News

Did you know that, as long as you were born in 1972 (or earlier), you are eligible to compete in the Michigan Senior Olympics?

The weekend of September 10th and 11th, at Legacy Center Sports Complex (Brighton), men’s and women’s over 50 and over 55 teams will compete for the gold! The champions for each division will automatically qualify for the 2023 National Senior Olympics to be held in July in Pittsburgh, PA!

Limited to the first twelve teams per age group, so don’t delay!

The $400/team cost covers medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams, gold medal teams get their name added to the traveling Harold Kirkwood Championship Cup Trophy, plus t-shirts and welcome bags for all players. Guaranteed two games, 8-v-8, 15 players max per roster.

• team captains – step one – register your team by clicking here
• team captains – step two – once you’ve registered the team/name, you need to email your roster using this Excel file to Becky at Michigan Senior Olympics
  • for each player, the roster spreadsheet needs to provide:
    Last Name, First Name, Birth date, T-shirt size, Address, City, State, Zip Code, phone, and an email.

Player and coach registration is (finally!) open!! Hurrah!
Here’s the link => msa-glwsl.sportsaffinity.com

• Click on the REGISTRATION button (upper right)
• Select season 2022
• Select your team’s name from the drop down
• Log in (returning players) or create an account (new players)
• Add yourself to your chosen team
• Update your address information, and if you’re a new player you’ll need to also upload a photo and your driver’s license (returning players – this is already saved in your profile)
• Scroll down to hit the SAVE button
• Continue
• Check all 3 boxes
• Pay the registration fee (credit or debit card)

The Board appreciates your patience and shares in your frustration that this took so long. Yes, our problems have been addressed to MSA and USASA.

We are still awaiting trouble ticket escalation with USASA and MSA regarding our inability to have the registration system process payments correctly. We’re just as frustrated as you. We appreciate your continued patience.

Sorry, ladies. We are just as eager to get things going as you are. The SoccerConnect registration system, however, is not being a good team player … yet.

We appreciate your patience!

(originally emailed on March 20, 2022) (optimized for the web, here)

Thank you to all the managers who participated in the divisional meetings and or submitted suggestions. As said before, we took into consideration the comments and looked at last year’s team standings, on top of your team’s talent. It is to the best of the Board’s ability that we have divided the teams into the divisions for fair and competitive play. We have created 4 divisions: Open, Over 30 1st, Over 30 2nd, and Over 30 3rd. The Premier division has collapsed and will now be part of 1st division. We understand the concerns for this and believe me it was a tough decision. With the help from a majority of team managers, this is the best solution. After this year and the hope we have more teams join us, we will revisit this. As we are forever changing, for now, the divisions are as follows:

(1) Open (4 teams) – AA United, FSC Mavericks, TASA Open, {name t.b.d.} Open

(2) Over 30 1st Division (7 teams) – Metro Rangers, Michigan Raiders, Orange Crush, UK Royals, Goal Diggers, Motor City Mighty, Carpathia Kickers

(3) Over 30 2nd Division (9 teams) – Tarantulas, Shooting Stars, Flames, Women’s AC, Strikers, Michigan Storm, Sole Sisters, Michigan Legacy, Michigan Magic

(4) Over 30 3rd Division (6 teams) – Juicebox Heroes, FSC Fusion, Lady Cougars, Centurions, Farmington Magic, Wunderteam

This is a reminder, to not only practice good sportsmanship, but also to live up to the spirit of the sport. You are to play to the best of your ability, however, be aware of the team that you are playing. We strive to make this fun and safe for all, so please be thoughtful of your opponent.

Moving forward changes will be made to encourage all to be more than a division champion, but a champion in our community. At the end of this season, we will move away from championship gifts. Instead, we will make a donation in the name of the winning team’s charity of their choice. Other changes include allowing teams that place in the bottom half of your division to be gifted up to three players that are 29 years of age the following year. If you are moving down, you will not be able to be gifted those players. No player that has formerly played in college will be allowed to play in the 3rd or lowest division. Only novice or intermediate players. Teams bringing in new players below the age of 30 must be honest and use their best judgement if that player belongs in that division. Teams placing 1st will be moved up a division, while teams placing last will move down a division. All these changes implemented will help to give variety every year and encourage growth by recruiting and promote friendly competition.

As we are slowly move out of the Covid phase and into normality, and as people slowly return to the pitch, these are the things we would like to try. With everyone working together and a positive attitude, we can make this year a success.

Kind Regards,

Elma Riley
President – Great Lakes Women’s Soccer League

Keep on playing!

Need a team? We’ll help you find a team.

Have a partial team and need a few more players? We can help you with that, too

(originally emailed on March 8, 2021) (optimized for the web, here)

We’re writing in response to numerous questions our board has been fielding regarding the 2021 season.

First and foremost, know that it is our utmost intention to see our community enjoy the competition of a GLWSL season this summer. We are however up against some hurdles in making this happen. In the spirit of transparency, we want to share these concerns that stand in our way of kicking off the season as we all would like. Please know, we are working diligently to solve each challenge as it comes to us in a timely and satisfactory manner. It is also important that we all keep in mind there are some things at play that we, as a board, do not have control over.

As previously stated we will return to play in accordance with the direction of our state association, which falls under the guidance of the United States Soccer Federation, which necessitates that we follow their guidelines to a safe return to play by adhering to our state mandate. As COVID seems to lighten up, the state is slowly lifting restrictions which makes us hopeful for a return to play as close to normal as possible. Largely on everyone’s mind
is wearing a mask during play which at present time, our state’s office has confirmed will be a required element of return to play based on current state mandate. This mandate ends on March 29th, so we anticipate updating you on the status of this requirement on or after this date.

The Play On from USSF, Phase III, pamphlet is (here) as well as the link to the State of Michigan’s COVID information. Guidelines for contact sports are in section 6.

Other concerns we are working to address and need your cooperation and support in are as follows:

• First, we have received feedback from several managers that their former home field locations are not granting field permits for play this summer due to COVID concerns. We implore you, as a manager, to reach out to your intended home field and confirm without a doubt that you have permission to schedule games at that location from June through August. Once confirmed, please submit in writing to the board you have gained permission.

• Second, we have been notified that the referee pool is significantly smaller than it has been in previous years, again due to concerns over COVID. We face a potential shortage in referees to manage our games. That being said, we encourage you to spread the word about the GLWSL sponsored scholarship for referee training or recertification to any female you know aged 13-18. Upon completion of certification, we will have these referees assigned to our league games and paired with a referee mentor to ensure an environment for continued learning and growth while supporting the repopulation of the lacking referee pool.

• Lastly, we have been surprisingly presented with some challenges by the state in regard to our registration/scheduling software that will most likely delay our expected league timeframes, yet one more thing we do not have control over. This is a solvable challenge but we ask that you, as managers, afford us the patience we need to provide an organized and smooth registration/scheduling process. We are doing everything in our power to put a quick resolution to this set back.

At the end of the day, our players safety and well being is our primary concern which, at times, makes cause for delay in expected timeframes or unexpected shifts in procedure. Please know we are dedicated to keeping you up to date on the latest league related news as it is presented to us as we understand communication is key. We thank you in advance for your support and understanding of our efforts in this challenging and unpredictable time.

For now, stay healthy and safe.

Elma Riley
President – Great Lakes Women’s Soccer League

For the past two years, the GLWSL team Magic has played a special match to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s for The Longest Day. Thanks to Lisa Sasaki and Brandi Becker-Wright, “Kicking Grass, Ending ALZ” became an annual tradition with tents, friends, family, and a fun game to watch and play.

COVID-19 may have sidelined our intended plans to compete in person in 2020, but the Magic were still ready to play for a cause. With continued support from the League, the 2020 event went virtual!

During the longest days of summer, GLWSL joined others around the world to honor people living with Alzheimer’s, their caregivers, and those lost to the disease. The goal was $2,000, and we collectively smashed that! GLWSL raised $3,730! way to go!
We all know someone who is affected by Alzheimer’s and the statistics are staggering.
• There are more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s – over 180,000 in Michigan.
• 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
• Alzheimer’s kills more than breast and prostate cancer combined!
• It is the 6th leading cause of death in the USA.
Your support is appreciated. No matter how big or how small the donation, it is a key factor in helping those who are and will be affected. Together we can Kick Grass to End ALZ!

It is with great sadness that we announce the cancellation of the 2020 Summer Season. Based on all the latest updates from CDC and the State of Michigan, the decision had come to a vote which was unanimous in favor to suspend play till next year.

Nationally, all major tournaments have been canceled, and multiple adult leagues throughout the country have suspended their seasons. An all clear has not been issued from the USASA/USSF. For Michigan in particular, the Governor has once again extended the Shelter at Home order. Based upon the best available information at this time, Michigan is at best on track to end the CoVID-19 curve in the June/July time frame. Even if the Governor were to issue an “all clear” by April 30th, the youth programs would have priority over all GLWSL fields and referees. With all of this, we would not have enough time to fit our season in. It is because of all these factors that the Board decided as we did.

I know how anxious we are to play again, see our friends and get back to normal. Our soccer community relies on everyone taking their part in flattening the curve so that we can return to the pitch. Our #1 goal is to provide all women in the GLWSL a safe place to play, so I appreciate your patience and understanding. This situation is unique, and I hope to never see again in my lifetime. For now, please stay healthy and safe. Keep in touch with your teammates and always support each other. We will get through this because our little soccer community is amazing. We are fighters. God bless.