Duluth East win Third Place at the Class A State Tournament

Gitchi Gummi Soccer Club would like to congratulate the Duluth East Greyhounds on claiming Third Place at the Class A State Soccer Tournament. An astounding 19 out of 22 of the boys are products of Gitchi Gummi Soccer Club. Gitchi is very proud that they have been able to develop these players so they could reach their goal of making it to the State tournament.

Mission Statement

Gitchi Gummi Soccer Club’s mission is to provide for player, coach, and referee development. The Club aims to provide fun, educational programs for girls and boys ages 5-18, and in the process provide growth in understanding of the game, sportsmanship, and the skills of soccer.

Duluth Marshall wins Class A State Title!

Congratulations to the Marshall Hilltoppers on winning the Minnesota Class A High School Soccer Championship held November 1st. Marshall beat the previously undefeated and favored Blake School Bears 1-0 at the Metrodome.

Fifteen of the eighteen rostered for Marshall are or have been players for Gitchi Gummi Soccer Club. Marshall's head coach is Mike Sengbush who also is the head coach for the U16 Boy's Classic 1 Gitchi Team. He is assisted by Josh "Puck" Bellamy, who is a former player with Gitchi Gummi.

From all of us at Gitchi Gummi SC, Congratulations!

Gitchi Gummi well represented at the Area All-Star game.

Twenty-four Gitchi Gummi players, both past and present, participated in the Bernicks Pepsi Senior All-Star Soccer game. The game was played at Malosky Stadium, on the campus of UMD. The Duluth team defeated the Area team by a score of 3-2.

The Area team was coached by Gitchi Gummi's very own Archie Clark.

Why consider Gitch Soccer?

High-level coaching has lead to much success in our club. Successes this year alone include five teams promoted to a higher league level. Also notable:

• League Winners 15 Boys C2, 15 Boys C3, 16 Boys C1, 14 Girls C2, 16 Girls C3
• League Runner-up 17 Boys C2
• Head of the Lakes Tourney Winners 14 Boys C1, 15 Boys C1 and 14 Girls C1
• ESS Girls Tourney Winners 14 C2 and 16 C1
• USA Cup Success Runner-up – 16 Boys C1, 19 Boys, 16 Girls C1;
• Semi-finalist – 17 Boys C1
• Eau Claire Tourney Winner 17 Boys C2
• NSC Cup Semi-finalist 14 Girls C2, 12 Boys C1
• Eden Prairie Tourney Winner 19 Boys
• Mahtomedi Tourney Runner-Up 13 Boys C2
• Three Rivers Tourney Winner 14 Boys C1

As Northern Minnesota's premier soccer club, Gitchi Gummi is very proud of its history and the quality of coaching our players receive. Our Coaching Advisor and Consultant, Barry Chastey, originates from the South west of England and has worked for the Club for the previous 4 seasons. In addition to his role with Gitchi Gummi, he is the Head Men's Soccer Coach at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. Our Girls’ Coordinator, Kelly Wheeler, is currently the assistant coach for the women's program at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Our third staff member is Mike Sengbush, the Youth Development Coordinator. He is also the Head Coach at Marshall High School where he led them to the State Tournament in 2006 and to a State Championship in 2007.

In addition to our staff we are incredible lucky to be able to have such high quality coaches for our teams. This year we will have 8 College coaches working within the club:

We also have 5 local High School Coaches:

• Archie Clark - Head Boys Coach – Cloquet
• Scott Anderson - Head Boys Coach - Duluth Denfeld
• Nic Bacigulapo - Head Boys Coach - Duluth Central
• Mike Sengbush - Head Boys Coach – Marshall
• Andy Robinson - JV Coach - Cloquet

Another very encouraging statistic when you consider the skill, experience and knowledge the Gitchi Gummi coaching staff has, is that 21 of our coaches have played soccer at the collegiate level. Because of this depth and commitment to development, we are very proud of our club and are very excited about the future of Soccer in Duluth.

Volunteer Information

For more volunteer information, please contact Lori Huska.

Club Treasurer – our current treasurer will be leaving the position prior to the start of our next season.

Head of the Lakes Invitational Tournament – every family is expected to provide volunteer hours that weekend.

• Concessions
• T-shirts
• Advertising/Tourney Brochure

Membership on the following committees:

• Fundraising / Public Relations
• Equipment/Fields (including attending Fields of Duluth meetings)
• Head of the Lakes Tournament
• Personnel
• Budget
• Club Communications

Other volunteer opportunies include:

• Team manager (or co-manager)
• Team liaison to the Board (Board member)
• Assist with Early Development/Juniors program
• Gitchi Wear Coordinator
• Help with the fields at the beginning of the season

The Gitchi Gummi Soccer Club would like to thank our generous sponsor, the Incline Station, for their support this year.

©2007 Gitchi Gummi Soccer Club