spartan news

Spartan Newsletter – Nov 2022

I always like taking the last picture of an empty field end of season as a way of saying adieu, mes amis. It’s a moment for me. I reflect at what we’ve done, the journey thus far, and to be thankful for every player that joined Spartan. All contributed to the growth of our league. It also makes me sad for a bit as I dislike when a season ends. I want non stop soccer, a forever season of sorts. If my body would allow it, I would play everyday. I’m sure many would, too. Actually, we can play soccer everyday as footie style and our bodies love it. A side note to consider is that rain, cold, or snow is fine for all body types when playing soccer. It’s makes you alive and improves your conditioning which in turn improves your health and immune system. Nothing improves unless challenged. Everything gets weaker when you get comfy.

Our outdoor COED program competed 3 full flights ending on Oct 30. An increase over last year from 2 flights. Several teams migrated over from ESSC to rave reviews, too. The flight champs were Unruly Minions (Flight 1), Respect FC taking champs as top guns for flights 2 & 3! Kudos to Respect FC’s skipper, Frank Gelinas, for building a stellar team. I also finally got him to smile for a picture!

Heading into the winter season we have lots to report here. The futsal programs have been building, not as fast as we’d like, but building nonetheless. Our goal is to have 4 teams minimum for each division before launching. The location max would be 6 teams per evening in a 3 hour window with last games finishing at 11PM on Fridays. Once beyond 6 teams, then we have to add another day. Adult COED on Fridays is almost ready to come out of the oven, followed by Youth COED. The youth will be a hybrid of an academy training program with 2 teams until they grow to 4 teams and we are leaning towards moving the Youth to weekends instead of Wednesday to make it work better for more families. Mens is still incubating. Womens is challenged at the moment and we will restrict that registration to full teams instead of individual players looking for teams. We will apply that to mens, too.  

All Futsal Team Registrations

Youth COED Futsal: Grades 5-7

Youth Boys Futsal: Grades 7-9

Youth Boys Futsal: Grades 9-11

Our external teams (EDSA, VMSL, & SAMMRL) have over 100 players wearing the Spartan kit. The numbers on the mens team mark that threshold crossing with #100-119. A milestone we are happy to see marching to our goal of 300, which for us is deeply symbolic. 

Lots of leagues have experienced changes for the indoor season. The soccer community is smaller with up to a 60% drop in membership since COVID in many leagues. Over that time people have lost interest, developed other hobbies or lifestyles, coping with health issues, hesitancy to return, or can’t because of family health issues at home or extended, some have gotten lazy and complacent relishing the easy victories in non regulated leagues. At the end, it doesn’t really matter as people cope at the level that is soothing while managing the stress of the pandemic.

EDSA has shrunk, as noted by a Womens Majors league folding, for example. VMSL has increased in size as new teams have migrated from the boarded program to the safer turf non-boarded options. These are headwinds we’ve noted over the years and fuels our plans to open more turf based facilities for the region. If you’re an investor looking for opportunity, contact us for our presentation deck and BP. Venue A (5M) and Venue B (9M), both venues includes land, full construction, installation, and open for business after 6 months. Excellent ROI operated as a private for profit business. Seat at the table: 250K min & NDA. Serious investors only. Tire kickers will be shown the curb.

Spartan never offers boarded soccer, we prefer to follow what FIFA recognizes as soccer, but a shortage of turf venues has made things a challenge ATM for this season, in addition to the shrinkage mentioned previously, thus we pivoted to futsal from reviving our normal turf based winter programs. We think it may take at least another year for all leagues to recover to pre covid status.

We’ve renamed the Cohort Footie – Lit Up – Snow Soccer program. We will just call it Yes Footie. When you are part of that membership, then all you do is RSVP the invite with ‘Yes Footie’ and we know what you want for that day. We take care of the rest based upon the weather, lights, and gear. You of course take care of wearing the proper gear and we have a PDF of how to dress. We’ve packaged it as as a special called 5/50, which means 5 months for $50. You can play as many days are offered during the winter season for this outdoor program. Great deal! We played -15°: no problem, fun and lots of laughter.

Yes Footie 5/50 link: Yes Footie 5/50

And finally, mental health. Here’s the info you need: Federal Health link: Wellness

We’re all still hurting in many ways and things are not normal despite the reduced reporting of numbers. COVID is not gone, and the rise of RSV hitting our children has reduced classes attendance by 1/3. You have to dig for the numbers of COVID on the AHS website, but they are high. I’d rather know the facts then have less reporting giving the illusion that things are okay. Mask wearing could be on the horizon, again. Stay safe.

Grow The Spartan Tribe! 

Stay up to date, follow, or join our various social media. On Facebook and Instagram we feature interviews with our players, and show short game videos of Spartan leagues and Cohorts action. You may wonder where we post those videos of our games, pictures of players and MVPs, and the snippets of booming tunes we play during games you can find them here:

• Facebook Soccer Group
• Instagram
• Twitter: @spartanSoccer3
• Website 
• Facebook Business Page

Soccer!

Spartan Newsletter – Oct 2022

We wish you a happy thanksgiving if celebrated. We wish to send thanks to everyone in the soccer community for being who you are toughing it out since the pandemic. It’s been a challenging road to now and we have more to go. On the upside, the soothing fall colours and warm evenings are something to be thankful for as we end summer rounding the bend towards winter. It’s also great we can still play outside, too!

Many updates in this edition to cover. We are still doing outdoor COED (the only quality soccer action around) wrapping up this program on Oct 30. Then we launch our futsal program in November. Our Cohort Footie changes colours to LIT UP as we lose evening light and bring out our floodlights, flashing cones, and LED ball to continue with the fun. This program rolls into our Snow Soccer program when the white stuff hits. We partnered with a charity to help players offset soccer fees and keep people playing. Times are tough on all of us and cash flow is tight everywhere.  We had three teams in EDSA’s Ken Atterbury Tournament (KAT) and debuted new squads in the Mens and Womens divisions, too. We also debuted teams in SAMMRL and adding a COED squad to SASA. And, of course, we had increased our roster strength for our squads in the VMSL (Premier and Majors teams). We also debuted our Pandemic Cup tournament on Sept 24 to rave reviews as we hosted teams from out of town to compete against our local teams (bravo to SC Central from Red Deer winning the cup to defend it next year). We’re working on our famous Game of Trophies (GoT) tournament for December, too. And successfully hosting 3 flights of our outdoor COED program this year! A busy summer.

We should be asking for something else other than boarded soccer. Yes, it can be fun with the ball bouncing off the walls for some players. But our boarded indoor soccer is not recognized by FIFA. And it shouldn’t be. It’s not soccer, its some sort of hockey hybrid using boards without even protective gear. I’ve witnesses too many injuries. Drop the boards and replace felt carpet with proper flooring and we catch up with the world of futsal.

We view futsal as the right direction for indoor programs over boarded soccer as it is safer, smarter, and overall a better way to develop skills regardless of ability. This is how we should cultivate new players and grow the sport. We have such a long indoor season in this region that we waste a month conditioning to indoor from outdoor. The reverse happens on the flip side of winter, too. It’s a vicious circle and I’ve always found the upside a challenge to find. 

Futsal is recognized by FIFA. Let’s go that way! We will launch our futsal indoor program in November. Join as a player or team and let’s do the proper form of indoor soccer. We will offer  Mens (Mondays), Youth (Wednesdays), Womens (Thursdays), and Adult COED (Fridays). We will feature a two referee system and they will mentor players as we adjust to the differences of futsal (easy peasy: soccer with a few tweaks, focused on team work). 

Use these links to register as a player for adult, youth, or teams. If you are registering a team then your players can skip the individual links:

All Futsal Team Registrations

Youth COED Futsal: Grades 5-7

Youth Boys Futsal: Grades 7-9

Youth Boys Futsal: Grades 9-11

Mens Futsal: Mondays

Womens Futsal: Thursdays

Our Cohort Footie program is still free so you should join and come for a casual game with friends. We captured a cute picture of one of our players who appeared to get so excited for playing that it looked like she was doing the chicken dance (posting on our SM). We won’t name the player. You guess. Maybe this will be a contest?

As we get darker we change the evenings with our equipment for the outdoor cohort footie sessions to keep the fun going in the game we all love. This continues into the snow months, too, and gets called Snow Soccer. I prefer snow soccer over regular as it is more fun, more challenging, and a better work out that jacks up your conditioning to greater levels than any kind of work out. Period.

We usually have a hardy group of about 45 players who stick it out during the winter months for this program. As we want to grow this more, we offer a wicked incentive price of $50 for the whole season of the LIT UP/Snow Soccer program now. That gives you 7 months for $50! Sign up as we got you covered with options, preparation, music, and fun.

Use this link to join the LIT UP program: LIT UP/Snow Soccer Players

We must stay focused on dealing with our stress created by the pandemic upon our mental health. We are all suffering. We all express or repress in different ways and none of us are immune. Call a friend, check in with someone, even if it is just to sit on the phone in silence sharing a moment. While less reporting on COVID numbers may just give us a false sense of security as VOCs mutate, we must remain vigilant. If you dig for the numbers you’ll note that numbers have increased significantly. We are all tired as the latest things saps motivation. Long COVID manifests a range of complications. Players have reported inflammation in joints post infection impacting abilities, as well as, low energy and shortness of breath. You are not alone and supports offered by the Federal government if you need help and do not have someone to call. See here: Wellness

And finally, a big thank you to all who joined the Spartan banner and helped us grow our social media groups by over 100% since January 2022! Come join the fuss. We welcome everyone.

Grow The Spartan Tribe! 

Stay up to date, follow, or join our various social media. On Facebook and Instagram we feature interviews with our players, and show short game videos of Spartan leagues and Cohorts action. You may wonder where we post those videos of our games, pictures of players and MVPs, and the snippets of booming tunes we play during games you can find them here:

• Facebook Soccer Group
• Instagram
• Twitter: @spartanSoccer3
• Website 
• Facebook Business Page

Spartan Newsletter – Sept 2022

We are adding Futsol to our mix. We see this growing in the area and we want to be the first to launch it officially in the region (we’ve mentioned this in our newsletters since 2018). We like being the first to move the goals in our soccer community (check our history). We like changing the soccer landscape and this is a new way for all of us to help change the soccer community for the better. This option we view as an optimal solution for our long winter season over the boarded soccer options. Our position is this a more suitable direction of amateur/rec level soccer that is safer and enhances skills and teamwork. 

We think this will make better soccer players across the board and allow for newbies to get skilled in a safe and effective setting. To grow the soccer community we need to develop avenues to cultivate more players.

On an amateur level of soccer (everything below pro and semi-pro levels), there seems to be a culture to lean on skilled individual players to carry the load of the game and ride the wave ball watching. That’s less team work and more individual skills (the opposite at higher tiers of soccer). That’s the world of amateur sports. Nothing changes unless we change. Futsol is a great skill accelerator for all of us.

Futsol has a beautiful history and is a perfect solution for all skill levels working together on a team. Benefits of Futsol over regular indoor soccer are many regardless of talent: improved skills, agility, and team work. Using a smaller, harder, lower-bounce ball upon a non boarded area, the ball and rules favour ball control and passing in small spaces. Futsol games emphasize control, improvisation, creativity, and technique. It removes relying upon the skills of a single player carrying the game (typical in smaller indoor formats) and elevates team work as primary. It forces team work and thwarts static players.

Our 3rd Flight outdoors started on Sept 4. It is sold out. For the Fall & Winter we will add Futsol (Adult & Youth leagues), and are still recruiting for our many teams in other leagues under the banner, and of course, the return of LIT UP Soccer, which becomes Snow Soccer.

Recruiting (men & women) for our various squads as we plan for the pending indoor season. Practices remain outdoors until the indoor season starts. Also looking to affiliate with existing teams in EDSA so let us know if this rings your bell, too. 

Send us an email to info@spartansoccer.ca to get info about our team list:

EDSA, Mens Masters, Div 2, Fridays

EDSA, Womens, Div 4, Mon or Thur

EDSA, Mens, Div 4, Mon or Thurs

EDSA, Masters, 45+ Rec, Fridays, Soccerdome

VMSL, Premier Mens 35, Tuesdays

VMSL, Majors 45, Fridays

SAMMRL, 40+, Sundays

SASA COED, Sundays

We must stay focused on dealing with our stress created by the pandemic upon our mental health. We are all suffering. We all express or repress in different ways and none of us are immune. Call a friend, check in with someone, even if it is just to sit on the phone in silence sharing a moment. While less reporting on COVID numbers may just give us a false sense of security as VOCs mutate, we must remain vigilant. We are all tired as the latest things saps motivation. Long COVID manifests a range of complications. Players have reported inflammation in joints post infection impacting abilities, as well as, low energy and shortness of breath. You are not alone and supports offered by the Federal government if you need help and do not have someone to call. See here: Wellness

We’ve been asked why we don’t operate as a non-profit or similar instead of our for profit model. The answer is simple: We never want to rely upon provincial or federal funding for anything nor the culture that evolves from it.

Grow The Spartan Tribe! 

Stay up to date, follow, or join our various social media. On Facebook and Instagram we feature interviews with our players, and show short game videos of Spartan leagues and Cohorts action. You may wonder where we post those videos of our games, pictures of players and MVPs, and the snippets of booming tunes we play during games you can find them here:

• Facebook Soccer Group
• Instagram
• Twitter: @spartanSoccer3
• Website 
• Facebook Business Page

Spartan Newsletter – Jan 2022

Well, we’re into another year with potential to grasp! 2021 has certainly given us all, collectively,  many challenges that can be measured as either lacklustre or one filled with opportunity. We all want things to go back to normal, and not another adjusting to the new normal. It is a burden we all have to carry on. It is important to view some brightness on matters, when at times, our own circumstances (family, health, work, lifestyle, etc.) can pose such a long shadow over it all. 

However, many good things did happen last year for the soccer community; perhaps not a full return to normal, but certainly a 2021 summer outdoor season that was heading towards a better compared to the start of the pandemic in 2020. Many leagues provided some soccer programs. It wasn’t full cylinders firing, but still something to whet the football passion among many for sure. The previous year (2020) changed the lifestyle of many players that added other options to soccer as an alternative. While this also added to a drain on soccer leagues, it gave players opportunity to try new adventures. Good on them.

Roster changes from this gave all soccer organizations an opportunity to create new program options for players. It was a struggle for many orgs, with some shutting down divisions and full leagues just to cobble together enough players and teams to make something happen.

Spartan launched our Opens Mens and COED leagues featuring this new focus of teams, playing twice weekly in a novel format of 9v9 on premium turf. This was designed to be a shorter season, allowing teams to play twice each week with a recuperation period before starting the next season. This allowed players and teams to get conditioned and recruit too (our summers are short and people often vacation away to enjoy). We felt this was the way to go to get people back into soccer safely and to also introduce our new format. We also launched a second outdoor season that ran into late October, leaving us as the only outdoor soccer action in the region. This tied in well with our evening soccer under stadium lights, that all players enjoyed tremendously. 

While we decided to not pursue a league program for indoor during the winter, as we are committed to the understanding that it was not safe enough to do so on a multi-team or regular league basis, as compared to what other associations pursued. With omicron, we still anticipate more restrictions, possibly even another shut down. We created a new program for coached scrimmages in groups of 12 or 20, as an option even if the regular league programs are shut down. We hedged that our program will still run under the exception of being a training program. The next class is filling up and looks to start in February. We also continued with our outdoor snow soccer program, running as often as possible when temperatures and numbers were right; unfortunately the deep freeze hindered this. Obviously with the long run of very cold weather, we have shuttered sessions until it warms up more. We follow temperature and wind chill guidelines, professionally made for us to determine when and what activities are suitable. Please review our website under the Programs tab for details. We will revise our pricing for the snow soccer program as winter continues.

For the Snow Soccer (LIT UP) program, we prorated the fees to reflect the 4 months left of the season. As of today the fee is $100. We also offer a discount for the first 30 people who next register for the program for another 20% off, so $20 off means only $80 for the remaining 4 months! Happy New Year from Spartan!

Finally, we continue our “Share A Story” contest for prizes. Basically all you need to do to ENTER and WIN AUTOMATICALLY is email us a short bit about any of the following topics:

1. Happy Xmas story;
2. Happy Ukrainian Xmas story;
3. Happy New Year’s story;
4. Good vibes about soccer story;
5. Funny winter season moment;
6. A favourite joke (clean or dirty);
7. An aspiration for 2022; 
8. A goal for 2022;
9. What you were thankful for in 2021; and/or
10. A memory that makes you smile or laugh.

Share A Story Prizes

First 30: LIT UP Soccer ($100 value)

Next 30: $50 voucher for any of our programs

Please review our coached programs for the 12-pod or 20-pack options. Next sessions start in Feb 2022. This is intensive scrimmage based training and review. Guaranteed to improve or prepare you for the great game, regardless if novice or expert.

We offer a 100% refund if you are not fully satisfied with our program. We guarantee you will become a strong, better player or your money back. No one offers that. We dropped our gauntlet. Will you take the challenge?

Stay Updated and Follow Us on Social Media 

The best way to stay up to date on all things Spartan is to follow or join our various social media platforms. On Facebook and Instagram we feature interviews with our players, and show short game videos of Spartan leagues and Cohorts action. It helps us to recruit more players and subs, and grow our soccer family. Follow us and subscribe to our newsletter too:

• • • • Like & follow our Facebook business page: FB Biz page
      • Join our Facebook group: FB Social Group
      • Follow our Instagram page: IG Page
      • Subscribe to our monthly newsletter: webby! 

Spartan Newsletter – Feb 2022

As we leap into a new year, we will soon bridge into spring, as each week brings us closer and closer! Thinking about what outdoors will bring, the fresh starts, and opportunities for more soccer and outdoor adventures await us all. The cold weather and pandemic has put a strain on everyone, holding us back from our normal lifestyle and enjoyment. It’s been tough. It will get better. We will get through this. Hold on. You got this!

The current indoor programs across the other leagues has been impacted as teams lose players, many who are isolating, recovering from Covid-19 or choosing to stop playing due to case numbers being so high. It is valid that many of us are electing to stay safe, to protect loved ones at home or to remain working for income. In a way, this is creating a tighter community across the board as people bind together in understanding in this common plight. We remain steadfast in our decision to not offer a regular program for indoors during this time–reducing the strain on an overloaded health care system. 

This common stress caused by the pandemic has made us all stir crazy, too, as noted by shorter tempers in players, more injuries accumulating, longer recuperating periods, increased depression among everyone, less post game gatherings, and other drops in the social times and activities we all desperately need. Hang in there. We can ride this out.

This is an opportunity to try new things to keep yourself occupied: read more or restart a book, try biphasic sleeping or even a nap in the afternoons (if possible), replace something in your diet for a healthier option. We recommend reading The Three Musketeers for a taste of old prose style that is rich in language and description. Or, if you have a lot of snow in your yard, build a luge track just like Teo is doing for his daughter. He needs more snow though.

Pending Covid-19 restrictions, the Spartan summer program is planning to offer: COED in a 2x week and 1x week options; Open Mens 1x week; Open Womens 1x week; Refresher courses (indoors) for keepers and field positions; Youth programs; Tournaments; an Open Invitational for COED and Open Men; and Futsal boot camps. Currently we have indoor courses pending in March, so come join that program to be ready for outdoor before anyone else. We have prorated our LIT UP programs fees even more (since there are only three months left in this outdoor snow soccer fun). January is normally the coldest month during winter, so there’s no excuse to hold out any longer.

For the Snow Soccer (LIT UP) program, we prorated the fees to reflect the 3 months left of the season. As of today the fee is $75.

Our contest, as described below, has brought us interesting story submissions and we are excited about giving out the awards to everyone whom sends in their story. It’s easy to do and more prizes remain up for grabs. Send us your submission based upon any of the 10 topics and win something cool before the prizes are gone.

Finally, we continue our “Share A Story” contest for prizes. Basically all you need to do to ENTER and WIN AUTOMATICALLY is email us a short bit about any of the following topics:

1. Happy Xmas story;
2. Happy Ukrainian Xmas story;
3. Happy New Year’s story;
4. Good vibes about soccer story;
5. Funny winter season moment;
6. A favourite joke (clean or dirty);
7. An aspiration for 2022; 
8. A goal for 2022;
9. What you were thankful for in 2021; and/or
10. A memory that makes you smile or laugh.

Share A Story Prizes

First 30: LIT UP Soccer ($75 value)

Next 30: $50 voucher for any of our programs

Please review our coached programs for the 12-pod or 20-pack options. Next sessions start in Feb 2022. This is intensive scrimmage based training and review. Guaranteed to improve or prepare you for the great game, regardless if novice or expert.

Special Pricing for the LIT UP program!

We offer a 100% refund if you are not fully satisfied with our program. We guarantee you will become a strong, better player or your money back. No one offers that. We dropped our gauntlet. Will you take the challenge?

Stay Updated and Follow Us on Social Media 

The best way to stay up to date on all things Spartan is to follow or join our various social media platforms. On Facebook and Instagram we feature interviews with our players, and show short game videos of Spartan leagues and Cohorts action. It helps us to recruit more players and subs, and grow our soccer family. Follow us and subscribe to our newsletter too:

• Like & follow our Facebook business page: FB Biz page
• Join our Facebook group: FB Social Group
• Follow our Instagram page: IG Page
• Subscribe to our monthly newsletter: webby! 

Spartan Newsletter – March 2022

It can be challenging to continue focusing on the positive with the latest news hitting us, such as the potential WW3 in Ukraine; representing the current fight of light (Ukraine) against the darkness of a megalomaniac tyrant (Putin). We support Ukraine in its fight for truth and light. 

Scrolling back to our region, we have the lifting of restrictions in Alberta—perhaps prematurely by the AB government…so we proceed with caution, as we’ve tasted the “best summer ever” concept that fell flat last year. Now we all are worn out, burnt out, and want this COVID threat behind us. We all want to play in the sun and move on from the past two years. 

Ready For Summer

The best action is to prepare to play this summer, form our teams, register as players looking for teams, join coach-based programs to prepare for outdoor play and anything else that suits you. We move forward by taking the next steps, registering and getting ready for kick off. The sooner we get back to routines, the better for us all.

All of our spring and summer programs are active on our Spartan Soccer website and since registration opened last month, we have been greeted with new teams and new players joining our programs. The rapid onboarding system is easy to get your teams and players registered in less than a few minutes. Come join us and have fun with our growing family of players and teams. Check out our new collage page, it shows off many photos right back to when we started in 2017. See the laughter, friendships, good vibes, and better soccer. If you’ve got a photo of your time in Spartan, please send it to us and we’ll add it.

Premium Turf

We prefer the premium experience for our players and that is why Spartan Soccer exclusively offers league plays at locations with artificial turf. We like this, it offers increased game consistency since the pitch is always stable and smooth (no rough patches, bare spots, etc.), with the convenience of parking, availability of clean washrooms, and a longer season—using stadium lights to give an exciting and light experience for lovers of soccer. Alberta summers are short, so it’s best to keep playing when possible. However, true Spartans are hardcore and play in the rain and snow. 

We also think the 9v9 format we offer is superior to other programs, and last year was a great demonstration of that, as it was enjoyed by many. And we stress, it is best to use turf shoes on turf fields. Cleats on turf will cause issues and increased injury (MCL and ACL tears, for example) due to too much grip. This year, we plan to incorporate a playoff format to end the season in a 11v11 style, which is in development mode now.

*MARCH BONUS* 

Any new team to Spartan gets a full set of 20 numbered jerseys!

More Soccer Options

As a reminder, when you registered on a team in our league, you also get the benefit of subbing for free on any Spartan League team when requested. As well as playing in our drop-in program as a bonus, too. 

We also invite guest COED teams from other leagues or groups into Spartan for a friendly game to try us out. We plan to host an All Star tournament during the season. The Spartan Championship returns in Sept. (September is the anniversary month of when we started in 2017). The GoT (Game of Trophies) returns in Dec. We are bringing back our SUB LIST: $30/year and $10/game.

For the Snow Soccer (LIT UP) program, we’ve prorated the fees to reflect the two months left of the season. As of today, the fee is $50.

Our contest Share A Story, described in the Jan. and Feb. newsletters, is still on. Send  submissions to us and win. We will start to post winners shortly.

Share A Story Prizes

First 30: LIT UP Soccer ($50 value)

Next 30: $50 voucher for any of our programs

Did you know?

One of our Spartans is Illarion Shulakewych, a Ukrainian who owns High Stick Vodka. We love his brand and we’ve tried the vodka. It is the best! Check out: highstickvodka.com

Stay Updated and Follow Us on Social Media 

The best way to stay up to date on all things Spartan is to follow or join our various social media platforms. On Facebook and Instagram we feature interviews with our players, and show short game videos of Spartan leagues and Cohorts action. It helps us to recruit more players and subs, and to grow our soccer family. Follow us and subscribe to our newsletter too:

• Like & follow our Facebook business page: FB Biz page
• Join our Facebook group: FB Social Group
• Follow our Instagram page: IG Page
• Subscribe to our monthly newsletter: webby! 

Spartan Newsletter – Apr 2022

Spring is an exciting time with snow melts, longer days, birds chirping and singing, more sunshine: adds lift to your stride. It’s energizing on different levels. The snow returns giving pause, a bit of gloom, melts, and the up cycle continues. It reminds me of playing soccer when you get the ball, start making moves, pace jumps, a break away, then a defender steals the ball, gloom for a moment, then back at it.

Spring reminds us to get back at it: get ready, primed, and get going. 

There’s something about playing soccer, or any sport, but footie is the juice that does it for me. The game cuts my stressors: I’m focused on the moment, cardio boost, team work, stopping a play, solid pass, rush up field, a set piece banking a goal, cheering the victory, and post game laughter and libations with friends. Others will ask, Teo who did you just describe, cuz so not you? Then they laugh and laugh. And I channel my Bart Simpson retorting, ‘eat my shorts’.

Soccer adds to our dignity and so deeply missed these past few years. I estimate 1-2 years for Alberta soccer to return to normal post pandemic, assuming no further outbreaks. Many are still COVID hesitant to return, but experts say outdoors is safer over indoors. 

I wish to instil some hope, and perhaps gentle urging to those worried about coming back with this message. Please don’t wait or hesitate, for quickly it will be July and far more quickly it will be September. The summer will pass and you may regret not jumping in sooner. We will have fun, as last summer, and we’d rather have it with you. Come. The Spartan fam misses you.

It’s exciting to see teams and players registering in our programs each season. We’ve focused COED into separate leagues: Tuesday league (St. Albert) and Friday league (Edmonton). We are playing exclusively at turf based stadiums for the best experience possible. Join now and have fun with us. The best experience and money value is with Spartan. We guarantee that.

More perks for you:

• Guest Player: try us out a few times for free
• Sup Pool: waived $30 yearly fee until April 15
• 2021 Return players: $20 off individual player fees
• All repeat players for each flight: $20 off, too 
• New to Spartan: Join in a group of 4 and get a deal
• Spartans who recruit 3 new players as a group get a sweet deal
• Pre COVID Adult COED players: $50 discount due to cancelled season
• Pre COVID Masters COED players: $120 discount due to cancelled season
• Introducing the Spartan Miles Reward program on website soon
• You get a brand new car…no, wait, sorry, that’s Oprah…
• New teams to Spartan: a set of 20 numbered jerseys

A reminder that when you register on a team in our league you can sub free on any Spartan team when requested. You get the Drop In program as a bonus, too. These are features you will not find elsewhere. Click on the Programs tab on our website, find your thing, then hit the Register button and get going.

Some Sad News 

Our recent calls to players surveyed since COVID:

• Some have moved or quit soccer for other sports/lifestyle
• Injuries, surgeries, new family, job changes, tragedies, family loss due to COVID
• Reduced income
• Depression
• Low confidence to return
• Many have not played sports since 2020

Depression…

The pandemic has placed a tremendous strain on all of us. We all want to get back to a ‘normal’ or pre-covid lifestyle. Get help. Don’t wait.

Info: Mental Health

Mental Health Line: 1-877-303-2642 (Toll free)

Stay Updated and Follow Us on Social Media 

• Like & follow our Facebook business page: FB Biz page
• Join our Facebook group: FB Social Group
• Follow our Instagram page: IG Page
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May Newsletter

Spring is in the air! So much excitement building for the pending outdoor seasons. Footie has been happening under Spartan (check our videos). The road towards outdoor conditioning started. Yet, we remind everyone to carefully ease into the outdoor programs as we exit the indoor conditioning lest you incur avoidable injuries. Excitement always manages to push many of us to untethered exuberance levels as we over estimate what we can do when not ready. The past two years has created such tensions and frustrations in each of us that things appear surreal. We just want to escape it all and run full tilt. Just pace yourself and ease back into things so that you don’t risk losing the summer. We are all on this journey together and it has become easy to forget that everyone is facing hardship in some way.  My momma always said, “if you got nothing nice to say then say nothing at all”. I would add that a smile is the fastest virus we can spread. It vaccinates bad moods.

Our COED starts May 6 (Fridays) and May 10 (Tuesdays) as two separate leagues. COED Fridays is at UofA and COED Tuesdays are in St. Albert as 90 minutes games via 9v9 format. These leagues are played exclusively at turf stadiums for the premium soccer experience. 

We revived our famous Sub Pool program for those whom want to test drive the Spartan leagues and also for those whom can’t commit to a team as a regular – also used as a way to trial a player before recruiting to a team. As a Sub Pool player you can sub on a team on either of our COED leagues when requested. 

This summer we will manifest a Drop In program for those looking for casual footie on non league days. Peeps can use this or the Sub Pool program to ease into conditioning at a safe pace. 

We also revive the option to add teams during season without issue. It is a strategic advantage that founded Spartan in 2017 that allows us to pivot and grow quickly with whomever knocks on our door. It also accommodates those teams leaving other soccer associations to jump onboard with Spartan. Our rapid on-boarding system gets things done in minutes via online portal or phone app. Even our player ID system is built into the phone app. Also our officials are armed with iPads with digital gamesheets ready with every player’s face for each team. We be tech slick!

In June our Adult Keeper training programs starts and is the best way to prepare or improve your skills. These are capped at a 4 person class size, 4x 90 minute sessions on Saturdays and are guaranteed to improve you or full refund. 

Also in June we debut an Intro To Soccer program for youths that haven’t played soccer in a while or wish to try, this can include the parents, too. It can be viewed as a family soccer program if you wish to join with your brood. This program is 4x Saturdays as a 60 minute group training session with scrimmages. Suitable for ages 8-15.

Let’s also celebrate a success of one of our Spartans, Drake Farmer, who has his first book published called “Addicted To Hope: 7 Transformational Truths for the Weary, Defeated, and Just Plain Stuck”. He warned that it has religious concepts in it, but I didn’t care as we should celebrate successes regardless of scope. Book on Amazon here: Drake’s Book!

Also for added fun, this is the month of the Rainmaker Rodeo, taking place in St. Albert. I kindly encourage you all to follow this amazing event on various social media channels, and, of course, go there. Super selection of rock and country bands are planned for this year for the May 27 weekend! Link: Rainmaker Rodeo

Finally, May 2 – 8 is the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week. In my view  a serious issue for all of us to some degree or another. There is no shame in getting help or talking to someone. The pandemic has changed everything in our lives and no one is spared. Check in with your friends if they’ve gone quiet. If you’re alone then please know someone wants to hear from you. If you can, then please call a friend. If you can’t, then please call the numbers provided in this link: Wellness Info

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June Newsletter

The frenzy leading up to soccer outdoors was staggering. So many rushed back into it, perhaps too quickly, and without much caution, as injuries have racked up as reported to us from players in other leagues. It gave pause to consider how players should transition from indoor to outdoor, from carpet to turf and grass, as well as, the frequency of play relative to rest. We’ve noticed even high level athletic players were going at it too hard and found them limping around in our games after racking up injuries and fatigue elsewhere. While it is great to get back at it, it is best that we try to sprinkle some moderated pace so that the season can be enjoyed fully until the end. There’s nothing that makes me more miserable than suffering for weeks and months with an injury I could have avoided had I just throttled back a bit. Sadly it is too common that players do not engage post game stretching to wring out toxins and lactic acid from muscles.

Getting back to grass play after indoor with cleats activates muscles and tendons in a different way that yields to over exertion, early fatigue, and cramping. The same issues are amplified to a higher rate when using grass cleats on turf as the grip is too strong in an ungiving surface increasing strains resulting in more serious injuries. Grass cleats on turf are shown to increase MCL and ACL injuries by 50%. Best to use the right shoes for each surface. I play on both surfaces in different leagues and I do prefer the luxury of turf over of grass.

Some former Spartans have donated their game credits as they have left soccer entirely, or have moved out of region. The criteria requested by them was that we pay it forward to those whom are financially in need to help them play soccer. We are doing that now. The game credits arose from pre COVID when our season was cut short and games unplayed. The credits range from $50 – $120.

Spartans whom donated their credits in a pay it forward manner:

Nikita Balay

Ryan Brolley

Adriana Elisa Martinez

Sarah Fulmer

Our outdoor seasons (flights) are two months long each and we plan for three flights each summer. We currently offer two separate COED leagues: Tuesday in St. Albert, Friday in Edmonton. Both are played exclusively at turf stadiums for the optimum soccer experience. Nothing but the best for our Spartans! Our first flight sold out and finishes June month end. Our second flight starts in July and registration is open. Repeat players and teams get a special discount for the next flight. You can join as a single, group, or team via our website by selecting Programs on the top menu bar, then select Register, which takes you to our secure online portal for registration. From there find the option you wish and complete. 

We are developing our Open Mens division again for this summer on grass for a mid week league. Contact us if you wish to join or bring your teams to us for the Spartan way. It will be 11v11 format. Also aiming for a July start.

We will also offer a special invitation to any female player from EDSA, SASA, SPDSA, and even the ESSC to try out our COED system as a guest from now until the end of July. 

Use this link: Female Guest Player

Speaking of females, our EDSA Womens Div 4 team debuted last month. Great team, fun personalities, and a passion for soccer. We are recruiting for a few spots to fill, so kindly send us an email and we’ll get you set up on the squad: info@spartansoccer.ca

We also debuted a new masters team in SAMMRL. Also a fine group of gentlemen who will likely climb to the top spot in that division this summer. We are still recruiting spots and a player who can be backup keep if needed.

This brings our total count of external teams to 5 wearing our Spartan brand. We be pumped! Come join our squads.

On sad note, we’ve seen a document from EDSA expressing concerning for the violence and disrespect game officials have endured. It is impacting their league. While Spartan does not have this issue currently, we condemn any players that do not show respect to game officials. Referees play the most important part of the game to ensure we have order, regulations, and safety for all. Violence to a referee or player is akin to spitting upon the whole league and if you are such a person whom commits such cowardice then you don’t belong in sports. It is unfortunate that these behaviours are amplified by the frustrations and stress induced by the pandemic and weak economy. It is understandable that we all need an outlet for the stress, but if you can’t manage this or other toxic behaviour on the field then you are not wanted. 

And finally, 

Grow The Spartan Tribe! 

Stay up to date, follow, or join our various social media. On Facebook and Instagram we feature interviews with our players, and show short game videos of Spartan leagues and Cohorts action. You may wonder where we post those videos of our games, pictures of players and MVPs, and the snippets of booming tunes we play during games you can find them here:

• Facebook Soccer Group
• Instagram
• Twitter: @spartanSoccer3
• Website 
• Facebook Business Page

July News

Let’s start with bad news before the good. These weather patterns and record levels of rain have greatly impacted outdoor grass soccer, which were too soggy to be safe, and thus many game cancellations occurred in June in the soccer community in addition to the thunder and lightening. 

This impacted mental health by adding to the stress that players carried: increasing bad moods, depression, and lethargy. The soccer community also witnessed increases in aggressive play in leagues, which is wrong as it sours the joy for all. Times are tough for all of us and we can do better. Soccer should never be an outlet for anger and frustration. Many of us carry a full cup and the slightest thing can cause a spill of sorts, making us more fragile, more reactive, and less mindful.

It’s hard to stay positive when its gloomy outside; not enough sunlight to brighten your day. You can note it in your outdoor plants and gardens, too. We all need sunlight in good measure. We all desperately want a good weather balance so we can enjoy the all too short summers we have in our region.

Even in Spartan we noted a drop in participation even though we play exclusively on turf, which is an ideal surface unaffected by rain. We also were lucky to not have a single thunder storm for any of our games for cancellation. However the increased lethargy and other symptoms amongst players certainly impacted our games, too. I recall how pre COVID we’d hunker down and play through rain or cold, but today it is less of the willing and more of the opposite. That is sad. I feel it compounds the sadness. Somehow we need to push through this challenge and enjoy the moment we have. It’s hard to cope when you’re overloaded. We all move towards the easy, but easy is not good. It’s like comfort food and sweets. Not good for your health as per the laws of diminishing returns. 

I guess its perspective. I actually like playing in rain as it soothing in a way, sort of like washing away some of the stress while playing with your comrades, laughing together in the shared experience. A bit humbling in a way, too, as it yields perspective that we should value the moment and not wait for perfect playing conditions, which is a waste of the time you have.

Back to good news. 

We finished Flight 1 on Jun 24, Fridays in Edmonton, with Cruzing Balls taking top spot. Winning 7 games and fighting hard to tie in the final match by getting in some lucky goals towards the end. The Fridays during the summer were proving a challenge for them to maintain a team roster. Usually they are a winter team for Fridays while in Spartan. 

Post COVID changed many players on teams whom prefer to enjoy the short summers on weekends with patios and brews: a common fallout since the pandemic. We made a mistake by pushing for a Friday COED option during this summer compared to the Sunday/Tuesday version of last summer. I can’t help but tinker. It’s my nature. My bad.

The Tuesday COED in St. Albert also wrapped up Flight 1 on July 5 (my bday and also when I got a shot to my nether region by a player who is a nurse, she felt awful as did I – haha). The win went to Unruly Minions taking the crown from Black Jackets. The next flight starts July 20, Wednesdays, in St. Albert at the stadium. We’ve moved our Edmonton squads to that league, too. Registration is active on our website to join as a single, group, or team. We cap at 8 teams.

We continue to offer a special invitation to any female player from EDSA, SASA, SPDSA, and even the ESSC to try out our COED system as a guest from now until the end of July. 

Use this link: Female Guest Player

More good news.

Our flagship tourney, Spartan Championships, started us in Sept 16, 2017. We’ve retooled that into a new format we named the Pandemic Cup. This will take place on the weekends of Sept 10 and 24 featuring Mens, Womens, and COED games at the St. Albert turf stadium. We may add a youth element, too. It will be 3 back to back games on Sept 10. Format: 9v9 or 8v8 cross field, 2×25 minutes halves, and the 4th game in the finals on Sept 24 will be a slightly longer time format of 60-70 minutes. Each participant will get an event jersey, event cap, special meal and libation offers at local venues. The final winners will get a signature trophy, named team label, and gold medals. There will be medals for silver and bronze, too. Depending upon the number of teams registered we may add consolation games as needed on Sept 24, but every team is guaranteed 3 games. Registration will be online only and active on July 8 via our website (spartan.soccer) under the Programs tab. We are playing at a premium turf stadium that has free parking, clean washrooms, and clean change rooms. Nothing but the best for our players!

Grow The Spartan Tribe! 

Stay up to date, follow, or join our various social media. On Facebook and Instagram we feature interviews with our players, and show short game videos of Spartan leagues and Cohorts action. You may wonder where we post those videos of our games, pictures of players and MVPs, and the snippets of booming tunes we play during games you can find them here:

• Facebook Soccer Group
• Instagram
• Twitter: @spartanSoccer3
• Website 
• Facebook Business Page

August News

Jumping into August we are rounding the horn for the year. So many exciting things to celebrate and watch for to keep you pumped about the game we love. In this edition we cover the 3rd flight starting in September. We revised the Pandemic Cup based upon feedback. Mental health is an issue we can’t ignore. Record rainfalls have messed up the outdoor season for many. Injuries have climbed as have the COVID numbers. We suggested to EDSA that make up games for non provincial teams should be added to the end of the regular season instead of doubling up during the summer. We are recruiting for a our core teams in other leagues (EDSA, VMSL, SAMMRL) and looking to debut our Mens team in EDSA for indoor. Keep your eyes on our snow soccer programs. And finally, Futsol anyone?

The 3rd flight of our outdoor program will be slated for Sept – Oct and we continue playing at premium turf stadium locations for the best soccer conditions possible for our region. As well as the near perfect pitch conditions, our players also enjoy the stadiums lights adding to the fun as we go into the fall. Registration is open now and teams/players repeating from the 1st and 2nd flights get reduced rates as privilege. We continue to provide the best soccer experience at the best locations giving all players the best value around.

The Pandemic Cup has been revised from the feedback we got when we first opened registration last month. We heard you and we made changes. No one wanted a multi weekend event, especially the out of town teams. So we will push the Pandemic Cup to the Sept 24/25 weekends with teams groupings finishing the games same day. Each grouping will be its own standalone set with a victory cup and medals for winning team. 

The Spartan Championships will return on Sept 18 as also requested by many rather than migrating it all into the Pandemic Cup. This way we can mark September as a two tournament month under the Spartan banner. The result is more fun going into the fall.

We must stay focused on dealing with our stress created by the pandemic upon our mental health. We are all suffering. We all express or repress in different ways and none of us are immune. Call a friend, check in with someone, even if it is just to sit on the phone in silence sharing a moment. While less reporting on COVID numbers may just give us a false sense of security as VOCs mutate, we must remain vigilant. We are all tired as the latest things saps motivation. Long COVID manifests a range of complications. Players have reported inflammation in joints post infection impacting abilities, as well as, low energy and shortness of breath. You are not alone and supports offered by the Federal government if you need help and do not have someone to call. See here: Wellness

On a positive note, we are in recruit mode. Looking for players (men & women) for our various squads as we plan for the pending indoor season. We will be holding tryouts for our new mens team to debut in EDSA this winter. Also looking to affiliate with existing teams in EDSA so let us know if this rings your bell, too. 

Send us an email to info@spartansoccer.ca to get info about our team list:

EDSA, Mens Masters, Div 2, Fridays

EDSA, Womens, Div 4

EDSA, Mens, Div 4 (new and holding tryouts next month)

VMSL, Premier Mens 35, Tuesdays

VMSL, Majors 45, Fridays

SAMMRL, 40+, Sundays

Yes, snow is around the corner considering where we live. So let’s not shy away from that or deflect. Our snow soccer program returns for the 3rd year after we debuted this gem as a first in the region. 

We also are launching something new for indoor (keeping under wraps for the moment). Check our webby for the latest or sign up for our newsletter directly.

On a funny note, we find soccer politics amusing. We build a day for our programs knowing there is nothing else happening, then other organizations start booking those days because they have clout, or do so  as a reflex to our marketing, then we find mysteriously those days begin to fill up. Then we move to another day for our programs (advised by locations that there is nothing) then poof our new days start getting eaten up, too. Or the other orgs book alternating weeks when they have premium fields to use elsewhere for free. This thwarts things a bit so we can’t have consistent weekly programs. It is a good thing that we do our programs as short flights of 8 games and can pivot quickly. It is funny, though, and we will refrain from advertising what days we will play in the future. We also get tire kickers trying to sign up as players, but really just asking for very specific intel. I hope for a time when soccer politics and territorial issues are a behind us and we just focus on a healthy soccer culture. All of this will be a thing of the past with a new facility. 

Grow The Spartan Tribe! 

Stay up to date, follow, or join our various social media. On Facebook and Instagram we feature interviews with our players, and show short game videos of Spartan leagues and Cohorts action. You may wonder where we post those videos of our games, pictures of players and MVPs, and the snippets of booming tunes we play during games you can find them here:

• Facebook Soccer Group
• Instagram
• Twitter: @spartanSoccer3
• Website 
• Facebook Business Page