All Things Spartan
All Things Spartan
Jan 2023 News
2022 Recap
Many leagues experienced a moderate return during the outdoor programs, but not full capacity. Spartan enjoyed a full 3 flights of our coed outdoor, an increase from 2 flights of the previous year. The pandemic has certainly impacted player mood and sportsmanship in all leagues, especially the non regulated leagues which according to sources have unfortunately witnessed spikes in violence and injuries on recreational level play. It is better to play soccer in regulated leagues, while not immune from the same issues, there are fewer instances and it is much safer.
Indoor Winter
A significant drop in EDSA teams and a nice growth in VMSL was noted, presumably because the soccer community is wanting less boarded, which is not soccer, according to FIFA. We felt it was time to begin a futsal program, which FIFA does regard as soccer, and we feel is a better alternative to regional boarded indoor programs. Our futsal registrations started in October, slowed in December, as expected. We anticipate more registrations this month to speed the debut of our adult coed division, as well as, a youth futsal option. The cold weather and winds since October has made the relaunch of our outdoor snow soccer program (Yes Footie) challenging, but we’ll keep at it.
The shortage of turf locations also hampered the normal indoor options for Spartan (we never offered boarded soccer), and thus our focus upon investors to aid us building new facilities the region lacks. Many other impacts upon the soccer community since the pandemic are changes in lifestyles (people couldn’t play during the shutdown restrictions and adopted new activities), hesitancy to return to soccer, and income drops. According to the Feds, 50% of Canadians are $200 away from not paying bills. These factors, amongst others, have shrunk the soccer community significantly. We revised our forecast of Jan 2022 and now consider that it will take several years to return to pre covid sport levels for all leagues. A major economic lift would help, too.
Handshakes & Culture
The start of the indoor season the Alberta Soccer Association (ASA) announced a restriction on post game handshakes and suggesting other options. That got us thinking as to why we do that (handshakes) anyway. There is no FIFA rule that mandates this action. Convention often starts without reason and becomes habit. Some say handshakes have a dark history where it was about checking for a weapon in the arm of the other. We’ve heard stories this was borne from the old west when gamblers would check for hidden cards in the sleeves – one hand holds and the other grabs the forearm. However, it is refreshing to see the habits from other cultures: bowing, clapping, or pre game chants, such as the Maori haka from New Zealand – now that’s zeal! Get it? Word pun! The Japanese culture gains our admiration for the respect the supporters show with post game cleanup. We should copy this influence and add to our own.
2023 Forecast
Before us is a long road away from COVID and the long term affects, the latest VOC’s, and the poorly reported numbers in Alberta. If you look for the info you find our hospitalizations are still high. It is troubling that the media are mostly quiet, very few seem to be talking about what happens after you’ve caught the virus, survived and continue to suffer with long hauler symptoms – chronic fatigue, shortness of breath, a chronic cough, joint pain, chest pain, brain fog, depression, muscle pain, headache, rapid heartbeat, intermittent fevers, or something else – even months after testing negative! Since we manage several teams and have an extensive network in the soccer community, we get updated by our players and contacts as to how our teams and others are affected. We’ve been lulled into thinking everything is fine with the reduced reporting. We all need help. There is no shame in getting help. It’s shameful to ignore the human condition. Check this mental health link for resources and support here: Wellness
Futsal
As we get closer to launching, we are mostly focused on teams registering.
Link: All Futsal Team Registrations
A player looking for a team can always join.
Link: Single Player COED Futsal
Recruiting For Our Teams
For our various team listed in other leagues; it’s never too late to jump into soccer and all of our teams are supportive to have you. We also have practices & tryouts on Saturday’s during season. Find your spot on these options:
EDSA Womens, Div 4, Sundays
EDSA Mens, Div 4, Thursdays
EDSA Masters, Div 2, Fridays
SASA COED, Sundays
VMSL 35 Premier, Tuesdays
VMSL 45 Majors, Fridays
SAMMRL 35, Sundays
Investors
Are you looking for an investment opportunity? Contact us for our presentation deck and business plan. Serious investors only.
Grow The Spartan Tribe!
Stay connected with our various social media channels. Featuring player interviews & game clips of Spartan teams and programs.
- Facebook Soccer Group
- Twitter: @SpartanSoccer3
- Website
- Facebook Business Page
- Youtube
Monthly Pun
Why is a bad soccer team like an old bra? It has no cups and very little support.
Soccer!
Feb 2023 News
New Love Idea
We want to change this so called romance month of love to the soccer month of love. Soccer is something we all love, many with deep passion and others as if a casual tryst. But we love it! The flowers and poetry we send are symbolized by our sportsmanship and skills on the pitch as we play the great game. The game always gives us back the love we give and more. It’s a perfect relationship. Every day is soccer day, but Feb 14 is now Happy Soccer Day at Spartan! Who’s with us?
Contest
February Contest Info: Think of your soccer history, your joy, when you started, why you started, what jazzes you up about soccer, how it helps, whatever, etc. Then write a short story of your love of soccer or a poem. Winning entry gets one free registration from one of our summer programs ($120 value), the next 2 get a $50 credit, and the next 3 a $20 credit on registration fees for Spartan summer programs. Deadline Mar 1.
Story or Poetry Contest Entry: info@spartansoccer.ca
Anniversary
February 20 is our 3rd anniversary since going independent. That was an interesting year for all of us. None of us are where we want to be and the pandemic made a huge negative impact upon all leagues everywhere. It’s easy to forget the damage done and imagine we are back to normal. It is not a good idea to think this is behind us. We have a long road to recovery for the soccer community.
Spring Is Coming
It is exciting to note that all leagues have started their registrations for the summer. This is when we plant seeds and see what harvest we gather by May for the outdoor programs. With the snow melting upon the arrival of warmer temperatures, it gets us brewing with happy thoughts and feelings for outdoor soccer while we watch the snow leaving gradually and the anticipated, and missed, green hues return.
Soccer Changes
The pandemic impacted all leagues by forcing them to adapt and pivot to the lower membership numbers. Starting this summer, EDSA has announced some changes to their structure, notably the age banding from 35, 35, 55, to 30, 40, and 50. It will be interesting to note the change upon competition. VMSL have a rule that allows up to 5 players (between the ages of 50-54, for example, to join the 55) and this template applies to the 45 Majors & 55 Majors categories. SAMMRL posts as a 40+ league but allows up to 5 players ages 35-39 to join. We have Spartan FC teams in all of the above leagues and we look forward to growing that base in the future. Maybe in 10 years we will have a Spartan FC team in all divisions and leagues everywhere. It’s a dream we have. Come join the fam!
Futsal!
We are so close to launch it drives us crazy. Our youth academy is at 14 players, but we need 24. Our adult coed is floating at 3 teams, but we need 4. We remain steadfast that this will happen. Times are tough for everyone financially and we hear that often. We welcome partnership with communities to register their youth in our programs. With EDSA and SASA ending indoor shortly, we anticipate more adults to look for some soccer to fill in the soccer fix between now and the start of summer. Hold tight!
Link: All Futsal Team Registrations
Link: Single Player COED Futsal
Link: Youth COED Futsal
Spartan Outdoor
The Adult COED program registrations start this week. We are back to our flights (8 games/flight) played exclusively at turf stadiums to ensure the best experiences for our players. Last year we completed 3 full flights during the summer: a new record! More games than any other league in the region for the summer. You can register as a player looking for a team, but team registrations are better as the fees/player are lower. We know, you’re thinking, “well, duh!”
Link: Team Registration Adult COED Outdoor
Link: Adult COED Player Outdoor Flight 1
Recruiting For Our Teams
Recruitment for our various teams is always on. We have coaches and trainers and tryouts on Saturday’s. We’ve expanded more by adding a VMSL Majors 55 team. One of the cool things about joining our brand is that as you age up you have a team to move into and we all wear the same kits. There is over 100 of us now and we want to hit the iconic 300. Can you guess why? One of our visions is to have 300 of our Spartans gather in full soccer kit and have professional photos done, as well as, a short video when we all yell the famous chant from the movie. How cool is that?
See the list below and email us if you are interested to join our Spartan ranks: info@spartansoccer.ca
EDSA Womens, Div 4, Sundays
EDSA Mens, Div 4, Thursdays
EDSA Masters, Div 2, Fridays
SASA COED, Sundays
VMSL 35 Premier, Tuesdays
VMSL 45 Majors, Fridays
VMSL 55 Majors, Fridays
SAMMRL 35, Sundays
Health
We all need help. There is no shame in getting help. It’s shameful to ignore the human condition. Check this mental health link for resources and support here: Wellness
Investors
We’re shopping for a facility and need some bucks. Become a shareholder and let’s shake things up. Contact us for our presentation deck and business plan. Serious investors only.
Grow The Spartan Tribe!
Stay connected with our various social media channels. Featuring player interviews & game clips of Spartan teams and programs.
Monthly Pun
How many Liverpool fans does it take to change a light bulb? None. They just sit around talking about how good the old one was.
Soccer!
Mar News
Soccer Roots
Soccer has such a rich history. A form of soccer first started in China and it was called cujo (means to kick). The reason for why there are 11 players may relate to the linkage of soccer and cricket. Then the puzzling name of soccer was never a USA thing, but rather the UK. In the UK it was called Association Football (to separate itself from Rugby Football). Over time Association became a slang, first called “socca” which became the word we know now.
And finally an interesting tidbit to celebrate since this month holds International Women’s Day is the fact that a famous person in soccer history is Nettie Honeywell who started the British Ladies Football Club in 1895. She did this via newspaper ads and recruited 30 ladies. Humble beginnings and important to think that no one cried there were not enough teams in a league or club. They just played. However her name was a pseudonym and we really do not know her real name, but some guessed it might be Mary Hutson or Jessie Allen to protected herself for during this Victorian era it caused an uproar for females to play, as noted by comments by Archdeacon of Manchester, preaching at Rochdale, said it was “a disgrace to the town that such an exhibition should be allowed to take place”. Also interesting to note in photographs of her in uniform are the shin pads influenced by cricket (in use several decades before soccer).
Soccer Love Contest Ends Mar 10
You can still enter our contest and win free registration. Yes, we use Chat Zero to validate entires if you’re using AI, such as Chatgpt, and yes we have disqualified an entry. However this contest is not hard to do, just write from your ‘socca’ passion as a story or poem. Think of your soccer history, joy, how it helps, whatever, etc. *If you need extra time, then send us a request. Contest Entry: info@spartansoccer.ca
Prizes
1st: free registration for our summer programs ($120 value)
2nd: (2x winners) $50 Spartan credit
3rd: (3x winners) $20 Spartan credit
Spring Soon
While registrations have started everywhere, let’s remember that last outdoor season for the region started almost a month late due to heavy rains. We live in a region that is suitable for covered turf facilities due to our short summers as well as the poor grass field conditions we endure too often. Grass fields are just not cost effective here. We have many reasons to build more indoor turf facilities and those seeking investment opportunity should review our presentation deck, become a shareholder, and let’s shake things up. Contact us via email for our presentation deck and business plan. Serious investors only.
Why Spartan
We have a dream about us soccer peeps. We made our system to allow you to migrate and play on as many teams in our league as you wish without restrictions. For example, when you are part of any of our teams, including external league teams, you get to play extra soccer during the week as a bonus. Our dream includes raising the bar on soccer quality so that players get premium experiences and venues. The first dream in 2017 was to create the best COED league around with the right balance of competition for standings in a safe and well officiated game. Our COED players competed for standings, all star games, invitational games, and finals with a signature trophy and team label for the winning team to defend. We even play music during games with songs submitted by players from teams. We kept expanding rapidly because soccer peeps ‘like what we do’. Added boot camps, masters coed, Open Mens, Youth…and then the pandemic…pivoted, retooled, added Cohorts (now called Yes Footie), a new Adult COED format, and now futsal. We just want to play. Come join the fam!
Futsal Special: We waive the online processing fees until March 10!
Now that most leagues are wrapped up until May or later. This is a great time to hone your skills before they dull for summer. Come join our futsal program for 8 games with your team. Get your soccer fix in now before the start of summer. *If you missed the deadline because you were busy and got to the notice late, we dig that many people are burdened with life stuff, and that’s ok. Just email us a request for an extension.
Link: All Futsal Team Registrations
Link: Single Player COED Futsal
Link: Youth COED Futsal
Spartan Outdoor
Special Incentives until March 10
Individual players get online processing fees waived until March 10
Team fees are discounted by $100 until March 10!
The Adult COED program registrations start this week. We are back to our flights (8 games/flight) played exclusively at turf stadiums to ensure the best experiences for our players. Last year we completed 3 full flights during the summer: a new record! More games than any other league. Register as a player or a team. *Deadline extension offered as above.
Link: Team Registration Adult COED Outdoor
Link: Adult COED Player Outdoor Flight 1
Recruiting For Our External Teams
Come to our tryouts. One of the cool things about joining our brand is that as you age up you have a team to move into and we all wear the same kits. Our kits are way cool.
Email to join our Spartan ranks: info@spartansoccer.ca
EDSA Womens, Div 4, Sundays
EDSA Mens, Div 4, Thursdays
EDSA Masters, Div 2, Fridays
SASA COED, Sundays
VMSL 35 Premier, Tuesdays
VMSL 45 Majors, Fridays
VMSL 55 Majors, Fridays
SAMMRL 35, Sundays
Health
We all need help. There is no shame in getting help. It’s shameful to ignore the human condition. Check this mental health link for resources and support here: Wellness
Grow The Spartan Tribe!
Stay connected with our various social media channels. Featuring player interviews & game clips of Spartan teams and programs.
Monthly Pun
What does a Dutchman do when he’s won the soccer world cup? He turns off the game console and goes to sleep.
Soccer!
April News
Player Types
When I analyze soccer players I often sort them into three categories upon a spectrum. I filter by conditioning, attitude, and constitution (CAC Factors). My invention. Let’s explore this a bit for fun.
Conditioning
The conditioning spectrum on one end would have high levels of agility (skills, coordination, adapts new techniques), sport IQ (game awareness, tactics, & strategies), proactive (always on, moving with the game metrics), and discipline (individual grit, team work, never quit). On the other end of the scale would be players with low levels of agility (clumsy, slow learner, doesn’t like new things), sport IQ (poor awareness, can’t track game flow, narrow focus), reactive (waits, ball watcher, needs direction), and low discipline (easily frustrated, quits early, blames others).
Attitude
The attitude spectrum starts with high levels of zeal (enthusiasm, always positive, supportive, motivating, love of the sport, team focused, respectful & professional). Low levels of zeal (selfish, low trust capacity & challenged by team work, less inclined to learn, set in ways, quick to blame others, gives up fast, petulant & childish).
Constitution
The constitution spectrum is about metabolism. High constitution is marked by fast recovery from injuries, high endurance & tolerance to pain, low injury rate. A low constitution is marked by slow recovery, prone to injuries, reoccurring injuries.
Anything on a spectrum will have overlap. Other than birth and death, nothing is really binary. The above factors are obviously affected by age, diet, confidence, and mood. A player can be high technical skills and agility, but game awareness is low or they quit easily making them less effective for a team. Or a high attitude with slow developing skills can impact team performance, too. I find the most troubling players are those who think they are better than they really are, engage in divisive smack talk or negative comments, or refuse to acknowledge mistakes while blaming others for same can really erode team dynamics quickly. I’m sure players have popped up in your mind whom fit some of these descriptors easily and others you have to think about, including yourself. I suggest you rate yourself on the CAC Factors using a 3 scale (1 weak, 2 average, 3 strong). Maybe compare it to how others view you…if you have the courage.
Sport Research
Mood is a big thing in sports and there is some research conducted at UofA that we have partnered to assist upon. Ben Sereda is a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta in the area of Sport and Performance Psychology. As part of his research, he is recruiting adult competitive athletes to help to learn more about negativity bias in sport. Negativity bias is the tendency for negative events and information to have a greater impact on an individual than neutral or positive events and information. Put simply, in most cases, bad seems to be stronger than good. For this project, competitive athletes do not need to compete professionally to be eligible, but rather, they are considered competitive athletes if part of why they participate in sport is striving for high performance. There will be two one-on-one interviews and an audio diary component. There is no requirement or expectation with the audio diary beyond sharing negativity bias-related thoughts that participants deem to be relevant. As a thank you for participating, participants will receive a $65 gift card to a vendor of their choice. If you are interested or if you have any questions, please e-mail Ben at bjsereda@ualberta.ca.
Caption This Contest!
We launched another contest on the heels of the last contest as people found it fun. Major prizes and full details can be found here: https://spartan.soccer/contest/
Futsal
Now that most leagues are wrapped up until May or later. This is a great time to hone your skills before they dull for summer. Come join our futsal program for 8 games with your team. Get your soccer fix in now before the start of summer.
Link: All Futsal Team Registrations
Link: Single Player COED Futsal
Link: Youth COED Futsal
Spartan Outdoor
The Adult COED program registrations are infill swing. We are doing 11v11 on grass fields for the start as some of the places we normally use are being retrofitted. If you play for all three fights then you are doing 24 games for the whole summer which is more than any other league in the region! Register as a player or a team.
Link: Team Registration Adult COED Outdoor
Link: Adult COED Player Outdoor Flight 1
Recruiting For Our External Teams
Come to our tryouts. One of the cool things about joining our brand is that as you age up you have a team to move into and we all wear the same kits. Our kits are way cool.
Email to join our Spartan ranks: info@spartansoccer.ca
EDSA Mens, Thursdays
EDSA Masters, Fridays
VMSL 35 Premier, Tuesdays
VMSL 45 Majors, Fridays
VMSL 55 Majors, Fridays
SAMMRL 35, Sundays
Health
We all need help. There is no shame in getting help. It’s shameful to ignore the human condition. Check this mental health link for resources and support here: Wellness
Spartan Fam Pictures
Our new collage of photos: Spartan Album
Grow The Spartan Tribe!
Stay connected with our various social media channels. Featuring player interviews & game clips of Spartan teams and programs.
Monthly Pun
Seven days without playing soccer can make one weak.
Soccer!
May News
Rain
Remember last May when we had rain daily for the whole month? We had more than double the amount of rain for that month than normal. This delayed the season significantly as fields were not ready for use. Good for gardens and yards, but not so much for field sports. Now leagues, such as EDSA, are using more turf based locations for games to keep a time table, but turf is more pricy and season games are reduced. For example, our EDSA masters team has 12 games for the season instead of more. If only the city or private fields would invest in field lights to have later games we could have a longer season. Our concern now, of course, is the wild fires in Alberta. We need rain and lots of it. Be wary of the air index as values 7+ will be the factor to cancel games and practices. It will affect the health of all.
Scattered Facts
The first soccer club in Alberta was formed in 1888 in Calgary. Edmonton followed the next year (seems they are always ahead of Edmonton). In 1314 soccer was banned by King Edward II because it was a distraction from archery (he was later murdered). In 1863 the inaugural soccer rules that became what we know today was drafted in a pub in England. One team refused to omit hacking from the rules went on to form the Rugby Football Union. I think many people would be surprised how violent early soccer was before the rules were drafted. We will cover that more next month.
COED
Our outdoor program started with a beautiful launch on May 3. One of the many things that we do differently is allow players & teams to join mid season as needed (prorated fees of course). This allows new joiners finishing up at other orgs to join Spartan quickly and easily with our rapid onboarding system. You can be active in 1 minute and in a few minutes your whole team rostered and ready to play. We make it easy so you can play. Regulated league play against teams & we play music (we’re known for that and are the first to bring this feature). Join the fun in the best COED league around.
Flight 1 (sold out): All teams are full and are not taking in players. The only option to join now would be as a team during the flight at a prorated fee.
Fight 2 (starts July)
Link: Team Registration Adult COED Outdoor
Link: COED Player Outdoor Flight 2
Yes Footie
Our rebrand of Daily Cohorts with a funky name that we believe captures the spirit of casual soccer. Have you seen the super cute social media ads? Up to 3x week of an organized drop in style of footie. We handle everything: set teams, cones, flags, pinnies, and music to add to good quality fun soccer. Sign up for the program and play every week until end of September for only $50.
Contest
We’re gonna revive an original contest that started with Spartan in 2018. It’s a selfie contest and stay tuned for details next month. Winners will get a bag of Spartan apples and a gift certificate.
Tournaments
The Pandemic Cup returns this year in September. 2022 champions were SC Central from Red Deer and are expected to defend their title. It will be exciting to see the results this year in this fun 3 hour competition enjoyed by all participants. Start building your endurance now.
Recruiting For Our External Teams
Come to our tryouts. One of the cool things about joining our brand is that as you age up you have a team to move into and we all wear the same kits. Our kits are way cool.
Email to join our Spartan ranks: info@spartansoccer.ca
EDSA Mens, Thursdays
EDSA Masters, Fridays
VMSL 35 Premier, Tuesdays
VMSL 45 Majors, Fridays
VMSL 55 Majors, Fridays
SAMMRL 35, Sundays: FULL
Mental Health
We all need help. There is no shame in getting help. It’s shameful to ignore the human condition. Check this mental health link for resources and support here: Wellness
Grow The Spartan Tribe!
Stay connected with our various social media channels. Featuring player interviews & game clips of Spartan teams and programs.
Monthly Pun
Cinderella can’t play soccer because she runs away from the ball.
Soccer!
June News
African Firefighters Played Soccer With Spartan
We had the privilege of meeting a large cohort of firefighters from Africa (lost count after 60 and I recall 1 female in their ranks and she was good at soccer). They came to help with our wildfire situation in Alberta and we are honoured to get a chance to play soccer with them. We were setting up for our Yes Footie session and we found them nearby wearing fire gear and boots. We got them to join us, set them up with pinnies & balls and two additional sections for them on the pitch. They also formed a squad to play a friendly with our mens squad. A few ditched their boots and played in socks or bare feet (reminds me of my father when he played barefoot in his youth). It’s a beautiful thing to see people come together to play the world’s #1 sport (3.5B people can’t be wrong). Language barriers drop, this simple act of moving around chasing and kicking a ball, cheering each other, and laughing under the light drizzle of rain forms the best bond coupled with the joy in our voices. Hearing the various dialects is always intriguing to me, especially the clicking sounds of one of the dialects. Their soccer style was impressive, it was always 1-touch, superb and yet casual control of the ball at all times. The whistling, the side noises and banter as they teased each other was quite a contrast to the rather quiet expression of our western cultures. I was told soccer is played every day even at grassroots level and they were shocked that practices here are typically 1x week and a game. So much to learn and adopt. After over two hours of intensity, we did group pictures, got connected on media, and thankful to meet.
Scattered Facts
The first soccer game in Canada was in 1859 in Toronto. However under what we consider modern rules it was 1876. The first ever professional game was in Vancouver in 1910. What we call the Canadian Soccer Association was founded in 1912, which occurred at a meeting of the football associations of Manitoba, Ontario, New Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Alberta that formed the CSA. Finally, some amazing trivia: St. Lawrence, Newfoundland is dubbed the “soccer capital of Canada”.
COED
Flight 1 is almost done and Flight 2 will begin mid July. It’s time to join as a team or player. Repeating teams & players from Flight 1 will be sent a private link to rejoin at privileged rates.
Just a quick reminder that all players on teams can help any team as needed or play doubles if they wish. We have a rapid on-boarding system and you can be rostered in minutes as a team or player. We make it easy so you can play right away. The is a regulated league that adheres to FIFA rules (modified for COED) with officials. We are told this often by new players and teams from other organizations that having proper game officials is better than a system that has no referees or using a silly point system to manage fair play (which gets abused by weaker teams punishing stronger teams). In our opinion, it is better to play soccer correctly and safely. We use a two referee system for each half of the field. Also, we play cool music that people groove to during games for added joy. Come join the best COED league around!
Flight 1 (sold out): All teams are full and are not taking in players. The only option to join now would be as a team during the flight at a prorated fee.
Fight 2 (starts July)
Link: Team Registration Adult COED Outdoor
Link: COED Player Outdoor Flight 2
Yes Footie (adult)
Up to 3x week of an organized drop in style of footie in a mixed gender format. We handle everything: set up teams, cones, flags, pinnies, and music for good quality soccer. Sign up for the program and play every week until end of September. All teams and players active in Sparta get this program included for free.
Link: YES FOOTIE!
Yes Footie (youth)
We now offer a youth version of the Yes Footie program. For all skills levels in a mixed gender format. As with the adult program, we focus on passing and movement. Our coaches will provide some instruction, but heavy on encouragement to work as a team as each player will move fluidly in positions as needed to improve soccer IQ with a mentor coach running along the pitch giving direction and encouragement. Fun first, burn up youth energy, go home happy, sleep good, and come back for more. Parents are required to be present at locations. We also welcome any volunteer parents interested in participating. If parents are inclined, we can set up a parent section to play footie next to the youth program so everyone is active. If parents have younger children in tow, we often set up near playgrounds. Any parent currently listed as an active player in Sparta can register their children in this program for a privileged rate.
Link: Yes Footie – Youth: Age 8-12
Link: Yes Footie – Youth: Age 12-15
Tournaments
The Pandemic Cup returns this year in September. 2022 champions were SC Central from Red Deer and are expected to defend their title. It will be exciting to see the results this year in this fun 3 hour competition enjoyed by all participants. Start building your endurance now.
Recruiting For Our External Teams
Come to our tryouts. One of the cool things about joining our brand is that as you age up you have a team to move into and we all wear the same kits. Our kits are way cool.
Email to join our Spartan ranks: info@spartansoccer.ca
EDSA Mens, Thursdays: FULL
EDSA Masters, Fridays
VMSL 35 Premier, Tuesdays
VMSL 45 Majors, Fridays
VMSL 55 Majors, Fridays
SAMMRL 35, Sundays: FULL
Mental Health
We all need help. Health link for resources and support here: Wellness
Grow The Spartan Tribe!
Stay connected with our various social media channels. Featuring player interviews & game clips of Spartan teams and programs.
Monthly Pun
Don’t play soccer in the jungle because there are too many cheetahs.
Soccer!
July News
Yes Footie Youth Gets Applause!
We launched successfully on July 4 with happy children and parents. Tears welled in my eyes when the parents applauded at the end of the session. That really hit me in the heart in that it showed we are doing the right thing for our soccer community.
Scattered Facts
We share some interesting tidbits of Alberta soccer history to enjoy at the water cooler (it makes you the center of any chat and way cool). What we call a drop in or footie session today was called a “shoot in” back in the day. A beautiful spring day on April 26, 1904 they had a shoot in and the passion on that day was enough to form the Callies Football Club of Calgary. Just like that they did it. In the day it was common for people to wear their street clothes, or work attire, it was not common to fuss about for proper attire (as we oft witness today), whine about something missing, but it was common to just stop what you’re doing and play (literally someone is walking by, sees the action, and just jumps in). Me thinks we’ve lost something since. Last month when we played with the visiting South African firefighters at Lister Turf we observed this passion as they threw their boots off and played in socks or barefoot. This is something I feel we need to revive in ourselves, stoke the embers, as it were. I digress.
The first attempt to form a provincial governing body was in Red Deer, 1906. Then in 1907, other soccer zealots from High River formed another association (those upstarts!) and it would appear that Alberta had two provincial associations, one for the north and one for the south. The nerve of those High River people! However, they did merge two years later so all was fine in the universe. During those two years, soccer continued. Players played and no one really gave a darn about administrative and region silliness we oft see today. The unofficial championship in Canada, the People Shield, was won by a Calgary team, Caledonians (Callies). Other team names of the leagues included: Bankers (wonder what the day job was…), City and Labourers Union (hmmm long live the workers!). Reminding me once again that team name creativity was low then (no different for today, me thinks).
What’s New?
Open evaluations for our youth starts on Thursday July 27 and continues weekly on Tuesdays & Thursdays until teams are full for the coming indoor season. From community to club. Let’s make your child a Spartan!
Register for Open Evaluations
Club (female U9-U19): Club U9-U19 Females: Open Evaluations
Club (male U9-U19): Club U9-U19 Males: Open Evaluations
Community (m/f ages): Community U9-U19: M/F Open Evaluations
Yes Footie (youth)
The program started as 16 x 1 hour session for only $40. Nothing better is offered anywhere in the region. Your child can still join. We have two groups (South and West) and we really have no upper limit on how many can join. We just set up another pitch as we grow. Each group features two mentor/coaches/pitch getting the children going until they are exhausted. We are told the kids slept well after each session and eager to return for the next one.
Link: Yes Footie – Youth: Age 8-12
COED
Flight 2 starts July 26. Join as a player, group, or team and we find you a spot in minutes (we have the fastest, easiest registration system around). Fun, safe soccer based upon FIFA rules with proper game officials for standings. Come join the best COED league around!
Link: Team Registration Adult COED Outdoor
Link: COED Player Outdoor Flight 2
Yes Footie (adult)
Up to 3x week of an organized drop in style of footie in a mixed gender format. We handle everything: set up teams, cones, flags, pinnies, and music for good quality soccer. Sign up for the program and play every week until end of September. All teams and players active in Sparta get this program included for free.
Link: YES FOOTIE!
Tournaments
The Pandemic Cup returns this year in September. 2022 champions were SC Central from Red Deer and are expected to defend their title. It will be exciting to see the results this year in this fun 3 hour competition enjoyed by all participants. Start building your endurance now.
Register Team: Pandemic Cup 2023 Team
Tryouts For Our Adult Teams
This is a call for tryouts for our various adult teams. And we’ve added several new teams to the mix. We have great coaches and training options (EDSA Mens/Womens have mandatory weekly training). Also as you age up to the 35, 45, & 55 teams then you can still wear the same kit and stay with the same friends you made along the way.
Use the link to register for the tryouts:
EDSA Womens Div 4: EDSA Womens
EDSA Mens Div 3/4: EDSA Mens
EDSA Masters Div 3: EDSA Masters
VMSL 35 Premier, Tuesdays: VMSL 35 Premier
VMSL 45 Majors, Fridays: VMSL 45 Majors
VMSL 55 Majors, Fridays: VMSL 55 Majors
SAMMRL 35, Sundays: SAMMRL Masters
SASA COED, Sundays: SASA COED
ESSC COED: ESSC COED
Sherwood Park COED: Sherwood Park COED
Mental Health
We all need help. Health link for resources and support here: Wellness
Grow The Spartan Tribe!
Stay connected with our various social media channels. Featuring player interviews & game clips of Spartan teams and programs.
Monthly Pun
Q: What do soccer referees send their family and friends for Christmas?
A: Yellow cards.
Soccer!
August News
Each kick of the ball is opportunity to change the game direction to a new outcome. In this case, we started discussions with the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association (EMSA) in exploring this opportunity to add Spartan Soccer Youth Club to that prominent membership. We received lots of positive feedback from the parents and children in our programs on this initiative. The excitement builds as we await the end of August with EMSA’s decision. A quick recap: we launched our Yes Footie Youth to address the ask from the soccer community and parents and children really enjoyed that option. We quickly added Open Evaluations into the mix, too, and both served as a primer for the youth teams we are building for our future youth soccer club.
Register for Open Evaluations
Club (female U9-U19): Club U9-U19 Females: Open Evaluations
Club (male U9-U19): Club U9-U19 Males: Open Evaluations
Community (m/f ages): Community U9-U19: M/F Open Evaluations
Yes Footie (youth)
End of Summer Discount is 1/2 price now!
The program started as 16 x 1 hour session for only $40. Nothing better is offered anywhere in the region. Your child can still join. Each group features mentor/coaches getting the children going until they are exhausted. We are told the kids slept well after each session and eager to return for the next one. This will continue until late September.
Link: Yes Footie – Youth: Age 8-12
EMSA
We plan for our club to be anchored to the south side. EMSA is split into a north & south with the river serving as the division line. The current parameters allows teams to have 6 players from out of area to participate on a team. Each club is allowed to have 2 teams on the Tier 1 & 2 levels maximum that will be allowed to play on turf venues. Tier 3 and community will be boarded.
We’ve heard these segregations triggered agitation in the soccer community. It is unfortunate that the lack of turf venues (coupled with locations that intentionally restrict turf usage) has forced this outcome. We hope that these circumstances will create noise amongst the soccer community to petition municipal political channels to pursue developing more turf & non boarded venues. However, we are not optimistic of that approach considering the spending cuts in our province. We are hoping that this message might stimulate private investment as the demand is there and the supply is not. This ties into our efforts to build such facilities and our momentum is growing. We remain receptive to additional private investors to review our investment deck and comprehensive business plan to bring this reality for the soccer community.
COED
Our adult COED continues as flight 2 & 3 will migrate to the turf at the newly retrofitted Larry Olexiuk stadium that we are told is to be opened in Sept. Until such time, we continue our program on grass fields as usual. For the pending indoor, we aim for futsal as the best solution during the winter season. The primary reasons being that the lack of turf venues and growing dislike of boarded soccer makes futsal shine as an option. Also, the added benefit is that futsal makes you develop and enhance your ball skills & team work more rapidly. Futsal is the way!
Join anytime during season as a player, group, or team and we find you a spot in minutes (we have the fastest, easiest registration system around). Fun, safe soccer based upon FIFA rules with proper game officials & standings…and we play music during games. More fun & laughter!
Team Link: email for this: info@spartansoccer.ca
Single Player Link: COED Player Outdoor Flight 2
Yes Footie (adult)
End of Summer Discount is 1/2 price now!
Up to 3x week of an organized drop in style of footie in a mixed gender format. We handle everything: set up teams, cones, flags, pinnies, and music for good quality soccer. Sign up for the program and play every week until end of September. All teams and players active in Sparta get this program included for free.
Link: YES FOOTIE!
Tournaments
Moving on to other exciting developments is our 2nd annual Pandemic Cup returning on Sept 24 for Adult COED starting at 4:30PM (this allows for 2 legs to compete that evening with each leg holding 4 teams and a single victor of each leg). To align with this event will also be the introduction of the Youth version of this tournament, too. We are pegging this to Sept 17 & Sept 24 at 8:30AM – 10:30AM for the youth U13, U11, & U9 teams. Only 4 teams participate in each leg with a single victor per leg determined at the end of each leg. The adult version is 3 hours of soccer split into 6 games. The youth version is 2 hours of soccer split into 4 games. All Spartan tournaments have always been focused upon endurance. These tournaments will take place at a turf stadium with free parking and full amenities at location. Only the best for our participants and spectators! Full details on our website under the Programs tab.
The Pandemic Cup returns this year in September. 2022 champions were SC Central from Red Deer and return to defend their title. It will be exciting to see the results this year in this fun 3 hour competition enjoyed by all participants. Start building your endurance now. We also introduce the Youth version of this event as mentioned above. Full details on our website under the Programs tab.
~ Early Bird Rates ~
$200 discount by August 26
$100 discount by August 31
Register Team: Pandemic Cup 2023 Team
Tryouts For Our Adult Teams
Open call for tryouts for our various adult teams. We’ve added several new teams to the with our great coaches and training options (EDSA Mens/Womens have mandatory weekly training). Imagine as you age up to the 35, 45, & 55 teams that you wear the same kit and stay with the same friends you made along the way up.
Register for tryouts:
EDSA Womens Div 4 (age 16+) : EDSA Womens
EDSA Mens Div 3/4 (age 16+): EDSA Mens
EDSA Masters Div 3 (age 35+): EDSA Masters
VMSL Premier (age 35+): VMSL 35 Premier
VMSL Majors (age 40+): VMSL 45 Majors
VMSL Majors (age 50+): VMSL 55 Majors
SAMMRL (age 35+): SAMMRL Masters
SASA COED (age 16+): SASA COED
ESSC COED (age 16+): ESSC COED
Sherwood Park COED (age 16+): Sherwood Park COED
Leduc COED (age 16+): Leduc COED
Mental Health
We all need help. Health link for resources and support here: Wellness
Grow The Spartan Tribe!
Stay connected with our various social media channels. Featuring player interviews & game clips of Spartan teams and programs.
Monthly Pun
Q: What is the only dog breed plays soccer?
A: The goal-den retriever
Soccer!
October News
When EMSA approved our club to join late evening Aug 31, we hit the ground running at full tilt that night and kept that pace (all hands on deck) to ensure we had the required teams ready by end of Sept. So if you were greatly saddened and left wondering about the missing Sept news, 3M (Mid Month Memo), and other Spartan bits, now you know.
We are thankful for each family that put their faith in the new Spartan Youth club by registering their child, volunteering time, and helping when possible. This also could not have become reality without the incredible coaches and support staff we have aligned under our banner: Ivan Tolentino, Fangliang Dong, Aida Koohkesh, Vonda Bobart, Meaghan Blackburn, Troy Smith, and someone named Teo Zanetic.
We also wish to thank the following golden people while we navigated into the youth soccer realm: Kondeh Mansaray (BTB) and Rob Mosele (Juventus), Sinisa Matic (First Touch), Toan Duong, and Cristian Munoz for sage advice while we built momentum forming teams.
As we hit the final stretch towards membership, we also wish to thank the amazing and supportive staff at EMSA while we blundered about filling forms (often incorrectly lol) or missed some other elements (often). Special thanks to: Angela DiCesare, Dragos Niculescu, Tiffany Porteous, Diana Clark, and of course Mario Charpentier.
None of this would have happened without everyone leaning in. They say its takes a village to raise a child and by extension it takes a soccer community to build a new club. The first “volume” of Spartan Soccer started as an adult COED league in 2017; adding new ‘chapters’ with each season. This youth endeavour represents the second volume for you (the soccer community) to write with us. We welcome your children to join the Spartan soccer family.
Our Youth Club debuted with a win: U15 Girls (Tolentino) set the way by winning gold in the recent COPA tournament hosted by EMSA. This victory following on the heels of our Masters team in SAMMSL winning the outdoor finals. Things are quite buoyant in Spartan with these 2023 capstones, but we know we must never falter with training for our youth & adult teams in order to push the envelope.
2023 we added a 2nd mens team in EDSA for indoor. During the summer we also patched together a small VMSL 55 squad, which by end of season the roster filled to yield a strong, competitive team that almost won division. Unruly Minions in SASA COED enters the winter season with a solid roster of talents with a M/F ratio of almost 1:1. Can we can home brew our own female team in EDSA Women for outdoor 2024? We shall see!
Our Outdoor COED program did well with new faces and teams joining our program. We played grass pitches in St. Albert as the stadium we normally use was retrofitted during the outdoor season. Grass fields are ok, but we prefer turf. Also, the outdoor season could last longer if we had more locations with lights. If only some well intentioned businesses would sponsor upgrading some fields with lights…
Spartan Swag
Our promo gear page will be up shortly on our website to buy cool swag. We’re building a nice collection of the finest items with our brand. Our goal is sustainability, so you won’t find plastic based products unless they are 100% biodegradable. If a water bottle, for example, then it is metal and dishwasher safe. Why wait to win our gear as a prize when you can order it?
Corporate Sponsors
If you’re an individual, business, or community looking for branding or sponsorship opportunities with Spartan, then reach out to us. We pack a punch for your valued dollars that is unique and worthwhile. Send email to: info@spartansoccer.ca
Recruit Hub
We have space for you. See what fits you below and contact us: info@spartansoccer.ca
EDSA Mens, Thur: 3 spots
EDSA Mens, Wed: 2 spots
EDSA 35+, Fri, 3 spots
VMSL 35+, Tue: 3 spots
VMSL 40+, Fri: 3 spots
VMSL 50+, Fri: 3 spots
SAMMRL 35+, Sun: 2 spots
SASA COED, Sun: full
EMSA U9 Boys, Mon: 4 spots
EMSA U11 Boys, Thur: 3 spots
EMSA U13 Boys, Sat: 3 spots
EMSA U15 Girls, Sun: full
Futsal
We’re putting together an option for both youth and adult. Stayed tuned.
Yes Footie (adult & youth)
Will be offered as evening soccer with flood lights and glowing soccer balls. This will also continue as snow soccer during the winter, which we started in the region in 2020. Best way to become the best soccer player is snow soccer. Stay tuned.
Tournaments
Oh, the GoT is returning! Game of Trophies is planned for Dec. Stay tuned.
Mental Health
We all need help. Health link for resources and support here: Wellness
Grow The Spartan Tribe!
Stay connected with our various social media channels. Featuring player interviews & game clips of Spartan teams and programs.
Monthly Pun
Q: Why was the soccer player angry?
A: He got kicked the grass!
Soccer!