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MUMBAI RUSH Mumbai Rush Soccer Club stands committed The first batch of thirty trainees including the four talented players who were awarded with complete scholarship at the MRSC Champions league to train under the newly launched MRSC Center of Excellence training program have arrived from Goa, finishing their month long first leg training. Mitch Bickmore is in India to introduce the RUSH WAY at the Center of Excellence training program, which is spanned over 6-9 months in Goa, Mumbai and USA. The program is an ideal platform for players from U8 to U21 to access high-level residential and non-residential training and gain International exposure in the USA. The players have taken well to the training. Akram, a U15 player managed to improve from 800 juggles to 5700 juggles by the end of the 1st leg. "I am extremely thankful to Mumbai Rush Soccer and Steadfast FA for giving this opportunity to my son. The coach is highly knowledgeable and he knows how to encourage and motivate the kids to give their best," said the proud parent of Hamza, the scholarship recipient. Seven more talented MRSC Champions League scholarship players have joined the second phase of the COE. The numbers are swelling up as the word of the program is catching on. The players are pretty excited about the third leg training in USA that will commence in October 2013. "It is an awesome opportunity for us to train for one month in the Unites States," said Suhyal. The first of its kind Center of Excellence training program is gaining momentum with each passing day, moving towards realization of many dreams across the seven seas. For more information about the Mumbai Rush Soccer Club, you can find us online at: www.rushsoccer.com Rush Nigeria Rush Nigeria Sponsors First U13 Tournament The competition was fierce, the passion evident in the faces of the players and desire to win fierce. Rush Nigeria sponsored their first local U13 tournament. How do you kick start development in a country where youth soccer is under served? Since its inception 3 years ago, Rush Nigeria has been determined to find ways of advancing the soccer landscape. One of the key areas was in finding ways to capture the youngsters imagination and passion as they spend countless hours on the soccer field. Realizing that Nigeria does not a viable youth tournament that is open to local teams, Rush Nigeria decided it was time! Inviting 8 local coaches to a meeting that was held at the Rush Resource Center, these coaches crafted the guidelines for the first Rush U13 Tournament. They discussed everything from winners trophies to guidelines of participation to disciplinary action against players or teams. Eight teams were invited and placed in two groups using the conventional FIFA point system. Games were played through the week culminating in a semi-final and final game played on June 22nd. The Youngstars played our Rush team in a hard fought battle for third and fourth place where the Rush came out on top 1-0. The Finals then pitted the Golden Boys against the highly skilled Bankole Academy. After 80 minutes in which neither defense gave up a goal, the game was decided on penalty kicks, which saw the Golden Boys come through as Champions of the Tournament on a 6-5 penalty kick game. In addition, players were selected from all the teams to join the 2013-2014 U13 Rush team. These players will compete in the local Division II league in the region. Players will also be in the running for the newly developed Kato International Training Academy in Kwoi; a residential soccer school scheduled to open in September 2014. Players will not only receive superior coaching on the field but will have the opportunity to excel in their education. For more information about the Nigeria Rush Soccer Club, you can find us online at: www.NigeriaRush.com S E R V I N G S O C C E R P L AY E R S L O C A L LY B Y S E R V I N G O U R PA R T N E R S G L O B A L LY MRSC Center of Excellence kicks off under the Technical Director from the USA Mitch Bickmore. An initiative in partnership with Rush Soccer USA to promote talent and elevate Indian football. PAGE 27 SUMMER 2013