The Young Guns were a late entry into the field at the 2011 Turkey Tournament, but they arrived full of fire and ready to play.  They started off the day with a victory over crosstown rivals Deep Run, 3-1.  The second match was a hard fought tie against Souderton, 2-2. The third and final match of the day was against the Valley Dragons, where they showed up ready to play and dominated from start to finish with an 8-0 victory.  Being a round robin event, they won based on points and an undefeated tournament.

     We decided from the beginning that it was critical to have symbolism integrated throughout the design. For several months, we researched the history of the club and the town, and searched for some type of a “mascot” or symbolic figure to represent the club. We could not find anything that we felt strongly about, so we concluded that we would need to depend on bold shapes in the design, and that we would prominently feature the letters “QSC” as the brand of the club.

     The colors were not chosen lightly – navy blue, white, dark red, black and metallic gold. We chose to feature the colors navy blue and white to carry on the tradition of the club. Both black and dark red represent the quality and attitude of our players on the field, since both symbolize strength and aggression. In addition, the red represents courage and speed, and was also chosen because Quakertown is often called the “Heart of Upper Bucks County”. The gold is symbolic of hope, success and optimism, and also represents “the gold standard”, - something QSC is striving to be in the soccer community.

     Once we had the general design concepts and symbolism finalized, we solicited the general club membership for design ideas – and received several helpful ideas. Then, in early December I met with Graphic Designer Gary Knize, from Harleysville, to create the final logo. Gary and I went through at least a dozen different versions and updates after our initial meeting, during which time I gathered important feedback from the QSC Board.

     Our committee had expressed a strong desire to create something that was fresh and modern, but still brought to mind the antiquity and deep history of our town. Working with Gary, I believed we have achieved our goal through the combination of different text styles – the modern boldness of the letters QSC, and the old-style script font used for “Quakertown, PA” on the banner. In addition to colors, we incorporated other types of symbolism: three white stripes on the blue background, to symbolize the three townships within the geographic area of the club – Richland, Milford and Haycock. We also included three stars, to represent the three Boroughs within club boundaries – Quakertown, Trumbauersville and Richlandtown. My favorite part of the logo is the use of the stars to “suggest” a soccer ball, giving it the inescapable feel of a soccer crest without coming right out and displaying a soccer ball.

     The end result is a crest design that I think we can all wear with pride! In my opinion it is clearly one of the best around. I look forward to seeing it grace the uniforms of our travel players next year, and for many years to come.

Here are the details for Saturday, June 2nd’s QSC Intramural Tournament Day. This way you can plan your time accordingly.

• First of all, the schedule for the 4/5 year-old players will not change. They will have their normal, morning session ending at 11:15. Only players in the 6/7 age brackets and older will be involved in the tournament.
• Players in the 6/7 and 8/9 age bracket will play from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, so those teams should plan on being at the fields from approximately 12:30 (for warm-ups) until 4:00. (6/7’s actually start play at 1:00, and 8/9’s start at 1:30)
• Players in the 10/11, 12-14, and 15+ age bracket will play from 4:00 until 7:00 pm, so those players should plan on being at the fields from approximately 3:30 (for warm-ups) until 7:00. (10/11’s actually start play at 4:00, and older players start at 4:30)
• Full game schedules will be posted soon on the QSC Website. You will be notified by email when schedules are posted.

There will be four skills competitions going on from 3:00 until 5:00 near the clubhouse - A speed-dribbling obstacle course, a fastest-kick competition (judged using a speed-gun), a soccer-juggling competition, and a shooting accuracy competition. Trophies will be given out for each competition to the boy and girl winners from each age bracket. If you are a 10/11 or older player, you can plan on arriving at 3:00 to do the skills competitions before you play. If you are a player from the 6/7 or 8/9 age brackets you can try your hand at the skills competitions after you finish playing at 4:00. Even if you don’t want to participate, you may want to stop by to see some cool soccer skills in action so you have an idea of what to strive for!

That covers the time requirements, now what about the tournament format itself: All teams will play three, twenty minute games with a 30 minute break between games. Scores will not be kept, nor will their be winners awarded, since this is a non-competitive, fun, festival-style tournament. The snack stand will be open throughout the afternoon. You will be able to watch and cheer on your friends and neighbors, and try some cool soccer skills games. All teams should wear their Intramural team uniforms, and everyone MUST wear shinguards.

Coaches should check in with me in the clubhouse at least 20 minutes prior to their first game to get game instructions and tournament momentos for each player. I will send a separate email prior to the event to remind you of this. If you are unavailable to coach on that day, please make other arrangements with a parent on the team to cover for you. No pressure - again, it’s a fun tournament, no practices included - only games.

Lastly, I am still looking for some volunteers to help direct teams to their fields and to run the skills games. I am also going to be looking for referees. Anyone interested, please contact me with your interest and availability ASAP.

For schedules and additional information, CLICK HERE

Thanks. I’m excited - this should be a really fun afternoon!

Andy Graham - President, Quakertown Soccer Club