March Newsletter 2025

Welcome to the Kings Hammer March Newsletter! This edition features 2025/2026 Tryouts Save the Date, Elite and Pre-Elite ID Sessions Information, Kings Hammer Shines in Spring Event Series, 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.

Save the Dates: 2025/2026 Tryouts!

Mark your calendars! Tryouts for the 2025/2026 season will take place on the following dates:

U7 (2019) – U12 (2014): May 12th – 15th
U13 (2013) – U19 (2007): May 1st – 8th

Official dates, times, and locations along with registration will be announced soon. If you have any scheduling conflicts, please reach out to your Program Director in advance.

Introducing the Enhanced Pathway

Kings Hammer is thrilled to introduce an enhanced player pathway for the 2025/2026 season, designed to provide every athlete with a clear, transparent, and elevated experience. Our commitment to player development includes an all-inclusive pricing structure and licensed professional coaches for every team. Below, you’ll find an overview of the player pathway, along with a link to a PDF detailing each program.

Click here to view the 2025/2026 Program Offerings

To walk you through these exciting updates, we’re hosting a virtual town hall on Tuesday, March 25th. Join us to learn more about the new pathway and get your questions answered!

Virtual Town Hall Meetings:

Cincinnati + NKY – 6-7:15pm https://zoom.us/j/96136581632
Greater Cincinnati (Elite) – 7:30-8:45pm https://zoom.us/j/98342728789

Stay tuned—further information on tryouts, registration, program pricing, and coaching staff will be announced soon!

Invite Your Friends to the COE Spring Sessions!

Do you know someone who wants to train with Kings Hammer this spring? Our Center of Excellence (COE) Training Program registration is available for U8-U12 players that are not currently on a Kings Hammer roster. Training sessions will happen once a week at Town & Country for 6 weeks and will focus on individual player development, technically and tactically. Send the link below to someone who may be interested!

Click here for more information on COE!

Upcoming Elite ID Sessions

Know someone who would be a great fit for Kings Hammer Elite? We’re holding Elite ID Sessions for our Elite Boys and Elite Girls programs for any interested Elite-level players that are not currently registered for an ECNL club. All interested players must fill out the form attached below to receive further information.

Elite Girls

Who: Girls U13(2013) – U18(2008)
- Open to current Kings Hammer players or Elite-level players that are not currently registered for an ECNL club
When: March 30th
Where: Miami Valley Christian Academy

Elite Boys

Who: Boys U13(2013) – U19(2007)
- Open to external Elite-level players that are not currently registered for an ECNL club
When: April 17th
Where: Riverside Park

Click here to fill out the required Elite interest form.

2016 Pre-Elite ID Session

Know someone who would be a good fit for Kings Hammer Pre-Elite? We’re holding a 2016 Pre-Elite ID Session for interested U9(2016) Boys & Girls on April 6th at MVCA. Interested players who do not play for Kings Hammer already must fill out the interest form below to receive further information. Forward this information to someone who may be interested!

Click here for the required Pre-Elite interest form.

The Spring Season is in Full Swing

We’re so excited to have all of our players back out on the pitch for the Spring! We’re looking forward to another fantastic season. Good luck to all of our Kings Hammer Cincinnati teams!

Kings Hammer Players get Called Up!

We want to give a huge congratulations to these KH ECNL G11 ladies on their invitation to participate in the USYNT Regional ID Center! Aniah, Parker, Sydney and Aubrey took part in the ID session on March 19th right here in Cincinnati. Way to go, ladies. We are so proud of you!

Kings Hammer Shines in Spring Event Series

This month, Kings Hammer Cincinnati has hosted three incredible tournaments: Boys Turf Classic, Girls Turf Classic, & Elite Spring Thaw. Each weekend, our Kings Hammer teams put their best foot forward and gave it their all in hopes of bringing home some Championship hardware. When the weather got rough, our players persevered to get the job done. Congratulations to all of our teams who have been named Champions and Finalists at these events this month. We love seeing your hard work pay off!

Catch Episode 5 of Kings Hammer Healthy Habits!

Welcome back to the latest episode of Kings Hammer Healthy Habits presented by OrthoCincy! You can catch it out on our Facebook and Instagram pages. We’re putting our players health knowledge to the test and invite you to play along at home! Check out our feature each month on our social pages for trivia that can help you perform better on & off the pitch.

March Education: Improving Through Failing

This month, we came across a terrific article from Lexington United Soccer Club, a youth soccer club in Massachusetts, that really hit the mark. We wanted to share that article with you below.

“FAIL BETTER.” BY LEXINGTON UNITED SOCCER CLUB

“Ever Tried. Ever Failed. No Matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better”

Samuel Beckett

Fail Better. What an amazing philosophy for a coach to embrace when dealing with players. I initially wrote “young players”, but why limit that philosophy to a particular age group? Isn’t it our responsibility as coaches to place players in an environment that is challenging and stretches them as both people and players? This doesn’t stop when a player hits a certain age or level, but must always remain present for growth and development to occur.

“Ever Tried, Ever Failed.” Sadly many players haven’t truly tried because they are afraid to fail or they have tried and were punished for failing and decided it wasn’t worth the struggle. Too many players fall into the latter category because a coach has placed results over development and stifled their creativity by demanding they “play it safe”. Players that play it safe at too early an age are the ones that never develop the skill set to “take a player on” in the final third or look for the half chance in the penalty box. Instead they pass the ball to their teammate because they don’t want to take ownership in case they fail. I’ve watched countless games where coaches and parents alike shout at kids to shoot the ball, but these are the same people that throw up their hands in disgust when a player misses the target or the ball gets saved and exclaim “Billy was open, why didn’t you pass the ball”. We can’t have it both ways.

Click here to read the full article on our Education page!

GK Union Save of the Month

Another month, another set of fantastic diving saves! Congratulations to Savannah of Kings Hammer Cincinnati and Jace of Kings Hammer Swan City winning the February GK Union Save of the Month! Way to put your skills on display!

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.

Player Highlight: Kelsey King

Kelsey King, of our KHA1 North G07 team, is an incredible multi-sport athlete! We want to say a big congratulations to Kelsey on her first ever OHSAA state title for wrestling! Kelsey is also the first Lakota West Firebird in school history to become a Girls Wrestling State Champion. Congratulations, Kelsey!

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!