Friday, 8/22, there will be a parent meeting at 6pm on Ritzer Field (behind Columbia High School). Come hear from Coach Muirhead and the Booster Club about the upcoming season!
Category: Freshman team
Tryouts
Freshmen
Monday 8/18 2:30pm – 4:30pm, at Ritzer (Grass field behind CHS)
Tuesday 8/19 2:30pm – 4:30pm, at Ritzer (Grass field behind CHS)
Wednesday 8/20 8:00am at Underhill Track for 2 mile run; final evaluation 9:00-11:00am at Ritzer
Wear sneakers for the two mile run on the track. Music is allowed and GPS tracking/timing devices are encouraged to track pace/time. Walk or bike down to CHS for the final tryout session.
Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors
Monday 8/18 7:00 – 9:00am, at Underhill; 2:00-4:30pm at Underhill
Tuesday 8/19 2:00 – 4:30pm, at Underhill
Wednesday 8/20 7:00 – 9:00am at Underhill; 2:00 – 4:30pm at Underhill
Seniors will start with a 2 mile run (wear sneakers) while juniors and sophomores will participate in field evaluations. After seniors run, juniors will do the 2 mile, with seniors and sophomores on the field, ending with a sophomore run.
Parent Meeting
There will be a parent meeting (location TBD–either Ritzer or Underhill) Friday, August 22 at 6pm.
Preseason & Start of the Season
Players must be present for the first three days of tryouts (and, if they make the team) the next three days of practices in order to be eligible for scrimmages on Monday 8/25 and Tuesday 8/26 (NJSIAA rule states a player must have six days of practice and a day of rest before competing in competition against another school).
Our season begins on Thursday 8/28 with games for JV and varsity; there will be practice for all teams on Friday 8/29.
For the freshman team, no practice will be held on Saturday, 8/30, or Sunday 8/31. They will practice Monday morning, 9/1, as their next game is Tuesday 9/2.
The varsity team will have their first ever Media Day, Saturday 8/23 from 10:45am-11:30am in the CHS Main Gym. Practice will be Sunday 8/24.
Varsity and JV will practice multiple days over Labor Day Weekend since their second game of the season is on Tuesday 9/2.
Game Schedules
To see scrimmage and game schedules for all three teams, go to the CHS page on the Super Essex Conference website (sec conference.org). At the home page, click ‘Columbia High School’ at the right, which should take you to the calendar. Please note that the schedule is subject to change, so check often for the latest information.
Historically games have started after Labor Day–but not this year. For the first time in many years, games will start before the Labor Day holiday: August 28 vs. Seton Hall Prep.
As a reminder, tryouts start the week of August 18. Tryouts typically end with a parent meeting (August 22). We will update once we have more specifics.
Categories
Freshman Tryouts
Freshman tryouts will be at 2:30pm on 8/18 and 8/19 on Ritzer Field directly following orientation. Participants should bring everything they need for tryouts to orientation with them and they’ll be met by coaching staff on the field when orientation concludes each day.
We’re waiting for confirmation on times for varsity and JV tryouts the week of 8/18, and will update as soon as possible.
The CHS athletic department is using a new registration system, Arbitersports, and the deadline for registering for fall sports is June 6. Detailed step-by-step instructions are available to guide you through the entire process. Please see the links below to begin:
If you have any questions, reach out to Director of Athletics Sjocquelyn R. Winstead at swinstea@somsd.k12.nj.us.
Coach Muirhead and his staff are putting together two teams for a summer league at Montclair State. This is open to players who played on any CHS team last year and to those who will be trying out for a team in August. You do not have to be present for all games to participate.
Upperclassmen and players from last year’s varsity team will play on Monday nights. Underclassmen and incoming freshmen will play on Tuesdays.
Details:
- 8 v. 8
- June 9-July 15
- six games on Monday or Tuesday nights
- approximately $65-70 per player
If you are interested, fill out the form below.
Categories
Tentative Summer Dates
We know that many families are already looking at summer plans, so we wanted to share these TENTATIVE dates from Coach Muirhead:
- Blackout Period (Vacation time): 7/26-8/3
- Middle School Camp: 8/4 -8/7
- High School Camp: 8/11-8/14
- Tryouts: 8/18
We hope you can join us for our end-of-season celebration at The Woodland on Monday, Dec. 9, from 6-9pm. This is a great time to share memories and for the coaches to celebrate the players.
This year we adjusted the way we are running the event so we could shift funds to incremental coaching staff. We will provide food for the players and coaches, but dinner will be a potluck for families. We ask that each family bring a shareable dish or dessert. We will also provide water and sodas for everyone. If you have questions about what to bring, email Lindsay at dlebelisle@comcast.net.
It will be VERY helpful if you can RSVP on this form right away, and no later than Monday, Dec. 2. Each family can bring two people in addition to their player(s), and you can also indicate two people for our waitlist. Once we have a final headcount, we might have room for more. Senior families will have waitlist priority, and others will be accommodated in order of RSVP date.
We are also looking for volunteers to help with the event. Check out the jobs on the RSVP form and let us know if you can lend a hand!
Senior Night and Photos
Big thank you to Melinda Hecht and all of the volunteers who made senior night so delightful – Mor Rubin, Donna Navan, Rodney and Stacy Fontil, Sunita Subramanian, Rachel Herwaldt and Peter Goldberg. Check out photos from senior night and the entire season on our Google Drive.
If you have photos you’d like to share, you can upload them to that same drive.
VEO Game Videos
Players who want to keep highlight videos from the season should create a player profile. VEO deletes recordings after six months, so be sure to check this out if you are thinking about the college recruiting process.
Here’s what you need to know for the 2024 season.
Parent Meeting Thursday Evening
The coaches will host an informational meeting for all players and families this Thursday (Sept. 5) at 6pm. We will congregate near the bleachers at Ritzer.
They will discuss the season ahead and answer questions. The Boosters will also provide an update on initiatives for the season.
Booster Dues and Fundraising
We will soon be collecting annual player dues through an online donation form (link coming soon). Dues help us fund development opportunities for the program and celebrations of our players, among other things.
While we ask any family who can cover the annual dues to do so, all players will receive the benefits of the Booster Club regardless of their ability to pay.
Any donation you make above the dues will be tax deductible and will help pay for team extras and for families who cannot afford the dues. A tax receipt for the donation amount will automatically be emailed to you when you complete the form.
You can also contribute to our fundraising efforts by finding sponsors or contributing items for raffles. For example, we are able to sell advertising banners at Underhill for $600. For raffle items, tickets to sporting events or shows are always a hit. If you have ideas, email Lindsay Belisle at lindsay.belisle@omnicommediagroup.com.
Team Schedules
To see schedules for all three teams, go to the CHS page on the Super Essex Conference website (secconference.org) and click “View Schedules” on the right. Scroll down until you see “Soccer,” click the appropriate box and the “View” button. Note that these schedules are not finalized, so check them often to make sure you’re getting the latest information.
Merch Store
The 2024 CHS Soccer Store is now open!
We have lots of great options to choose from, and a percentage of each sale goes directly to the Boosters.
The store will be open through Sept. 10, and orders will be distributed directly to players at practice. Turnaround time is expected to be three weeks after the store closes.
Banner Photo Shoots
Local photographer Yasmeen Anderson will once again be shooting banner photos on Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 2pm at Underhill Field House. The cost for seniors will be covered by the boosters. Freshmen-Juniors can also sign up for a session for $40. For more information and links, check out this flyer.
Veo Available for JV and Varsity
Thanks to a donation from the CHS Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, we have a second Veo camera this season so both Varsity and JV games can be filmed.
The Veo cameras automatically track the action, capture key game events and create highlight clips that can be reviewed and analyzed by coaches and players. All players will be given access to the Veo platform so they can review the games and even generate personal highlight reels. The recent varsity scrimmage against Bergen Catholic is here.
We are looking for volunteers to help set up the cameras at games. Be on the lookout for a sign-up form, coming soon.
New Faces on the Sidelines
Join us in welcoming Yusuf Odubayo, the new CHS trainer, and new additions to the coaching staff: Ryan Santos, a teacher at MMS who played at TCNJ; Jordan Cimring, who played at Muhlenberg College; and Christian DeJesus, a 2022 CHS graduate.
Call for Photos and Videos
We are always looking for visuals from all of our teams. You can drop them in this Google Folder. Feel free to create folders (i.e., “Bergen Catholic varsity photos by Your Name,”) and try to ID players in the file names if possible. You can also email them to info@chsboyssoccerboosters.org.
About the Boosters
We are parent volunteers working to support the boys soccer program at CHS. We are an officially recognized 501(c)(3) organization, tax ID 90-0439169.
We encourage you to follow the boosters on Facebook and subscribe to our email list.
The current boosters are listed below. If you are interested in joining, email info@chsboyssoccerboosters.org.
- Lindsay Belisle
- Catherine Bernard
- Pam Martin
- Marc Merriweather
- Westcott Rochette
- Peter Goldberg
- Melinda Hecht
- Lawrence Hecht
- Charlie Hanger
The 2024 CHS Soccer Store is now open!
We have lots of great options to choose from, and a percentage of each sale goes directly to the Boosters.
The store will be open through Sept. 10, and orders will be distributed directly to players at practice. Turnaround time is expected to be three weeks after the store closes.