May Newsletter 2026

Welcome to the Kings Hammer Middle Tennessee May Newsletter! This edition features, Orion Cup & Mother’s Day, Finn’s Cup, Tryouts: Week 1, SCCL Acceptance, Summer Camps, World Cup Watch Party, Juniors & Rec Registration Open, New Player Development Directors, Featured Education: “A Letter from the Technical Desk: Summer Challenge”, and more! If you have a player, coach, or team to be highlighted in future newsletters, please send photos and stories to pmast@kingshammer.com. Each newsletter will be posted on our website as well as our social pages.

Orion Cup and Mother’s Day Weekend

We had a busy start to the month and what better way to start the month off than with our last tournament of the spring season?

About 150 teams spent their weekend with us and played their hearts out. Congratulations to all hard-working teams who earned those finalists and championship medals!

Special shoutout to all the moms who also spent their weekend with us on Mother’s Day, we could not be here without the support from all the soccer moms in our community!

Thank you to all our volunteers, coaches, and families as always.

Kings Hammer finalists and champs:

🏆🥇Champions

10 GA – U19
09 NPL- U17/18
12 Academy Boys- U14
13 GA- U13
15B Pre-Elite- U12
16B Academy 1- U11
17G Aris- U9
17B- U9

🥈 Finalists

08/07 NPL- U19
12 MLS Next- U16
12 NAL- U14
12 Girls Aris- U14
13 Boys Aris- U13
13 MLS Next- U13
14 Boys Pre-Academy- U12
14G Pre-Elite- U12
14G Pre-Elite Aris- U12
16B Pre-Elite- U11
15B Academy A- U11
16/17G- U11

Click here to check out the video recap on our social media pages!

Our Coaches brought the heat at Finn’s Cup!

We held the fourth annual Finn’s Cup on a beautiful May evening!

Everyone was excited to gather to celebrate Finn’s legacy in our community and cheer on our Kings Hammer coaches as they stretched and prepared for the highly anticipated coaches versus coaches game.

Don’t let those grey hairs or dusty cleats fool you…our coaches brought their A-game! The white shirt team dominated against the black shirt team with a score of 4-2, and two coaches got dunked in the process. Thankfully, there were no injuries during the game, but rumor has it the coaches were a bit sore for Orion Cup the next day.

Although the coaches game was the main event, we also celebrated our volunteer, young refs, rec coach, competitive coaches, and parent admin of the year.

Rec Coach of the year: Gabe Gonzalez
Competitive Coaches of the year: AJ Smith and Majda Adrovic
Volunteer of the year: Mike Stuteville
Young Referees of the year: Noah Mai and Ellie Baughman
Parent Admin of the year: Ella Chesney

Click here to check out the video recap of Finn’s cup here!

Week 1 of tryouts was packed and get ready for week 2!

We wrapped up the first week of tryouts for our Elite and Academy U9 – U12 kids, and we are hyped for what the future holds for our Kings Hammer teams.

Keep an eye out for those offer letters and please reach out to your DOC if you have any questions or concerns regarding tryouts.

For those who are trying out for Elite or Academy U13-19, be ready to bring the best you got for week 2! If you have no registered yet, now is the time, click here to check out the link here!

Click here to watch the video recap of week one of tryouts.

SCCL Acceptance

We are proud to announce our participation with the SCCL for our Elite U11 and U12 boys and girls for the 2026/27 season! This is an amazing step for our program, and we are so hyped to see what the future holds.

Interested in seeing what we had to say? Click here to check out our social media graphic announcement.

Summer Camps are coming up!

School is coming to a close, and summer is just around the corner! Our summer camps are coming up for the first half of June, and we would love to see you there. We are offering a recreational, academy, finishing/goalkeeper, and even a world cup summer camp!

Click here to learn more about our camps!

Come watch the World Cup with us on June 12th!

Kings Hammer will be having a World Cup Watch Party June 12^th at the Fountains 7:30 – 10 PM .

USA vs Paraguay, game starts at 8pm but come early to enjoy dinner at Penne Pazze, Steakhouse Five, Chinwag Social or Miss B’s Thai and Shushi. Then, grab sodas or ice cream to enjoy during the game from Soda Bar!

We’ll watch the game on the big outdoor screen, so bring a lawn chair or blanket etc.

Wear your KH or Team USA gear to celebrate!

Juniors and Rec registration is now open!

Get excited! Our juniors and recreational programs registration is now open! We know so many of you are eager to get those younger kiddos signed up to play some soccer or even get signed up for adult rec and now is the time. We can’t wait to see you and your teams flourish!

Welcome our new Player Development Directors!

We are proud to announce some new and old faces that you may see around the fields! Majda Adrovic and Anass Amrani will be our Player Development Directors serving your teams to coach them on how to reach their fullest potential.

Here is what they have to say about joining the Kings Hammer Staff:

“Having GA Aspire has been fantastic for our club and area. There has been so much success in our first year of the program. I’m looking forward to building off this success and utilizing what we’ve learned to better help our teams in the future. As Director of Player Development, I’m excited to provide our players with a platform to set them up for success as they move through the Elite Program. Our goal is to build the foundation for future development.” – Majda

“I’m looking forward to raising the standard more, building, relationships with parents, coaches, players and helping players reach their full potential. Whether that technically, mentally, building that confidence on and off the field. I believe in raising or helping the players become the best versions of themselves as human beings, not just as players.” – Anass

If you see them around the fields, say hi and give them a high five!

Good Luck GA Aspire Teams!

Our GA Aspire teams are headed to California this June to play in the GA Aspire Playoffs. The Golden State is not ready for what the Kings Hammer ladies are bringing to the fields. We wish all the teams luck as you hash it out on the pitch, but we know you will kill it regardless. Be sure to wish them luck before they head to California on June 25th!

From The National Technical Desk: Summer Challenge

As the summer break arrives, I want to take a moment to step back from the training field and speak to something that matters just as much as anything we do with a ball at our feet — the work you do on the inside.

This is a special summer. The FIFA World Cup is being hosted right here in the United States. That means the greatest players on the planet, the ones you have watched on screens and dreamed about becoming, will be competing in stadiums across this country. I want you to use that. Let it fuel something in you.

So here is the challenge I am putting to you this summer:

Reflect. Dream. Write it down:

Take time during this break to sit with yourself and honestly ask: Where am I right now? What kind of player have I been? What kind of player do I want to become? These are not easy questions, but they are the most important ones a developing player can ask. The best athletes in the world are not just physically gifted. They are self-aware. They know themselves. They study themselves.

Grab a journal (we provide one in club resources in playmetrics). It does not have to be formal or perfect. Write about a moment from this past season that challenged you. Write about what made you proud. Write about what you want to be different next year. And then dream big. As you watch the World Cup this summer, find a player who inspires you. Study the way they move, the decisions they make, the effort they pour into every moment. Pick someone you want to grow toward. That is your target. That is your north star.

What it means to be Kings Hammer:

Our game model is built around Relentless Action: constant drive, constant determination, pushing forward in every phase of the game. But Relentless Action is not just something that happens on the field. It is a mindset. It is how we approach growth. It means when you are handed a break, you do not simply switch off. You reflect, you set your sights higher, and you come back sharper.

We grow people. We grow players. We grow families, staff, and leaders. That is not a slogan. It is the foundation of everything we build here. The player profile we develop inside Kings Hammer is passionate about learning, proactive in taking responsibility, hardworking through the full length of every minute, and a decision-maker who understands the game. Those qualities do not take a vacation. They deepen during the moments when you slow down and think.

As you watch the World Cup, you are watching the highest expression of the principles we train every day: possession built with tenacity and effort, pressing with urgency to win the ball back, transitions seized with opportunity. You will see it at the highest level. Now connect it back to yourself. Where do you see yourself in that game? What role do you play? What version of you shows up when the moment is biggest?

Go into this summer with intention:

Rest. Recover. Celebrate this incredible moment for soccer in our country. But use the quiet moments to do the honest, important work of self-reflection. Journal it. Dream it. And walk back into preseason knowing exactly who you are and exactly who you are working to become.

That is the Kings Hammer standard. That is the Relentless Action we carry into every phase, including the ones that happen off the field.

Enjoy the summer. Soak in the World Cup. And come back hungry.

Go out there and bring the Relentless Action.

– Bronson Gambale, KH National Technical Director

GK Union Save of the Month

Closing down space & shutting down counter attacks! Our April GK Union Save of the Month winners put their quick thinking on display to keep the opponent off the score sheet! Congratulations to Sophia and Brian from KH Cincinnati on being selected as this month’s winners! Keep up the great work!

Did you make an incredible save or a game-saving block? We want to see them! Post your best saves in the Kings Hammer GK Union Facebook group. Be sure to share throughout the upcoming season and YOU could be selected for our Kings Hammer Save of the Month! GK Save of the Month winners will be announced the Friday of the first full week of the following month.

Monthly winners will be posted on the Kings Hammer social pages and on the GK Union page.