Celtic Newsletter – November

Oklahoma Celtic Football Club ● Celtic Newsletter – November

Oklahoma Celtic Members,

As we reflect on the season so far, I’d like to take a moment to share where we’ve been, what’s happening now, and some exciting events in the future! We invite you to participate in the survey located in the Future Events section. Your insights are highly valued.

Ryan Trudgian

Oklahoma Celtic Football Club

Executive Director

Where we’ve been

Leadership Changes

Niall Burley – Technical Director

Jessica Knehans – Recreational Director

Danny Gibson – Boys Competitive Director.

Trevor Hunt – U11/U12 Boys Director

James Roberson – U11/U12 Girls Director

These leadership changes will hopefully bring new ideas and an energy that will enhance our programs and the experiences of our members!

Each director has been busy planning ways to improve their respective programs!

2025 Fall Recreational Season

Another recreational soccer season came to an end. I would like to express my gratitude to the many volunteer coaches who have dedicated their time and energy to making a lasting impact on our recreational players.

We truly appreciate everything you do!

The Outreach Program for Soccer (TOPS)

At Oklahoma Celtic, we pride ourselves on offering soccer for everyone! Our TOPS program, which ran three sessions in September, is a testament to our unwavering commitment to inclusivity.

Justin Jack has been the lead volunteer for the past few years. With the invaluable support of Justin, and our older competitive players, we have been able to provide children with intellectual, emotional, or physical disabilities a structured environment!

Norman Regional Health System: Kick or Treat 4v4 Tournament

On November 1, we hosted our 3rd annual Kick or Treat 4v4 tournament. The tournament, set in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, allows teams to dress up in costumes and have a great time competing against one another.

Congrats to the teams that came 1st or 2nd, and also to the teams that won prizes for their costumes!

What’s Happening Now

Birth Year to School Year Change

If you hadn’t heard, for the 26/27 season, the youth soccer landscape is switching to a school-year format using an Aug 1 – July 31 cutoff, which aligns with the school calendar. This means that your child’s soccer age group will be determined by their grade in school, rather than their birth year.

Leadership is currently discussing how to implement this change smoothly in each program, so parents are aware of Celtic’s processes. This change won’t affect recreational teams in the spring of 2026, but will impact the 2026 competitive tryouts in May/June.

The club will give you an update in the new year.

The 2025 First Fidelity Bank Classic Cup Tournament

Currently, teams are gearing up to play in our FFB Classic Cup Tournament.

With around 200 teams participating and great weather on the horizon, we wish everyone involved the very best!

Thank you!

A big shout-out to Steve Gillis, Ernesto Rodriguez (Mikey), and Jesus Bejar (our facilities crew), who keep the complex and, more importantly, the playing surface immaculate!

Celtic Futsal Training Camp

We are excited to team up with Premier Sportsplex again and offer a futsal camp that starts in the new year.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE

NOVEMBER 15!!!

What’s instore?

We are excited to announce our partnership with LeagueApps!

LeagueApps will rejuvenate our website and our registration platforms.They will enhance the user experience for our members by making website navigation and registration more intuitive and seamless.

The website and registration platform should be ready to launch late December/early January! Exciting times!

Click here for more information about LeagueApps

Norman Forward 2

In the original Norman Forward initiative, several potential upgrades for the Gillis-Rother Soccer Complex were planned but put on hold due to may reasons. Now, with growing momentum behind a Norman Forward 2 plan, there’s renewed opportunity to bring these improvements to life — and we need your input!

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey below and share how important you believe these proposed upgrades are for our community.

Take Survey Here

Club Holiday Event – December 11

Our 2nd annual holiday event this year will be on Thursday, December 11. Here, kids can enjoy some holiday games ran by our leadership council, enjoy some open play street soccer, and finish off the night with watching and cheering the All Star Coach’s game. The girls staff came away with a win on penalty kicks last year, so the boys staff are out for revenge!

Gillis-Rother Soccer Complex will host US Soccer D, C, and B license courses in 2026. These courses are national courses and we are extremely grateful that with our relationship with US Club Soccer we get to host these courses in Norman!

There is still spots open on a couple of the courses:

U.S. Soccer D Course: January 6 – March 3

U.S. Soccer C Course: March 25 – July 14