At Connecticut Coast Soccer Clinic, we have developed a training program that we feel best prepares female players to improve in an appropriate environment for learning. However, what gets lost in soccer clinics these days, is the mental part of the game, the intangibles, as I like to describe to my players. What started out as players talking to the coaching staff about the correct way to train in the off-season to best prepare for the upcoming season turned into more formal discussions about being a “complete” student-athlete. Eight years ago, we developed the Soccer Seminar Program and have seen it blossom into a very informative and effective training tool for campers of all ages. The wealth of knowledge our presenters bring to Connecticut Coast Soccer Clinic is what separates us from all other soccer clinics and perpetuates the atmosphere of self-worth, self-confidence and self-esteem our young athletes need today to succeed.
2010 Seminars Topics Will Include:
"Simplifying the Recruiting Process"
“Nutrition, Hydration and Healthy Choices”
“Playing Premier Soccer”
"The Womens Professional League (WPS) Experience: Draft Day”
2010 Featured Presenters:
WPS Players - Katie Schoepfer and Leslie Osborne
FORMER FEATURED PRESENTERS:
Kristine Lilly
Captain, U.S National Team
"The Olympics in Greece: Just Weeks Away"
Member of the gold Medal winning U.S. National Team at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games ... Played every minute of the USA's five matches at the `96 Olympic Games tournament ... Enters 1997 as the U.S. Women's National Team all-time appearance leader (121) and fourth-leading scorer (46) ... Named to the U.S. Women's Cup `96 All-Tournament Team ... Her three goals at the 1995 Women's World Championship in Sweden tied for the team lead with Tisha Venturini and Tiffeny Milbrett ... Named to the all-tournament team at the U.S. Women's Cup `95 ... U.S. Soccer's 1993 Female Athlete of the Year ... Played with the U.S. Team which won the 1993 CONCACAF Championship in New York ... As a 20 year old, she was a member of the U.S. Women's World Championship Team, which won the title of first-ever FIFA Women's World Championship in China in 1991 ... Member of the 1990 gold-medal winning North team at the Olympic Festival in Minneapolis. College/High School: Winner of the 1991 Hermann Trophy and finalist in 1992 ... Four-time first-selection All-American, she was also a sour-time first-team All Atlantic Coast Conference and All-South selection, 1989-92 ... Had her UNC number (15) retired in 1994 ... Twice named the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Championship (`89, `90), she helped lead UNC to four NCAA championships from 1989-92 ... Completed her collegiate career with 78 goals and 41 assists ... In 1991, she was a finalist for the Broderick Award as the outstanding female athlete in all of college sports ... In 1991, she was the second-leading scorer in the nation behind teammate Mia Hamm with 15 goals and four assists ... Captained Wilton High School in Wilton, CT her junior and senior years ... Led the team to state title as a freshmen, sophomore and senior.
Mike Thibault
Head Coach, WNBA Connecticut Sun
"The Female Athlete in the 20th Century"
Beginning his eigth season in 2010 as the head coach of the Connecticut Sun, Mike Thibault continues to burnish his reputation as one of the WNBA’s best coaches. Last year, Thibault led Connecticut its second straight 26-8 season, its third straight Eastern Conference regular season title and its fourth straight trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. With an overall record of 88-48 (.647), Thibault has won more regular-season games in the last four years than any coach in the league. During the 2004 WNBA season, Thibault led a Connecticut Sun team that was a near-unanimous pick to finish last before the start of the season to within one shot of a WNBA championship. After finishing first in the Eastern Conference during the regular season for the first time in franchise history, the Sun went onto defeat Washington and New York on the way to their first Eastern Conference Championship. Connecticut won the first game of the WNBA Championship series with Seattle before eventually falling in three games. In March of 1995, he coached the silver medal winning USA National Team at the Pan American Games, and in August of 1993, he served as head coach of the gold medal-winning USA National Team at the World Championship Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico. Thibault entered the NBA ranks in 1978 as a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers, and was promoted to director of scouting and assistant coach in 1980. The Lakers won two World Championships (1980, 1982) during his tenure. From 1982-1986, he was an assistant coach and director of scouting for the Chicago Bulls during a period when the franchise drafted Michael Jordan and Charles Oakley, while also acquiring John Paxson.
Pete Walker
Pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays
“Overcoming Adversity: Recovering from Injury"
The Waterford resident was originally selected in the 7th round of the June 1990 Draft. The Toronto Blue Jays signed the 37-year-old reliever to a contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training and an opportunity to show the club his rehabilitation efforts were successful. Walker had two stints on the disabled list with shoulder issues last year, and the right-hander had surgery to repair his rotator cuff. That put the finishing touch on an injury-marred season in which Walker finished 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 30 innings out of Toronto's bullpen. During his 16-year professional career, including seven in the Majors, Walker has spent time with the Mets, Padres, Rockies and Blue Jays. He hadn't pitched more than 13 Major League games in a season until Toronto claimed him off waivers in '02, though. That year, Walker set a career high with 10 wins and he appeared in 37 games, including 20 starts. In four seasons with Toronto, Walker -- used mainly as a long reliever and a spot starter -- has gone 19-14 with 4.32 ERA in 124 outings, including 31 starts. The right-hander has posted a 4.48 ERA in 144 career games.
"It's not just soccer, it's a way of life."
