NOTES
10.13
Players and Parents:
Tonight's results were tough and both JVA and Varsity had difficulty against very formidable opponents in Davidson. JVA finishes an incredible one-loss season. Well done ladies, and thanks for continuing to push this program forward! Special shout out to Coach Alyx for everything she does for the program and these kids. She is All IN for UAGS and we love her!
Varsity also finished an incredible regular season! We did not finish where we wanted, but only lost one conference/regular season match. The OCC Central is no doubt the toughest league in the state. These Varsity players now enter the UA record books as 1 of only 5 teams in program history, 39 years running, to navigate the regular season with only 1 loss! That hasn't been done since 2009. So these girls can give “high fives” to program greats and coaches Michela Paradiso and Sarah Wall, who they share that achievement with!
JVB will wrap up their glorious season tonight, and we hope to see many JVA and Varsity parents out to support the B’s on their finale at Jones Middle School at 5:30. That all-team tailgate will be starting at 5pm, so there will be no training for Varsity and JVA. We’ll see everyone at the JVB match.
I will be reaching out to 6 JVA players by noon tomorrow to invite them onto our UAGS tournament team. These kids are getting called up to train and compete with the Varsity squad for the remainder of the year! While these were not easy decisions, the individuals getting called up have earned this promotion through hard work and doing the right things on the field. We were also looking at specific positional needs. There are certainly more than 6 kiddos worthy of getting called up, so please don’t get discouraged or bummed out if you were not selected.
An informational note to the girls whose great UAGS seasons are coming to an end: Take it all in. You had (JVA) and are having (JVB) amazing seasons. We would love to see all of you at the tournament games supporting your sisters! You're also free to resume any club soccer activities you may be involved in after October 13.
To the UAGS tournament team, we are just getting started! Stay humble. Get your mind prepared. We’ve talked about the “4 seasons” that encompass the high school soccer experience: summer training and conditioning, the preseason, the regular season, and the real season -- the tournament. Here we are at the start of the real season. We'll be scheduling a team meeting/spread soon so we can go over our new expectations, bracket, tournament rules, etc. So get ready!
Congratulations again, and see everyone tomorrow at the team tailgate and JVB finale!
Coach Kessinger
10.3
Players and Parents:
What a great week we had! Good results, nice team bonding spreads, a Senior Night to remember, and a charity event with our boys program that was a lot of fun for a great cause.
We're also 27-1-3 as a program, which is awesome. It's also a reminder to stay humble and remember it's due to the work and effort we put in day after day that we've been able to achieve these exceptional results. One day at a time.
I do want to thank all the parents who are volunteering at the events and games. Your efforts do not go unnoticed. To be an elite program, it takes everyone pitching in and helping out. I tell the kids there are important and diverse roles within a team: the superstars, the starters, the key subs, the subs that may or may not play. Each kid is so instrumental to the success of the whole. Same goes for the volunteers. Whether it's the Parent Board, committee members, captains' parents, game day volunteers, etc., we need you all and your positive support! We're firing on all cylinders and we need to keep it that way as we enter a key stretch here in the last quartile of the regular season.
75% of the season has been played. 25% to go. In the next 9 days the regular season is done. That includes games with Dublin Coffman, our top rival. We will have our girls jacked up for these contests and need as much support as we can get from the fan base, too!
The tournament meeting for the Varsity is coming up next weekend, so we will know our first tournament opponent and the path it will take to get us where we want to be. With 4 Varsity games in 9 days, I hope to use our full Varsity roster as well as call up “in form” players from the JV teams as needed, both for training sessions and perhaps games, too. So stay ready.
There is a lot going on and much to play for just around the corner. Girls, we love you. Take care of yourselves off the field and continue to come to us with any issues you may have as well. Stay hungry and humble everybody. One day at a time.
Coach Kessinger
9.19
Players and Parents:
We has a busy week with all teams in action with multiple events. JVB & JVA remain unbeaten and the Varsity squad had a nice recovery match Thursday after a tough night in Hilliard.
It’s important to understand we won’t and can’t expect to win every game. So much happens in a soccer match, and luck is also part of the equation. Winning is a result of doing all the little things correctly and at the right time. Working hard and doing your best every day and every training session are what we want to strive for. Those are the lessons that last a lifetime!
Thanks to Coach Josh for the “donut drop” after yesterday’s session! Always fun to be greeted with 70 donuts coming off the training ground! Happy to see all the team bonding events the teams are having as well. Building relationships off the field is so important in helping grow and unite our groups! Thanks to everyone who's contributed to those.
We've got a big week coming up. Olentangy and Dublin teams are “as advertised.” So we'll need focus, intensity, desire, and all the things we’ve been cultivating since June from all of you this week. Prioritize your week and get your schoolwork done in a timely manner. Remember to thank your parents and family members who are helping you and going out of their way to offer love and support! And finally, on your match days, bring that UAGS spirit and attitude and go ALL IN!
Coach Kessinger
9.13
UAGS Family:
Wow! Incredible start to our season, with all three teams still unbeaten to date. All 3 teams conceded goals last week, and while clean sheets are awesome, at some point getting scored on was going to happen. Having said that, we need to stay grounded and focused as we start our league competitions next week!
With UA getting some deserved press in local, state, and regional rankings and some of our kids getting individual acknowledgements, I’ll remind you to be humble, stay in your day-to-day routine, and live by Alabama coach Nick Saban’s famous quote, "Be where your feet are!” Don’t be satisfied with what we’ve done and don’t look ahead. Just trust the staff, your teammates, and yourself every single day!
A couple of housekeeping items: JVA’s Johnstown match tomorrow starts at 6:30pm (not 6:00pm) to allow more time for parents to get out there. Here is the link for tickets: https://www.johnstown.k12.oh.us/domain/460
Also, there's no lifting tomorrow with JV teams both playing games and Varsity game Tuesday.
Tuesday is the OCC opener for JVA and Varsity with Hilliard Bradley. All 6 OCC Central teams will be playing on Tuesday night. It’s about to get real for both squads, as these are the most important contests of the regular season! JVB is already 1:0 in league play with the win at Liberty last week!
Good luck tomorrow and throughout the big week ahead! Get your homework done early!
Coach Kessinger
8.22
Players and Families:
What a start to the season! The coaching staff is excited about how things are going, and the girls are certainly getting it done on the field. You know the results by seeing the posts on our website and social media platforms. But this message is about the other and more important part of our girls’ lives -- academics.
This will be the kids' first full week of school, with a full week of soccer as well. Just a note of awareness that time management and planning are of utmost importance for success. Academics is the highest priority after family in our program. Soccer is obviously very important to us as well, so it's important that the kids find the balance and stay focused on what they need to be doing in both areas. Every corporate coach I know says you can’t reach your full potential without giving your full commitment. And that's what we need.
Your UAGS staff is here to help and provide support for any issues our student-athletes may have with either academics or soccer. Please reach out early and let us know how we can be of assistance or if any academic events conflict with an athletics events. We'll do our best to help.
Thank you and good luck this coming week as well as in week two of our UAGS regular season!
Coach Kessinger
8.19
Families:
Here is the link for tickets to all UAGS home games for the entire season.
https://www.uaschools.org/Tickets1.aspx
You can also buy season passes using this link to save some money and get quicker entry into the stadium. If you prefer to purchase your tickets in person, you can do that, too. Unlike last year, there will be cash sales at the ticket booths at The Marv before each game. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
The UAGS Board
8.18
Players:
The Office of Student Life has assigned lockers to each UAGS student-athlete in the new high school locker room for the 2021 season. Lockers have been assigned in uniform order for Varsity and JVA, with the next 20 (or so) lockers assigned to JVB. All teams are assigning lockers in this manner. If you have any issues with your locker or questions about your assignment, please contact the coaching staff. Thank you.
The UAGS Board
7.27
Players:
On Sunday, August 1, the Office of Student Life is inviting all athletes to a brief orientation to our new high school. It's designed to help you better understand where the athletic facilities are located, including the fitness center, training room, locker rooms, and field house.
While the orientation is not mandatory, we do encourage you to attend. The girls soccer team tour will start at 12:00. You should plan to meet under the home bleachers at the stadium at least 10 minutes prior to your tour time. We encourage you to carpool since parking around campus is still very limited.
If you have any questions, please reach out. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you there.
Spencer Smith, Director of Student Life
7.16
Players and Parents:
Please remember to turn in your physical forms to Tom Evans, our trainer, as soon as possible. You can also drop them off at training to the coaches and we will get them to Tom and his staff.
Also, 8 to 18 registration is now open. This is from our AD:
“8to18 is now open. Although the handbook and code are still being finalized and need to go through the board approval process, please go ahead and sign up as soon as possible. We will follow up later in August with the remaining items.
URL: uahs.8to18.com
Log in and click "Begin Registration". Follow the prompts and submit.
Signups must be completed by August 1."
Thanks very much.
Coach Kessinger
4.20
Players & Parents:
I hope you're all doing well with school, club soccer, spring sports, etc. I just wanted to touch base with a few housekeeping items.
First, please make sure your info is current and accurate on TeamSnap, including emails, phone numbers, etc. We're beginning to send out information about upcoming events and don't want you to miss them.
Next, the coaching staff met about a week ago and we are All In for the upcoming season! In fact, we're All In + ???. Our core UAGS philosophy will remain, but will be enhanced for this season. We’ll need it, too, since we're reigning District Champs and won’t be sneaking up on anyone in 2021!
Information on our 2021 identity and much, much more will be conveyed at our in-person, all-players-and-parents meeting on Tuesday, May 18 at 7pm. The meeting will be held in the high school cafeteria and will last about an hour. We will email an agenda the weekend prior.
As for the UAGS Summer Schedule, we will be loading all the summer training dates into TeamSnap tonight. Game schedules for the fall will be posted to the website very soon. Please share them with family and friends, since we're not anticipating Covid-related restrictions to limit access to our games in 2021!
See you at the Spring Meeting May 18. Go Bears!
Coach Kessinger
3.21
Players & Parents:
I hope you all had a safe and fun Spring Break and were able to enjoy some time with family and friends!
We have officially added our registered 8th grade players and parents to our communications, including the TeamSnap app. TeamSnap is the primary means the coaches use to communicate with players and parents. Some things happen on the fly during the season, so please make sure you and at least one parent have notifications turned on. You may also be receiving emails from time to time from Board President Carrie Reinke.
For the most part, all players and families get the communications at the same time. It’s part of our All In model where UAGS is one program rather than three teams. We will have the ability to streamline communications to specific teams once we have them set (for training changes, bus schedules, etc.), but most communications are program-wide.
As a reminder, the TeamSnap app is NOT an issues forum and is NOT to be used for individual communication with a coach about a player, etc. It's a platform for information and positive group communication only. We had zero issues on the platform when we debuted it last year. I'd like to keep another "clean sheet" this season.
A couple of quick notes regarding scheduling:
Rising sophomores through seniors who still need to have your one-on-one preseason player interviews with Coach Chad and me, we are sending out a new Sign Up Genius. Unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts, Mondays are now out. So if you had your meeting scheduled for tomorrow night or next week, you’ll need to pick a new date and time.
8th graders, we will let you know when to start attending things. Only returning players need to focus on the schedule at this time (lifting, etc.). You should plan to attend the all-players-and-parents meeting in May, but official team training for you won’t begin before June 1.
That’s all for now. Have a great fourth quarter.
Coach Kessinger
2.25
Players:
Good news. We've been cleared to start lifting next week at the high school. Thanks to Coach Chad, who worked with Coach Spickler to make it possible, UAGS has time slots on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:45 PM going forward. Lifting sessions will go for 45 minutes to an hour. This is optional training, but training that we feel is important to your development. If you have an academic event, spring sport, or club soccer, that should come first. If not, lifting should be a priority for your development. See you there!
Coach Kessinger
2.7
Players & Families:
Happy Super Bowl Sunday. Hope you are all staying safe and warm. A couple of items:
We received some exciting news this past Friday from the OHSAA with regard to the 10-Day Coaching Limitation Rule between June 1 and July 31. The big news is that the OHSAA has once again removed the rule for 2021. That means we can start training in June and, just like last summer, we will be taking full advantage of that opportunity.
The coaching staff is meeting soon to put together a schedule that we will deliver as soon as possible. All the UAHS teams are processing this information and Fall head coaches are planning to meet on the subject soon. Obviously there will be a few logistical dynamics that need to be solved before we can set an expected schedule.
What does this mean for your summer plans? First, WE WILL be working around soccer clubs' end-of-season schedules as well as any other spring sports that you might be involved in. Second, WE DO want you to have a summer vacation! We just have two asks: 1) Please let us know ahead of time when you'll be out of town or unavailable. "Ahead of time" means at least one week in advance. 2) Please plan to wrap up your summer vacations by July 20.
July 20 was going to be the start date for our 10-day team camp. Knowing that we have the full summer again to train, we likely won’t go 10 straight days at the end of July. But by July 20, it's time to be “All In” for UAGS both mentally and physically.
If anyone knows that they may already have a conflict for any events around July 20 or later, just email me the specifics and I’ll be in touch to discuss those with you.
The Zoom player calls with the rising Seniors are going great. Chad and I are excited to hear from the kids, and it appears from discussing next-year goals on these calls that an underlying theme is forming -- Raising The Bar! That includes what the kids want to do both on the field and off. That's awesome to hear. We will be opening the player meetings to the rising Juniors and Sophomores very soon, so watch your in-boxes.
For your Super Sunday I’ll leave you with this reminder: There is no shortcut to success. There is no secret. Hard Work, Desire, Love, Commitment, Attitude, Effort, Passion, Kindness, and Humility are some of the key ingredients that need to be “baked into your cake” if you want to achieve success. Don’t forget that. Write it down in your planner. Live it.
Players, I hope all of you are embracing the start of the new year, semester, and any activity you're participating in at this time, with the goal of doing it to the best of your abilities. That mentality is central to our culture and will allow us to start consistently filling up the UAGS trophy case! Talk to you soon.
Coach Kessinger
1.20
Players & Families:
The staff and I are excited to get started and build on last year’s successes.
The first order of business for our returning players is to decide if you'll be coming back for another season. Hopefully so! Next, we'll start individual player meetings for the rising Seniors, then the Juniors, and finally the Sophomores. Look for a Sign Up Genius for those shortly.
Meeting times and days will be Mondays and Thursdays beginning February 1 and will be conducted virtually. The last day for meetings will be February 25. Times will be from 6:00-7:00 p.m. with slots at 6:00, 6:20 and 6:40 each night. Each video conference should take 15-20 minutes. We'll set March and April dates if needed, but we need to wait for a few scheduling items to sort themselves out before we do.
Players, be prepared to discuss how school's going, what you're doing for the spring, goals you may have on or off the field, and anything else that's on your mind. These are no-pressure meetings and they should be a little easier this year since we know everyone now! They will allow us to check in and see how everyone is planning to prepare for our 2021 season! Hopefully ready to go All IN again! Thanks, and see you soon.
Coach Kessinger