Annual National Camp Brings Together Top Steel Athletes
The best Steel United soccer players and Team Steel baseball players from around the country came together July 30-August 2 for the annual Steel Sports National Camp presented by Nextiva, a unique experience to train, learn and improve under the leadership of our top coaches and staff. The bonds and friendships these athletes make will last a lifetime. We're looking forward to the next stage of our National Program where teams will form and compete at top national tournaments in the fall and winter. The National Program is just one layer of our commitment to develop our athletes to reach their potential on and off the field through our Steel Sports Coaching System which puts kids first!
Be sure to check back for next month's Spotlights to enjoy a full recap video that's currently in progress along with additional photos.
Robbie Earle Joins the Steel Sports Advisory Board
Steel Sports is excited to announce Robbie Earle, former international soccer player and current commentator for the Premier League on NBC Sports, has joined the Steel Sports Advisory Board! Robbie brings decades of experience and knowledge to our team, and as a UEFA A License coach, he's ready to use that passion for coaching to help develop systems to improve coaching around the country. Welcome to the team, Robbie!
“Steel Sports’ Kids First philosophy and commitment to creating positive experiences in youth sports and coaching is inspiring. Sports have the power to instill important values, build character, and create lifelong memories. I’m eager to get to work in making a meaningful impact on the lives of kids and communities around the country.” —Robbie Earle
New Teams Directors Named for Steel united Regions
Three new Teams Directors took over Steel United regions over the summer with Dakota Carroll taking the reins in Pennsylvania and Sean Collins and Jeremy McManus being promoted to the role in Massachusetts and Hudson Valley, respectively. Dakota has been a rising star in the Philadelphia area for nearly two decades. After a standout high school and college soccer career, she discovered her passion for coaching and mentoring. Dakota continues to play soccer in the United Women’s Soccer League with Steel United. In a player-coach role, Dakota helped the team finish tied for first place last summer and was named offensive player of the year for the UWS.
Sean's coaching career has spanned nine years including time as an assistant coach at LIU Post University and club level soccer at SUSA and Southampton Soccer Clubs. Sean also played soccer for Huddersfield Town, Dowling College and LIU Post and also represented his country playing for England School Boys. In addition to coaching this past year for Steel United, Sean has been the Programming Director for MA, running camps and clinics in the region, and he has a USSF Advanced National Diploma.
Jeremy McManus played soccer for Steel United NJ (formerly FCUSA) and is our first former player to ascend to Teams Director. Previously the Assistant Regional Product Director, Coach and Goalkeeper Coach for Steel United NJ, Jeremy has a unique perspective coaching teams and running camps and tournaments. Jeremy played college soccer as a goalkeeper at RIASA in Leeds (UK) for four years receiving a BA in International Sports Management, and he has his UEFA B coaching license.
Kids First Road Show Rolls On
July was a great month for our Steel Sports Kids First Road Show with five camps in five states! The Road Show visited Steel Partners business units HandyTube in Delaware, Lucas Milhaupt in Rhode Island and Wisconsin and OMG in Illinois for multisport camps, while IndianaTube hosted a baseball and softball camp. All Kids First Road Show camps focus on skills, fun and our Steel Sports coaches model and teach the Core Values. Campers are rewarded for exemplifying Teamwork, Respect, Integrity and Commitment. These camps have had a tremendously positive impact on the local communities, providing a free opportunity for kids to grow on and off the field during the summer.
Baseball Lifestyle 101 Adds New Flavor to World Series
Lasorda Legacy Park hosted 95 teams on July 6-9 for the Baseball Lifestyle 101 World Series, a 4-game guarantee event that featured top competition and engaging activities off the field thanks to a new sponsor. Baseball Lifestyle 101 joined the World Series as the title sponsor and added a new level of fun with giveaways, activations, contests and even an ice cream truck on one of the tournament days. BL101 has become a fixture at Lasorda Legacy Park this year, building a store inside the on-site indoor academy. Watch the recap video below!
Summer Camps in Full Swing Around the Country
Since the start of the summer, Steel Sports has been putting smiles on the faces of summer campers around the country and getting them active, too! Our camps emphasize fun and positivity while we teach basic sports fundamentals and introduce kids to our Steel Sports Core Values. The summer's not quite over, and we have plenty of more camps on the schedule to impact even more kids. Enjoy some of our favorite camp photos by watching the video below!
Steel United Texas Hosts Signing Day
Signing Day in Texas is a special day where athletes, coaches, families and supporters come together to celebrate committing to Steel United for the upcoming soccer season. This year, Steel United TX hosted its largest signing day ever with over 200 people attending on July 1. In addition to committing to Steel United, the players, families and staff enjoyed plenty of fun activities like Teqball, soccer tennis, cornhole and scrimmages. There were also some amazing donations for the raffle, including a Traeger grill, three TVs, FC Dallas tickets and more.
NYBC Celebrates 15 Years
Lasorda Legacy Park hosted the 15th annual National Youth Baseball Championships on July 20-26 with 24 teams attending in ages 10U-14U. Team Steel NY won its first NYBC title in program history, winning the 14U division. The boys turned it up a notch in bracket play with three consecutive wins capped off with a 1-0 win in the title game over LIB 14U Select. Next year, the NYBC moves to an earlier spot on the calendar and will be played over the Fourth of July holiday on July 3-7.
Massachusetts Team Travels Down Under for Women's World Cup
The eyes of the soccer world were on Australia for the FIFA Women's World Cup this summer, and our Steel United Massachusetts 2009 Boston Elite Girls traveled down under for the trip of a lifetime! The team trained and played friendlies with local clubs, made new Australian friends, did plenty of sightseeing, and of course, took in some World Cup action. The players and families enjoyed matches between Columbia-South Korea, France-Jamaica and England-Denmark. Thanks to our partners at EPL Sports for once again organizing an incredible trip.
Team Steel Goes to Cooperstown
Team Steel California and New York sent 12U teams to Cooperstown All-Star Village in upstate New York for their legendary weeklong experience. Cooperstown is a rite of passage for 12U teams where they can compete and bond in an overnight camp environment. Team Steel CA was the first to visit on July 21-26 as the team went 1-6 overall with six team home runs. Team Steel NY 12U Pink finished 5-3 on the week, winning their first playoff game. Mike Zicchinelli smacked three of the team's four home runs including one he'll remember forever. Down 8-2 in the last inning, the boys back to win 10-8 on Mike's walk-off grand slam. Watch the video of Mike's walk-off blast!
Staff Spotlights
Congratulations to July's Staff Star Nancy Walsh from Steel Sports Corporate and Social Impact MVP Adam Tourle from Texas! Nancy did an absolutely stellar job organizing many of the on and off the field aspects of the Steel Sports National Camp and went above and beyond for the camp as she always does. Months of hard work and dedication go into planning and preparing for the National Camp, and Nancy demonstrated each of the Steel Sports Core Values in helping provide a great experience for the players and staff.
Adam's hard work and leadership has continued to be evident in the growth of the Steel United TX region. The recent signing day event that Adam helped organize had over 200 players attend, and the club is on course to have over 320 players this coming season. In addition, Adam helped set up a raffle on signing day that raised over $1,000 to go toward helping players in McKinney soccer.