JoesBlog

"Give me a beginner player, I'll make him/her a good player.
Give me a good player, I'll make him/her a great player.
Give me a great player, I'll make him/her a phenomenal player.
Give me a phenomenal player, I'll make him/her a super-star!"

~Joe Mihaljevic, MSS/MSC Top Gun

As America watched the last minutes of the USA v Algeria game on June 23, we thought our hopes of advancing to the next round were lost. I told Joe just seconds before, while Donovan was bringing up the ball on the right side, "Landon is just going to have to make something happen..." -hold and behold, Donovan, did it! We were screaming and almost in shock! We had to get a grip to make sure "this" goal wasn't going to be called back. USA had done it!!

Check out this great YouTube video It will give you the chills and make you proud that you're an American! ~LtM

During a recent visit to the Sacramento County Boys Ranch with Coach Joe, Folsom Telegraph reporter, Matt Long, writes a great article on Mihaljevic Soccer School's program aimed to help troubled youths. Click here to read all about!

Top Gun-PRIMA defeats a combined team of Placer Alliance & Placer Blues players, 4-2! Playing awesome Top Gun attacking soccer, PRIMA offense put together some of the most creative soccer playing to date. The girls' understanding of the game is starting to show. Gabriell scores 2 goals, Caitlin scores 1 and Dominique continues her 5 game goal scoring streak with another one to make 7.

MSS/MSC Top Gun wishes all the nations entered in the 2010 FIFA World Cup the best of luck and congratulations on the host nation, South Africa, for scoring the first goal of tournament! Each one of us is rooting for their favorite team and there are a lot of talented squads this season. Good luck on your picks! With soccer phenoms, Messi, Mojito and Maradona, Coach Joe is for Argentina to win it all.

With only 10 players and no subs, our boys lost, 6-3 vs Patterson in Patterson on Saturday, June 5. Coach Joe says, " If I would have known we were going to be short players, I would have brought Dominique & Gabriella...If I would have had a full roster, we would have definitely won the game...I'm sure we will beat them when we play them at home..."

ALPHA had 1 player injured, 2 boys out sick and 3 unavailable to play.

ALPHA did a great job in the first half trying to hold their own, with a 3-1 deficit at the half; by the 2nd half they were getting really tired, but not without scoring 2 goals! The boys played great and fought hard receiving 5 yellow cards!, after Coach Joe's "300" and "be a Spartan out on that field" half-time talk :)

Gabe-1 goal, Brandon-2 goals, Benny-1 assist. Go Top Gun!

Coach Joe & Mihaljevic Soccer School have started a soccer training program with Sacramento County Boys Ranch in May. The Boys' Ranch is a ~130-bed facility that houses young boys that have experienced some sort of trouble, but not criminal enough to go to juvenile detention. Coach Joe hopes our program will give these youths some soccer skill that will build good confidence & self-esteem, hopefully enough for these boys to want to change their lives around. Some of the current best players in the world come from a troubled childhood or a life on the street and have managed to take their street smarts onto the field to be some of the most deceptive players in the game. Joe is hoping to find boys that love soccer and are willing to learn the game from him and help them do something with that desire, even if it will help them get a college scholarship. "Alot of these boys come from single-parent homes or have a learning disability where they struggle in school and become frustrated and angry. I want to be their friend, a positive role model and hopefully lead them in a direction that is good and positive." says, Coach Joe. We wish Coach Joe the best of luck and the time and patience to deal with the boys at the Ranch.

Top Gun-ALPHA starts the morning of Saturday, May 22 with a win over North Valley Soccer Club in Lod, 3-1! Benny scores ALPHA's first goal of the season in top form with a header off a corner-kick perfectly placed by ALPHA Captain, Brandon Eldridge! Soon to follow, Giovanny sneaks one by the goalie as Top Gun played their attacking style of soccer. ALPHA would end the 1st half with a 3rd goal by Gabe from an awesome cross-from Tommy. ALPHA would have 3-0 lead for most of the game due to Juan's outstanding goal-keeping and being named "Player of the Game"! Lodi inches a goal in the final minutes to bring the final score to 3-1. Outstanding Top Gun Soccer for the boys' second game of the season! Thanks Coach Dave Soper for a great game!

Top Gun-PRIMA ends the day with a 2-0 win over another Placer United team! Micaela scores her first goal of the season hitting a bomb shot in the corner of the net with an assist by Dominique. Shaniah played aggressively 100% of the game, giving Placer's offense a tough game. Alyssa kept great possession and was able to make some great passes up the field, as Caitlin, again, was all over stealing the ball! Dominique continues her goal-scoring streak by placing PRIMA's second goal in the net. Awesome passing and dribbling by Olivia, Stephanie and especially Gabriella. Great game by Maggie K, Revati and Lauren with awesome goal-keeping by Maggie A! Way to go Top Gun!! Please visit our Top Gun Facebook page to see great video clips of our PRIMA team in action!

Top Gun-ALPHA plays their first official NorCal Premier League Competitive Soccer Game - Go Top Gun!! (May 16)

A great game by Top Gun-ALPHA!! We have a lot of potential with an excellent mix of awesome soccer talent. The team is made up of excellent individual players so all we need to do is learn to play together as a team and work on the fundamentals & fitness. An unfortunate & tough 6-0 loss for the ALPHA boys, but tremendous fight by each and every player. I'm absolutely happy with how my ALPHA team performed - VERY HAPPY. I'm really excited about my new team. It a great group of individual players with great potential of becoming a Championship "Team" at the competitive level. I am absolutely impressed with their very first league game. Excellent playing, excellent effort, excellent TALENT. (to be continued...)

PRIMA scores 5 goals in their 2nd scrimmage vs ARYSL Revolution U11 boys team, keeping up their consistent offensive play. Dominique - 2, Olivia - 1, Revati - 1 and Caitlin - 1. Great possession by Alyssa and awesome defending by Shaniah and Maggie K! Gabriella & Micaela played well up the wings, as always. Top Gun welcomes Stephanie back to the team as the great defender she always is and thanks guest player, '09 U10B Top Gun-BRAVO player, Kris Mehl, for taking Maggie A's place in goal. GO TOP GUN!!

Coach Joe was very impressed with the U11B Revolution team and their excellent understanding of the game. "I see great things to come from this team. They are some of the most naturally talented young boys I've seen and an absolute joy to watch". Congratulations ARYSL Revolution. You all are AWESOME!!

2010 Top Gun-PRIMA (U13G) wins big in pre-season opening game defeating Placer United-Black, 6-1, at home.

After Placer scored the first goal of the game, PRIMA Captain, Dominique Mihaljevic, answered with a bomb shot right over the PU goalie's head to start the season of great goals to come. Dominique would place 2 more goals in the net, with 3 assists. Gabriella O'Connor fought super tough to hold possession of the ball and would also score an impressive "hat trick" (all bomb shots!), with 3 assists. PRIMA Goalie, Maggie Anderson, became a "wall" to Placer's attack stopping some unbelieveable shots on goal. Caitlin Bader was the fastest to every ball and was able to distribute it creatively up the mid-field, while Revati Goveas, Shaniah Bridges & Maggie Keller provided a near-perfect, solid PRIMA defense. Olivia Teerlink, Lauren Fritz & Alyssa Lozano held the mid-field together, while Micaela Brewer would bring the ball up the left side for perfect crosses to our goal-scoring forwards. Great "Top Gun" playing soccer! It was a joy to watch and a perfect start to the 2010 season.

Coach Joe was especially impressed with this victory because 5 of the 11 girls came from Recreational level soccer, stating "They have given me 100% dedication to every training and it showed in today's game. I am very proud of the girls and the great effort in the match with Placer."

MSC Top Gun thanks Coach Kevin Unsworth and his Placer team for coming out to Folsom and playing a great game. We also must thank our Top Gun families for their support & enthusiasm as we start the new season! GO TOP GUN!

Coach Joe's take on the Barcelona v Inter Milan, Champions' League game today, April 20, 2010.

Coach Joe & MSS/MSC Top Gun express "Thanks" to NorCal Premier Soccer League, U.S. Club Soccer & AFC Fiorentina (March 27)

These last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of great tidings for Mihaljevic Soccer School & MSC Top Gun!

First of all, Coach Joe wishes to thank Ben Ziemer & Paolo Bonomo of NorCal Premier Soccer League for bringing him on-board to their "Player Development Program" (PDP). With this great opportunity & responsibility, Coach Joe brings his expertise and knowledge of youth development to the PDP staff. He plans to make great strides in developing the most talented young soccer players recruited in Northern California and bring them to the fore-front of competitive soccer in the United States.

Second, Coach Joe & MSC Top Gun are very appreciative of Gabe Rood, of U.S. Club Soccer, for taking the time to phone and personally invite our club to the 2010 National Cup Tournament, to be held in Modesto, California in June. This will be MSC Top Gun's first appearance on the national scene and we are honored to take up the challenge and represent Northern California at this top level competition. It will be a great venue to showcase the signature style of play MSC Top Gun has been known for.

Last, but certainly not least, Coach Joe expresses deep gratitude to Professor Vincenzo Vergine of ACF Fiorentina, for his time and sharing & teaching his incredible and valuable coaching methods with many U.S. Club Soccer / NorCal Premier Soccer competitive clubs in our area. It is without doubt that Coach Joe intends to utilize what he has learned to help further the development of his players & students. This extraordinary opportunity to learn from a "Master of Soccer" would not have been possible without the assistance of the Ziemer Family.

**Read Coach Joe's detailed assessment of Professor Vergine's Master Coaching Course on our home page or visit us on Facebook.

MSC Top Gun participates in NorCal Premier Soccer's Player Development Program (PDP) at Woodland Soccer Complex (March 13)

On a few freezing weekend evenings in March, MSC Top Gun's Director of Coaching & General Manager attended and participated in NorCal Premier Soccer's Player Development Program (PDP) held at Woodland's awesome Soccer Complex. PDP directors, including Coach Joe, observed, conducted the program's try-outs & selected 22 players from a large group of U11 & U12 Boys. All players had already been pre-selected to attend the PDP in Woodland. Some players had driven as far as Santa Cruz.

The following weekend, the newly selected 22 players, were then moved to the next stage of playing & competing against another group of talented PDP players from the Santa Clara/Bay Area at Santa Clara University.

NorCal Premier Soccer hopes to discover young talented soccer players within our region of Northern California and give them the opportunity to train in Europe, specifically Italy's AFC Fiorentina.

AFC Fiorentina has partnered with NorCal Premier Soccer to bring the science of Futbol in Italy to the United States. Our own Coach Joe will be attending an accelerated 4-day Advanced/Masters Coaching course given by AFC Fiorentina's Director of Coaching, Professor Vincenzo Virgine. This will be an absolutely great opportunity for Coach Joe as he hopes to be able to personally interface (via interpreter!) with the coaches and directors from Italy.

Mihaljevic Soccer School conducts Annual Spring Break Indoor Camp at the Folsom Sports Complex! (March 9)

Join Coach Joe for his Annual Spring Break Indoor Soccer Camp at the Folsom Sports Complex. Receive proven valuable soccer training, coaching & instruction from the best developmental coach in the area. Space is limited, so register now! For players/students ages, 9-12 years old, all skill levels. Please contact the Folsom Sports Complex directly, 916-984-2850, to register or go on-line at, www.webtrac.folsom.ca.us with course information below:

March 30 thru April 1, 2010, Course # 155503, Tuesday-Thursday, 9am to 12noon, FEE: $137 / $130 resident discount

MSC Top Gun will hold try-outs for a U15 boys team, scheduled for Monday, April 12, 4pm at Lakeside Church Soccer Field. Interested players should bring own soccer ball, water bottle and appropriate clothing including shin guards. Offers could be made on the spot.

If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us direcly, 916-932-6219 or email: mihaljevicsoccerschool@yahoo.com

MSC Top Gun offers the best professional youth coaching in the area. MSC Top Gun holds 3 championship titles in only 2 season of existence. A true testament to the quality training Joe Mihaljevic offers to all his student/players.

Coach Joe is now part of the NorCal Player Developmental Program (PDP) Staff! (March 8)

Coach Joe attended and participated in his first NorCal Premier Soccer Player Developmental Program (PDP) this evening, March 8, at the Woodland Soccer Complex. Training and instructing players for a national pool for United States Youth teams. Several PDP sessions are scheduled throughout the month of March. It is with great hope that Coach Joe can provide his expertise in helping develop great players that can proudly represent Norther California at the National level.

Congratulations to MSC Top Gun's U10 Boys' team, ALPHA! Top Gun-ALPHA, again, made it to the Championship Final at the U.S. Club / NorCal Premier State Cup Tournament at Woodward Soccer Complex in Manteca, California on Sunday, November 22, 2009.

ALPHA won the Silver Medal & Cup in the Silver Division. The awesome team is made up of a great group of talented & skilled players: (front row:) Joe Anderson, Elijah Palmatier, Risheek Pingili, Ethan Veirs, Noah Shulkin; (kneeling:) Jacob O'Donnell, Evan Swartz, Jordan Young, Kyle Maechler, Cade Bader, Marshall Herrman; (standing:) Joe Mihaljevic, Lynette Mihaljevic (not pictured: Sean Woods & Mike Woods)

Thanks to all our MSC Top Gun families & staff members, especially our "Top Brass", Terry Maechler & Christy Sarabia! The Club's success would not be possible without the help and support of all our great players' families!!!

The MSC Top Gun-BRAVO State Cup Team, for being younger & less experienced, the boys played great in the U10 Bronze Division. BRAVO team consisted of Jake Sarabia, Kris Mehl, James Frizzell, Griffin Hass, Drake DiGiorno, Jackson Ryan, Manning Lemoine, Brady Peterson, Josh Sarabia, Carson Smith, Zack Crozier & Joewe Low. A huge thanks to Coach Anthony DiGiorno!!!

Our U12 Girls, MSC Top Gun-PRIMA, start their State Cup run on December 5 in Woodland, California. Good Luck Girls!! GO TOP GUN!!!

MSC Top Gun-ALPHA (U10B) & MAVERICKS (U9B) @ the CASA Adidas Champions Cup Tournament (Aug 31)

Dear MSC Top Gun U9/U10 Families,
First of all, I want to thank all of our parents for having their children participate in the CASA Adidas Cup Tournament this weekend and being on time.

Second, the children are doing an exceptional job at staying competitive, strong & enthusiastic, especially under the grueling circumstances of the over-bearing heat, the unfamiliar field conditions and for our U9 Mavericks - having to endure 2 whole games with absolutely no substitute players. I am so proud of each and every one of them!

Third, I must state that if I had known this tournament was going to be held on artificial turf fields, we would not have entered into it. I had only found out on Friday evening. Our players cannot possibly adjust to this type of field in a weekend. It takes weeks of training to really be able to play the kind of soccer our boys know how to play on this surface.

We will finish out the tournament by having fun, doing our best and learning from the experience. This event also gives us a good indicator of what type of competition we will face for league & state cup play. We will need to start attending training on a more consistent basis for us to be successful and bring our fitness level to where it needs to be and should be in time for league.

Having only one official game per weekend day is ideal for our club and my teams. It has always been my philosophy. As a former professional player, just one game takes a lot out of a player with another day to recuperate.

It is unhealthy and wrong for my players to have to put their bodies & minds through so much physical & mental stress, especially at this young age. We must maintain a healthy balance to keep them strong, fit and injury free.

Fourth, I want to thank Terry Maechler & Christy Sarabia for their hard work in getting our teams entered, our players processed and our families informed about the tournament. They continue to do an exceptional job for all of us.

I also want to thank Coach Mike for his assistance on the side-lines and his continued encouragment for me and the boys. I would like our families to know that his understanding of the style of soccer I want our teams to play is very valuable to me and I appreciate all the feedback, suggestions and advice he gives.

Lastly, I want to thank my wife, Lynette, and Christy for coaching the 2nd U9 Boys team, as I had to coach our U10's first game of the day across the street. I am positive they were doing their best to encourage the players, cheer them on and keep their spirits up. They are truly the heart of our club.

Sincerely,
Coach Joe

The Top Gun-ALPHA team finished the tournament on a good note, winning their consolation game, 4-1, against BOCA. We welcome new player, Jacob O'Donnell & his family, to the U10 team. Jacob makes an incredible addition to MSC Top Gun! Our MAVERICKS team, with no subs did an outstanding job for their first tournament ever. We know the U9 MAVERICKS, primarily made up of 6, 7 & 8 year olds, will be an awesome team during Fall League play with continued training with Coach Joe. Its going to be an exciting developmental season for the U9 boys!

On Saturday, August 15, Coach Joe and MSS/MSC Top Gun welcomed Eric Wynalda to Folsom! It has been over 15 years since Eric and Coach Joe had last seen each other.

Eric conducted his Striker's Clinic to help children in our area learn to be better forwards/strikers. Conducting 2 sessions at Lakeside Church Soccer Field, Eric was able to share his experiences as a striker for the U.S. Men's National Team.

Eric put on a great show and was able to still execute his signature power shot right on target, every time. Very impressive!

Eric pictured with Top Gun-PRIMA Players (U12G) Kayla, Dominique & Cameron (also pictured, Reece).

After training, Eric took the time to sign autographs and take pictures with all the players. It was a great day! "We hope to have Eric come out again in the Fall since so many other players were not able to attend due to tournaments they had already been committed too..." states Coach Joe. We would welcome Eric back anytime.

We wish to thank all our young high-school volunteers & parents, pictured above, backrow (left to right): Jerry Kerekes, Annette Delacruz, Taylor Yamanishi, Daylon Schiffel, Coach Joe; frontrow (left to right): Steven Banks, Michael Swift, Eric Wynalda, Gabe Rodriguez, Alicia Segura. Last, but not least, MSS/MSC Top Gun especially thanks Lynette Mihaljevic for heading & organizing the Striker Clinic, along with Eric's Staff, Patty Hurtado & Amanda Fletcher.

Coach Joe would like to ask you to please tune-in to watch Eric Wynalda featured on Fox Soccer Channel's Football Phone-In Show on Monday Nights at 9pm.

Excerpts from Coach Mike's email (regarding the BOCA Jamboree, held Saturday, August 15, 2009):

Dear Top Gun Players and Families: I want to thank everyone for playing this Saturday at the the BOCA Jamboree. The games were full of energy and each player gave a wonderful effort on the field. Joe attended the first game, and then headed back to Folsom for the Eric Wynalda clinic . Below our my thoughts on each game, please share these thoughts with your child:

8am game - TopGun1 (7) vs. SacUnited (3) Great game for Top Gun. Joe and I both thought this was the best pure soccer we have ever played. Best game of the year , and better soccer than any game last year. For Joe and I, it was pure Joy to watch our players move the ball around the field and finish with many goals. Our defenders played smart soccer as well, only allowing 3 goals against the fastest player we have ever faced. Overall, our skill, passing and soccer smarts were way too much for the other team to handle. This game has pushed our team to another level, and it is only going to get better.

9am game - TopGun2 (1) vs. SanJuanBlue (8) A wonderful learning experience for a number of Top Gun 1st year players. I made sure everyone played, and tried to mix in many of the older players (Jake, Sean, Risheek, Evan, etc..). The opponent was older than most of our players, but we did our best to keep up. Really good defensive play from Drake and Kris. Solid Goalie play from Evan and Risheek. Each player on the Top Gun B team needs to increase their intensity during practice, to prepare for "game speed".

11am game - TopGun1 (5) vs. Placer1 (6) Another wonderful game. The Placer Gold team is a very talented team, but we outplayed them all game. Wonderful play from all players, even when it was getting hot and everyone was feeling tired. Every player kept fighting for the ball and never lost any of their intensity. I am very proud of all of you for the way you played in this game. Also, awesome goalie play from Joe. Joe made some of the most amazing stops we have ever seen. The Top Gun A team can compete with any team in Northern California. State Cup is around the corner, and we are ready.

Noon game - TopGun2 (1) vs. Boca1 (8) Another wonderful learning experience for some of our first year players. The BOCA team has some skilled players, but did not play very well as a team. I really like the increased intensity from Joewe and Manning. And, a few great runs from Jake and Josh that almost resulted in a few goals. Also, Evan was unbelievable in the goal. Evan's performance was equal to Joe's in the game before, and really fun for all of us to watch.

That's it for now. I hope to be able to attend the practices with more frequency over the next few months, and continue to be apart of our wonderful teams. Keep working hard each week in practice, Joe is the best at preparing our kids for the games. See you Tuesday. All the best, Coach Mike

Coach Joe would also like to add, "It was of great joy & satisfaction to see 8 individual minds working together as one as the ALPHA team moved the ball up the field flawlessly, with precision passing...we are exactly where we need to be...". Coach Joe had to leave after the first game due to the Wynalda Cinic and to conduct a local media interview.

MSC Top Gun makes a "SPLASH" at Folsom Aquatic Center's last Family Fun Night! Plus Highlights of the week's Scrimmages and Welcoming an International Soccer Star to Folsom! (Aug 9)

Dominique (pictured) jumping off the high-dive at the Folsom Aquatic Swim Center and giving the "Peace" sign for the photograph!

"SHARK!!!" is what Cade, Eilijah, Caitlin & Dominique were screaming as Coach Joe stealthily swam in the waters of the Folsom Aquatic Swim Center. A few MSC Top Gun Families attended the last Folsom Aquatic Swim Center's Family Fun Night of the season on Saturday, August 8.

In a crowded pool, Coach Joe, stalked our players by playing Shark and chasing the kids in the water and after capturing them, picking them up and throwing them way up in the air and into the depths. Our players were smiling ear-to-ear and laughing so loud when they would see Coach Joe coming straight at them for the "attack". Christine Bader & Lynette probably had the most fun watching the kids having such a great time! Also playing "Shark-Bait" were Isabelle, John Paul, Joey M, Milan and Cammie B.

After an hour of swimming, followed with snacks and some dinner, we all gathered to watch "Back to the Future" on the lawn in an out-door theater setting. With many other Folsom residents, the family atmosphere was a great way to unofficially end the Summer before school starts on Monday. Thanks to our MSC Top Gun Families for supporting this great community event!!!

Our Top Gun-ALPHA & BRAVO teams scrimmaged with Prospector Gold & Inter this past week. Both opposing teams gave Top Gun great runs & fierce competition. All teams are playing great soccer and continuing to get better with every game situation. With lots of great play making, goal scoring and goal-saving, our boys are playing with lots of heart & enthusiasm. We would like to welcome new Top Gunners, James Frizzell (U10B) & Josh Hester (U13-VICTORY), and their families to our club. Let's please help them feel welcomed!

This Saturday, August 15, Coach Joe welcomes an old friend, Eric Wynalda, to Mihaljevic Soccer School & MSC Top Gun! We hope all our Top Gunners will be able to attend Eric's Striker Clinic, though our U10 ALPHA & BRAVO teams will be participating at the BOCA Jamboree at Larchmont the same day. MSC Top Gun will attempt to make special arrangements with Eric to conduct a private session just for our boys. MSC Top Gun Families, please look out for a club email for more detailed information.

MSC Top Gun votes Ethan Veirs as "Player of the Tournament" at the '09 CalRush State Fair Tournament (Aug 3)

MSC Top Gun-ALPHA participated in the 2009 CalRush State Fair Tournament at Cherry Island Soccer Complex this past weekend, August 1 & 2. ALPHA made it all the way to the Semi-finals, placing 3rd overall. Not bad for our first tournament of the season.

Coach Joe says our boys were the most highly-skilled team in the entire tournament creating the most incredible goal-scoring opportunites in all their games. Unfortunately, the opposing teams were much bigger & stronger and were able to over-power our boys.

Top Gun's initial game versus Placer United Gold's team was a hard-fought and exciting game with Placer finally scoring the winning goal in the last few minutes of the game, 4-3.

The afternoon game versus Cal Odyssey proved to be an easier match with our boys scoring 7 goals to Cal Odyssey's 2. Lots of incredible play making by Jordan, Kyle, Noah & Ethan.

Sunday's Semi-Final game versus CalRush, the tournament host, started out well with our boys scoring the first goal in the first few minutes of the game, but CalRush was able to capitalize on our players' mental mistakes and outscored us, 3-1, to win and move into the Final match against Placer United Gold.

Congratulation to Placer United Gold for winning the tournament in a very exciting Final match defeating CalRush, 3-1, in over-time.

Coach Joe & MSC Top Gun names Ethan Veirs as "Player of the Tournament" for his 150% outstanding hustle & play-making and being the leading goal-scorer for Top Gun, placing 7 goals in the net for the whole tournament. Coach Joe hopes that Ethan's example of incredible determination to play every second of every game at full-speed will inspire his team-mates to do the same. Congratulations Ethan!!!

Ethan Veirs (pictured above) is MSC Top Gun's "Player of the Tournament" scoring a total of 7 goals the entire weekend! Congratulations Ethan!!!

Shane Mihaljevic (pictured), Coach Joe's nephew, who plays for St. Louis' Scott Gallagher Soccer Club won the National Cup VIII Championship Title in the U-16 Super Group Division in Virginia Beach today, defeating Cerritos Regional SC Brigade from California, 3-1. The entire Mihaljevic Family is proud of Shane and his incredible team!! WAY TO GO, SHANE!!

What a great & fun soccer day MSC Top Gun had at BOCA's Jamboree, held on Sunday, July 26 at Larchmont Park. We want to thank Brandon Cavitt & BOCA for the invitation and putting on a great event on their well-maintained fields.

Coach Joe was glad to have a lot of games for our Top Gun players to get enough playing time. It showed how our players are starting to blossom into some very skilled athletes. It was a good opportunity for all of our U9 Maverick boys to get some playing time as well.

U10 Top Gun players, Jake & Tyler, are really stepping up to becoming awesome attacking forwards! Ethan's constant hustle and exciting attacking play are a great example for all of our players to follow. At half-time, Coach Joe told all the Top Gun players that Ethan has been giving 110% in every sprint, in every practice and in every game for over a year. "He is the example you need to follow and match so that everyone plays with his same determination and commitment". Joe A has been coming up with some outstanding goalie performances & field play, showing great determination, courage and ability.

All of our new Top Gun players are showing a lot of promise and desire to learn and play Top Gun Soccer. Coach Joe is happy to have all these scrimmages over the summer and states, "All of our Top Gun players are growing in their understanding of the game and are getting more and more enjoyment out of it".

As always, we want to thank all of our Top Gun Parents, Families & Fans! All of your enthusiasm, support & cooperation is just fantastic. We are so fortunate to have these wonderful people within our club environment. GO TOP GUN!

Our U13 VICTORY boys played with a lot of enthusiasm at an earlier Saturday morning game, but did not come out with same kind of excitement against the Prospector Bulldogs on Monday, July 20 at Lakeside. The Bulldogs team have been together for a few years and played our Top Gun team with good energy & harmony. VICTORY has to come to games with the same desire & hustle in order to be successful. Many of our Top Gun parents were still impressed with the team's skill level, being this is a brand new team made up of a variety of individual talents. Coach Joe is taking notice of Jonathon's skill development and understanding of the game. He is really thinking, understanding and improving on all levels. He could become a great player.

On Wednesday, our Top Gun-BRAVO team scrimmaged the FSC Stealth at Lakeside. With our U9 MAVERICKs in tow, the whole game was a lot of fun, with lots of break-aways from both sides, as well as goal-scoring. Stealth has quite a few players with lots of great athletic ability and desire to win. Top Gun's Tyler "the Tiger" played with great attacking play, dribbling several times all the way down the field. Jake also played awesome exciting attacking Top Gun soccer which has really impressed Coach Joe. Our U9 MAVERICKs have always come to the games excited and ready to play. Lots of good soccer!

MSC Top Gun's Top Brass, Christy & Lynette, attend Inter-Milan vs Americas Match (July 25)

On Sunday, July 19, Christy & Lynette attended their first International Futbol match on American soil.

Inter-Milan played Club Americas in Palo Alto at Stanford Stadium. With an an exciting and super-energized atmosphere, Inter-Milan had tied the match, but lost in penalty kicks, 4-5, to Club America.

Christy & Lynette had great seats, surrounded by some great fans and were able to witness some exciting soccer playing by some true professionals. They had an awesome time!

Our Prima U12 Girls' Team hosted an "instructional" scrimmagewith EDU's U11 Eclipse team. On a very hot Wednesday, our girls played well against the younger girls. We had several girls on vacation, so Coach Joe had Kyle, Cade, Risheek & Noah from the Alpha/Bravo teams and Aaron from the U13 Victory team participate. The opposing team's coach, Danny Cruz, was heard saying our Dominique was dominating the game. Shaniah, Gabriella, Caitlin, Stephanie, McKenzie and Kayla played great aggressive soccer with Cameron & Paige continuing to gain better skill and confidence on the field. Thanks to "free agent" Delaney for also helping out with the team roster.

Friday's Alpha/Bravo scrimmage with San Juan's White team was a tough, but predictable loss for our boys. Coach Rino Chimienti's U10 boys team is the team to beat this 2009 season. San Juan's players are just much bigger and stronger than our Top Gun's boys. With continued training, Coach Joe will continue to focus on better developing our defensive players and hone the skills of our attacking fowards & creative mid-fielders. Developing their reaction times & decision-making skills, while building mental confidence on the field is how Top Gun will become the better team.

At an early Saturday morning home scrimmage against Coach Rich Walke and his EDH U14 Girls' team, our U13 Boys' Victory, along with our U12 Girls' Prima team, played some very good soccer. All our Victory boys gave great effort and willingness to play even in the 100+ degree weather. Coach Joe states, "I have a great group of boys to teach & work with and they have lots of potential..." Great Job!!

Thanks to the MSC Top Gun Families for their Well-Wishes for Dominique. She is safely recovering at home with a very bad flu bug. MSC Top Gun would like to also express our deepest sympathies to the Maechler Family for their loss of a dear relative this past week.

Thanks to all the MSC Top Gun Families Volunteers for donating a few hours every month with marking the field, mowing the field and taking stats for our games. And we absolutely cannot forget our Top Gun Administrators - they just continue to do a fantastic job!!

The Week of July 5 was a busy one. On Wednesday, July 8 our U10 Alpha & Bravo teams hosted a rematch with the EDH Hotspurs. Both Top Gun teams are getting better and better with every game. Ethan was our top scorer with 2 goals for the day. Coach Joe is especially proud of Sean, Evan & Everett. They all bring 100% to each game and leave everything out on the field.

The following day, our Alpha & Bravo boys scrimmaged against the FSC Stealth at Lakeside along with our U9 Mavericks team. It was great fun with lots of goal scoring on both sides. Its great to see that our new young Top Gun players, such as Josh S., Joe A., Drake and Zack - just to name a few, are utilizing all their new soccer skills in a game successfully. As always, incredible creative soccer play by Ethan, Kyle, Cade, Noah, Elijah & Jordan. Great defensive playing by Everett & Sean and awesome hustle by Jake, Tyler, Risheek, Joewe.

Our U12 Prima girls' team hosted at rematch with Arsenal from BOCA on Friday, July 10. The lucky 7 girls lost a hard fought battle, 2-1. Shaniah scored a great goal from an awesome cross from Dominique. A big thanks to Kyle, Cade, Elijah & Risheek for helping our girls out as a few of our players were on vacation.

Early Saturday morning at Lakeside, our Alpha & Bravo teams scrimmaged against a very strong EDU Crew team, playing three 20-minute halves. Incredible goalkeeping by Joe A!! With our Alpha & Bravo teams alternating games, there were a lot of goals from both sides. After reviewing the video of the games, Coach Joe says, "we have a lot of smart thinkers on our teams..." A true compliment from our Coach.

MSC Top Gun wishes to thank EDH, FSC, BOCA & EDU for coming to Folsom/Lakeside to scrimmage our club. We hope to have the pleasure of hosting more games this season. Great big "Thank-You's" to Terry Maechler, Mark Nelson, Anthony DiGiorno and especially Cody Sarabia for his great video-recording!!

Only one scrimmage this week, held on Wednesday, July 1. A mix of Top Gun-Alpha & Bravo players scrimmaged at home against the EDH Hot Spurs, with both sides scoring great goals. Our boys started out with some flat play and some interesting bounces, but managed to get into some sort of rhythm before too long. We play the Hot Spurs again this Wednesday at Lakeside.

"Another good week of soccer play from our U9 & U10 Boys teams...", states Coach Joe.

MSC Top Gun - Mavericks (U9) scrimmaged Folsom Soccer Club's U9-A team on Wednesday afternoon, June 24, at Oak Chan Elementary. Our boys played great soccer scoring several goals to Folsom's 1 goal at the final whistle.

MSC Top Gun - Alpha, Bravo & Mavericks were at Larchmont Park in Sacramento early Saturday, June 27, for a 3-scrimmage game against BOCA's U10 Boys team. On a super hot day our Top Gun Veterans, Kyle, Cade, Ethan, Elijan & Jordan played super hot passing soccer. Coach Joe says, "They're still a little rusty, but with more playing time I'm sure they will only get better..." Top Goal Scorers were Ethan with 3 goals for the day and Elijah, Jordan & Cade with 2 a piece. Outstanding goalkeeping by Evan!!!

Our brand new Top Gun Players, such as Zack B, Carson, Jack & Josh S, are thriving under Coach Joe's training and we are absolutely positive they all will continue to develop into great, young soccer players within our club.

Thanks to Brandon Cavitt & BOCA for setting up this fun-filled day of soccer scrimmages. Larchmont has great soccer fields and we look forward to the next playdate in July!

On Wednesday, June 17, MSC Top Gun hosted their first scrimmage playdate with San Juan Soccer Club at Lakeside. Our Alpha & Bravo U10 Boys team played very well scoring several goals created by great passing and intelligent creative play. This was our U9 Boys, Mavericks team, first scrimmage along with Coach Christy and they did an awesome job, finally scoring goals after warming-up and getting into the game(s). A good start for our MSC Top Gun Club!! Awesome play makers by Top Gun veterans, Ethan, Jordan, Cade & Kyle. Continued great playing by new members Joewe, Carson & Manning!

Our U12 Girls, Top Gun-PRIMA, played a BOCA Select team in Sacramento on Saturday, June 20. With several new girls on the PRIMA team, our focus will continue to be on training on the fundamentals and learning to play Top Gun Soccer. Dominique got our only goal, on a break-away, losing to Arsenal, 3-1. Great hustle by Shaniah and awesome goal-keeping by Mariana. Ariel, Zhane and Stephanie played some tough defense.

MSC Top Gun wishes to thank Terry Maechler, Coach Chance, Coach Christy & Lyn Wertman for their efforts in making the playdates happen. Thanks to Mark Nelson & Anthony DiGiorno for providing the officiating. Also, a huge thanks to the families for having the players at the games on time and prepared and helping set-up & take-down the field equipment for Lakeside's Annual Blitz!

Mihaljevic Soccer School, Inc. Presents Eric Wynalda's "Pro Soccer Experience Soccer Camp" (June 2)

Eric Wynalda, American soccer forward and all-time Leading Goal Scorer for the US Men's National Team, will come to Folsom this Summer to conduct a Striker Clinic. Eric & Coach Joe trained together with the San Francisco Blackhawks in the early 90s (Coach Joe had already retired, but still continued to train & play). Eric has contacted Joe and wants to bring his Striker Clinic to Folsom for a weekend. Mihaljevic Soccer School, Inc and the Wynalda Foundation will coordinate the upcoming camp. Details soon to come....

On Friday evening, May 22, Coach Joe and his eldest son, Joey, along with Lynette, started the Memorial Day weekend holiday at the ER at Mercy Folsom and were later transported to the Pediatrics Unit at Mercy San Juan Hospital. Joey, whom is autistic, had suffered a bacterial infection that inflamed his tonsils. The tonsils had swelled-up significantly causing his air-way to be obstructed. 911 was called. Fearing surgery would be the only solution, Joe & Lynette were concerned because of Joey's autism. Xray, MRI, Ultra-sound and CT Scan were all performed and a small & supposedly non-life threatening abcess could be seen. Antibiotics and other medication for swelling were administered by IV. Slowly & steadily the swelling has markedly gone down. Coach Joe & Lynette would like to express their gratitude to Dave & Wendy, the ER Nurses at Mercy Folsom Hospital, Pediatric Nurses Elyssa & Louisa at Mercy San Juan Hospital and especially Dr Mehdi Arab for showing Joey great love and care during his hospital stay. After taking part in a small & intimate Sunday Catholic prayer with Mercy San Juan's Catholic Layman (a very nice gentleman, whose name we will attempt to get) and celebrating Holy Communion, Joey was released on Sunday, May 24 with prescribed medications. Joey is now restfully recupering at home with weary parents, Joe & Lynette Mihaljevic. The family's other children, Dominique, John Paul & Milan have been staying at the grandparents' home in Lincoln since Friday. Joey will see Dr Arab this week for a follow-up. "Thanks be to God, we're all OK..." states Coach Joe. The Mihaljevic Family would also like to thank all the EMTs involved, especially the team from Sacramento.

MSS & MSC-Top Gun training will resume on schedule. Thanks to Lyn Wertman for her encouragement and her offer to step-up and help Joe and our staff with club & soccer school business while Lynette dedicates some much needed & special TLC time with Joey.

Coach Joe is impressed with our girls and their very first scrimmage as a team. Top Gun-PRIMA showed great character when they pulled together and came back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the AZZ Mustangs at 5 to 5 just before the final whistle. In what felt like 100+ degree weather, both teams fought super hard and played exciting soccer. Final score: Top Gun - 5, Mustangs - 5 (TIE). PRIMA players, Gabriella with 3 goals & Dominique with 2.

The second scrimmage was equally exciting with "several" missed shots-on-goal by Dominique, Gabriella and Shaniah. The Mustangs had 2 excellent wingers that were big and fast with good dribbling skills. Their team was dangerous on both sides of the field all day. Final score, Top Gun - 0, Mustangs - 2 (LOSS). "If we had converted our opportunities in the second game, which only lasted 30 minutes, we could have scored 5-6 goals..."

Coach Joe feels absolutely positive that our MSC Top Gun U12 girls will no doubt develop into a great team and is especially impressed with new PRIMA players, Zhane, Stephanie, Shaniah & Lexi and sees a tremendous amount of potential for greatness with Paige, Cameron, McKenzie, Ugonne & Mariana. Top Gun veterans, Caitlin, Dominique, Gabriella & Kayla round out the rest of the team giving MSC Top Gun-PRIMA a solid core for Coach Joe to work with.

Coach Joe states, "I see good things to come from our MSC Top Gun girls' team this year..."

On Mother's Day, a combined team of State Cup Champs, MSC Top Gun - Alpha & Bravo players, along with quite a few new team members participated in their first pre-season friendly scrimmage against the El Dorado United-Crew U10 Boys Team at Promontory Soccer Park in El Dorado Hills. Unfortunately, our boys lost to the Crew, 4-0. Coach Joe attributes our lost to inconsistent training attendance due to many players still engaged in baseball season. Once baseball season wraps up, Coach Joe has no doubts that our boys, with 100% commitment, will be able to focus on their training to perfect their skills and return to top form in no time. We thank the EDU Crew for the invitation and hope to schedule a re-match in the coming weeks at Top Gun's home field, The Danger Zone :)

MSC Top Gun's Speed, Strength & Conditioning Specialist : Alex Vitmer - A Brief Introduction (May 2)

"My professional philosophy is very simple: performance-oriented, functional, sport specific strength and conditioning . In my program, any player can significantly improve agility, execution of tasks and overall ability to exert force and protect his/her own physical space to the extent of one's genetic potential." ~Alex Vitmer

Coach Joe & MSC Top Gun are excited and anticipate the arrival of Alex Vitmer to our club environment. Alex will provide our club players excellent strength & condition training beginning in June. More information on Alex's extensive training background will be available soon. Coach Joe finds Alex's philosophy the perfect match for MSC Top Gun's disciplined approach to soccer training. Please welcome Alex to MSC Top Gun!

All AQI forecasts will be for ground-level ozone air pollution , but you can continue to see monitoring site readings for both ozone and particulate matter 2.5 under Current Conditions on www.SpareTheAir.com.

A Spare The Air Day will be declared when the AQI is forecast to be 150 - Unhealthy or higher. We will also promote Health Advisory Notifications for wildfire smoke should that become a problem in our area.

Mihaljevic Soccer School, Inc & MSC Top Gun are dedicated to the health of all of our club & school families.

Defending Champions, MSC Top Gun, enters 2009 U.S. Club / NorCal Premier State Cup Tournament (Apr 27)

Coach Joe will enter our two defending champions U9 boys teams, Top Gun-Alpha & Top Gun-Bravo into the 2009 U10 Boys U.S. Club / NorCal Premier State Cup Tournament. Both teams will have brand new line-ups made up of veteran Top Gun players & many new individual talents. It will be a very interesting season to watch these boys grow & develop into great soccer players and learn to play Top Gun attacking soccer as a team.

Coach Joe to recommend players to the NorCal Premier PDP College Showcase in Manteca, California (Apr 19)

Coach Joe has been asked by NorCal Premier Soccer League to recommend outstanding boys & girls soccer players born in '92 & '93 for the Player Development Program College Showcase in Manteca, California in May. This evaluation event will help to identify potential talent for college coaches. The intent is to also identify players for the National pool for inclusion for a U.S. National Team. Coach Joe has recommended several of his former players from Mihaljevic Soccer School, Rio Americano High School and his "undefeated" '07 Freshmen Girls Team from Folsom High School. Good luck to all the players and make Coach Joe proud!

MSC Top Gun's U12/U13 Team Meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 15 @ 6:30pm. Meeting will be held at the Round Table Pizza restaurant located on E Bidwell in Folsom (near Sports Authority). Coach Joe & Christy Sarabia will go over what families should expect for the new season and other important information regarding fees, forms, league play, tournaments, fundraising, etc. This will also be an opportunity for families to ask questions and get to know each better. MSC Top Gun is looking forward to another great season of soccer! GO TOP GUN!!

Need a new pair of soccer shoes? extra training pair? Coach Joe still has a few more quality soccer shoes for $20 a pair. Colors, Sizes & Brands vary; Please see Coach Joe at the beginning or end of Top Gun training.

(in observance of "Good Friday")
HAPPY EASTER HOLIDAY!

Spring Break : Mihaljevic Indoor Soccer Camp (Mar 27)

Mihaljevic Soccer School and the City of Folsom present our annual Spring Break Indoor Soccer Camp for players ages 8 - 15 years. Please contact the Folsom Sports Complex directly, 916-984-2850 for enrollment information. Location: Folsom Sports Complex Course Code Number: 155503-01 Dates: April 7, 8, 9 (T/W/Th) 9am to 12noon Fee: $137 / $130 resident discount 3-Day Lunch Fee: $15

Coach Joe & the Top Gun Board are looking forward to another fun-filled, great and successful soccer season!