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- Our 2026 Giveaway Winner Is Here — Plus the Drill Every Team Should Try
Our 2026 Giveaway Winner Is Here — Plus the Drill Every Team Should Try
Inside: Giveaway winner, Omegaball drill, new 2026 events, and two standout teams.
Colin Gorini
December 02, 2025
Meet the Winner of Our 2026 Team Entry Giveaway
 | Congratulations to Shawn and his programs in Western PA!Shawn’s program was randomly selected as the winner of our 2026 Team Entry Giveaway and will receive 5 free team entries to any 2026 UnitedGoals USA tournaments. Thank you to every coach and club staff member who entered and supported this first giveaway! |
Registration is OPEN!
We have officially opened registration for all 10 of our 2026 events. To learn more details about our events and reserve your team’s spot, head over to our events page!
Coach’s Corner: Omegaball — High-Energy 3-Team Game
If you want a fun, competitive game that teaches transition, awareness, and quick decision-making, Omegaball is a perfect addition to practice.
Setup:
Played on a circular field with three small goals.
Three teams of five (including a keeper) play at once.
How It Works:
You can score on either of the two opposing goals.
When the ball goes out, it restarts with a goal kick or corner kick
Corner kicks: Can shoot directly at either goal.
Goal kicks: keeper restarts from behind the restart line
Quick restarts are mandatory—play resumes within 5 seconds after goals or balls out of bounds.
Why Coaches Love It:
Constant transitions
Forces scanning and awareness
Equal touches for all players
Adds fun, chaos, and competition to any session
Parent’s Corner: Specialized Athletes & Overtraining
Sport Specialization, Part I (Myer et al.), found that highly specialized kids who train one main sport for more than 8 months per year and drop other sports have more than double the odds of serious overuse injuries compared to multi-sport athletes. For a more thorough breakdown of the study, read the article linked above.
Team Spotlight: MTFC Maidens of Mayhem - U10 Girls
Mountain Top FC’s Maidens of Mayhem finished an up-and-down Fall 2025 at 2-2-2 and 4th in NorCenPenn’s top division. At the Veterans Day Freedom Cup, they caught fire—knocking off WCL in the semis after a draw a week earlier and beating BDSC twice. They went 4-0 with a 13-1 goal differential. Outstanding job, ladies! |
Team Spotlight: Iron Valley United - U15 Boys
The U15–16 bracket at the Veterans Day Freedom Cup was tight, with only 3 of 15 games decided by more than two goals. Iron Valley’s 2011 Boys tied Penn United’s 2010 Gunners in group play, then edged the top two NorCenPenn teams before a 3–2 PK shootout win over the Gunners in the final. Congrats to Coach Phil Serio and his squad! |
Nominate Your Team for a Spotlight
We feature two programs every week — reply with your team’s story.
Community Spotlight: Seneca Valley Soccer Association
Seneca Valley Soccer Association (SVSA) oversees over 1,000 participants of all ages in Cranberry Township and Butler County, with in-house and travel programs, summer soccer camps, and adult pick-up soccer.
We’re proud to partner with SVSA in 2026 as co-hosts of the 4th Annual 7v7 Colonial Classic on August 8-9, 2026 at the UPMC Passavant Sportsplex at Graham Park, and the first-ever Steel City Fall Finale on November 14-15, 2026.
Join Us in Growing the Game
If you know a coach, parent, player, or fan who would enjoy this, please forward it along and invite them to subscribe.
And if you ever want to share feedback, reply to this email — I read every response.
Here’s to Building American Soccer Together.
Warmly,
Colin Gorini
Founder, UnitedGoals USA
[email protected]
unitedgoalsusa.com
