Fremont Rush Girl's Night Clinic!
Empowering Girls Through Soccer: Coach Amanda's Inspiring Initiative
Fremont Rush hosted a Girl’s Night Clinic on Friday, September 29th at their home field at Karl Nordvik Park. The event was a huge success, with dozens of Fremont Rush Female Soccer Players from all age ranges and skill levels in attendance. We sat down with Amanda Chu, Head Coach of the Fremont Rush 2010 Girls team, and the Assistant Director (in training) of Coaching for the girl’s program, to discuss the origins of the Girl’s Night Clinic, how it came about, and what she has planned for future events.
Fremont Rush: Who’s idea was it for Rush to host a girl’s clinic?
Coach Amanda: At the beginning of the season I had the opportunity to sit down with our own Fremont Rush club president, Fernando Colmenares. We talked about my role for the girl’s program, as well as my personal goals, passion, and ideas for the program. Some of the main topics that came up included my
passion (Rush Core Value) for coaching and supporting female players, and my goal to build our program in terms of sheer numbers. When Fernando asked me what I wanted our program’s identity to be I told him that we wanted to build an environment where no matter what age, or level of play, personally, I wanted all our female players to be proud to be a part of Fremont Rush Soccer Girl’s Program. He suggested that I host an event for exactly this and that’s how Girl’s Night was started.
Fremont Rush: Why did you decide to get involved?
Coach Amanda: I have always jumped at the chance to support female soccer players. As a
Rush alumni my experiences playing within the club were unforgettable and I wanted to share that same positive experience and love of soccer. I think that for a long time soccer was a male dominated sport and even commercially great female soccer players weren’t well recognized until the USWNT changed the game. I want to show young girls that there is a place for them in soccer, and if they work hard for it, a career.
Fremont Rush: How do you think the girl’s clinic will benefit the girls who attend?
Coach Amanda: Our idea is to create an environment that promotes team bonding while also bringing together girls of different ages and levels of play within the club. For the younger girls, recreational, and intermediate players I think that they will be inspired by the older girls and competitive players there, and at the same time they can help to remind each other how fun soccer can be.
Fremont Rush: What other events do you have planned for the future?
Coach Amanda: I would like to organize another Girl’s Night event where we watch a women’s college soccer game. I also would like to do a scrimmage night and have the coaches get drafted to play with the players.
Thanks to Coach Amanda and our other Fremont Rush coaches who helped put on this event, thanks to all of the parent volunteers for their help and support in putting this event together, and especially thanks to all of the girls who attended the Girl’s Night Clinic! Stay tuned for information on the next event!
Article Written By Butch Lavin - Fremont Rush Volunteer Club Journalist
Photos by Udit Sharma - Fremont Rush Parent Volunteer
