Celtic Trio Sweeps Fiesta League Matchday Four

It was a great weekend for BAC Celtic (2013) as the trio of Blue, White and Navy teams all came away with wins in Fiesta League play. First up, Celtic Blue stayed unbeaten with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Valor 2013 Girls. Celtic White followed that up with an impressive 4-1 defeat of previously unbeaten SYC 2014 Boys. Griffin Fox scored all four goals for Celtic White while Wes Bridley had a sensational outing in goal and effectively shut down the SYC attack all game long. Celtic Navy capped off the day with a 7-2 win over SYA Warriors. Teddy Delafield netted four goals, Tristan Smith two including the game winner, and Evan Moh one. With just two match days remaining in the Winter Fiesta League season, Celtic's trio of teams currently sit in second, third and sixth place overall with a combined record of 8 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie.

Here's the schedule for Match Day 5 (2/11):

BAC 2013 Celtic Blue vs SYC 2014B Blue

SYC 2014 Boys vs SYC 2013B Orange

BAC 2013 Celtic Navy vs SYC 2014B Orange

BAC 2013 Celtic White vs SYC 2013 Blue

Valor 2013G vs SYA Warriors

Additional information on the Fiesta League can be found here. 

FAQ: What size soccer ball should I buy my child?

Soccer balls come in three different sizes: 3, 4 and 5. So how do you know what size to buy your child? The answer, fortunately, is simple. Soccer ball sizes are determined by age group. For the U8s and below (2016 birth years and younger), you need a size three. Both the U9/10s and U11/12s (2012-2015 birth years) will use size fours, and U13s and above (2011 birth year or older) will use size fives. Having the correctly sized ball is important for your child's development as you don't want them playing with a ball that is too big, or too small. Last note on soccer balls, definitely put your child's name on it. Soccer balls have a tendency to wander off and it's helpful if we know whose they are so we're able to return them if found. 

U7/8 Boys Coaches Needed

We still have a ways to go with spring registration, but it's looking like the U7/8 (2016-2017) boys age group is going to expand to having ten teams this season (up from nine in the Fall). While we're very excited about the club growing, we currently do not have enough volunteer coaches to support it. As of this morning we only have six head coaches and five assistant coaches registered to cover the potential ten teams in the age group.

The head coaching commitment at the U7/8 level is pretty minimal. You'll run one team practice a week (usually one hour), you'll have eight Saturday games, and there's some light admin (emails, etc.). You do not have to have any prior coaching (or soccer) experience, you really just need a positive attitude and some enthusiasm, and we'll help you be successful in any way we can. Some perks of the job:

• Head Coaches pick the days/times/locations of team practices
• Head Coaches are issued gear by the club (game ball, cones, practice jerseys, ice packs, BAC coach polo shirt, and a bag to carry everything) free of charge
• If you coach more than one BAC team, we will work to de-conflict your game schedules so you don't have conflicts
• We will work with inexperienced coaches to assist with practice plans, etc.
• All U7/8 teams will have at least one assistant coach
• Head Coaches receive a $50 discount off of registration for a future season

If interested you can register as a volunteer on the BAC website. For any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at smitters1507@gmail.com or smitters@hotmail.com. 

BAC Spring Soccer Game Days

The official schedule for the spring season won't be available until late March, but the game days and picture day are locked in. Here's what we're looking at for the Spring season:

Game Days:

4/6
4/13
4/20
4/27
5/4
5/11
5/18 (Picture Day)
6/1

There will be no games over Memorial Day Weekend (5/25), however in the past we have tried to set up opportunities for "Scrimmage Fest" type events during this timeframe. If we do end up offering something over Memorial Day Weekend, that information will be pushed out to the coaches via the Age Group Coordinators. 

FAQ: How do I Know if the fields are Open?

One of the most common questions I'm asked during the season is whether or not the playing fields are open. Here are some easy ways to find out the answer:

On the BAC homepage (https://www.burkeathleticclub.org/), the current "field status" is located in the bottom righthand corner and looks like this:

If you click on "View all Field Locations", it breaks it down further:

If for some reason the BAC website isn't up to date, you can also get the status of fields through the county: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/athletic-field-status

Per the County website: "Field status may also be obtained by dialing 703-324-5264. Athletic field is updated Monday through Friday by 3 p.m. Status is not updated on weekends or county holidays. Leagues and game officials are responsible for determining playability of fields on weekends and communicating that information to teams and participants."

While the County doesn't specifically track elementary school fields, for grass we generally follow the recommendations for South Run Park 4. 

Additionally, coaches can always make a determination that a field is unplayable on their own. 

BAC Spring Rec Soccer Hits 500 Players

With still two weeks left in January, BAC has hit 500 registered players for its Spring season. On the boys side this includes 64 U7/8s, 72 U9/10s and 72 U11/12s. This Spring we're targeting having 10 U7/8 boys teams, 10 U9/10 boys teams, and 8 U11/12 boys teams, and while we're on pace for that in terms of players, we still need more coaches, particularly at the U7/8 level. We have already confirmed that there will be at least three U7/8 boys coaches from the Fall who will not be returning this season in addition to needing a coach to cover the new 10th team. If you are interested in getting more involved, now's a perfect time. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about what coaching with BAC entails. The link to register as a volunteer is here: https://burkeathletic.demosphere-secure.com/registration-center

Tough Indoor Weekend for BAC Celtic

All three BAC Celtic teams (2013 Boys) were in action this weekend with matches against various SYC opponents, but SYC took two out of three this round. Celtic Navy rallied from an early two goal deficit to eventually take a 4-2 lead before surrendering a trio of late goals to lose a heartbreaker 5-4 to SYC 2014 Blue.  Celtic White endured a similar fate against frequent nemesis SYC 2013 Orange as they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game at 3 before ultimately falling 6-4. The lone positive result for Celtic came from Celtic Blue as they hammered SYC 2014 Orange 14-0 to stay unbeaten during the Fiesta League season. Here are the standings through three rounds:

There are no games this coming weekend with all three BAC teams next in action on the 28th of January. Here's the upcoming schedule:

1/27 - SYC 2013 Orange vs SYC 2014 Orange

1/27 - SYC 2014 Blue vs SYC 2013 Blue

1/28 - Celtic Blue vs Valor 2013G

1/28 - SYC 2014 Boys vs Celtic White

1/28 - SYA Warriors vs Celtic Navy

Snowed In? Now's a Great Time to Register for Spring Soccer!

If you're stuck indoors today, this is a great opportunity to register for BAC's spring soccer season if you haven't done so already. Here's the link to register: https://burkeathletic.demosphere-secure.com/registration-center

Additionally, more information on BAC's spring season can be found here: https://burkeathletic.demosphere-secure.com/rec-soccer

We are short several head coaches heading into the Spring season (particularly at the U7/8 level) as a handful of volunteers who coached in the Fall will not be back, so we are in need of replacements. If you are looking to get more involved with your son's team, this is a great opportunity to do so. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about what coaching with BAC entails. The link to register as a volunteer is the same link where you register the players. Some benefits to being a head coach:

• You set the practice schedule for your team (dates/times)
• You are provided gear by the club free of charge (cones, ice packs, pennies, bag, game ball)
• $50 discount when registering for the next season (in this case Fall '24)

No prior coaching (or soccer) experience is required. We'll work with anyone who wants to be involved, and we'll help you out in any way we can (coming up with practice plans, etc.). We're also always looking to add assistant coaches as wrangling 10-15 kids can be a lot for one person to handle, so if head coaching isn't something you can commit to and you still want to help out, this is your chance. Assistant coaches get a $25 discount for future seasons. All coaches get the coveted BAC Coach's Polo Shirt. Please consider volunteering if you're able. 

Enjoy the snow day and stay safe!

Former BAC Rec Players Shine in BAC Celtic White Indoor Win

BAC Celtic White (2013) thrashed SYC 2014 Boys Orange on Sunday 11-1 to improve to 2-0 in the Fiesta League Indoor Season. Loaded with "graduates" of BAC's rec program, Celtic White is enjoying a breakout campaign under head coach Alexei Ortiz that saw them earn 14 wins during the Fall including a pair of tournament championships (The Battlefield Tournament and the Nation's Capital Cup) against just three losses. On Sunday it was Griffin Fox leading the way with five goals while Elliot Bratton tallied two goals and three assists. Guest Player Graham Kruse also scored a pair of goals, while Colin Hudson and Tristan Smith each notched one goal apiece.  Tyler Kesterson added a pair of assists while Wes Bridley secured the win in net for Celtic White. Next up on the schedule is a showdown against league frontrunners SYC 2013 Boys Orange who won their match on Sunday by a score of 19-3. For more on the Fiesta League season, visit their website. 

Celtic White Indoor League Top Scorers

Elliot Bratton	6
Griffin Fox	6
Graham Kruse (Guest)	2
Colin Hudson	1
Tyler Kesteron	1
Tristan Smith	1

Coaches Wanted - Looking for Volunteers for BAC's Spring Season

BAC's rec program is entirely volunteer driven, and as such we need support from all of you to help form our coaching staffs. Our goal for the Spring Season on the boys side of the house is to have ten U7/8 teams, ten U9/10 teams and eight U11/12 teams, but we need more coaches to make that happen. We're currently looking for one additional head coach at both the U9/10 and U11/12 levels, but we're currently six head coaches short on the U7/8 side. We're also looking for additional assistant coaches across all age groups. 

So what does coaching with BAC entail? Our rec teams have one team practice a week (typically 60 minutes and as head coach you decide where and when this would be), and we have eight Saturday games from April to June (nothing on Memorial Day Weekend). There's also some light admin - emailing your team information, etc. - and most of that can be done in less than 15 minutes a week. No prior soccer or coaching experience is required, you just need enthusiasm and a positive attitude. We can also provide assistance with practice plans and game tactics upon request to help you out as needed.

Some other notes:

• Head coaches are provided gear (cones, game ball, pennies, ice packs) by the club at no additional cost to you
• All coaches receive training from the club’s technical staff
• Head Coaches receive a $50 discount code for next season’s player registration (if you register early, this is nearly 50% off) while Assistant Coaches receive a $25 discount code.

For the U7/8s, coaches also serve as referees and coach from the field. Your role as "referee" is primarily to ensure player safety and stop play when the ball goes out of bounds, so don't stress on that too much. At the U7/8 level, we're not looking to call a tight game, we're just ensuring no egregious pushes, blatant hand balls (i.e. a player catching the ball on purpose), or slide tackles. Most games won't have any of these "fouls" called. 

This will be my eighth season coaching with BAC's rec program and I've coached 21 teams from U5 through U12. If you have any specific questions about what coaching with BAC is like, or whether or not it's a good fit for you, please don't hesitate to reach out (smitters1507@gmail.com). 

The link to register as a volunteer coach can be found here: https://burkeathletic.demosphere-secure.com/registration-center. Hope to see you on the field this Spring!

Opportunity for High-Performing 2016 Birth Year Players

If your son is a 2016 birth year player and is considering or intends to pursue travel soccer in the Fall, then this post is for you. The transition from the U7/8 rec program to the U9 travel program can be challenging. In addition to facing a much higher level of competition, you’re also going from a small field and 4v4 to a much larger field and 7v7 with the addition of goalies, offsides, throw-ins, referees, and so on. In an effort to ease that transition and reduce some of the growing pains, we’re looking at creating some opportunities for our stronger U8 rec players to play the spring season in the U9/10 age group against the 2014 and 2015 birth year players (2nd, 3rd and 4th graders). This will provide the opportunity to play against tougher (and older) competition while getting used to the format of the 9/10 game. If this is something you think you might be interested in, or if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. How many players we are ultimately able to have play up will depend on our overall registration numbers, and the number of volunteer coaches we have, but we'll look for additional opportunities for those interested, but not selected.

U7/8 players are also encouraged to register for BAC’s "U7-U8 Player Development Program" that starts up this coming week (1/11). The Rising U9 (2016 birth year) travel coach will be in attendance to ID players interested in the U9 Travel Soccer program for the 2024/25 season.  Additional info on BAC’s Winter programs can be found here: https://burkeathleticclub.org/camps. Finally, if you have any general questions regarding BAC’s travel program, you can direct those to the club’s Technical Director, Dave Kerr (dkerr@burkeacsports.com).

BAC Spring 2024 Rec Soccer Registration is OPEN

Happy New Year Everyone! As we enter 2024 it's time to start thinking about Spring soccer. While the season is still a few months away (first games are at the beginning of April), registration is open now for BAC's rec soccer program and can be accessed at the following link:

https://burkeathletic.demosphere-secure.com/registration-center

Age groups are set up by birth year, not by grade. For U5-U12, they are broken up as follows:

U5 - 2019

U6 - 2018

U7/8 - 2016-2017

U9/10 - 2014-2015

U11/12 - 2012-2013

Players can request to play up a division if their age group isn't challenging for them if they are within one year of the higher age group. For example, a strong 2014 player could request to play up in the U11/12 division, whereas a strong 2015 player would have to wait until the Fall. Generally players are not allowed to play in a lower age group, but in the event of special circumstances, requests can be made through the age group coordinator. Their contact info can be found here:

https://burkeathletic.demosphere-secure.com/rec-soccer/contacts-and-rules

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, and I hope to see you guys on the field in the Spring!