By Jeff Renaud
Celebrating its 50th season, St. Thomas Soccer Club has a long tradition of building winners — but more importantly, building character. Devoted to delivering quality instruction to both competitive and recreational players, STSC entered a new era last season with the appointment of the club’s first-ever technical director, Sam Buragina.
A former provincial player and three-time provincial championship winner as a coach and player, Buragina played an active role in the development and launch of the Ontario Soccer Association’s Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) program.
Buragina started an intensive winter training program in fall 2013, which was extended to all competitive players and 2014 recruits. All told, 120 boys and girls participated in the two-month training program, which focused on passing, control, dribbling and game awareness.
“I’m really excited about the dedication of our coaches and players towards improving the overall skills within St. Thomas,” says Buragina. “We hope to expand the winter program in 2014, and by the numbers of enquiries and positive reaction that we have received, that should not be a problem.”
For more information about 2014 summer camps or winter training, please contact Buragina at stthomastd@gmail.com.
Celebrating Cup winners
In 2014, the STSC U14 Girls and U13 Boys captured London and District Youth Soccer League (LDYSL) Challenge Cup titles. The STSC Board of Directors would like to extend congratulations to both the U14 Girls and the U13 Boys and offer a heartfelt thanks to all the players, coaches and parents that participated this past season and will represent the club, competitively and recreationally, in 2014.
2014 Tournament Dates
1. L5 & L6 Girls Soccerfest (U13-Womens) – Womens division may not run June 21-22
2. L5 & L6 Boys Soccerfest (U13-U18) – June 28-29
3. 9v9 1 Day Skillsfest (U11-U12) – July 12-13
4. Mini 1 Day Skillsfest (U9-U10) – July 19-20
www.stthomassoccer.com
