Congratulations to our Rush 96 boys who came home with their first State Championship. The boys were the dominant team at the event held at Drakes Creek in Hendersonville, TN.
Well done Coach Steve and the boys!!!!
More to follow.....
Rush Teams Shine at Local Tournament
(10.30.2008) At the recent Wolf River Classic Tournament held at Mike Rose Soccer Complex Rush teams again came home with a lions share of the silverware. Congratulations must go the 94 boys who finished as a finalist and were unlucky not to win the whole event. The 96,98,and 99 boys all were triumphant in their brackets and took home the WRC 2008 championship. Congrats on another successful weekend!!!
Rush Player Selected to Regional ODP
(10.30.2008) Congratulations to Chandler Gagnon for being selected to the Region 3 Olympic Development team. He was selected by the Region III head coach to attend the interregional event scheduled for December 26, 2008 through December 30, 2008 to be held at the Disney Wide World of Sports (DWWS) in Orlando, Florida. Regional Teams from all four regions are scheduled to compete against each other. The US National Team coaches will be attending this event to select the top players for National Team participation in further events. He will have the opportunity to play against the top players from all over the United States. Gagnon is the only player selected from the state of Tennessee and becomes the first Tennessee Rush player to be selected to a region team since its inception 2 years ago. Gagnon is a member of the four-time state champion Tennessee Rush Nike 93 team coached by Alex Williams. Best of luck in Orlando!!
In other great news, Aris Briggs of Steve Bradshaw's 96 boys team has been selected from hundreds of players to represent a Rush National Select team. The team will play in the famed Sereno Cup in Arizona early in 2009. Briggs was selected by attending the Rush Festival over the summer and the coaches liked what they saw. The fact that Aris is actually a true 97 (Under 12) makes this selection an even bigger achievement. Director of Coaching for TN Rush, Mark Forrest had this to say; "we are very proud of Aris and we have high expectations for this exciting player. It is also great to see a family who has invested themselves in the "Rush way" and it is really paying off with this sort of opportunity!"
We wish Aris all the very best and we will keep you posted on how he does at Sereno.
Rush n' Attack
(10.24.08) Rush President, Tim Schulz, spoke recently to "thisisamericansoccer.com" about recent developments with Rush and future goals for the club.
Another day passes, another American soccer club partners up with a European counterpart. But I didn’t want this one to just pass. Because this time it is Rush Soccer. Once a tiny club in Colorado, Rush is now 33,000 players strong with 20 clubs across the nation (that’s not a map of democratic states up there, but states in which Rush has a member club). Former national team player Tim Schutz, who has coached and played at just about every level of the game, is the president of Rush. Oh, and they want a MLS team under their brand.
If you didn’t know before, it’s quickly appearing to be a youth soccer world of “Rush against them.” After the jump President Schutz takes a phone call to make sense of the mother of all clubs.
96 Boys Swoosh Crowned United Cup Champions
The TN Rush Swoosh 96 Boys Were undefeated in the Adidas United Cup of Champions. The tournament was held September 26-28 in Hendersonville, TN. The team, coached by Jon Knickerbocker, scored 10 goals in four games, and allowed an average of less than one goal per game!
TN RUSH Girls Run 24-Hour Race
(10.04.2008) The TN RUSH girls participated as a team in the 10tth annual Tour d’Esprit race at Church of the Holy Spirit on October 3-4. The race benefits Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis, which operates a free medical clinic in Haiti. Each team recieved one timing chip to pass between members, as they tried to log as many laps as possible around a 1-mile course over a 24-hour period. The team consisted mainly of the ’97 girls, with some help from a few ’95/’96 girls, a few soccer moms, and Coach Meredith. The race began on Friday at 3:00pm, and the team managed to keep someone on the track the entire 24 hours, logging in a total of 139 miles! The team had a great time camping out together, and they rallied in the last few hours to pull ahead of several other teams, finishing 2nd in the Female division and 5th overall.
The girls competed against numerous adult teams, and only the very serious running clubs were able to log in more miles than our girls. Many of the other runners and spectators were impressed with the talent of our young athletes and with their competitive spirit.
Rush Strong- Army Strong
(10.10.08) Rush Coach Graham Strickland has accepted the privilege and the challenge of defending his country as he was sworn into Active Duty by the United States Army on October 6th, 2008. Graham will begin his training on October 21st. Graham will be going to Fort Binning, GA for 13 weeks of basic and combat training, then he will start Officer Candidate School, which will also be at Fort Binning and will last 12 weeks. After the completion of OCS he will sign a new contract with the Army and will be given a job. Graham hopes to get the position of Intelligence Analyst, which he will then go into further training which can last anywhere from 3 to 5 months.
Upon the completion of his training program he will be assigned to a Unit, which could be based anywhere in the world where there is an army base. Of course we are at war and deployment for any serviceman is a possibility and if Graham’s unit is deployed to either Afghanistan or Iraq, he will be going with his unit.
Graham had this to say about the major change in his life;
“I have talked to many people about this decision and I have met many people that have either been in the armed forced or are in now and I have yet to have one of these individuals tell me that I am making a mistake. In fact, almost all of the service men and women that I have talked to tell me that it's the greatest decision they have made in their lives and have encouraged me to join their organization.”
All here at Rush HQ wish Graham the very best and hopefully we will see him back on the soccer fields in the future, GOOD LUCK!!!!
Teams Shine In Superclubs
(09.23.08) Tennessee Rush had another excellent weekend at the annual Regional Superclubs Tournament held at Mike Rose Soccer Complex. Rush produced three tournament champions and one finalist. Congratulations to the 1991 (U18) and 1992 (U17) boys for bringing home the championship, and also well done to the 1994 (U15) boys who were finalists!
One of the highlights of the weekend was the triumphant 1995 (U14) girls team who won their first tournament! The girls displayed tons of heart and steely determination as they overcame adversity to win. The girls played Friday and had to come from not only a goal behind but a player down also and they managed to secure a 1-1 tie. On Saturday the team faced a tough opponent and lost 3-0. Needing a 3-0 shutout early Sunday morning to advance to the final, the 95s rose to the challenge pulling off a 4-0 shutout!
The final matched the girls against the same team who had beaten them previously. The girls went into the match focused and undaunted by the previous result. They pulled together, and the match went into overtime after a goalless 70 minutes of play. The game remained tied after the "golden goal" extra time and the match would be decided by "kicks from the mark" (penalty kicks). Rush GK Madison Atkinson was brilliant, making a great save on our opponent's first shot! All three Rush penalties were expertly converted and this gave the girls the tournament victory!!!
97 Girls Kickers Crowned 2008 SoccerElite Grrrls Fall Champions
(09.07.2008) The Tennessee Rush 97 Girls Kickers went undefeated on their way to the Championship in the 2008 SoccerElite Grrrls Fall Championships at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex. In the final game, Rush defeated the Jackson FC Girls. On their way to the finals, Rush defeated Bartlett 97, Lady Lobos White, and Purple Rain. The team scored an impressive 36 goals while only allowing 1 on the weekend. New head coach Bobby Fox told the girls that this was a good start to their fall season and that he looks forward to similar success as they continue.
Tennessee Rush Spends Holiday in Texas
(09.05.08) Many of the Tennessee Rush players spent the Labor Day holiday in Texas as 10 teams made the trip to the Dallas area for the 27th annual Plano Labor Day Invitational. This tournament is well known to be the one of the most competitive tournaments in the country. The Tennessee Rush brought the most teams from any club outside of Texas to Plano. The trip was a huge success as 4 of the teams advanced past the preliminary stages to the quarterfinals . The 91 boys made it to the semi- final and the 93 boys advanced to the championship match. The trip was a success off the field as well as many players showed their support by attending other teams games in their “spare “ time to support the club. Saturday night was capped off by “Italian Night” organized by some of the parents, a chance for the teams to sit down and eat together as a club. Congratulations to all the teams!
Rush Takes Inaugural Premier Soccer Academies Crown
(08.17.2008) To highlight their first year of operation, Brad Friedel's Premier Soccer Academies organized the World Youth Tournament that attracted under-16 national teams from Chile and Venezuela to their campus in Lorain, Ohio, but the winner was the Rush Select XI, representing Rush Soccer Club. The team included Jonothan Edelman from TN Rush, who played center mid and defender for the championship side.
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TN Rush Represented in San Diego!!
(08.04.2008) It was not hard to pick out the three Tennessee Rush 93 guest players at this year’s Surf Cup in San Diego. As guest players, Sam Wilson, Matthew Roberts and Ethan Felsenthal added to the Hawaii Rush 93’s fourteen player roster in one of the West Coast’s most prestigious soccer tournaments. The Hawaii Rush team makes home on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, and all the players and the assistant coach are natives. Head coach Arian Hoxha is a former refuge from Albania who found himself in Colorado at age 19, speaking no English. Today, he is the Technical Director for the Hawaii Rush organization and speaks English and soccer very well.
SIx moms and dads from Oahu joined the team in San Diego and provided transportation, food, and organization for the busy San Diego schedule. The team played three teams: one each from Oregon, California, and New York. The games were competitive, but the team was down to 12 healthy players by the third game. It was clearly evident that West Coast soccer is physical, and this team, on this weekend, could not match up.
Sam Wilson played forward for a magnificent twenty minutes of soccer before injuring his left knee in the 2nd half of the first game. He never played again. Matthew Roberts played a solid left back for most of the three games, creating sideline fans with his reverse moves. Ethan Felsenthal played every minute in the final game, showing off his excellent conditioning and passing game from midfield.
Guest playing is not a simple process. The required paperwork is daunting, the travel plans are never easy, and players assimilating into another team after one practice is not ideal. But how else on Earth could three Tennessee boys and a dad get a chance to mingle with 20 Hawaiian natives over a weekend, without going to Hawaii?
TN Rush Excels at Regional ODP Camp
(08.08.08) Tennessee Rush was well represented this summer in the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Region III Camps. The Club sent over 30 players to the Regional camps held at the University of Alabama (Boys) and the University of Montevallo (Girls) .
A special congratulation to the three players selected to the regional pools Nick Jackson, Chandler Gagnon, and Arturo Rocha. These three boys will be eligible to travel with the regional teams on select domestic and international play during the upcoming soccer year.
All Rush players performed exceptionally well, facing elite competition from North Texas and North Carolina just to name a few. The boys also had time for fun, spending time with fellow players from the 12 states represented in the region.
Rush Represented in Nicaragua!
(7.18.07) Immediately after playing in Southern Regionals with the 93 Tennessee Rush, Alex Pratt left July 5th with Baptist Dental and Medical International on a mission trip to El Cua, Nicaragua. As a nurse practitioner, his mom treated patients while Alex worked in the pharmacy and with the veterinary team, herding and vaccinating cattle. In his spare time Alex represented the Rush organization (unofficially) playing soccer with Nicaraguan children. With generous help from his local Dick’s Sporting Goods (Jackson, TN), Alex took and gave away ten soccer balls to children who not only had never owned a soccer ball, but also didn’t have running water or electricity in their homes. “Seeing the smiles on the faces of the children” was the best part of playing with the kids, said Pratt. The worst part was that the terrain was muddy most of the time and there was no room to do much besides kick around and juggle. He returned home July 12th internally and eternally grateful for the abundance of resources we enjoy in the United States.
Rush Uniforms Just in!!!
TN Rush is pleased to announce the arrival of the new boys soccer uniform. Samples will be at Soccer USA in Collierville.
Fall 2007 - Spring 2009 Women's Competitive Kit (.pdf)
Fall 2008 - Spring 2010 Men's Competitive Kit (.pdf)
(07.09.08) Busy Summer For TN Rush!!!
Over the past 6 weeks a lot has gone on with the development of TN Rush. The coming together of WTFC Kickers and TN Rush created a huge buzz around the local and regional soccer world. This buzz was felt at the recent tryouts where TN Rush trebled the amount of players that had previously attended the competitive tryout period. We can truly now say that we have one of the best soccer programs, not only in the state, but also in the Southern region.
Rush also held its first ever Summer camp and it was greatly received by all those who attended. Kim Cox had two daughters (Sarah and Hannah Cox) who experienced the camp first hand.
"The camp was a great chance for the girls to get out and work hard on their soccer skills, the staff made the camp challenging and fun all at the same time," Kim said.
The camp will no doubt be in even greater demand next year and we look forward to seeing everyone back!!!
