MNP web site: www.nasaacademygirls.org/g10-mnp.htm 

This page was updated March 02, 2026.  Content changes frequently; use your "Refresh" feature to display the most current information.

News:

Goodbye to 2013-2014: (June 20)  We thank Bonnie and her party elves for putting together our pool party to celebrate the end of the 2013-2014 soccer year. We thank all the parents for choosing the NASA Academy and giving us the opportunity to coach your daughters. We appreciate your time getting the girls to all our events, your positive support throughout the year, and your flexibility adapting to some challenging scheduling issues. It’s been a privilege working with this group! The girls bring enthusiasm and joy to every practice and game, and their love of playing and learning make it fun for everyone. We thank the girls for making this such a rewarding experience! Best wishes to all the girls and your families as you continue your soccer journeys! Links: more photos  /  videos

New web site for 2014-2015: (June 12)  The NASA Academy Girls U10 groups will transition to a new web site for the 2014-2015 season: http://www.23gacademy.nasa-gateams.org/

Uniform fitting: (May 30)  Our supplier, Eurosport (also known as soccer.com), will host uniform fitting sessions during the week of June 2nd. Here's the schedule:

• Tuesday, June 3rd, 2:00 - 9:00 PM at Metro North Park
• Wednesday, June 4th, 2:00 - 9:00 PM at United Quest Park
• Thursday, June 5th, 2:00 - 9:00 PM at Metro North Park

We recommend all new and returning players attend the fitting sessions. The girls should wear shorts, a tank top and sandals -- this will make the process quicker. Link: uniform details

NASA Development Academy Camp - June 9-12, 2014: (April 28)  The NASA Development Academy Camp returns for 2014! The camp takes place June 9-12 at Metro North Park; it's aimed at Academy / Select players who want to be big time players. The camp is run by NASA's Dave Smith, who created our Academy program back in 2001. (This camp is separate from our Academy Camp in July.)

Academy tryouts for the 2014-2015 season start May 27: (May 23)  Tryouts for the 2014-2015 NASA Academy programs start Tuesday, May 27, 2014. Girls who are age 9 or younger as of July 31st, 2014 attend the U10 tryouts; girls who are already age 10 as of July 31st attend the U11 tryouts. Tryouts at Metro North Park take place Tuesday and Thursday. Tryouts at United Quest Park take place Wednesday and Friday. Link: tryouts page

• Tryout registration:  All returning players should pre-register for tryouts. This process is free, and it will save you time during tryout check-in. Log into your NASA account through www.nasa-ga.org / Member Login. (You don't need to create a new account.) Once you're logged in, select Register Now. You'll see a list of available programs. Select the appropriate age Girls Academy program.

• Tryout sign-in desk helpers needed:  We're looking for 3-4 parents to staff the tryout sign-in table each night. Roles include greeter, data master (confirming player info on pre-printed registration lists) and artist (marking tryout numbers on players' arms). If you're available to help any of the nights, please e-mail the appropriate coach and include which night(s) you're available: Trey Daniel (U10 tryouts) / Ashley Stinson (U11 tryouts)

• Schedule conflicts:  If your daughter isn't able to attend tryouts, please contact Trey Daniel (U10 tryouts) or Ashley Stinson (U11 tryouts) for more info.

This year's journey comes to an end: (May 22)  Thanks to the girls who attended our end-of-season scrimmages, and to the parents for attending the 2014-2015 prep meetings. We'll post a season wrap-up later on. Best wishes to the girls and their families as they start the next leg on their soccer journey!

Tuesday, May 20:  5:30 - 6:45 PM at Metro North Park field 4 (possibly moving to field 5 after 6:15). Parents of U10 players (girls who will be age 10 by July 31) will meet with Ward at 6:00. Parents of U9 players (girls who will be age 9 or younger as of July 31) will meet with Ward at 6:20.	video link: final MNP countdown for 2013-2014
Wednesday, May 21:  5:30 - 6:45 PM at Noonday Park field 7. Parents of U10 players (girls who will be age 10 by July 31) will meet with Ward at 6:00. Parents of U9 players (girls who will be age 9 or younger as of July 31) will meet with Ward at 6:20.	video link: final UQP countdown for 2013-2014

NASA Adidas Friendship Cup recap: (May 24)  We thank all the girls for their effort, skill and enthusiasm, and also for their love of mud, during this weekend's NASA Adidas Friendship Cup! We also thank the parents for their support and dedication to getting their daughters to their games, and also for their enthusiasm during Sunday's rain games. Mother Nature got the final word, but she waited until most of our teams completed their three round-robin games, so we'll give her thanks too for her patience.

• Champions and runners-up:  The championship round at United Quest Park was canceled due to waterlogged fields. Champions and runners-up were decided based on points accumulated during the round-robin phase. We'll collect awards for NASA Academy O'Hara (U9 Girls Black champions!) and distribute them Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

  NASA Academy Heath finished third their division.
  NASA Academy Leroux finished in a tie for 2nd in their bracket, but ended up 3rd after tie-breakers.
  NASA Academy O'Hara won the U9 Girls Black division championship. Congratulations girls!
  NASA Academy Krieger finished fourth in their division. Weather interfered with their third round-robin game, so they had a PK shootout instead.
  NASA Academy Morgan finished 2nd in their bracket. They were in a division with two brackets; only the top team in each bracket advances to the championship round.
  NASA Academy Rampone finished 2nd in their bracket. They were in a division with two brackets; only the top team in each bracket advances to the championship round.

Pool party Sunday, May 18: (May 18)  Canceled due to poor weather! We'll celebrate the end of the season with an Academy pool party including the Jr. Academy, U10 and U11 girls. Link: party details

NASA Casino night thanks! (May 11)  We thank everyone who attended or participated in the initial NASA Casino Night, including all who attended and who either donated items for the auction or bid on auction items. NASA raised over $13,000 toward facility improvements and financial aid for families who cannot afford to play. A special thanks to Alicia and Bonnie for putting together auction baskets for our group!

Academy Injury List (AIL): (May 11)  We welcome Keira and Morgan back into action after recovering from injuries. We send "get well soon!" messages to E-Dub, Jennifer and Sim Sim. They will miss the tournament due to injuries.

Academy guest night practices: (April 12)  We start our spring guest night practices the week of April 14th. These are aimed at prospective Academy players who currently play in the NASA recreational program or aren't currently registered with a soccer club. Link: guest night details

Academy Camp date changes: (April 10)  NASA has moved our summer Academy Camp dates forward a week. NASA made the change to avoid schedule conflicts for coaches who are also school teachers.

• July 7-11, 2014:  Girls Academies @ Metro North Park, 9 AM - 3 PM (was originally July 14-18)

• July 14-18, 2014:  Girls Academies @ United Quest Park, 9 AM - 3 PM (was originally July 21-25)

If your daughter has a schedule conflict with her home park's Academy camp, she can attend the Academy camp at the other park instead.

Adidas Academy Festival recap: (May 22)  We thank everyone who attended the 2014 Adidas Academy Festival in Greenville, SC. We thank Samantha for our hotel arrangements (nice place!), CESA for hosting and providing such wonderful fields, and Mother Nature for giving us sunny and warm weather. We also thank sponsors Adidas and Lloyd's Soccer for providing the girls with some cool freebies. The biggest thanks go to the girls' parents for their time and enthusiastic support, and the girls for their enthusiasm and excellent play! Link: more photos and videos / more videos

April juggling challenge - heights: (April 3)  We're bringing back the monthly juggling challenge, starting with individual levels and building to partner levels. April's challenge is "heights:" it starts out easy, but gets very difficult! We encourage you to print a copy for your daughter to bring to practice. Link: heights juggling challenge

Spring break: (April 6) We thank all the girls who attended our informal spring break events. We hope everyone who was traveling had a fun and safe trip. We look forward to seeing everyone again next week!

Friday after scrimmage zombies. Links: more photos / videos

Sunday scrimmage tree monkeys. Links: more photos / video

Tuesday tree tigers. Links: photos  /  videos

Pre-season scrimmages: (March 10)  We thank everyone who came to play during our March 1 & 2 pre-season scrimmages! We also thank the girls who showed up for the March 8 9 AM game in Alpharetta for sticking around after the cancellation notice for an impromptu 4v4 scrimmage.

March 1 Early Birds link: video

March 1 Late Owls link: video

March 8 4v4 crew

Coach Jay 5K: (February 23)  We thank everyone who participated in the 3rd annual Coach Jay 5K event! The NASA Academy was well represented in the dribbling relay. Thanks Samantha for sharing the photos!

U9 Girls

U11 Girls

Jr. Academy Girls

Spring practice starts Monday, Feb. 10: (February 18)  We start spring practices on Monday, February 10th. We were at Noonday 1 during the first week, but we move to Noonday 7 starting February 19th (directions to Noonday 7 below). Here's our schedule:

NASA Academy U10 Girls @ United Quest Park: Spring 2014 training schedule
Day	Location	Time
Monday (starts February 10)	Noonday 7	5:30 - 6:45 PM
Wednesdays (starts February 12)	Noonday 7	5:30 - 6:45 PM 6:55 - 7:30: optional goalkeeper training
Fridays (starts February 21)	see Friday link	see Friday link

• Training session guidelines:  Please take a few minutes with your daughter to review guidelines and expectations for training sessions. Link: training session guidelines

• Weather issues:  If bad weather forces us to change plans, we'll update our Academy phone hot-line and Twitter account. (We don't update these on a daily basis, only when we switch from normal routine.) Link: weather issues

• Please label / customize warm-ups:  It's warm-up jacket / pants season, so it's a good time for a reminder about labeling your daughter's gear. Uniform shirts are numbered. Other items (warm-ups, backpack, practice shirts, shorts) aren't numbered and will look the same for all players. We recommend labeling warm-up jackets and pants by using a laundry marker or Sharpie to note your daughter's initials and uniform number on internal tags / labels.

• After-practice pickup:  We ask that parents come to the field at the end of practice to pick up their daughters. We want to avoid having the girls walk unattended into dark, high-traffic areas looking for their parents.

• Goalkeeper training:  We'll start optional goalkeeper training sessions on February 19th.

• Where is Noonday field 7?  Links: Noonday Park info / Noonday Park field layout (Scroll past the Metro North layout for the Noonday layout. Noonday fields 7 & 8 aren't labeled on the layout map, but they are between fields 6 and 9.) You've got two choices -- you can use the front Noonday entrance or the back Noonday entrance:

  • Front Noonday entrance off Hawkins Store Road:  Park in the Noonday 3 parking lot, walk across the pedestrian bridge to Noonday 6, then turn left and walk to field 7. Pros: No road work, minor speed bumps. Cons: Longer walk (150-300 yards) to the field.

  • Back Noonday entrance off Shallowford Road:  Drive to the parking area at the end of the entrance road; it ends between fields 7 & 8. Pros: Short walk (25-50 yards) to the field. Cons: Possible construction delays on Shallowford; jarring speed bumps.

Spring roster changes: (February 28)  We send best wishes to several of our players from the fall. Leah will be playing volleyball this spring. Brownie will focus on swimming. Kylie and Alyssa will be playing closer to home with the NASA Cherokee U10 group. Teller will be playing with the NASA Cherokee U9 group. Best wishes girls!

Concorde Challenge Cup tournament - Feb. 15-16: (February 14)  Canceled: For details, check the official tournament web site: http://soccer.sincsports.com/TTIntro6.aspx?tid=CONCG. We've entered one team in the 2014 Concorde Challenge Cup the weekend of February 15-16. The team consists of U9 volunteers. All of our coaches have education commitments that weekend, so we hadn't scheduled any games. Our director asked us to enter one team as part of a tournament reciprocation agreement. The team will have a guest coach, likely from the U11 Academy Girls. Link: Concorde Challenge Cup tournament info

Happy New Year scrimmage groups

Happy New Year! (January 2)  We wish everyone a happy, safe and successful new year! Links: New Year's Day scrimmage groups: photos / videos MLK Holiday: (January 20)  We thank everyone who came to play in our MLK Holiday scrimmages. We also thank Mother Nature -- she gave us a beautiful day! Links: MLK Holiday scrimmage groups: photos / videos

MLK Holiday  scrimmage groups

How to navigate your daughter's soccer path (parent education article): (February 19)  A recent Soccer America Youth Soccer Insider publication has a good article about evaluating youth soccer options. Link: article

Rainy day activities:  Weather will deal us an occasional practice or game day rain-out. If you don't like the idea of drinking root beer and watching wrestling, here are some soccer-related activities to keep you involved.

• Practice your skills at home:  Here's a link to lots of activities you can do on your own or with a partner in a small space. Link: play at home activities

• Soccer sense quiz:  We put together a soccer-sense quiz a few years back. This is a good parent-daughter activity. The quiz takes 30-60 minutes. You can use coasters or drinking glasses or board game pieces (checkers or backgammon pieces are perfect) to setup the situations in the quiz. Kids should do the thinking and provide the answers, but parents can help as guides.

• Other skills and soccer sense tests:  This is a "work in progress" document that combines a bunch of our weekly tests from past years. There's duplication in some areas, missing content in others, but we think there's enough for a player to find something challenging. Link: skills and soccer sense tests

• For dedicated "ball artists" only:  If you enjoy learning new moves and want to take it to a new level, check out the moves from the YouTube channel of The Soccer Legion: www.youtube.com/user/TheSoccerLegion/videos. Most of these moves are challenging; they require multiple foot movements, good balance and excellent ball control. But they are fun! Watch some of the videos, see which move you like best, and start practicing!

SpeedTracs speed, agility and power training: (February 27)  NASA coach David Bloom is offering speed, agility and power training to NASA players. This is an extra (and optional) service that's not covered through your NASA Academy fees. Link: SpeedTracs info & schedule. If you'd like to pursue this training or have questions about it, you can contact David directly.

U10 Academy coaching staff (2014-15):

Trey Daniel: Former Pope High School girls varsity head coach; USSF B license; 4th year with NASA Hannah Lones: NASA alumnus (member of the G12 Elite national champions); 3rd year with the NASA Academy Kimmie O'Connor:  USSF D and Youth licenses; NSCAA National Diploma, former NASA and college player; 6th year with the NASA Academy We’ll also occasionally have older Athena-level players join us as guest trainers. This will allow your daughter an opportunity to see the technical skills that higher-level players must possess.

Highlights of the Academy program:

• Training opportunities three times a week (currently Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
• Weekly friendly matches against other clubs' Academy teams
• Flexibility to move players freely between teams
• Academy Camp

Links:

• Frequently asked questions
• Information for Academy prospects

Academy Goals:

• Create an atmosphere where young players are exposed to the game with an emphasis on skill development more than team development.

• Create an environment where players are allowed to flourish in a competitive arena in which the focus of quality soccer is more important than short-term success of winning versus losing.

• Educate our players and parents in the development process and club values.

• We'll measure learning and fun, not scores and standings.