Summer Youth Academy Sessions Announced

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FALL (September - November)
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SUMMER (June - July)

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The Alaska Rush Youth Academy puts player development first and makes the game of soccer FUN so players will love to game for life. With the Alaska Rush Youth Academy, each player will receive quality coaching in a safe and enjoyable environment of which, over an eight-week period, our coaches will focus on improving a variety of technical points for each player registered.

Summer 2012 Youth Academy Session at Jade Park
Tuesday/Thursday: June 5 - July 26, 2012

 About the Youth Academy


The Alaska Rush Youth Academy is part of the Developmental Branch of Rush Soccer. Established in January 2008, it is still Anchorage's newest, most innovative youth soccer program that uses the Academy Approach style geared toward boys and girls ages 3 to 12 years of age. The Academy Approach is recommended by U.S. Soccer, US Youth Soccer, and Alaska Youth Soccer as the best development style for player development and enjoyment. It focuses on the child first and their development as they progress to the next level, where quality not quantity is important.

Training: During each one hour session (45 minutes for the Little Kickers), your child will learn new techniques, and then be encouraged to try them out in small sided games (mini games). Topics to be covered include dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting, and small group tactics. Every session promotes creativity and encourages players to take risks and improvise without fearing mistakes. We want your child to have the freedom to play the game as much as possible, since the game is the best teacher. Our goal is for your child to have loads of fun and learn a lot about the beautiful game!

Coaches: Our coaches have been specially selected for their knowledge and experience with coaching young kids, each coach has a background check done and prior education so that we provide the best staff possible to coach your kids. You will also see that some of our coaches coach in both the Competitive and Youth Academy; we want our coaches to be involved at every step of the player's development throughout their years. Our promise is to provide the highest quality of coaching to your child in a safe and fun environment. Within the Youth Academy, we also use trainers to coach the kids, trainers are older kids that play on our Competitive Junior and Senior Division teams.

The Youth Academy is directed by Yeniel Bermudez and overseen by the Technical Director. Yeniel has an extensive professional playing career that includes a stint as captain of the Cuban National team, along with spells with both the Los Angeles Blues and Charleston Battery. While playing with both clubs, Yeniel also coached in the Youth programs for each team.

Parent Reviews: Read what parents are saying about the Youth Academy...

"Just a quick note to you and your organization. I have spent many years on the "other side" organizing events and teaching kids. Tonight's U4 soccer was one of my first as a parent. I was exceedingly impressed with EVERYTHING. The coaches with the little guys were amazing. At one point I stepped back and saw the entire field and all that was going on - it is quite the undertaking and extremely well-done. Thank you so much for such a positive opportunity and experience for our family! We look forward to many years with your organization! Best wishes for a successful season!"

"My child has learned more in the Youth Academy and one day at the School of Excellence than he has in any other recreational club. I just wanted to say how happy I am with the Rush Youth Academy. My daughter has been playing soccer for 3 years and I think she has had more touches on the ball just in the last couple weeks. Last night she was actually getting into the game and taking the ball from the other team. I like how you team them up according to their ability, it has really built her confidence up. Thank You."

"I wanted to drop you a note because soccer clubs seldom hear the good things they are doing. We signed up our youngest daughter into the Rush Youth Academy after thorough research and studying on recreational programs. My experience from past mistakes has made me cautious about enrolling my kids into any run-of-the-mill program and the kids enjoyment & success taken from the game is most critical at U little ages. Tonight my daughter had a blast at the Rush Academy. In fact the evening and program were perfect! My wife and I could not be any more delighted with the decision we made. Let me tell you a little about the things we enjoyed during our evening.

• Low pressure structured environment.
• Professional coaches and training skills which optimizes ball-on-foot time. Our Katie has already had more time playing with the ball then all of last year.
• Fun drills that keep the kids interested and laughing while improving their skills of the game, the kicker is (pun intended), the kids do not even know their being trained.
• Coaches' enthusiasm and organization skills.
• The four sided games didn't have parents lined up along each side line yelling at their children and squawking about the game. Last year it was just too much for us. This year Coaches just throw in a ball and they go after it. Other times the kids throw the ball in themselves. Anyway the focus wasn't too much about the outcome of the game, but rather getting (playing) with the ball. Another thing, there's no set team and no benches so players don't sit out.
• The coaches were calling out her name regularly even though it was her first night. Katie was very shy and nervous about the beginning of soccer but this was all defused within the first five minutes. She walked off the field asking a team mate if she wanted to play more soccer "because it's fun".
• Fluid flexible grouping and differentiated instruction.

Perhaps the biggest compliment about your program was from Katie herself, she said waiting until Thursday to play again was too long, she wanted to go back tomorrow and play some more!"

"I believe your website says it best: "Every session promotes creativity and encourages players to take risks and improvise without fearing mistakes. We want your child to have the freedom to play the game as much as possible, since the game is the best teacher. Our goal is for your child to have loads of fun and learn a lot about the beautiful game!"Kudos to you for introducing a fun and learning alternative youth soccer program in Anchorage."

"We think your program is excellent. We love the coaches' positive and relaxed attitudes. Our daughter is in U6 and absolutely loves every session. Thanks to everyone involved and keep up the good work."

"You have run a very good program all summer. My son is thrilled each week to go play soccer and loves to practice in between. You and your coaches have done a wonderful job of building his desire to play and have fun doing it. Thanks to all of you! He will definitely be in for the next season!!!"