"Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is."
-Johan Cruyff
13GEM Soccer - Winter 2026
Program Overview
13GEM Sporting Soccer will be providing a program for boys and girls ages 5-7. The Winter Soccer program runs for nine weeks, with a two-week break during the final two weeks of Ramadan. Weekly sessions occur on consistent days and times. All skill levels are welcome- from beginners to advanced. This program will be coached by Coach Jacob and other experienced 13GEM Sporting coaches, so all players will receive expert coaching and high-quality programming that results in massive growth and major joy in your child(ren). Sessions will focus equally on skill development and gameplay with an emphasis on growth and learning, not merely participation. This is a major feature of all 13GEM Sporting programs.
We plan to expand the program to include older age groups once more coaches are hired. We are actively searching for more Youth Soccer coaches.
Program Schedule & Registration Fees
Winter Schedule
- Sun 1/18 3-4:30p Marymoor Soccer 6
- Sun 1/25 3-4:30p Marymoor Soccer 2
- Sun 2/1 4-5:30p Marymoor Soccer 1
- Sun 2/8 3-4:30p Marymoor Soccer 5
- Sun 2/15 2-3p Marymoor Soccer 5
- Sun 2/22 3-4:30p Marymoor Soccer 6
- Sun 3/1 3-4:30p Marymoor Soccer 6
- Ramadan Break - 3/8 & 3/15
- Sun 3/22 4:30-6p Marymoor Soccer 4
- Sun 3/29 3-4:30p Marymoor Soccer 5
Registration Fee: $325/player*
*Uniform fee not included because returning players may reuse their kit from previous seasons. More on uniform kits below.
No registration deadline for this program, so the registration fee is reduced by one week's fee each week for families registering mid-season. Families registering 2 or more siblings in concurrent programs can use the coupon code 13GEM2026 for the 13% Multi-Child Discount.
Fully Customized Uniform Kit Required
Starting in 2026, there will be a single uniform kit for the entire club, regardless of sport, age, or gender. This will foster a greater sense of unity amongst the players. The new uniform kit for 2026 is in the picture shown left and consists of a fully customized jersey with player-chosen name and number on back, 13GEM Sporting branded shorts, and a pair of black soccer socks.
All new players must purchase a uniform kit for a separate $65 uniform kit fee. You will answer uniform kit questions during registration, then receive an email from 13GEM regarding the process for getting your player's uniform kit.
Returning players from Fall 2025 Soccer with a fully customized kit have a choice to continue using the Fall customized kit or purchase the new 2026 kit. This new kit will be the kit used throughout 2026 and possibly beyond as I am very happy with it.
Practice Time focused on Growth and Development
The first 40 minutes of each session will be devoted to developing skills and conceptual understanding. Players will interact with other players on the team during the practice portion to develop skills and learn concepts. Each practice will focus on developing fundamental skills of dribbling, passing, shooting, and defending. One major differentiator of 13GEM Sporting programs is the ability to teach abstract concepts such as team spacing, maintaining relationships with teammates, off-ball movement, sharing the ball with teammates, basic algorithms of dribble-pass, and much more.
Game Time focused on Synthesis and Fun
The second 40 minutes of each session will allow players to synthesize skills and knowledge learned in practice, express creativity, develop decision-making algorithms, and just have fun playing Soccer. Players will be divided into equal, small-sided teams and will play a regulation game of Soccer amongst each other. The objective is for players to play as much as possible so they can apply skills and knowledge learned during practice time. Players are taught the procedures of Soccer during gametime, such as throw-ins, goal kicks, corner kicks, and kickoffs. We heavily emphasize the development of teamwork, sharing the ball through passing, and the beginnings of off-ball awareness during gameplay. Gameplay is how we end each soccer session, all players get equal play time, and the score is always "Fun to Fun".
Cold Weather Kits
$60 each
Cold Weather Kits consist of a fully customized hoodie and sweatpants and are an optional purchase for those interested. Players can choose any of the four colors of 13GEM for a hoodie color; all players receive the all black sweatpants. The hoodie is branded with 13GEM Sporting and Diamond logos on the front with a customized back consisting of the player's chosen name and number, just like jerseys. Sweatpants are branded with the 13GEM Diamond logo and are customized with the player's chosen name and number.
Email sports@13gem.org for ordering information
Philosophies
We coach and emphasize "simple football"
Inspired by Barcelona's Tiki-Taka play style, we coach players to make quick one-touch and two-touch passes while on the ball and consistent offering movement off-ball. The ball moves faster when kicked than when dribbled, so we encourage passing more than dribbling. We teach that soccer is about kicking the ball and that passing the ball is as important a kick as a shot. We teach that a professional soccer match can have 200-500 passes, 0-15 shots, and 0-5 goals, on average. Therefore, knowing how to pass accurately and consistently is the backbone of our developmental philosophy.
Our style is "direct, purposeful possession" which means we form triangles and use possession passing as a means to find outlets. We do not coach blind "possession for possession's sake". Our initial read is always to move the ball forward, but when that is not possible, we pass it around until an opening is created.
Offensively, we want quick passing with lots of off-ball movement. We want the ball to be shared often. 13GEM mottos like "I get the ball. I pass the ball. I get the ball. I pass the ball." and "Receive, pass, offer. Receive, pass, offer." form the backbone of our offensive philosophy. We teach that your teammates want to touch the ball as much as you do, so share it, no ball hogging. If you pass around and play possession with your teammates with the intent to score, then the ball will eventually find the back of net. And the exciting part of this play style is that it can be anyone who scores the goal; the ball decides who scores.
Defensively, we want to pressure the ball to regain possession quickly. Players near the ball pressure the ball, players away from the ball close space and passing lanes. I know this sounds obvious, but working as a defensive unit is a difficult concept for young players to understand. Teaching players how to communicate and work as a unit on defense to maintain a shape is the primary objective.
Our training philosophy is that "Games are fun, but training sessions are fundamental." Every training session devotes time to reinforcing the fundamentals of dribbling and passing. We want each player to have hundreds of touches during a training session. We want players to enjoy training as a form of intentional growth, not just random play time. A fun training session for us is defined as intense, competitive, and showing sportsmanship with lots of learning.
Inspired by prime Barcelona Tiki-Taka with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta
This is Coach Jacob's favorite trio of all-time. In our opinion, this is the most beautiful form of soccer. Soccer is a team game and team goals are magical. We are not remiss to acknowledge the technical skill this play style requires, but that is the purpose of training. We want to provide our players with a method and style of thinking about and processing the game. Young players are capable of understanding and implementing advanced principles if they can be conveyed properly and practiced in training. The challenge is being able to teach these concepts to younger minds, and this is what 13GEM Sporting specializes in.
Click below to see a video of how we coach our players to play. We show this video during the "Possession Passing" portion of training to convey the idea of what we want players to do. Once they see it and perform 13GEM Sporting training drills, they are capable of executing this play style. We have already trained players to play this way.