Our adult rec league is starting July 5th, 2008 at the Arsenal Soccer Fields at Knox Farm State Park. The first game will be at 9 AM this Saturday, at Knox fields in East Aurora on Knox Road. Please try to be there prior to 8:40 am so that we can get teams organized and uniforms distributed. A colored team jersey will be provided for each participant at that time. Schedules and roster will be distributed at that time. Soon, schedules can be found on our adult soccer web page

Each year our many of youth soccer players enjoy marching in the parade. The parade begins at 7:30 pm. Interested marchers should meet in the parking lot near Wilson farms. The club is still looking for a volunteer to organize the players and coaches as they arrive and to get someone to carry the club banner. If you are interested in helping out, contact Sue Friess. More information can be found at The town of Aurora web site

First of all a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you for another AWESOME soccer season! We appreciate you for lending your time and talents to our organization and being such great coaches for our kids!

Since this is the last weekend of the house soccer season, the Field Marshal will be collecting all equipment at the fields. When you have finished your last game on Saturday June 28th, please turn in all equipment (balls, cones, first aid kit) to the Field Marshal and make sure your name is checked off by the F.M. before you leave!!!

At Park Associates, your equipment will be collected by the shed. At Knox, your equipment will be collected by the big tree with the Lock Box next to it.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions! Have a great summer!

Heidi Potenza

Sad that the Aurora Arsenal House League Soccer season is over?

Are you interested in finding out more about Travel Soccer?

It may be hard to believe but preparations are well underway for the 2009 Travel season. Registration and background information about our Travel Program and the Tryout Schedule for the formation of the 2009 season teams will be sent out in August. Registration will be held in early September with tryouts in late September and early October. So the time might be right for you to ask if you and your child are ready for Travel Soccer. To start, if you have not already done so we encourage you to attend one of our U10, U11 or U12 games to gain a flavor for the level of competition travel soccer brings. On the back is a schedule of the remaining Aurora Arsenal home games for those age levels. Teams are gender specific and there are multiple divisions in each age bracket so we can place teams at the appropriate level of competition. You can also visit our website. We have not posted 2009 information yet but the Travel letter will help you understand the level of commitment and the Frequently Asked Questions section might be helpful as well. Below are a couple of sample questions from the Travel FAQ section. Q: How far will our team travel?

A: The Aurora Arsenal is a member of the Buffalo and Western New York Junior Soccer League (B&WNYJSL). As the name implies the league is geographically based in Buffalo and the Western New York area. There are teams as far north as Wilson and Youngstown and to the south in Holland and Arcade. If your team plays only league games (no tournaments) you will only play in Western New York.

Q: How often do Travel Teams practice?

A: During the Travel season teams generally practice two or three times per week, especially at the younger age levels. The exact schedule is determined by the teams coaching staff. There also will be indoor practices over the winter at Sahlen's and possibly the middle school and other indoor venues in the area. Player development is a key component to Travel soccer and the Arsenal tries to give the players as many opportunities as possible to develop their skills. However this does require commitment from the player and the family and needs to be seriously considered prior to trying out for a travel team. Our goal is to have Travel teams of both genders at every age level from U10 thru U19 and participate in the Buffalo & Western New York Junior Soccer League. At U10, U11 and U12 we hope to have multiple teams. Our ability to do this depends on several key factors:

1) The availability of a willing and competent coach

2) Sufficient registration numbers in an age division to form a team or multiple teams

3) A minimum player skill threshold to compete in the Buffalo and Western New York Junior Soccer League

Travel soccer is about player development specifically at the U10, U11 and U12 levels. Recently the Buffalo and Western New York Junior Soccer League, of which the Arsenal is a member, made changes so that U10’s play 7v7 and U11 and U12 9v9 on smaller size fields. Many studies have shown that this means that each player gets many more touches on the ball than on a full size field thus getting more opportunities to get involved in play and learn the game. The Arsenal Board is fully in favor of this change. If you have questions not addressed here, please contact our President and Travel Coordinator, Raymond Wrazen, at 652-4573 or wrazenra@fisher-price.com

A local website that delivers infromation about many events in East Aurora has included a few Arsenal Soccer videos. You can find them at eastaurora.org

Long time Arsenal board member, president and coach, Chris Miller, has continued to take some wonderful photographs of the Arsenal House league games, please visit our picture page each week to see if you recognize a few familiar faces. This week Chris has outdone himself by setting a slideshow up with music...check it out - you'll enjoy it.

The seminary has kindly offered us the use of their field and allowed our club to place a set of goals there. This field is lined and is a great location for practices on those busier nights at Knox. Please do not park in the driveway and be sure to take all belongings, water bottles and trash with you when you leave.

Our club would like to share with you an article that every parent and coach should read. It provides insight as to why children play soccer. It offers suggestions as to what parents can do to make their youth soccer experience an enjoyable one. US Youth Soccer Coaching Education Department Youth Soccer in America How Do We Measure Success?

We are looking forward the fourth edition of the recreational co-ed Adult league this summer. A few changes have again been made to the format again this year.

The season will be 10 games this year, and the league will start at the conclusion of the Arsenal Youth house league. The league will begin Saturday July 5, and run 10 consecutive Saturdays up to and including September 6, 2008 The fee for registration this year will be $50 per participant and is due by May 20th, 2008. Please see the adult soccer page for more information. The 2008 registration form is available here or can be found on the forms page . If you have any questions, please contact Bob Morgan at 655-4445 or send him an email

The Aurora Arsenal board met with with East Aurora resident Jim Egan of Pro Forma who is providing apparel and other merchandise to Arsenal players, parents, and coaches. Jim is looking at offering some new items for 2008. All items feature the new and improved logo and are designed to show off your Arsenal pride.

You can order directly from the proforma website

Also, if you prefer, Jim is very happy to work with you directly by phone, e-mail or in person.

One note: Jim offers a 10% discount for a team order of 10 or more. If you have any questions, I am sure that Jim will be able to answer them for you.

Bear in mind a portion of every purchase that is made will go directly to the Aurora Arsenal Building fund. As announced in September of 2006 the Aurora Arsenal has embarked upon a capital fund raising campaign to construct a building adjacent to the soccer fields at Knox Farm State Park. The building will have a concession stand, storage area and rest rooms. The Aurora Arsenal are in the process of raising $300,000 to complete the project. This is one small step to securing the funds necessary to make that building a reality.