Gustavus Soccer Camps - REGISTRATION OPEN

For a third summer in a row, by popular demand, we will again be offering two soccer camps at Gustavus Adolphus College, and new this year, our camps will be run by IN2 Soccer.  First up this summer is our Gustie Co-Ed Youth Soccer Camp, ages 8-17, June 21-24th, followed by our high level High School Girls Soccer Camp, grades 9-12, July 6-9th.  

More information can be found at GACsoccercamps.com, including our camp brochures with mail in registration and online registration (note there is a non-refundable credit card fee if you pay online). You can learn about the camp philosophies below as well.

CO-ED YOUTH CAMP, June 21-24^th:

Camp Philosophy: 
Our Gustie Soccer Co-Ed Youth Camp is a positive resource for soccer players of Southwestern Minnesota.  All campers will receive quality instruction, experience a positive learning environment and have fun during the week.  Each session focuses on individual skill training, in the context of team play, progressing from drills to small sided games.  We encourage players from various backgrounds and abilities to attend as we always strive to keep camp numbers smaller (Coach to Player ration is under 1:8) to allow for individual attention and coaching from our qualified staff.

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS CAMP, July 6-9^th:

Camp Philosophy: 
The Gustavus High School Girls Camp challenges high school players to take their skills to the next level through advanced player development and exposure to NCAA collegiate coaching.  We focus on the individual player, in the context of team play, emphasizing possession, speed of play, technical development and improvement of tactical understanding.

Camp Features: 
What makes the Gustavus High School Girls Soccer Camp UNIQUE is that we target high school soccer players who are preparing to take their game to the next level, both on and off the field.  Through quality position based coaching, college level sessions and evening matches utilizing different formations, participants will be prepared to succeed at the next level, whether that be C1 or Premier Club, high school varsity or college.  We also have daily presentations focused on maximizing exposure in the recruiting process, optimal performance in strength and conditioning, and injury prevention.  

IN2 SOCCER

What is IN2 Soccer?
New this year, Gustavus Soccer Camps will be run by IN2 Soccer.  IN2 Soccer was founded by Camp Director and Gustavus Head Women's Soccer Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie.  The mission of IN2 Soccer is to provide cost-effective, quality, age and skill appropriate, individually centered soccer instruction and programs.  With a foundation deeply rooted in the community, our philosophy is grounded in developing students of the game by creating a platform on which to develop speed, coordination, flexibility, and balance along with technical prowess, tactical awareness and mental strength.  Want to learn more about IN2 Soccer? Read about it on our camp website: http://www.gacsoccercamps.com/in2-soccer.cfm

REGISTRATION IS OPEN: 

Our camp brochures with information about registration are attached to this email and more information can be found at GACsoccercamps.com, including online registration (note there is a non-refundable credit card fee if you pay online).  


Help us spread the word so we can continue to provide unique opportunities for youth players to develop their game and reach the next level.  

Embarrassing Moments on the Pitch

Everybody out there has experienced at some point in a game something going horribly wrong that you can't help but laugh off.  Whether it's walking out to warm-ups with your shorts on backwards or falling over your own shoelaces, we've all been there, trying to play past it so we can leave these small moments where we lose all coordination and athleticism behind us.  Yet, despite our efforts to shrug it off, our biggest hope still remains that we don't see it in slow motion on our next film session for everybody to relive a few more times.  As a tribute to these non-athletic moments in everybody's lives where we forgot that we're playing a sport, we've thrown together a little list of our top 5 embarrassing moments from this past season, from our own Gusties.

#5

Missing a wide open shot from inside of the 6 yard box.

This season, while there wasn't one time in particular that we can pinpoint as the sitter of the year, we've had numerous times where an attack has built up to a great opportunity within the six, and whether the shot is barely slotted wide of the post off a one touch, or a volley or a shot has forced a miraculous save by the keeper that leaves us all scratching our head as to how we didn't score, more than a few times we've been left this year wondering how the ball managed to avoid the net (we could list more than a half dozen players here), we're thinking it might've been an allergic reaction to the net this year, but we've all been there.  So the #5 spot on our list this year is missing that shot from within the six and just wishing you had another shot at it.

#4

Tripping out of nowhere when the ball comes to you during the game.

It's happened to everybody at some point where the ball comes to you during a fast paced game, and whether it's a new ball that is still a little sticky and gets stuck under your foot or maybe it's just your excitement as you're already thinking a play or two ahead about the goal you're about to score.  The trip that sticks out for us this year occurred during our game against Crown College.  We were transitioning into the attack and Molly Johnston was carrying the ball up the left side of the field, she cut the ball back inside to find Hannah Sturtz making a great run across the field into a gap in the defense and as the ball arrives at Hannah's foot, the ball sticks to the ground as if the 20 yard line was made of superglue, throwing herself face first into the turf and stopping the counter attack.  Don't worry, it earned a spot for her in this year's highlight reel.

#3

Tripping over yourself on multiple occasions during the year.

Whether is was the proverbial sniper at all games, or an invisible trip wire out on the field, there was one girl on our team this year who seemed to fall victim to this mishap almost routinely. Her name was Ellyn Adelmann.  Luckily, all the trips were all in our attacking third where she had been pressing high up the field as we like to see and was able to get up quickly to recover to her position without anything really coming of it.  However, she did manage to make a few slow motion appearances in our film analysis this year, highlighting the split second paralysis of her feet causing her to collapse to the pitch as if a spell had been cast on her by Professor Snape himself.

#2

Finalizing a season-ending injury at the hands of your own... hands.

So early on in the season this year, sophomore Coursey Edwards was on the wrong end of a fairly aggressive tackle by an opposing player, earning not only a free kick but also a not so pleasant meeting with the ground.  This meeting with the ground tweaked her collar bone a little bit.  Getting up and realizing the discomfort, Coursey rotated her arm in a big circle, during which she heard a CRACK, and proceeded to try to reverse it by rotating her arm back the other way, ultimately finishing the job for her collar bone. As she is doing all of this (aka realizing that she is in a lot of pain and will need a substitute), nobody on the bench really understood what had just happened to her or that she had just broken her collar bone, so in the background her assistant coach was yelling for her to quickly get into position for the free kick. During this time, we already had a substitute at the line for go in for another player,  so following the kick (for which she did not get into position for), the substitute went to call off her teammate on the far side of the field, but instead Coursey looked her in the eyes and said "NO! You're coming in for ME." The player willfully obliged and Coursey calmly came off of the field heading directly to the trainer to figure out what the extent of her injury was.  

All in all, to sum up a longer story: Coursey did in fact break her collar bone on the play, but proceed to snap it in half on her own.  

#1

Premature Celebration... (Click on the link below)

Premature Goal Celebration Sprint  

It's happened to everybody at one point or another. Maybe you've just beaten the keeper and are slotting in what you think is an easy tap in only to realize a recovering defender actually saved it off of the goal line, or maybe you've just taken a cracker of a shot and know in your head that it's going to be a goal and begin to celebrate it in your head before the ball even gets to the goal.  The determining moment in these events however, is how visible you make it to everybody that you're sure the shot is going to go in, before showing how equally disappointed you are when it somehow doesn't find the back of the net. 

 The number one spot for most embarrassing moments on the soccer field this year therefore, goes to junior Brittany Chase, for her glorious celebration during our Carleton game earlier this season before seeing the ball bounce back off of the crossbar.  In a very tight matchup early in the year, our first conference game actually, Britt had made a great run to be on a 1v1 breakaway with the Carleton goalkeeper, realizing the keeper had left her line early, Britt attempted to chip the ball over the her head.  It was a fantastic shot and even with the keeper managing to get a seemingly impossible touch on the ball, it still seemed destined to go in, which everybody on the field was all thinking at the time. Britt however, proceeded to jump up in the air and throw her hands straight up over her head, celebrating what she thought would be her first goal of the year.  Split seconds later however, she sees the ball barely reach the crossbar and bounce back into play and once again jumps into the air, but her hands were no longer standing triumphantly over her head, but instead hung down to the ground looking, for half of a second, more deflated than a sixty year old balloon, before rising back up and refocusing on the game. The team remembers the moment as vividly as if it had happened yesterday, partly because some of them still go back from time to time if they are stressed to find it on Hudl. Congratulations, Britt! :)