Dear Old Allegheny family.

I hope everyone had a great summer.  We have been busy at Old Allegheny Soccer and I want to update you about what is happening.

1. Fall Soccer in-house.  We had another successful registration and have a total of 186 kids registered for our fall program.  In house games have started and I’m looking forward to another great season.

2. PA West Soccer:  For the first time in more than a decade, we are playing PA West Travel Soccer in the Fall.  We fielded U16, U14 and U12 Thanks to coaches Gary Koah, Kellie Lowe, Fabian Garcia, Alex Foulds, and Benny Roa for taking on coaching those teams.  Without volunteer coaches, we don’t have a program.  Also thanks to Chris Cruz and Stacey Roa who coordinated the sign-ups for the teams this year.  I am hopeful that next year, we can get more players to sign up.  It would be great to add a U-18 team to the mix.

3. In House Games at Riverview:  We have moved all of our A League and B League Saturday games to Riverview Park.  I am pleased to see Riverview being used more by Old Allegheny on Saturdays and this will be a big benefit when the rains come.  I want to thank Dave Wilson and the other referees for helping out.

4. Old Allegheny at Riverhounds on September 16^th:  We will have our first Old Allegheny Soccer night with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.  They play the Rochester Rhinos at Highmark Stadium.  Our Spring League Players will escort the Riverhounds players onto the field before the game.  Everyone attending will get a hot dog, drink and a bag of chips.  We had almost 80 people sign up, so it should be a fun night.  If all goes well, we might make this an annual event.

5. Awards Picnic / Annual Meeting:  Our Annual Meeting / Awards Picnic will be held at the Riverview Park Activities Building on Saturday November 4^th. Mark your calendars now.

6. Coaches.  A big thank you to all of our coaches.  Some are new.  Some have been doing it for a while.  All are appreciated.  If you are interested in coaching, please read the information at the bottom of our home page.  It really isn’t that hard to get registered.

7. Referees:  In addition to coaches, we also need of referees.  We will even PAY you to referee.  You need to get certified, which is also paid for by Old Allegheny.  There is a critical shortage of referees in youth soccer in Western PA.  If you are ambitious, you can also referee for other organizations.  Similar to coaches, we can’t have games if we don’t have referees.  Please contact Dave Wilson if you are interested at dwilson3102@gmail.com.  WE WILL REIMBURSE YOUR COSTS of your entry level course.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me or one of the other board members. 

To all of our volunteers – keep up the good work.  Your efforts are truly appreciated.

We have a great board of directors that works very hard to make soccer accessible to all of the kids on the Northside.  We have expanded our program and grown our player base.  Most important, we are getting kids moving and learning to love the game.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone on the field.  I hope you and your families have a great Fall.

Mark Masterson

President, Old Allegheny Soccer