North Storm Soccer

News and notes on North Storm happenings!

TBAYS and North Storm are proud to add 5 new members to the ever growing list of ODP players representing our club at the state and regional ODP levels! 

Parker Hogarth from the NS 93's, Elliot Stratton, Owen Stratton and Lars Hornburg from the NS 98's,Justin Kraft from the NS 96's, and Colin Lesoski from the NS 94's, who joins teammate Mike Weber. Ethan Cartwright from the NS95's joins Mike Weber as regional pool players on the ODP stage.

North Storm is really beginning to shine in one area specifically, having three NS goalkeepers now in the ODP program, and two from previous years as ODP alumni. That is truly an accomplishment. 

That totals 8 North Storm players currently participating at the state and region's top talent level this year alone! Way to go boys!

And a big congrats to the coaches and teammates that continue to train and motivate their teammates so well!

Keep setting the bar North Storm!

North Storm would like to announce it's newest Olympic Development Program participants!

Congratulations to Mike Weber of the North Storm 94's and to Alex Gloshen or the North Storm 97's.

Both players are tremendous examples of the talent and skill needed to achieve such a prestigous invitation.

Through a rigorous weekend long tryout down state, our players were chosen by the Nationally licensed State Staff to participate on the ODP teams in their respective age groups.

ODP is the first stone on the path to playing on the US National teams...the best of the best! ODP is the highest level of competition available in state soccer programs. A player chosen for ODP has shown the committment and dedication to soccer required to aspire to greater levels of play and development.

Good luck boys...we are hopeful of a regional invite for you both!

 The North Storm 96's showed they are on a mission this season by accepting the competitive challenge of one of the newer hyper competitive tournaments in our state...the Kalamazoo Crusader Cup.

They continued to make their mission known by  winning the Cup in true North Storm fashion....tough and confident. Wins against Kingdom FC and Battle Creek, the 96's looked prime for a finals birth...until Jaier snuck in a 1-0 win over the rain soaked and water logged 96's.

Because of the 96's to not only score, but defend, they made the semi's on goal differential and promptly put any doubts to rest  as they dismantled Taylor FC 3-0. Set was the stage for a rematch against Jaier. North Storm was by no means intimidated and took care of business, defeating Jaier 2-0 to claim the hardware!

Way to go 96's! Keep up the good work and the competitive drive!

Well, a picture is worth a thousand words! This is a classic example of the poor condition of soccer coaching and methods in youth soccer across our sport.

It is sad that our downstate foes often resort to such methods, versus spending time teaching their players how to not get in this position to begin with!

North Storm as a club is committed to teaching, coaching and the spirit of the game. We are pleased to lead the charge of teaching our players how to play, how to play within the rules of the game, and best of all, how to play against those that don't!

 Congratulations to the NS 97B, the NS 95B and the NS 94B for their acceptance into the 2010 spring State Cup tournament.

State Cup is a tough road for any team. With games beginning the last week of March, we're still 90 inches away from seeing grass up here!

But, North Storm continues to aspire to compete on a grander level and earn the respect they have worked so hard to achieve.

Good luck to everyone.    

 Congratulations to Michael Weber for being named to the 93 ODP REGIONAL pool. 
Michael has been a 5 year North Storm participant and plays his high school ball for the TC Christian, St. Francis co-op team, a consistent District and Regional play participant.
Michael is a multi-talented player who originally began as a goalkeeper with North Storm. Eventually, Michael became both a feared attacker and a fearless defender, providing equal contribution to the North Storm 94 team. 
It looks like Michael with be leaving his mark on the ODP team as a defender. 

Good luck Michael, your club is proud of you. Your town is proud of you as well. Next stop, the US National team???

 July 4, 2010

TC's Weber makes ODP

TCSF sophomore now aims to make regional squad

By JAMES COOKjcook@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — It took a bit of work, but Michael Weber went from a number to a name.

At least with the Olympic Development Program.

Weber's potential has been known around Traverse City soccer circles for some time, but until his recent selection through the first pair of cut-downs in the Olympic Development Program, he was simply known as Player 599.

"I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some more experience from high-ranked coaches and players better than me," said Weber, a versatile player who has seen action everywhere from goalie to forward in recent years.

But as it turns out, when he went to the tryouts, there weren't many better players. The first cutdown was from a pool of 50 invited players and was whittled down to 30.

"I looked around and thought the competition was good and I had to put it all in," Weber said. "They had our numbers on the back of the T-shirts they gave us, and on Sunday they read off the numbers that made the team."

The tryout was based on birth year. With Weber being born in December of 1993, he was one of the youngest there at the three-day camp last August.

"I had to step up my game knowing that most of these players had a lot more experience," said Weber, who has played since age 5.

But he stuck out. That happens when you're 6-foot-3 at age 16.

"I think that's what really caught their eye," Weber said. "I had an edge over a lot of players there, so I had to use that to my advantage."

Then, after a pair of weekends training in Pontiac, he made it through another round of cuts this summer and is slated to play on the Michigan team participating in a large tournament in Kansas later this month. That's when he went from Player No. 599 to a name on the roster for the Olympic Development Program Region II team.

"His development is impressive just for the fact that sometimes he's been relied upon strictly for his size and his abilities have been overlooked," said Thomas Singer, Weber's coach on the North Storm 94 travel team. "Actually, Mike started out as a goalkeeper. He probably held that role about a year or two longer than he wanted to. He holds a lot of responsibilities for his current North Storm team, doth defensive and on the attacking side."

Weber also was a standout for Traverse City Christian, when he was one of six players from Traverse City St. Francis allowed to play on the Sabres' new co-op. Under coach Tom Spencer at Christian, Weber plays primarily on defense, but has seen some action up top.

"He's to the point where exposure to players of his ability or greater is definitely what he needs," Singer said. "He's got a pretty good handle on his age group in this area, so it's nice for him to get some exposure elsewhere.

"This is a hard thing for a kid from northern Michigan to go through. It is not a nice environment down there. A lot of these kids are repeats and defending their slots, so they don't like outsiders coming in. The commitment for these guys is far greater than the commitment for someone down there. For them, training sessions and meetings and things are just 15 or 20 minutes away. Whereas for kids down there it's a vacation, for kids up here it's an aspiration."

The next step is the regional team, which covers 14 states. The state team has training sessions downstate July 11-13, then leaves July 15 for regionals in Overland Park, Kan.

And once he makes a team, there's no telling where the coach will put him. That's where his versatility helps. He played goalie at the U-12 level, and has been all over the field for the North Storm and Sabres.

"The biggest thing is that he's the driving force," his mother, Cindy Weber, said. "He just loves it so much. We told him as long as we can continue to afford it, we'll do what we can to help him.

"His favorite time of the year is when Tom Singer says the fields are open. I remember a few years ago taking him to the first outdoor practice and when we got to the field he says, 'I love when outdoor starts.' I guess that says it all right there. If he didn't love it, we wouldn't do it."

That includes a lot of weekends driving Michael back and forth to training sessions, meetings, tournaments and practices — both in the Traverse City area and throughout the state.

For North Storm team, half their season is spent in the Detroit area.

Last weekend, Weber participated in an ODP function near Detroit and then had to go directly from these to Wisconsin to play in a tournament with the North Storm team.

"You have to chase the competition when you get that skilled," Singer said.

In that regard, Weber hopes to follow in the steps of Traverse City great Casey Townsend, who was one of the last TC natives to play in the ODP program.

"I look up to him," Weber said. "He's a very good soccer player. I went to the Central-West games to watch him and was just stunned at what he could do with the ball. My hope is someday I go down a similar path."

He's already gone from number to name, now he just needs to take that next step and be a big name.

 The North Storm 98 U12 boys Premier team wrapped up their inaugural season in North Storm by winning their MMYSL league title against division foe East Lansing 3-2.

The 98's went 9-1 in a division hosting teams such as Lansing, Clio, Mt. Pleasant, Flushing and Frankenmuth. Their only loss was in game one of the 2010 spring season against East Lansing, whom they faced to win the division title.

The 98's lost their head coach mid-season, but banded together to not allow it to affect them. Incoming coaches Mark Aulicino and Thomas Singer tasked the team with adapting quickly and bringing home a division title. 

With constant, consistent quality play and a new style of quick strike balanced with good possession, the 98's set a high bar of play. Solid goalkeeping was a luxury for the team as well!

Rounding out the season were two tournament finals appearances as well.

Congrats and here's to the next league title!