Uniting Soccer Clubs & Communities
Can soccer clubs along the largely rural I-10 corridor produce the kind of soccer team that wins regional showcases? Ask the young men from I-10 Futbol Alliance 03 Boys team. Last weekend at US Club Soccer's National Cup XVII Southeast Regional, where 92 top talent teams from 10 states battled for the regional title, the I-10FA 03B team came out on top in the 15U Premier Group. That news is even sweeter if you consider that this team is made up of players from 7 different clubs who agreed to overcome their rivalries in order to help build a new player pathway for high school-age players in the region. For their collaboration on this trip to Regionals, our thanks goes out to the staff & Directors from:
FC Dallas Emerald Coast
Real Athletic Development
Gulf Coast Texans
Warner ASG-Florida Soccer Club Tallahassee
Bayside Dynamo
Bay United SC
Chivas FC Ft Walton Beach
Special thanks as well to Perdido Bay Futbol Club's Director, John Guidroz, and US Club Soccer membership services representative for the Southeast, Kevin McGovern.
I cannot say enough about this team and how they performed, the talent they possess, or the hard work they put in to get ready for this competition. They put in the hours. They exhausted themselves on the pitch. They practiced despite feeling ill, despite the heat of the summer, skipping days at the beach with friends for sweat on the pitch alongside their soccer brothers. I salute each of them and their parents who sacrifice so much & drive ridiculous distances to support their kid's passion for the game. And perhaps the best complement we received last weekend was from a woman in a restaurant who approached our coaches to tell them how impressed they were that the boys were so well behaved -- and it's true, this is a great group of boys. Kudos parents. Kudos players.
Our coaches for Regionals, Carlos Bonilla and Ricky Hoegg, built a top-notch training program incorporating film review sessions, strength and endurance training, water training, and focused evaluations to help the players improve quickly and perform as a team. They did film reviews at Northwest Florida State College (thanks NWFSC!) and even visited the hallowed soccer grounds of Wake Forest for a little inspiration. Best of all, they're not just focused on building better soccer players, they're building great role models for the next generation while they build great soccer players. Hats off to you gentlemen.
Big thanks to my partner in crime, I-10FA's Chief Operations Officer & Director of Coaching, Louis Richard, for the countless details & coordination he oversees on a daily basis. Also, to Micah Krider for constant support from the beginning of this project in every single aspect from concept to scouting to sponsorship -- thank you! Finally, to Mike Adams and the gang at Happy Computers from Niceville, FL, thank you for helping support youth sports and development in our region.
