Hey Everyone – 

 

What a summer at Play Higher! Thank you for all the support you give to Play Higher! All of this would not be possible without you! Some amazing recaps that I would like the Play Higher family to celebrate as we move into the Fall:

 

Moving into our Saddleback Church Rancho Capistrano Home 

This amazing campus is where I grew up playing soccer, so to come full circle and train my players here is so exciting. Saddleback Church has provided us with an amazing facility to provide high level soccer and life training and I feel so blessed and honored to lead this ministry!

 

Matthew Hoppe Gold Cup Win

We are very proud of our Play Higher original in his blow up professional year. He scored his first goal for the USMNT and won his first international trophy this summer. It was fun to train him while he was home from Germany. Arsenal, Ajax, and Everton are pursuing to sign him among others.

 

Baptisms

2 of our players made a public declaration of faith and were baptized this summer. It was an honor to be a part of their ceremonies – I am so proud of both Tristan Weber (SDSU Men’s Soccer/USYNT) and Eder Oliva (UCI Men’s Soccer). I love these boys forever!

 

Chick-fil-A Sponsorship

Chick-fil-A corporate has started to foster our growth by providing food and sponsoring our Free Play Friday sessions. They have expressed interest to help more, and I will travel to Atlanta this Fall to meet with them.

 

Individual Wins

Play Higher athletes have achieved a tremendous amount of individual success over the summer. Some honorable mentions include:

-Koa Trager 08 Surf Cup win

-Tristan Weber LAFC invitation

-Gianna Feldsien return to play after ACL surgery

-Gabby Nacelli USYNT invitation

-Miles Imparato (Nomads 05) & Colton Macnider (SD Surf 08) ECNL Finals

-PLENTY of GOALS & ASSISTS in ECNL! 

      Issa El Assal (8 goals/6 assists in 11 games)

      Camila Hernandez (17 goals/25 assists)

      Jonah Levandofsky (18 goals/10 assists in 16 games)

      Many more!

 

I am very excited to move into the fall season with you all. I look forward to everyone’s league games starting up and watching our players shine. I will work my hardest to provide a positive and fun place for your kids to spend their nights and master their talents.  Play Higher is an inclusive community open to EVERYONE no matter their race, religion, sexual orientation, and financial situation – we want to help all players who are committed to their craft.

 

Please be praying for:

 

-Gabby Nacelli and Maddie Finnerty’s ACL recoveries

-That we continue to produce Happy, Healthy, and High-level players

-Direction for the Play Higher Ministry

-Levelling the grass field at Rancho Capistrano

 

Play Higher is not a business – it is a family. Thank you to all of you who help support this family through the giving of your gifts, talents, time, and finances.

 

With Love,

 

Justice Duerksen