August Newsletter 2023

Welcome to the Kings Hammer Murfreesboro August Newsletter! This edition features Fall Grassroots, KHM G12 P1 Train with Hany Mukhtar, Gentry Saling Selected to Play for Tennessee Tech, KHM G10 P1 Travels to Iceland, King Cup Finalists, Digital Content Production Internships Available, and more! If you have a player, coach, or team to be highlighted in future newsletters, please send photos and stories to claire@kingshammer.com. Each newsletter will be posted on our website as well as our social pages.

Fall Grassroots

We had a great first weekend of Grassroots programming. Looking forward to a great fall season with our players, parents and coaches!

KHM G12 Premier 1 Trains with Hany Mukhtar

Our KHM G12 Premier 1 team had the opportunity to spend Monday evening with Hany Mukhtar working on their game. Thank you to Hany for being so great with the kids, we can’t wait to do it again soon!

Gentry Saling Selected to Play for Tennessee Tech University

Congratulations to Gentry Saling for been selected to play for Tennessee Tech Men’s Soccer Club in Cookeville, TN! We have seen the hard work that you have put in and are proud of you.

KHM G10 Premier 1 Travels to Iceland

What an experience for our 2010 Girls who traveled to Iceland to compete in the Rey Cup in late July! The team even had a surprise visit from a former Striker player who now plays professionally in Iceland.

King Cup Finalists

Congrats to our KHM B12 Premier 2 team on being named finalists at the King Cup last weekend!

Content Feedback Survey

We want to hear from you! Please take a minute to complete a quick Content Feedback Survey with 9 questions. Your answers will help as we start creating content for the 2023/2024 Season!

Click here to take the survey!

Digital Content Production Interns

Are you a local college student looking to build your reel & gain experience capturing sports content? Kings Hammer Murfreesboro is looking for Digital Content Production interns for our 2023-24 season.

For more information on the position and how to apply, click here!

Kings Hammer Fan Wear

Gear up for the fall season and shop Kings Hammer! Lots of items are available, including hoodies, tees, hats, scarves, stickers plus more on the way.

Click here to check out what’s new in the Kings Hammer Shop now!

August Education: Helping Our Players Become Good Teammates

“Sports build character.”

This statement has been a driving force behind getting children engaged in team sports for as long as I can remember.  Being on a team can help develop communication, problem-solving, relationship building, —— But being a good teammate does not come naturally, nor easily.  And, if we don’t help with it the “Character” they build could be a bad one.

Most parents, and coaches as well, have likely experienced the season where there may have been skillful and effect players, but there weren’t many good teammates.  Poor attitudes, selfish play, outbursts, constant blaming, players making fun of their teammates, and other negative factors can lead to a bad experience and a long season.

This past month all of our coaches and teams returned to practices, working to improve the skills needed to succeed in the game.  Dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting, and other elements of the game are being taught, demonstrated, encouraged, and practiced in order to help players excel and become their best. In order for players to develop good character and become good teammates our players need similar practice, guidance, encouragement, and modeling from parents, coaches, and other players on the components of a good teammate as well.

So what characteristics are we looking for in a “Good Teammate”?

I would suggest that coaches take 5-10 minutes before an upcoming practice and put this question to their players.  What would they like to see, hear, or experience from a good teammate?  What words or actions do they associate with a poor teammate? How does each of them demonstrate being a good teammate.  You can use their responses to layout a framework to guide your season.

The Positive Coaching Alliance put together a long framework for “What Makes a Great Teammate” in 2017.  You can view the entire list by clicking on the link above.  I recently came across a blog: Coffee and Carpools, which explored the topic and some of the characteristics from the PCA article. For this discussion I would like to present five of those characteristics (adapted from the article) for us to focus on.

1. Good teammates are positive, supportive, and encouraging on and off the field.
2. A good teammate hustles and gives it their all at practices and games. Despite their ability level, place on the team, or the outcome.
3. A good teammate shows respect and good sportsmanship.
4. A good teammate is generous and shows humility.
5. Help your teammates in need.

Click here to view the full story.

Coaching Opportunities Available

Come join our growing team! Kings Hammer Murfreesboro is looking for caring and enthusiastic coaches to join our organization. Click here to fill out our coaching interest form.