January Newsletter 2025

Welcome to the Kings Hammer January Newsletter! This edition features Kings Hammer heads to United Soccer Coaches Convention, Players Off The Pitch and On The Court, Fostering a Love for the Game, and more! If you have a player, coach, or team to be highlighted in future newsletters, please send photos and stories to info@kingshammer.com. Each newsletter will be posted on our website as well as our social pages.

Kings Hammer heads to United Soccer Coaches Convention

Six locations, one club! Earlier this January, a handful of Kings Hammer directors and coaches from all six of our Kings Hammer club locations converged at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Chicago. It was an amazing opportunity for our staff to meet each other while learning from some of the best coaches from around the country. We had a fantastic weekend and are excited to put this new knowledge into practice at home!

Another Electrifying Weekend at Volta Cup Cincinnati

Put down another electrifying year at Volta Cup Cincinnati in the books! This past January, futsal teams from around the midwest came to Cincinnati to compete for the Volta Cup Champion title. Matches were held Friday through Sunday at both Queen City Sportsplex and T&C Athletic Center. Shout out to all the teams that gave it their all, we saw a lot of hard work, technical skill and heart out on the court. Congratulations to our Volta Cup Champions and our Finalists! Check out the video below to view some of the highlights at this year’s event.

Having a Blast at Kings Hammer Winter Camps

We were learning, laughing and scoring big at our Kings Hammer Winter Camps earlier this month! This year, we had a great time building our skills and perfecting our technique at our Skills School and Goalkeeper winter camps. After that, we had so much FUN with our campers at the winter Fundamentals Camp. At this camp, we learned the basics of soccer while having a great time with their friends and our Kings Hammer staff. We also held our High School Goalkeeper Clinic to provide high school aged goalkeepers around Cincinnati an opportunity to train with the GK Union and keep them on the ball during break.

Kings Hammer is always excited to help players grow and learn. It was a joy having each of you at camps this year, and we can’t wait to see you on the field this spring!

Tune in to Season 2 of Kings Hammer Healthy Habits!

Ready to see your teammates take on trivia from the OrthoCincy experts? Kings Hammer Healthy Habits presented by OrthoCincy is back for season 2 with new episodes on our Facebook, Instagram and X pages. We’re putting our players health knowledge to the test this season! Check out our feature each month on our social pages for trivia that can help you perform better on & off the pitch.

Lou Liberatore Presents at USC Convention

Early this month, our very own Director of Goalkeeping, Lou Liberatore, was invited to hold a classroom and a field session at this year’s United Soccer Coaches Convention in Chicago. He is incredibly passionate about improving the youth soccer experience for players across the country. Lou took to social media to repost a video of the experience and write, “Thank you United Soccer Coaches and Lisa Cole for the opportunity to share some ideas and methods on the field and in the classroom this past week.”

Everyone here at Kings Hammer is very excited that Lou had this opportunity to share his knowledge and expertise with others. Great stuff, Lou!

Players Off The Pitch and On The Court

Even though most of our Kings Hammer players are on break from being out on the pitch, it doesn’t mean they aren’t still scoring goals! Shout out to all the Kings Hammer players who have been spending their winter break keeping their skills sharp and bringing home medals in the local futsal scene. We also want to give a very special shout out to all of our players who participated in the USYFL State, Regional and/or National Championship this year. Congratulations, all!

Lauren Flax honored as All-American Recipient

Following the fall high school season, KH ECNL G06/07 player Lauren Flax received United Soccer Coaches All-American honors. She was invited to attend this year’s United Soccer Coaches Convention in Chicago to be recognized for her achievements with Anderson High School. Congratulations, Lauren!

January Education: Fostering a Love for the Game

As parents and coaches, we all want to provide the best opportunities, support, and chance for success for our children and players. Sometimes though, we may not even be aware of the small ways we may be contributing to them losing their love of the game. Here are six key areas for parents to explore from an article published by the people at I Love to Watch You Play.

We Turn Every Game into a Judgment
- When every game becomes a performance instead of an experience, kids lose the joy of just playing.
We Micromanage Their Journey
- Too many kids feel like passengers in their own sports journey—with parents and coaches at the wheel, mapping out their future before they even know what they want.
We Overcorrect Instead of Letting Them Struggle
- Sports are supposed to teach resilience. But too often, we don’t let them actually struggle.

Click here to continue reading the full article!

GK Union Save of the Month

Diving from 2024 into 2025! We had some outstanding, full-extension saves in December that were selected as our GK Union Save of the Month winners. Congratulations to Ryland D from KH Murfreesboro and Aubrey F from KH Swan City on their tremendous saves to keep the opponent out of the net. Great job to both of you!

Did you make an incredible save or a game-saving block? We want to see them! Post your best saves in the Kings Hammer GK Union Facebook group. Be sure to share throughout the spring season and YOU could be selected for our Kings Hammer Save of the Month! GK Save of the Month winners will be announced the Friday of the first full week of the following month.

Monthly winners will be posted on the Kings Hammer social pages and on the GK Union page.

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT: DANI HICKS NAMED USC SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICAN

Congratulations to Kings Hammer alumna Dani Hicks on receiving second-team Scholar All-American honors by United Soccer Coaches following her fantastic fall season at Ashland University. Dani and the Ashland University Women’s Soccer team kicked it up a notch this season, becoming G-MAC regular season champions in November and making it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Dani was invited to and recognized at the United Soccer Coaches Convention this year in Chicago for her achievements at Ashland. In addition to Scholar All-American, Dani also received the following honors this season:

Second Team College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American in NCAA Division II
First Team United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Midwest Region
Second-team Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-American
D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year and First Team All-Region
Great Midwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-League

Way to go on an incredible season, Dani. We are so proud of you!

BRAND NEW KINGS HAMMER FAN GEAR

Kick off 2025 with some awesome new merchandise! We’ve added new fan gear to our Kings Hammer Shop that you’re sure to love! Now with extended sizing, we have Kings Hammer t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and more available at shop.KingsHammer.com. Check it out now!