This week's newsletter is packed with exciting questions, healthy recipes, inspiring athletes, local events you won't want to miss, and a must-read blog post! Enjoy reading this weeks newsletter!

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Which of the following soccer players is known for scoring the fastest goal in World Cup history?

A) Cristiano Ronaldo

B) Lionel Messi

C) Hakan Şükür

D) Giovanni van Bronckhorst

Sweet and Tangy Chicken Burgers

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes

• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt

• Ground black pepper

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 1 pound ground lean chicken

• ¼ cup plain yogurt

• 3 tbsp pomegranate

• Fixings

  • 4 toasted whole wheat buns

  • 1 tomato, sliced

  • 1 english cucumber, sliced

  • 1 small red onion, sliced

  • Lettuce

Instructions

1. Heat oilive oil in a skillet on medium heat, add the onion, cinnamon, coriander, pepper flakes, ½ tsp kosher salt, and season with pepper. Cook until the onions are tender, around 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and parsley and cook garlic for around 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl and let it cool slightly. Stir in the chicken and the yogurt until the onion are evenly mixed. Season with 1 tsp kosher salt and a little pepper. Shape the mixture into 4 ½ inch thick patties.

2. Cook in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until the patties are browned and cooked through, around 5 minutes on each side or until it reaches an internal temperature between 165 degrees through 170 degrees.

3. Brush burgers with the pomegranate molasses and set aside to rest for about 5 minutes. Serve on a toasted bun with fixings

Click HERE to go to the recipe!

This week, our soccer coach at Northwestern University Blake, is in the spotlight! Check out his bio below and book your next lesson by going to our website!

Introducing, Blake Smith!

“Student athlete at Northwestern University looking to help spread my knowledge of the game of basketball. Sport is bigger than a game, and while I will assist in improving in game skill sets, I will also teach the importance of leadership and teamwork.”

Book Your Lesson With Blake Now!

Tulipalooza at Blooming Blooms Flower Farm

Come enjoy a day at Blooming Blooms Flower Farm with a kick off to spring with 5,000 tulips and 600 daffodils. This event will have food along with activities for kids to do. Bring the whole family out to enjoy the start of spring! The event is happening Saturday, April 12th from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM at Blooming Blooms Flower Farm.

Click HERE to learn more! 

Family Archery Night at Heller Nature Center

Interested in trying archery out? Heller’s Family archery nights are a great place to try out a new sport or practice new archery skills. Enjoy time being outside, meeting new people, and trying a new fun sport. Advanced registration is required, the event is for kids 8+ and adults, and the price $14. The event is happening on Thursday, April 10 from 5:00 PM - 6:15 PM at the Heller Nature Center.

Click HERE to register!

To help improve your game it is very important to put time and effort into improving your skills through doing conditioning drills. These conditioning drills vary by age group and skill level. For toddlers, these drills are for introducing them to the sport and some skills in a fun environment. For kids, these drills become more focused on helping them to improve their skills and become better at playing soccer. Finally, for teenagers these drills are more intense to help them to be able to play at more competitive levels. In today’s blog post we will be looking at soccer conditioning drills by age group.

Click HERE to read more!

Based originally in Champaign, Illinois and quickly expanding across the rest of the Midwest, we at Top Tier make it our goal to connect you and your kids to high quality and successful college athletes across every playing field. We are currently offering lessons for several different sports from an array of elite college athletes. As college sports are expanding and becoming more popular throughout the country, we want to guarantee our customers can benefit from this great opportunity to receive quality training with flexible times. Check out our website to learn more.

The correct answer is C! (source: ChatGPT)