t know is what the players think of him as a coach. He is well liked by the players and

parents. Not just for his soccer knowledge, but the way he can communicate with them. He makes the

game fun while pushing the players to continue and develop their game.

Why is this? Its because he is able to bring his professional life experience full circle and utilize his

skills, knowledge, sense of humor and team building concepts to the players.

One of Brian's passions is improv comedy as part of Kalamazoo’s Crawlspace

Eviction. In 2012, Brian founded a new business venture with Dann Sytsma

to conduct workplace team-building exercises; Improv Effects LLC.

“While humor may be good for workplace morale, Lam and Sytsma said they

aren't there for the laughs. We're not a trip to the circus, but we're not a sit

and watch a three-hour PowerPoint presentation on how to be a better lis-

tener," said Sytsma, who said the idea is to get a team to a point where they

can adopt a "group-mind" approach where everyone can build on one an-

other's ideas. "It's not just showing up and making your employees laugh for a

couple of hours."

"It's a lot of fun, but we don't get hired as the entertainment," agreed Lam, owner of Lam Creative Solu-

tions, who studied at Chicago's storied Second City. "If someone wants that, I encourage them to call

Dann's other business." The workshops are designed to build camaraderie.

"The skills learned and techniques taught are invaluable - and they're done in such a

fun way. During our session, it truly was not long before everyone jumped right into

the exercises and released any nerves they may have had at the start," said Alison

Satkoski, who participated with the Southwest Michigan First Ignite Group.

So why is he successful, Brian incorporates this philosophy with the teams he coaches

knowing a team that trusts and plays together bonds and can go further allowing for

better development than a team that plays as individuals.

Ever wonder why our complex is so beautifully

maintained compared to many of the other fields

you have been to?

The simple reason is because of how great all our

volunteers are. We have always had a group of

incredible individuals who maintain the facility

by mowing and doing general maintenance.

Volunteers Needed .

PAGE 3 THE KEEPER APRIL 2014

They are looking for a couple of people to help with mowing the practice fields. They would need to

come out once or twice a week and spend a few hours using the riding mowers to mow our practice

fields. The schedule is wide open and it’s actually quite relaxing!

Mowers Needed

Sewing Help Needed

Some of our flags have started to tear and get worn. We are

looking for someone who is handy with a sewing machine.

Flags are an important part of the game and we save a lot of

money over time by making them ourselves.

Torn and worn flags can give the complex a different look and

feel. Help us maintain that fresh pristine image we and other

visiting clubs have come to expect when playing at the Port-

age Soccer Complex.

If you are interested in either mowing or making flags, or just want

to learn a little bit more please feel free to contact Vern Genisio.

vernegee@gmail.com 269.375.8521

PAGE 4 THE KEEPER April 2014

Unfortunately, we were unable to find someone to

take over as Concession Manager from Sean Bowser. As a result, with the exception of the tournament,

the concession stand will not be open this season.

We are still seeking an individual to step into this

volunteer role and take over for the Fall season. The responsibilities include working with AYSO on ordering supplies, and scheduling of PSC teams. If you are interested

please feel free to contact Sean at 321-0201 or via email at cjbsob@chartermi.net.

Concessions Update

High School Ball Runners Needed

Contact Steve Abdo at 269.544.2680 or via email at Stephenabdo@aol.com

PSC Coach Steve Abdo, who has two daughters playing Varsity at PCHS is looking for

players who are interested in ball running at games. This can be a lot of fun and you get to see the action up close. For those girls who are getting close to high school age,

you get a chance to see and meet some of the players you may be sharing the field with

one day.

Ball runners get in free and they also get a Pop and food item free. The games we are

looking for help with are:

Wednesday April 16th 5pm & 6:45pm vs. Kalamazoo Central (PSC Club Night)

Saturday April 19th 11am & 1pm vs. Holt

Friday April 25th 5pm & 6:45pm vs. Plainwell (AYSO Club Night)

Wednesday April 30th 5pm & 6:45pm vs. Stevensville (Kingdom Club Night)

Monday May 5th 5pm & 6:45pm vs. Portage Northern (Senior Night)

Saturday May 10th 10:15am & 1245pm JV 2 for 1

PAGE 5 April 2014

As many of you know the Portage Classic Soccer Tournament falls on the second full

weekend of June. This is a required event for all PSC teams as it’s our primary fund-raiser. Since we are an all-volunteer organization this money goes back into the general

account to pay for the upkeep of the facilities. This is how PSC is the least expense club

in the area and has one of the top facilities in the state.

Each year we require families to vol-unteer four hours per player of their

time during the tournament. This can be broken up into either one four hour shift or two, two hour

shifts. The volunteer coordinator will do everything possible to sched-

ule around their children’s games. This commitment is crucial in a smooth running operation and con-

tinued success of the tournament.

This year, for the first time since 2008, the tournament will fall on Father’s Day week-end. We felt it was an important reminder so families can make plans accordingly. The Portage Classic can be a great place to celebrate Dad’s day with good food, family, friends

and great soccer.

All PSC teams will be required to register their teams (check-in) for the Tournament on Thurs-

day, June 12th at Soccer-Zone.

Now that we are doing scheduling locally we will be closing the application period earlier to give team’s greater notice of game and parent volun-

teer schedules.

When your coach/manager registers your team,

they will need to submit the Portage Classic tournament roster based on the specific

team’s official roster. Any other players, despite club affiliation, who are not on that spe-

cific team roster are considered “Guest Players”. Guest players allowed in each division

are as follows:

Three in the U9&U10 divisions,

Four in the U11 & U12 divisions

Five in the U13 and above divisions.

PSC Tournament Updates

Portage Soccer Club Board

President David Rice

Treasurer Tom Mellinger

Secretary Kim Maystead

VP Coaches Wayne Harpenau

Director of Technical Vu Le

VP Communications Ken Pope

VP Concessions Open

VP Fundraising Open

VP Uniforms Jay Hoffman

Club Registrar Dana Pope

Parent Representatives Chad Earles, Janet Ingersoll & Lisa Hall

Fields’ Manager Gordon Groves

Tournament Directors David Rice & Ken Pope

Web Master Ken Pope