Un mensaje de Don

Todos trabajamos mucho para que fuera todo un triunfo el juego entre Chelsea vs Milan. Ese partido puso a LAFC en un sitio prominente nacional e internacional, y nos puso en tan buena posicion que conseguimos el patrocinio y el apoyo que necesitabamos para mantener nuestra Vision. Como Uds. ya sabran, nuestra Vision en LAFC es ofrecer a la juventud menos privilegiada del mundo un camino hacia un futuro mas brillante y una vida mejor. Nos valemos del futbol como plataforma para impulsar nuestro programa futbolistico, concentrandonos en la importancia de una educacion de calidad y el cuidado de la salud. Retiramos las barreras financieras que impiden que muchos jovenes alcancen programas educativos y servicios que necesitan para sobresalir.

Uno de los maravillosos programas que apoya LAFC es el WISER de la Escuela para Ninas Internas de la Universidad de Duke, en Muhuru Bay, Kenya. En agosto, un equipo de LAFC (Don Sheppard, Lorrie Fair, Katie McDonald, Annie Kean y Casey Cousineau) visito Muhuru Bay para conocer mejor la comunidad, para planificar el futuro involucramiento, y para dirigir unas clinicas de futbol. Ese fue un viaje que cambio las vidas de muchos entre nosotros, y ahora nos gustaria compartir con la familia LAFC nuestra experiencia, lo que LAFC hace para mejorar las vidas de la juventud kenyana, y para que Uds. conozcan a nuestros invitados especiales.

Uds. quedan invitados a nuestro Harambee
sabado 3 de octubre, de las 6:00 a las 7:00 pm
en el Campo Principal de LA Canada High School

Traducido del Swahili, “Harambee” quiere decir “uniendonos para un causa en comun”. Me gustaria invitar a todos dentro de LAFC, nuestros amigos y a nuestras familias a un Harambee especial, de conversaciones e inspiracion acerca de los Programas Comunitarios y Escolares de WISER en Muhuru Bay, Kenya. Emily Matthews, una estudiante de Duke y dirigente en Muhuru Bay, noshablara del progreso de WISER desde sus principios. La invitada especial Selesiah Ogada, que viajara desde Muhuru, ofreera un relato personal de las penurias que sufren las mujeres en Muhuru Bay y la esperana que el programa WISER les lleva. Nuestras Katie McDonald, Annie Kean y Casey Cousineau nos hablaran de sus experiencias en Africa, y como piensan involucrar a mas ninos de LAFC en nuestro futuro trabajo en Africa.

Ahora bien, Harambee recauda fondos y por eso, ahora “pasaremos el sombrero” para que puedan contribuir directamente al programa WISER quienes asi lo deseen. Cualquier contribucion, desde un dolar hasta lo que puedan ofrecer, se aceptara agradecidamente por Emily y Selesiah, pero nuestro principal objetivo es poder contarles todo lo bueno que LAFC esta haciendo. No podiamos dejar que se pasara esta oportunidad para que Selesiah nos visitara.

El Club hace una labor maravillosa aqui en el Valle de San Gabriel y en todo el mundo. Por favor vengan con nosotros el sabado para que sientan nuestro orgullo! Traigan a sus amigos y a su familia. Me ha hecho mucha falta verlos a todos.

Don Sheppard

What a summer we’ve had! We all worked so hard to make the Chelsea vs. Inter Milan game a huge success. That game vaulted LAFC into national and international prominence and has positioned us well to get the sponsorship and support we need to support our Vision. As you probably know, our Vision at LAFC is to provide under-served youth of the world a path to a brighter future and a better life. We use the sport of futbol as a platform to leverage our outstanding soccer program to focus on the importance of quality education and health care. And we remove financial barriers that prevent many youth from accessing the educational programs and services they need in order to excel.

One of the wonderful programs that LAFC supports is Duke University’s WISER Boarding School for Girls in Muhuru Bay, Kenya. In August, an LAFC team (Don Sheppard, Lorrie Fair, Katie McDonald, Annie Kean, & Casey Cousineau) visited Muhuru Bay to get to know the community better, to plan our future involvement, and to lead soccer clinics. That was really a life-changing trip for many of us and we’d like to share with our LAFC family our experience, what LAFC is doing to improve the lives of Kenyan youth, and to introduce you to special guests.

You’re Invited to a Harambee — Saturday, October 3rd, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.   La Canada High School Varsity Field

Translated from Swahili, “Harambee” means “joining together for a common cause.” I’d like to invite everyone within LAFC, our friends, and our families to a very special Harambee for conversation and inspiration about the WISER School and Community Programs in Muhuru Bay, Kenya. Emily Matthews, a Duke student and a WISER leader in Muhuru Bay, will share with us WISER’s progress from the ground level. And special guest Selesiah Ogada, traveling all the way from Muhuru Bay for this occasion, will give her first person account of the plight of women in Muhuru Bay and the hope that the WISER program brings.

And our own Katie McDonald, Annie Kean, & Casey Cousineau will tell us about their experience in Africa and how we plan to involve more kids from LAFC in our work in Africa in the future.

Now a Harambee is a fund raiser and so we’ll “pass the hat” so that anyone that wants to contribute directly to the WISER program can do so. Any contribution from a dollar to whatever will be gratefully accepted by Emily & Selesiah but our main purpose is to let all of you know the good things LAFC is up to. We just couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to have Selesiah visit us.

Your Club is doing marvelous work right here in the San Gabriel Valley and worldwide. Please join us Saturday and feel the pride! Bring friends and family. I really miss seeing you all!

To get to the championship game we won our pool by sweeping all three games. In the final we played solid defensibly and were very effective offensively as we won under the lights 2-1 vs the Presidio Premier Hawks.

In blistering heat the LAFC Boys U13 team, coached by Felipe Rodriguez, proved that they are ready for the season. With shut out wins in their top flight bracket, the final game proved to be a bit tougher against FC Golden State. The LAFC boys were unlucky early on with many shots on goal but finally got what they were looking for in Jairo Santamaria with a rebound off the cross bar and a solid shot to the back of the net. Penalty kicks determined the champion and goalkeeper, Josh Ramirez blocked the first shot. LAFC scored their 5 consecutive shots to win the match.

Congratulations boys. It’s going to be a great season!

Original posting: Chelsea FC, Thurs August 20, 2009

Over the past 10 days, we have been hosting coaches and youngsters from LAFC Chelsea, one of our American youth super clubs.

The group, from California, have undertaken coaching clinics, practice matches and sightseeing trips during their stay, as well as taking in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Hull City at Stamford Bridge.

LAFC, the third of four US clubs to team up with the Blues, is based in Simi Valley, California, and offer scholarships for young athletes with financial hardship, providing kids across Southern California and throughout the country with the opportunity to play competitive soccer regardless of ability to pay club membership costs.

The club includes over 50 boys and girls’ teams with 800 players from ages eight to 18, a small percentage of whom have been lucky enough to utilise the facilities at Cobham in the past couple of weeks.

LAFC Chelsea’s Director of Coaching, Teddy Chronopoulos, has been delighted with the experience both for the American coaches and the youngsters, who have over the last week been playing practice matches against Chelsea youth sides.

‘It’s incredible, a great experience for the kids and coaching staff to come over to Chelesa and work with professionals. We do it on a smaller scale and coming here only makes our organisation stronger,’ he said.

‘Since working with Chelsea, we have developed a relationship with coaching curriculums, developing players and identifying players.

‘Our players here are doing okay, the younger kids seem to do better, we get away with a lot of athleticism and strength in the younger age groups but the technical and tactical sides take over when they get older, and that’s one thing our players don’t have at this point, which players learn at a younger age in England.

‘That is where the coaches can learn, and Jeff Bookman from Chelsea has been a fantastic influence, staying in touch with the coaches in the United States and it has been a tremendous help to our programme, giving us little ideas about what we can do to improve.’

Bookman, who oversees our international technical development, is in charge of speaking with the super clubs and helping them develop coaching techniques.

‘I’ll be the one liaising with our partner clubs, starting off in America, more to do with coach education than player development,’ he explained. ‘That includes hosting them when they are over here, and going over there to work periodically with their players and coaches, passing on and sharing what we do at Chelsea.

‘Rather than work with individual playing teams, if most of the work is done with coaches then the information filters through more easily.’

What Jeff and other coaches have noticed is a reliance on physical strength of the American sides against often younger Chelsea opponents.

‘The one thing we all find is technically on the training field maybe some of them don’t show all their attributes, but all the coaches I have spoken to have been very impressed with them as teams,’ he said. ‘Sometimes what happens is an American team comes over and we play an age group down to match them, so the Americans sometimes are stronger and tougher, but they are all close games so it is enjoyable to watch and be a part of.’

One of the games today featured the final Asian Soccer Star trialist, Jhai Singh Dillon, who took part in the Under 15 match.

Jhai, a centre-half who has struggled with injury in the past couple of months, was forced off again near the end with hip flexor problems.

‘I can play centre-half or centre-midfield, but today was tough because I have only trained yesterday morning, so I’m tired with the fitness side,’ he explained, ice still applied to the affected area.

The youngster remains hopeful, and is determined to get through Thursday’s training session and impress the Chelsea coaches after winning the competition back in May.

‘My school teacher in Hertfordshire told me about the competition on the website, I came along and was picked out,’ he recalled.

‘It’s the only thing I’ve been thinking about, trying to get fit for this, and I have one more day on trial and then hopefully more afterwards.’