With the start of the 2011 George Mason women's soccer season right around the corner, the Patriots have announced their partnership with the "Girls Can Club," a non-profit organization that unites young girls between the ages of 7 and 12 with college women's soccer players in a group mentoring environment.

"The Girls Can Club is a fantastic non-profit organization created by one of our great alums, Skye (Eddy) Bruce," commented head coach Diane Drake. "It works in two ways: first, it allows young budding soccer stars to be mentored by our players and staff, thereby helping them emulate and grow in confidence both on the field and in life skills. Second, it allows our current athletes to give back to others and keep perspective in their sport. We couldn't be more excited as a team to take part in this wonderful opportunity."

The Patriots will host formal and informal events throughout the season as part of the mentoring process. Events include 2-3 formal workshops dealing with topics such as: goal setting, healthy living, friendship, being optimistic, in addition to less formal activities like eating in the dining hall, going to other sporting events on campus, touring the dorms, pre-game socials, post-game socials, a soccer clinic and more.

Each member of the Mason women's soccer team will mentor 3-5 young girls in the same age group throughout the course of the year. Membership includes a season pass to all regular season women's soccer home games at George Mason Stadium, a t-shirt, access to all events and more.

Registration is limited to 100 girls and will be based on a first-come, first-served basis. For questions regarding the George Mason Girls Can Club, please contact head coach Diane Drake at ddrake3@gmu.edu.

For more information on the "Girls Can Club", please visit their website by clicking here.

An enrollment form is attached here.