Windward Rush Opening Practices To Prospective Players
As Rush Windward Soccer comes up on its first anniversary, the club is sure of one thing: Players who want game experience will find it.
“One of the benefits of playing with Rush is that there are a lot of opportunities to play,” said Don Mangiarelli of Rush.
“You can jump across teams (playing for multiple teams “in-club”), and if you want to play three or four games a week, you can. We have five players from the U-14 Windward team traveling to compete in the US Youth Soccer Regional Tournament in New Mexico. Because
Rush is the largest club in the state, it is able to offer Hawaii’s players opportunities that they might not get playing with smaller clubs.”
Rush’s Windward section officially began in July of 2013 and had 43 players among several age groups participating in the 2014 spring season. All told, Windward Rush fielded a 02 girls team, a 01 boys team, a 00 boys team and a 99 boys team. The 00 boys placed second in its spring league and was promoted from Select to Premiere Division at season’s end. The 99 boys team took first in its regular season and finished third overall in its post-season playoff.
“To have progressed that much in our first year was a big feat,” said Mangiarelli, who is also boys varsity head coach at Saint Louis School.
As one of five clubs operating on the Windward side, Rush has found many of its newcomers to club soccer from the Kailua branch of AYSO, according to Mangiarelli. “It’s a competitive environment,” he explained. “Basically, we’ve been getting a whole bunch of kids from AYSO. It’s awesome. To see them develop and progress has been great. Quality (of play) comes with experience.”
Windward Rush also hopes to continue its growth in year two. It offers prospective club members the opportunity to participate in any workout to see if the player and club are a good fit.
“They can join us for any training session,” he said. “We are continuing to search for players who are looking for a competitive environment to play in while advancing their knowledge of the game.”
Windward Rush currently has two practices a week: from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays from at Waimanalo District Park. For details, email rushwindward@gmail.com.
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