Latest News

April 9, 2012

Thank you all again for a great 2011-2012 season.

The City of Tamarac will be running the league next season. For information about the fall season please call Rance Gaede of the City of Tamarac Parks and Recreation department at 954-597-3620.

March 21, 2012

Details About Closing Ceremonies
When: Saturday, March 24th from 11 am to 3 pm
Where: Tamarac Sports Complex

We'll have bounce houses and games for the kids to enjoy. Please be sure to wear your soccer jerseys. Trophies will be handed out starting at 1:00 pm.

Food
Players will eat for free, but we'll also have Combo meals available for everyone else for a low price. Players won't need tickets this year...Just wear your jerseys.

Games
We'll have bounce houses and a dunk tank available.  The dunk tank will cost $1.00 for 3 throws with proceeds going to the Relay for Life.  Get your chance to dunk some of the coaches and board memebers.

Trophies
Trophies will be handed out starting at 1pm.  This will be your last photo opportunity so remember to wear your team's jerseys.

Raffles
The last five raffle winners will be drawn at Closing Ceremony.

March 8, 2012

Congratulations to our division champions. While the Freshman division does not have a champion, we do want to recognize the team with the best overall record.

We'll see you at Closing Ceremonies on March 24th from 11am to 3pm.

March 5, 2012

Senior Division All Star Game
The Senior Division will have an All-Star Game on Saturday, March 10th at 4:30pm. Selected players MUST be at the fields by 3pm to pick up jerseys and get an orientation on the rules (how players will enter the game, etc.).

Congratulations to the following players for beig selected to the All-Star Game:

February 29, 2012

Change of Game Times in Junior Division
Due to coaches scheduling conflicts, we have changed the times for two games this weekend. The following are the affected games with their new times:

February 28, 2012
Message From the President

We have reached the last game of the season.  As with any sport there were ups and downs, but a vast majority of the season was enjoyed by the players.  In reviewing the final scores from last week's games our flex schedule proved to be very successful.  Out of 22 games, all but two were decided by two goals or less, and many of our games went to penalty kicks for tie breakers.

Sadly, the behavior exhibited by some spectators last weekend left a lot to be desired.  We really hoped that people would recognize that this is YOUTH soccer, not the World Cup, not the National Championship, not a State Title, and not even a travel team tournament.  And while winning is fun, it is not the only thing.  Sportsmanship in a civilized country should come first.  Adult spectators should exhibit behavior that shows they are.............well, adults.  The childlike behavior exhibited by some spectators, which was witnessed by hoards of people of all ages, really was disappointing.  It was a sad statement maybe of what our society has come to. To prevent this from happening again, we are implementing three steps for the final week of play, specifically for the Junior division.

Important Rules for the Final Games
To prevent this from happening again, we are implementing three steps for the final week of play, specifically for the Junior division.

1)   We have hired a uniformed deputy sheriff who will assist us in removing from the field any person whose behavior:

     a)  Has any negative impact on any of the games being played, or

     b)  Whose behavior is in direct conflict with the parent’s code of conduct that all parents signed when registering their children.

If a spectator is asked to leave and does not, the coach will be asked to assist in having the offending person leave.  If that is not successful, that team will forfeit the game.

2)   For all Junior games, the parents, coaches and players will be on opposite sides of the field from each other.  On both fields, the home team will be on the east side of the field, and the away team will be on the west side of the field.  Play will not begin until this rule is adhered to.  If it is not, the game will be forfeited by offending team.

3)   Any player who arrives at the field dressed in a full uniform (shirt, pants, socks, cleats and shin guards) will be REQUIRED to play at least 50% of the game.  If a fully uniformed player does not play half the game, that team will forfeit the game.  The only exception is if a player starts to play but gets injured and is unable to play further.

It is sad that the behavior of a few has to ruin the fun for everyone, but you know that old saying, "a few bad apples........."

Closing Ceremonies
Closing Ceremonies are set for Saturday, March 24th.  We decided not to do the weekend of the 10th or 17th as both of those are part of Spring Break and many people will be out of town.

Good luck to every team in their final games this Saturday.

Joe Torok
President
Tamarac Youth Soccer League

February 25, 2012

Congratulations to Lori Conte and Regan Beagle, the winners of our Week Eleven raffle raffle drawing. Visit the concession stand to claim your prizes.

February 18, 2012

Congratulations to Greg Meador and Tom Yoder, the winners of our Week Ten raffle raffle drawing. Visit the concession stand to claim your prizes.

Update on Schedules for Last Two Weeks
We are working on the schedules for the final two weeks of the season. These games, which include division playoffs, will be posted on Sunday or Monday. The times of the playoff games may be different from what has been online so that we can accommodate the people that are coaching two teams.

A reminder: EVERY TEAM WILL HAVE GAMES DURING THE FINAL TWO WEEKS.

February 15, 2012

This Saturday's Games
All of last week's games have been moved to this weekend. Please be aware that your game times have not changed, only the date is different. If your game last Saturday was scheduled to start at 9am, then your game this weekend will be at 9am. The Web site has been updated to reflect this.

Flex Schedules
The fial two weeks of the season are based on a flex schedule, which is to say that the games will be based on the standings to ensure that everyone plays games against teams of comparable records. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT EVERY TEAM WILL HAVE GAMES DURING THE FINAL TWO WEEKS. The top four teams in each division - with the exception of the Freshman division, which does not have a playoff system - will face off in a playoff to determine the division champion. The top four teams in te Freshman division will still face off, but no division title is up for grabs.

We will do everything possible to let you know of your approximate game times this weekend.

Picture Retakes
icture retakes will be this Saturday, February 18th. If you have any issues with your photos, you can speak with the company representatives that day, or you may contact them at www.jmp-sports.com.

February 14, 2012

Picture Make-Ups This Saturday
Picture retakes will be this Saturday, February 18, 2012. If you have had any issues with your photos, you can speak with the company representatives that day, or you may contact them at www.jmp-sports.com.

February 10, 2012

TOMORROW'S GAMES HAVE BEEN POSTPONED. The rains over the last week have flooded all of the fields at the Sports Complex. All of this week's games will be moved to next week, which will result in pushing the final week of the season to March 3rd. A new date for Closing Ceremonies will be announced later on.

We had also planned to have picture re-takes this weekend. We will notify you on when those have been rescheduled.

February 9, 2012

Cupcakes for a Cure
This Saturday we will be selling cupcakes at the concession stand as a fundraiser for Cupcakes for a Cure. Proceeds will go to the Women of Tamarac Soccer's relay team for the Relay for Life event to be held on May 4th at Millenium Middle School.

Game Schedules
The schedules for the final two weeks of the season will be posted next week. These games will be based on the standings to ensure that everyone plays games against teams of comparable records. The top four teams will face off in the playoffs for a chance to win the division title (with the exception of the Freshman division, which does not have a playoff system. The top four teams will, however, be matched up against each other). PLEASE REMEMBER THAT EVERYONE WILL HAVE GAMES DURING THE FINAL TWO WEEKS.

We will do everything possible to let you know of your approximate game times this weekend.

February 7, 2012

This Saturday we will be selling "Cupcakes for a Cure" to help raise money for the Women of Tamarac Soccer's relay team for the Relay for Life event on May 4th at Millenium Middle School.

February 6, 2012
Message From the President

The end of our season is not far away. We have one more Saturday of regular season games, a few weeknight games, and then our Playoff and Championship Weekends. EVERY TEAM WILL HAVE GAMES DURING THE PLAYOFF WEEKS. Match-ups will be based on team records to ensure the most competitive games for all.

Picture Day
First off a quick reminder that retakes for picture day will be this Saturday, February 11, 2012. If you have had any issues with your photos, you can speak with the company representatives that day, or you may contact them at www.jmp-sports.com.

Playing Time
I will also take this opportunity to remind all players, parents and coaches that our rules are very clear about playing time, and those rules are applied to Playoff and Championship games as well. Every player on a team MUST play at least 50% of the game. The easiest way to ensure this is to have players play a quarter at a time, but each coach is permitted to substitute at various times during the game. It would truly be unfortunate to have a team do well but have to forfeit a game because a player did not get to participate as the rules clearly indicate.

The Rumors Are True
Lastly, I want to address rumors that some of you have heard. Usually about this time of year we start making announcements for elections for Board positions. That will not be happening this year. Yes, the end is near. It is with a bit of a heavy heart that I can now confirm that starting with the next soccer season the City of Tamarac will be running the soccer program. In a meeting that I attended about a week ago, the City expressed to me that they are looking to run not just the soccer program, but also girl’s softball, men’s softball, co-ed softball, men’s basketball and flag football. They already are running the youth basketball program at the Community Center and are in the process of taking on the girl’s softball program. So I want to make it clear that they are not just looking to take over soccer.

The City is still working out the logistics but they are trying to have some flyers to hand out at our Closing Ceremony with some details regarding when registration will be next year and how to contact the City for additional information.

The Board has worked hard the past three years and built the program from 326 registered players the year before we were elected to having 521 registered players this year. I am proud of the work we have done, though I know there were times some of you may not have been happy with decisions we had to make. I hope you know that decisions we made were for the good of the entire league. I was very blessed to have the opportunity to work with a tremendous group of people, all working in unison to achieve a common goal.

When we were originally elected, I promised to do three things for the league.

1. Lower the cost and make it more affordable
2. Bring back the coaches draft system for team selection instead of the teams being selected by the Board or a computer program
3. Better communication with the Board

Each of the three years we were here, the price was reduced. The year before we were elected the cost was $140.00 a player plus a fundraiser in the middle of the year for each player. This past year the cost was $80.00 per player and a $20.00 fundraiser per family. A majority of the fundraiser money was given back in the form of raffle winners each week and at the end of the year.

Each year, we did have the coach’s draft their own team based upon the players performance at evaluations. Each year we had to make adjustments to the draft as “loopholes” were found by some coaches but that is just the competitive nature of humans.

Lastly, we strived to respond to emails or phone calls within a few days if not sooner. Board members are always at the field and most of you know us and finding us is easy to do. This was all done to make the program better for the kids. Game stats are up and posted on the website within a few days of the games.

I wish the City of Tamarac much success in their endeavor. I have agreed to meet with them to discuss how things were run and why and what issues and rules need to be amended based on this year’s performance. Selfishly I feel that our Board has built up an amazing program and will do what I can to help the City ensure that this success continues.

Thank you all for your support and words of encouragement throughout the years. Good luck to you and your teams as this season winds down and we look forward to seeing you at Closing Ceremony which TENTATIVELY is set for March 3rd. More info will follow regarding the date and time.

Joe Torok
President
Tamarac Youth Soccer League

February 4, 2012

Congratulations to M. Tate and Chad Guntrum, the winners of our Week Nine raffle raffle drawing. Visit the concession stand to claim your prizes.

January 22, 2012

Thank you Coach Stauffer
Coach Dale Stauffer, the head coach for United FC in the Junior division, is an active United States Military Reservist. Coach Stauffer was recently deployed for a few months.

The Tamarac Youth Soccer League wishes him a safe and short deployment, and offers our humble thanks to he and all of the men and women of the United States military.

January 21, 2012

Congratulations to Claudia Lupo and Juan Deza, the winners of our Week Six raffle drawing. Visit the concession stand to claim your prizes.

January 14, 2012

Congratulations to Alecia Harvey and Kelly Moss, the winners of our Week Five raffle drawing. Visit the concession stand to claim your prizes.

January 7, 2012

Congratulations to Jose Flores and Chad Guntrum, the winners of our Week Four raffle drawing. Visit the concession stand to claim your prizes.

January 4, 2012
Message From the President

Happy New Year to all of you. I hope your holidays were safe and full of fun. Practices start up again this week. The short break we took did allow the fields a little time to rehab. Hopefully they will last until the end of the season.

Picture Day
Picture day is Saturday, January 14, 2012. During the week before then, your coaches will be given the picture order form. Please review it and if you wish to order pictures this year, have it filled out ahead of time. The schedule for your photo time will be out shortly, but generally it is no more than one hour before your game time. We have done well the previous few years getting the photos done for all the teams and not having delays in the start times of the games.

Make-Up Games
Make-up games for the cancelled Sophmore and Junior games from Week 2 will be played on SUNDAY, January 15, 2012 as follows:

Joe Torok
President
Tamarac Youth Soccer League

December 22, 2011

We've been advised by the City that the field lights will be turned off at 7pm tomorrow night (Friday, December 23rd). Please plan your practices accordingly.

Tamarac Youth Soccer League Board

December 21, 2011

Congratulations to Nita Luca and Jarod James, the winners of our Week Three raffle drawing. Visit the concession stand to claim your prizes.

December 12, 2011
Message From the President

As many of you know, we were not able to play any of our Sophmore division games this past weekend, nor any of the Junior games scheduled on Field 1. When I arrived at 7:00am on Saturday morning to set up, every Sophmore field was covered with standing water. From experience at the field, I knew that the water would not drain in a day. As a matter of fact, when we left the field that night at 6:00pm, water was still in puddles on the Sophmore fields.

We tried for hours to get the Junior field in playable condition, and we probably could have played, but the damage to the turf would have lasted for the remainder of the season.

Make-Up Games
Those games will be made up a little later in the season. We thought about make-up games the week of December 20th, but since that is the beginning of holiday season and school is out, we opted not to use those dates as many of you may be on vacation. With so many teams practicing each night, we are concerned about using all the fields for games on week nights, leaving no room for practices so we are looking at other possibilities. We will be discussing those options with the City and will post the make up game dates and times once we have them.

Mid-Week Games Start This Week
Speaking of weeknight games, each team has one game scheduled for on a weeknight this year. Those games will be starting this Wednesday. With this in mind, your coach may move your practice location to a different part of the field so these games can be played.

No Practices Week of December 26th
During the holiday break, there will be no games. Practices can be held during the first week, (December 20 - December 23); however, we are going to close the fields the second week of the break. This will give the turf a small chance to rehab before we start back on January 3rd. While this is may be a slight inconvenience, we have to look at the long-term damage to the turf and what the kids would be playing on in February if we didn't allow this short break.

Did You Take Pictures?
Did you take pictures of during either of the first two weeks' games? If so, please send a copy to glenn@tamaracsoccer.com and we'll post them on your team's page. Be sure to mention the division and team name. Feel free to provide a caption if you'd like.

No Dogs Allowed at the Sports Complex
Lastly, we have been asked by the City to remind all park visitors that dogs (other than service dogs) are NOT permitted at the Tamarac Sports Complex. The City will require you to leave the area if you are there with your dog, leashed or not.

I hope you have a joyfull holiday season and best wishes for the new year.

Joe Torok
President
Tamarac Youth Soccer League

December 11, 2011

Congratulations to Bill Sweginnis and Henry Giraldo, the winners of our Week Two raffle drawing. Visit the concession stand to claim your prizes.

December 3, 2011

Congratulations to Nikki Anderson and Leonard Bomwell, the winners of our first raffle drawing of the year. Visit the concession stand to claim your prizes.

Everyone can drop off their completed raffle tickets at the concession stand to be included in the next drawing, which will be held on December 10th. Please include your full names.

Novermber 21, 2011
Message From the President

It's hard to believe, but the games are almost here. Coaches were given a month to name their teams. By Thanksgiving, all players should have their shin guards and 98% of the players will have their uniforms.

There will be an abbreviated practuce schedule this week as the fields will be closed Thursday and Friday due to Thanksgiving. Practices will still be held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Just a few other things left to discuss:

1) Please remember to bring your raffle tickets to the concession stand so you can be included in the weekly Saturday drawings.

2) Parents please remember that at each game, for the safety of the players and spectators, you must remain behind the Orange line painted on the grass. Spectators can ONLY be qon the spectator side of the field. Spectators cannot be behind goals or on the coaches sideline.

3) Noise making devices may NOT be used while any game is in progress.

4) Per the rules that each head coach was given a copy of, teams CANNOT practice more that two times a week. Each practice should be for approximately one hour.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

Joe Torok
President
Tamarac Youth Soccer League

Novermber 14, 2011

Pictures of your coaches are now online. Click on the Teams link on the menu and select a division. To find your team search for a player by using your browser's FIND option (CTRL-F) and typing the player's last name.

Novermber 3, 2011

All player rosters are now online. Click on the Teams link on the menu to select a division. To search for a player, use your browser's FIND option (CTRL-F) and type the player's last name.

October 31, 2011

I want to start off by thanking all of those of you who have volunteered to coach. We were touch and go for a while in Freshman (U-6) division, but many of you stepped up to the plate and as a result, all of our registered players will get to play.

We will be starting practices on November 15 if your on a Tuesday / Thursday team, and on November 16th if your on a Wedensday / Friday team. Games are scheduled to start on Saturday, December 3, 2011.

Practices
During the drafts, coaches were CLEARLY informed that practices may not start until the dates posted above. Sadly, I have witnessed two teams try to gather for a practice on two occassions within the past week. So there is no more confusion, want to make clear what the definition of a practice is for this league. If more than two players are together at ANY field, and a coach is also present at the field and a soccer ball is being kicked, or stretching or conditioning excercises are being done, that is a practice. Those CANNOT begin until November 15th.

The coaches who were previously observed were not sure if what they were doing would be a practice so I thought it best to let everyone know. If a team is found to be practicing prior to 11-15-11 they will forfeit thier first game. Subsequent practices before November 15 will result in subsequent games being forfeited. All it takes is a clear dated photograph to show that a practice is going on and as we all know, everyone has cameras on thier phones nowadays.

This league afterall is supposed to be a fun, recreational soccer league. All teams should have the same advantages. I look forward to a great season with over 500 registered players.

Joe Torok
President
Tamarac Youth Soccer League

October 26, 2011

The player drafts for the Sophomore (U8), Junior and Senior divisions have been completed. All team rosters are now online.

October 18, 2011

Player drafts are currently under way. We have already completed the Junior and Senior division drafts and will be hosting the Sophomore (U8) draft next week. Freshman (U6) players will not have a draft and will instead be randomly placed onto teams. You should receive a call from your coaches in the next two weeks.

Practices will begin the week of November 15th with the first games scheduled for Saturday, December 3rd.

Coaches
Please remember to complete your City-mandated background checks. We are getting a list of dates for the coaches videos and will post them as soon as possible.

We Need Freshman (U6) Coaches
We are still in need of coaches in the Freshman (U6) division. Please help us by volunteering your time. You'll see tat coaching is a rewarding and fun experience, and a great way to spend time with your children. Practice days will be Tuesday/Thursday or Wednesday/Friday and only require a couple of hours a week.

If you're interested in coaching please e-mail us at tys@tamaracsoccer.com.

September 29, 2011

Hello to all,

As our registrations started this year, I began to worry. After four registrations we had about 120 players registered. When the final four registrations were finished we ended with over 475 people registered. Thank you to everyone for your patience, and to those who were involved in the registration process.

Due to available practice space, we planned on capping the freshman (old U-6) and sophomore (old U-8) at 12 teams each. Based on our registration numbers in those divisions, we are right on the mark.

Divisional Breakdown
We also, as we have each year, hoped to be able to make a U-10 division and a U12 division. We had just about 100 people registered for the U-10 division, which by itself was great. However, that would have made an uneven number of teams (seven) which meant one team would have a bye each week and would amount to less games for the kids.

In U-12 we only had 67 registered players. That would have equaled a total of 5 teams in that division, meaning again one team would have a bye each week.

The Senior division (old U-14) only had 52 registered players. That was barely enough for again only four teams in that division. We had that same situation last year and found that it was not really in the best interest of the kids, since they kept playing the same teams over and over.

The Plan
To fix the issues that came up in the last three divisions, we found that if we did away with U-10 and U-12 and, as we have had to do that last three years, and created a U-11 division, the numbers would work out much better.

There will be 12 teams in the Junior (old U-11) division and there will be 6 teams in the senior division. What that means is anyone who is 8, 9 or 10 is in the Junior division. Anyone over the age of 10 is in the Senior division.

This is not the way we would have liked the divisions, but based on the numbers of players who registered in each division, this was the best fix that would benefit the entire league.

Player Draft
The next step is the drafts, which only the head coaches are required to attend and their assistant coaches can if they wish. Players and parents need not be at the drafts. We are in the process now of seeing how many parents have volunteered to coach. That will take a few days so we may need to call on a few of you to volunteer if we are short on coaches.

The remainder of the schedule is being finalized, and is dependant on how late into the month of November the Tamarac Youth Football League will utilize the fields. As always, please visit our Web site (www.tamaracsoccer.com) for the most up-to-date information.

I look forward to another great season. Good luck to you all.

Joe Torok
President
Tamarac Youth Soccer League

September 22, 2011

Player evaluations for the Sophomore (U8) and Senior (U15) divisions will be this Sunday from 10:00am to 1:00pm at the Tamarac Sports Complex - Field 4.

Evaluations for the U10 and U12 divisions will be next Sunday, October 2nd, from 10:00am to 1:00pm at the Tamarac Sports Complex - Field 4.

September 13, 2011

The Tamarac Soccer Youth Soccer League would like to express our deepest condolences to the family of Ed Ziolkowski. Ed, a parent of one of our soccer players, died in his sleep on Labor Day. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lisa and Nicholas.