SURF NEWS - OCTOBER 31

STACK SPORTS ANNOUNCES MVP AWARD WINNERS:

MONTANA SURF'S VANESSA DAVIS CHOSEN FROM OVER 1600 NOMINEES!

We are thrilled to announce that Vanessa Davis was selected from over 1600 nominees nationwide as the winner of the 2022 Stack MVP Awards! This award recognizes the unsung heroes that make youth sports possible each season. Vanessa won "Admin of the Year" for her work with Montana Surf and our Free Soccer Initiative program, which is designed to erase the barriers to entry that prevent kids from low-income families from playing sports.

Montana Surf Board Member, Cate Wright, wrote this about Vanessa:

Vanessa makes a positive impact on children in our community every day through her role as Technical Director of Montana Surf Soccer Club and also through her efforts to create a safe and inclusive environment for all kids. This spring, Vanessa founded The Free Soccer Initiative, a program designed to erase barriers to entry for kids to play sports. The Free Soccer Initiative covers all program fees for qualifying families; offers transportation to practices, games and team events for those who need it; and provides free equipment and uniforms. The goal is to get more kids from more backgrounds playing sports, focusing on equity and inclusion, and to increase diversity in Montana Surf's programs.

Vanessa, who is Venezuelan, wants to get more kids from more backgrounds involved with soccer. She noticed that there are many Latinx families moving to Montana from places like Venezuela, Honduras and Mexico and she wanted to give them a way to become part of the Gallatin Valley Community. Nothing builds community and connection like sport and we have found that this program is powerful for all of our athletes.

Vanessa's work as Technical Director has focused on creating opportunity for higher level play for youth athletes in Montana by helping to found new regional leagues, finding valuable guest playing opportunities for athletes, and working with the our state's youth soccer leadership to update policies and practices to match where soccer is going in other states. Vanessa is creating a significant impact for our local and regional soccer communities!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE AWARDS CEREMONY

A MESSAGE FROM OUR BOARD PRESIDENT

Dear Montana Surf Families,

Thank you for all of the positive energy and dedication you put into Montana Surf and Blitzz FC in 2022. Your support on the sidelines, your hours of volunteer work, your willingness to spread the word about the quality of our programs, and the time you spent driving athletes to and from soccer pitches all over the state are what make Montana Surf parents special. You always go the extra mile (sometimes many extra miles) to make our programs and experiences "best of the best." We are grateful for all that you do!

The Montana Surf Board of Directors is busy planning for 2023 and, like our athletes, we have big goals. We are looking forward to sharing many of them with you at the General Meeting in January. Stay tuned for the date and time.

Montana Surf is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization goverened by a volunteer Board of Directors. Maintaining a strong, dedicated board full of energetic leaders is a top priority for our organization and we are looking forward to welcoming new members after board elections in January. Elections for the Montana Surf Board of Directors will take place on January 4th, 2023. Montana Surf will be sending out ballots to all members on December 15, 2022. Thank you in advance for voting!

Please Note: You must have paid your club fee for 2022/2023 season to be eligible to vote. Ballots will only be sent to those who have paid the club fee.

We wish you all a happy and safe Halloween!

Very best,

Paige Taylor

WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE FOR

BIENVENIDOS A GALLATIN VALLEY

Montana Surf's 2009 girls are leading a partnership between Montana Surf and Bienvenidos a Gallatin Valley to collect warm clothing for families in need. They are looking for other players and teams to get involved - please email cate@montanasurf.org if you'd like to help.

Latinx families new to Montana don't have essential cold-weather items like coats, gloves, scarves and hats and we want to help them all have a happy, healthy, warm winter. Bienvenidos is looking for the following items:

- Winter clothes for children 2-5 years old

- Winter clothes for girls and boys size medium and large

- Coats for parents: small, medium and large for men and women

- Socks, beanies, hats, gloves and women's underwear size small-large

- Gift cards to stores like Target and Walmart are also welcome. If you'd like to donate gift cards please contact cate@montanasurf.org.

Donation bins will be located outside the Montana Surf office at 502 S.19th Ave. as well as in the Montana Surf Indoor Soccer Facility at 20900 Frontage Road in Belgrade starting November 5th.

BATTLE FOR THE BELT

The first annual Battle for the Belt 7v7 Tournament was an intense competition between our Montana Surf girls, boys and coaches, who were all mixed up into teams and then went head-to-head to win the ultimate trophy, The Surf Belt!

"It was like watching Hulk Hogan and the Bella Twins take on Erling Haaland and Alex Morgan. The rage calls were plenty, the energy was high and the competition fierce. The semi-final and championship games both went into penalty kick shoot outs. The athletes and coaches had the best time ever. We ended the evening with a snack of cookies and Gatorade and a huge Surf chant so loud the kids all started laughing. We can't wait to do it again next year!" - Vanessa Davis, Montana Surf Competitive Technical Director

Photos by: Anne Sherwood

Last photo by: Vanessa Davis

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM MONTANA SURF!

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