Welcome to spring soccer...well, hopefully we have seen the last of winter. It is now to time concentrate on spring!
I want to begin by thanking you for attending our birth year meetings and training sessions. As the USSF mandated birth year transformation edges closer, we are confident that we are taking the necessary educational and practical steps forward to make this switch as smoothly as possible for all involved (coaches, parents and players alike). Your support and dedication to the Club will make this process a success. Please check our USSF age group mandate resource page for latest updates: US Mandates
The spring will be busy on and off the field. We will be hosting numerous educational seminars in the coming months.
The Soccer Mind Seminars:
Sunday, March 20th - Conflict Resolution
5pm at Regency Marriott
Details and Registration HERE
Sunday, April 17th - How to Best Serve Your Child/Athlete
5pm at Regency Marriott
Registration coming in April
Soccer 101
Is our Omaha FC program designed for players coming into the select experience. We will have more details to come soon.
Don't miss the deadline on our annual spring tournament, Taylor Podraza Memorial Cup, April 22-24, 2016. Registration HERE.
2016 spring season looks like it will be busy, fun and exciting. Good luck to all of our teams and have fun!
Omaha FC would like to congratulate our 2016 Committed Collegiate Players. Each of you display a level of strength, determination, and leadership that will pave the way for our younger Omaha FC players. We thank you for your time and dedication over the years and Omaha FC wishes you the best in your future endeavors.
Here is the Omaha Football Club Class of 2016:
Jaylin Bosak – Creighton University, NCAA D1
Allie Dmyterko - University of Northern Iowa, NCAA D1
Mallory Edwards - University of Nebraska at Omaha, NCAA D1
Anna Gornell - Oral Roberts University, NCAA D1
Madison Henry - Marquette University, NCAA D1
Elyse Huber - University of Nebraska - Lincoln, NCAA D1
Megan Merkel - University of Nebraska - Kearney, NCAA D2
Haley Mumm - University of Nebraska - Kearney, NCAA D2
Katie Ortgies - Augustana University, NCAA D2
Marisa Windingstad - University of Minnesota, NCAA D1
Good luck to all of our U15 and above players as they get ready for their high school soccer season. We wish you the best and will be in the stands cheering you on!
2016-2017 Team Formation
The timeline for Team Formation (tryouts) is set. Omaha FC will provide more specific details in the coming months for each age group, including: dates, coaches and locations.
The Omaha FC Lincoln Academy is going strong and has doubled in size since last summer. Our Lincoln Academy provides top-level training for boys players in the 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 age groups during the Spring, Fall and Winter. Lincoln Academy teams consist of players in Lincoln and surrounding communities and participate in local leagues while maintaining a connection with our Omaha-based Academy program.
For more information about our Lincoln Academy, including bios for our Academy coaches, James Beckmann and Mike McCumbers, please visit the Lincoln Academy page.
Please direct inquires, including training and player evaluations, to James Beckmann (for players born in 2006, 2007, or 2008) at jlb@beckmannlaw.com or to Mike McCumbers (for players born in 2005 or 2006) at mjmccumbers@yahoo.com.
Congratulations to the Omaha FC players seleced for the spring 2016 Academy Affiliate All-Star Experience! During this special weekend they will join other All-Star players from Sporting KC Affiliate clubs in exclusive trainings held at Swope Soccer Village – the same training grounds of Sporting Kansas City.
This spring, the All-Star Experience will be held April 1st through April 3rd.
Continuing to Shine
John Hansen continues to shine on the Sporting KC Development Academy team. Johnny Hansen, former player on our u17 Elite team coached by Jason Mims, has made a steady impact on the Sporting KC u16 Development Academy team. Johnny has been in the Sporting DA pool since last summer and has become a regular fixture in the squad’s starting eleven. Johnny will also be competing in the Generation Adidas Cup in Frisco, Tx. next month. Keep up the great work, Johnny!
Generation Adidas Cup Player
Omaha FC congratulates Ben Howard for his recent selection to participate with the Sporting KC 2004 Development Academy team in the Generation Adidas Cup in March. Over 50 players from SKC Affiliate clubs tried out for a limited number of spots to fill the Development Academy roster for the event to be held in March in Frisco, Tx. The Generation Adidas team will play against the top u12 teams in the country including international competition. Ben currently plays for our u12 Elite team coached by Alex Vazquez. Well done and good luck, Ben!
Sporting Coaching Ed
Here are a few great videos about Sporting KC coaching and what the Sporting KC Affiliates program is doing for Omaha FC.
For many years, static stretching was being used during soccer warm ups. Static stretching involves stretching a muscle until there is resistance and holding that stretch for a specific amount of time. Traditionally, static stretches are held 20-30 seconds. Many coaches and trainers have used this type of stretching over the years to assist with enhancing performance and decreasing risk for injury during exercise. However, more recent research has shown that static stretching, in fact, may actually hinder performance and have little to no impact on injury prevention, at least when used during the warm up. Several studies have shown that static stretching can decrease the force produced by muscles for an hour after performing a static stretch. It has also been shown to decrease the rate of force production by a muscle. Therefore, maybe static stretching during warm up isn’t as beneficial as it was once thought!
Dynamic stretching consists of controlled movements of your limbs and trunk that take you gently to the limits of your range of motion, spending only a second or two at the point of resistance in the muscle being targeted (i.e. butt kicks). The sport of soccer involves explosive movement patterns that require forceful contractions in the muscles quickly and reactively. In other words, soccer involves only dynamic movements. So wouldn’t it make sense to have a more active warm up for a sport that is full of jumping, cutting, pivoting, tackling? Studies have shown more success with using dynamic stretching during warm up in improving an athlete’s core temperature, flexibility, body awareness, and neuromuscular control all of which assist with reducing the incidence of injury. So for a warm up, a dynamic stretching program may be more effective for getting the body ready for the movements/forces it will partake in.
As with any field, philosophies and research is always evolving and changing. But at this point, with the current research out there, it is best to perform dynamic stretching during warm up for a soccer practice or game, perform dynamic stretching at half-time, and end with a cool down involving dynamic and static stretching (static stretching has been shown to decrease the intensity of muscle soreness after activity when used in a cool down).
The physical therapists at Omaha Physical Therapy Institute (OPTI) are consultants for Omaha FC soccer players and coaches. If you have further questions regarding use of dynamic vs. static stretching or questions about a proper soccer-specific warm-up/cool-down, please contact us at OPTI at 402.934.8688 or visit OPTI’s website at www.omahapti.com.
For more information on these research articles, visit our website at http://www.omahapti.com
or contact Omaha Physical Therapy Institute (OPTI) at (402)934-8688.
Game Day Fueling
With Spring competition right around the corner I wanted to send out some healthy “game day eating†plans to serve as a resource to providing your athletes with better fuel. Timing is also key. Please check out the links.
Per our Fueling Tactics program that we use here at Xplosive Edge it is important to remember the 3 steps:
1. Learn to value the benefits of fresh produce and healthy oils with meals. This basically means to get fruits, veggies, seeds, nuts, and healthy oils into each meal. The more color on the plate or in the meal the better. These colorful foods serve as great anti-inflammatories and antioxidants and will aid in recovery and the reduction of inflammation and will boost the immune system.
2. Select Fiber Rich slow digesting Carbs first, and reduce fast digesting high sugar carbs when inactive. Athletes need to select slow digesting carbs (brown rice, wheat bread, oatmeal, sweet potatoes) first and really watch out for high sugar foods, especially when inactive.
3. Always diversify your protein sources and select lower fat sources when inactive. Athletes need protein at every meal. We like to diversify the protein so they are getting animal, dairy, and vegetable protein each day.
We recommend 6 meals per day, or 3 big meals and 3 smaller snacks. We also like to try to get all 3 steps if possible into each of the 3 big meals. We love to use nuts and seeds as snack foods in addition to fresh veggies and fruits. In an effort to reduce the amount of inflammation please avoid fried foods or unhealthy fast foods, high sugar foods, pop, high fatty proteins and drink lots of water.
Gibbie M. Duval, CSCS, RSCC*D, CPT, PRT
Owner & Director of Sports Performance
Omaha Lancers Head Strength & Conditioning Coach
Herzing University Professor
Postural Restoration Trained
“Strength & Conditioning Expertâ€- Tudor Bompa Institute
USAW Sports Performance Coach Certified Level 1
USA Volleyball VCAP Certified
NASM Certified Personal Trainer & Fitness Nutrition Specialist
The Xplosive Edge, LLC
14706 Giles Rd.
Omaha, NE 68138
Omaha FC was once again selected to be a part of Omaha Gives! for 2016. We send out more information in the coming weeks detailing the event and how you can help. For more information please click HERE.
