BEFORE LEAVING FOR THE FIELD - Please be sure to check 2013/14 Tryouts Section for any updates on tryout dates/times for individual CFC branches. Weather, field availability and scheduling conflicts may necessitate changes on occasion.
Call your respective branch director with any questions.

June 11, 2013:  (Easton/Redding):  The long wait is finally over as boys premier soccer is headed to Upper Fairfield County CFC style.  The CFC Arsenal branch, one of the two founding branches of the Connecticut Football Club, has long been known for it's tradition on the girls side, producing regionally and nationally competitive teams, along with dozens of players that have gone on to play in the CFC United ECNL program and eventually college.  And yet, as the CFC boys program continues to expand with the addition of the CFC Azul men's PDL team, and the CFC Azul Jrs., the Arsenal branch has remained exclusively girls--until now.

Beginning with a U8-U11 Developmental Academy, and full-fledged teams from U12-U14, CFC Arsenal boys will be based on the founding principals of the girls program in terms of organization, location and quality.  "We wanted to wait to start the program until we were confident we could do it right, and we now feel we have the pieces in place to put together a quality program from the ground up, that will eventually feed into the Azul Jrs. program," CFC Co-Founder, Matt Micros said.

Leading the charge for Arsenal boys will be Joel Barlow High School boys coach, Paul Winstanley, and Post University Men's Head Coach, Teddy Haley.  Winstanley has been a staple in boys soccer in Fairfield County, leading the Barlow program that is consistently among the Southwest Conference's and state's elite.  Haley, is a three-time CACC Coach of the Year, and just this past fall led his Post Eagles squad to a regular conference season title, and the program's first ever bid into the NCAA Tournament, finishing the year ranked among the top 20 in the country.

"Teddy has been a great addition to CFC as coach of the CFC Azul Jrs. U12 boys team, and helping run the CFC Samba branch.  Paul has had great success developing players in both high school and premier," CFC Arsenal girls director, Sean Driscoll said.  "We are looking forward to having them start up the Arsenal boys, which we feel is the last piece of the boys puzzle in the club.  The plan is to start with the younger teams and grow slowly as we did when we first started the girls."

Tryout information and tryout registration can be found under the tryout section of the website.  For additional information on the CFC Arsenal boys program, email Matt Micros at ConnUnitedFC@aol.com.
 

(Stamford, CT - May 22, 2013) - Chelsea Piers Connecticut and the Connecticut Football Club (CFC) today announced a partnership bringing the competitive training and play of CFC to lower Fairfield and Westchester Counties.  Tryouts for the U8-U12 teams will take place June 10^th, June 12^th and June 13^th at Chelsea Piers Connecticut.  Tryouts for U13-U18 teams will be held at Rye Brook Town Turf Field in Rye Brook, New York on June 8^th, 13^th and 15^th.  All teams will begin play in the fall of 2013.

With a home base year round at the beautiful Chelsea Piers facility in Stamford as well as the outdoor facility at Rye Brook, this new branch will be run by longtime CFC United coach and Director of Soccer for Chelsea Piers, Dave Flower, along with former CFC and Yale Standout, Susie Starr for the younger ages.  At U15, players will advance into the CFC Chelsea program led by Jon Bradley and Mike Martino.  Jon is the Coaching Coordinator for the town of Darien and the Darien High School boys coach.  This past fall, he became the 1^st coach to ever be named FCIAC Coach of the year on both the boys and girls sides.  He had previously earned the honor while coaching the Darien High School girls team.  Mike is the new coach at Byram Hills High School and the Westchester Coach of the Year while at Blind Brook High School.

There will be one practice and one game per week and a tournament per season for the academy groups, while the premier teams will train twice a week.  All players and teams will have the support of the entire CFC community and access to top flight tournaments as well as the United ECNL and NPL programs. 
 
“We are thrilled to strike a partnership with such a notable club as the CFC,” commented Flower. “We have some of the best facilities in the area and look forward to giving lower Fairfield County soccer players the same opportunities as the players from the northern and central Connecticut have enjoyed with CFC.  The CFC training pyramid fits right in with our philosophy here at Chelsea Piers of growing athletes from a young age.  Aspiring athletes can grow from elementary age players all the way to National League teams and be supported through this partnership to the collegiate and adult levels.”

“We are excited to expand our club into Lower Fairfield County and believe Dave is the perfect person to spearhead this project along with (former CFC and Yale standout) Susie,” CFC Co-Founder Matt Micros said.  “The Chelsea Piers program will be the perfect sister program to the CFC Chelsea branch as well as our Arsenal branch in Fairfield County.  Jon and Mike have been extremely successful and popular coaches in New York and Connecticut and bring a wealth of experience to the club.  We always strive to provide our players with the best facilities and coaching possible and the state-of-the-art facilities at Chelsea Piers and the leadership these four will provide falls exactly into our model.”

The CFC Chelsea Piers will aim to create complete soccer players who have a deep love and respect for the all aspects of the game.  Players will focus on several key components of the game:

Technical – Players will be pushed to become masters of the ball using both feet and all parts of their body.
Tactical – Players will learn and understand all the positions on the field and formations.
Physical – Players will perform at high speeds and work to improve their speed, agility, quickness and coordination with soccer-specific drills.
Mental – Players will not only learn the physical side of soccer but will also work on gaining the mental toughness and composure needed to compete and face game challenges.
 
Attitude – Players will be taught to approach the game - as well as life - with honesty, integrity and fairness.
Balance – Players will learn balance and composure to play the game with good technical skill at high speed.


To register for tryouts for CFC Chelsea Piers and CFC Chelsea, visit the tryout page on the CFC website (www.connecticutfootballclub.com).