August Newsletter 2024

Welcome to the Kings Hammer Murfreesboro August Newsletter! This edition features, Joanna LaForte Named to All-Tournament Team, 2024/2025 Coaches Meeting, Club Curriculum Visit, GK Union Save of the Month and Save of the Year, Premier Cup Medalists, 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.

Joanna LaForte Named to All-Tournament Team

A big congratulations to Joanna LaForte from our KHM G07 P1 team for being named to the All-Tournament Team from the 2024 Tennessee State Soccer Association State Cup. We’re proud to have you representing our club, Joanna—keep up the fantastic work!

2024/2025 Coaches Meeting

As we prepare for the upcoming season, we recently hosted an all-coaches meeting to kick off the 2024/2025 season. We’re looking forward to another year of exceptional coaching and player development in Middle Tennessee.

Club Curriculum Visit

A special thanks to Kings Hammer National Technical Director Bronson Gambale and Executive Director Paul Nicholson for leading educational sessions with our Kings Hammer Murfreesboro staff. We’re thrilled to introduce new curriculum this fall and can’t wait for our coaches to start implementing it.

GK Union Save of the Month & Save of the Year

As we get back into the swing of the season, we wanted to take a moment to introduce our GK Union Save of the Month and the Aubrey Kingsbury Save of the Year initiative.

Save of the Month

Each month goalkeepers from across the club have the opportunity to submit their best saves from their Kings Hammer matches on our GK Union facebook page. At the end of each month, our National Director of Goalkeeping, Lou Liberatore, will select 2 participants, one boy and one girl, as the Kings Hammer GK Union Save of the Month winners.

To enter your saves for a chance to be named our Save of the Month winner, goalkeepers from across the club should start by joining the Kings Hammer GK Union facebook page. You can upload your save videos to this page with your name, your team name and where the save took place.

Aubrey Kingsbury Save of the Year

The Aubrey Kingsbury Save of the Year was created in collaboration with USWNT and NWSL goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury who is also an alumni of Kings Hammer. At the end of the 2024/2025 season, Aubrey will review all of the season’s Save of the Month winners and select a boy and a girl winner for Save of the Year.

Watch the video below from our National Director of Goalkeeping, Lou Liberatore with more details!

Premier Cup Medalists

First tournament of the year, first medals of the year! Congratulations to our KHA Murfreesboro B11 and G12 teams for finishing as finalists at the Premier Cup this past weekend. Great job, teams!

Competitive and Recreational Fall Season Underway

Last weekend was action-packed with both our competitive and recreational programs in full swing. It’s fantastic to see so many smiling faces back at the park. We look forward to a great Fall Season!

August Education: Preparing for Game Day

It’s finally time for game day! Here are some important tips for Players, Families, and Coaches to help make the most of it.

For Players

Drinking Water – being hydrated for the game starts the night before. Drink plenty of plain, simple water. Then make sure you have plenty (32-64 oz) of water with you at the game.
Sleep – getting a good night’s rest will improve your energy and focus for the game. 8-10 hours is recommended for peak performance.
Energy – eating a healthy breakfast or lunch 3 hours prior to the game is key to being fueled up and ready to go. Keep it simple and whole as much as possible. Chicken, eggs, whole grains, fruits, and nuts are great. Try to avoid, greasy or spicy foods. Pack a banana, energy bar, or some crackers for the game, in case you need a quick energy boost.
Gear – be sure everything you need for the game is packed up and ready to go. Shoes (cleaned,) guards, uniforms, etc should be ready by the door and not stressed over while trying to get going.
Mindset – have a positive mindset, regardless of how the last game or last practice went, be set for a good outcome. To keep you on track, should things get tough, have a mantra (phrase) or a physical routine (3 loud claps, 2 high jumps, etc) to remind you of your focus. Finally, the night before pick out three specific actions or decisions that you want to make during the game. Rehearse them in your head. Then repeat this on the car ride to the game.

For Families

Guide the Routine – assist your son or daughter with their pre-game prep but try not to run it. They need to take ownership and accountability for being prepared.
Pre Game Send Off – develop a hand shake, gesture, or phrase to set the tone before the game-“Work Hard, Be a Good Team mate, have Fun-I love you!”
Smile & Cheer – let the players play, the coaches coach, and the referee ref. All three are going to have good games and bad, but nothing you yell, or scream will make it any different. So just sit back and enjoy.

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