This past Saturday, Rush Wisconsin hosted it’s 2nd annual Opening Day.
The day set the tone for Fall season with scrimmages for all ages, a developmental camp for U5-U10 players, and a player vs. coaches game. In between games there were many activities for players and spectators to participate in including; footpong, soccer tennis, soccer golf, and informational sessions.
Coach Matt Tebo competed with a couple players in footpong, and commented, “Opening Day was a blast this year. Teams had a lot of fun in the scrimmages as well as playing Footpong and soccer tennis. It was also a great opportunity to show new players and parents what Rush is all about.”
Performance Trainers from Lift Training worked with each team to show a proper dynamic warmup to work on speed, agility, balance, coordination and injury prevention. Trainers also spoke with parents on injury prevention and rehabilitation options for players from their fitness location in Middleton.
Concessions and spirit gear sales were in full swing, as well as a REACH donation drive and volunteer signups for Rush events throughout the year. Board member, Ted Krez, was helping throughout the day and added, “It was great to see so much energy and excitement for the season. Meeting new people and connecting with families from different age groups was fun for me and my kids.”
Beyond the shelter, the 2019 GUTS (Girls United Through Soccer) group held a bake sale and Dunk a Coach dunk tank to raise funds for their 2019 trip to South Africa.
Players lined up to purchase a baseball to throw, soccer ball to kick to dunk Coach Ben John, Matt Tebo, Daren Milton, and Jess Nash in the vat of water. Coach Nash commented, “I thought I might get lucky and not get dunked until a stampede of U9-U11 girls came running up the hill!” The players were very accurate throughout the day, and all the coaches were dropped in multiple times. Nash added, “We’re thrilled to help GUTS in any way we can, and it was a nice relief from the hot day.”
The day concluded with a coaches vs. players game. Players from all ages represented the players squad and faced off the coaches team comprised of coaches, parents and a couple of players. It was a competitive match overall, but the players ended the game with a 4-3 victory.
After the full day of activities and victory over the coaches, Rush players are officially ready to start Fall season!