Great Falls Soccer Club Everton U12 Boys win Dynamo Capital Cup

On Memorial Day weekend, the Great Falls Soccer Club (GFSC) Everton (U12 Boys) competed in the Dynamo Capital Cup in Richmond, Virginia, and brought home the Championship trophy.  What made this championship even sweeter was winning the U12 11 versus 11 bracket.  This was the first time the Everton has competed in a 11v11 tournament (usually reserved for U13 and above).

Everton went undefeated with three wins and no losses and outscored their opponents by a combined 15 goals for and 0 goals against!  In game one, they played SASA Revolution (from Stafford, VA), winning 7-0.  Next up was the tournament host, Dynamo Navy.  Despite a valiant effort, Dynamo was unable to stop Everton’s offensive attack and lost 7-0.  With this impressive win, Everton found themselves in the championship game against SYA Cardinals (of the VCCL), who were also undefeated and had beat their previous two opponents by a combined scored of 14-1.

The championship game was exactly what everyone expected…a low-scoring, back-and-forth possession game.  Both teams took numerous shots on goal, only to be thwarted by the goalies and the goal posts.  In the final minutes of the first half, Everton was fortunate enough to receive and score a penalty kick (PK).  Heading into the half with a slim 1-0 lead, while not ideal, was all that was needed to finally win the game.  The second half went scoreless, and the exhausted Everton walked off the pitch as Champions!

Front Row (L-R)

Peter White, Kai Whipple, Joseph Mejia, Jesse Herr, Adrien Cushing, John Greenhalgh, Ethan Privman, Alex Robles

Back Row (L-R)

Rohan Chaturvedula, Coach Craig Scott, James Keenan, Wiley Simonds, Jack Van Volkenburg, Shane McPartland

Congratulations to the Everton players and Coach Craig Scott!

For interested players, Everton will be holding U13 tryouts for the 2013-2014 season on the following dates: June 5, 11, 13.  Please contact the team manager, Luis Robles, at lu.robles@verizon.net if you are interested in trying out for the Everton.

Reston, VA 9-year-old Getting International Attention

Reston resident Sebastian Conlon, 9, has been playing with the Great Falls Soccer Club Milan Blue U11 travel team since it was formed in 2010.  Despite being the youngest player by nearly 2 years on the team he is one of the team's top goal scorers each of the past few seasons playing the mid-field position. 

Photo Credit: Great Falls Soccer

This past season he helped the club reach a likely Division 3 spot for the upcoming spring NCSL season-they missed out on Division 1 in the final game of the season with a tough away loss. Additionally the team won the elite bracket last fall in a very competitive Richmond Kicker's Tournament attended by over 100 teams. The team is comprised of players from the local Great Falls/Reston area and most have been an integral part of the club since attending GFSC Little Kickers programs.

Conlon, who trains six days a week with three different teams and his own personal speed trainer, spent most of last summer training in England. During his stay in England he was evaluated and trained with coaches and players from Championship side Birmingham City FC and Premiere League side Reading FC. Additionally while in the UK he attended residential training programs with Manchester United Soccer Schools impressing coaches with his play. 

Junior Flores inks deal with Dortmund of German Professional League

Former Virginia ODP and Great Falls player Junior Flores has just recently signed with the German Bundesliga champion Borussia Dortmund.

Flores, 16, agreed to a four-year deal that will go into effect in March 2014, when he turns 18. The central attacking midfielder is currently in his second year of full time residency with the US under-17 team in Bradenton, Fl. The squad recently finished second in the prestigious AGS Cup in Spain.

“When he played here, you could see his work ethic and talent. Junior is such a humble young man who comes from a very supportive family. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” Said Flores’s former Great Falls Ranger youth coach Mark Ryan.

After he caught the eye of the National team coach, through an ODP event, he was invited to the prestigious National Team U-17 team program. At an international tournament last winter, Flores began attracting interest from MLS and foreign clubs, including Liverpool , Paris St. Germain and Manchester United. MLS offered him a Generation Adidas contract with a low salary and bonuses but it was no-where near what Borussia Dortmund was offering.

“He’s already been away from home for two years now in Bradenton. So the adjustment, when moving to Europe, should be an easier transition. It’s good that he is going to an established European power, where they are used to grooming up and coming young talent. Perhaps he can learn his craft of what it’s like to be a professional soccer player without being in the spotlight too soon.” Said VYSA Technical Director and former ODP coach of Flores, Gordon Miller.

Until he turns 18, the Manassas resident will continue practicing and attending school in Florida. He will report to Dortmund for informal workouts during breaks in his schedule.

“We’re so happy” about the Dortmund deal, Oscar Flores (Junior’s Dad) said. “We still don’t believe it’s really happening.”

We all wish him the best of luck.

GFSC hires three new coaches

Great Falls Soccer Club (GFSC) is pleased to announce that the following coaches have accepted an invitation to join the club as our newest coaches: Craig Scott, Radovan "Rado" Pletka, and Apostolos "Paul" Georgiou.

VCCL Accepts Great Falls Soccer Club Resignation

Great Falls Soccer Club submitted their resignation yesterday from VCCL North citing recent changes in staff and leadership. “We are not prepared at this time to appropriately participate in VCCL,” said newly elected Commissioner Kenneth Cushing. “We will spend the next year preparing ourselves for future participation in VCCL.”

Great Falls Soccer Club names Sam Bader new Technical Directer

Great Falls Soccer Club (GFSC) Commissioner Kenny Cushing has selected Hussam "Sam" Bader as the new Technical Director for GFSC. In this capacity, Sam will oversee the development of all GFSC coaches and programs to include Little Kickers, House, Suburban Friendship League (SFL), and Travel.

Sam brings a wealth of coaching experience at all levels of club soccer and the Olympic Development Program (ODP). He has been a coach in GFSC since 2004 and is a well-respected member of the club, and Great Falls and larger soccer communities. Additionally, he was selected by the Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) as an Assistant Coach for the 1998 Boys Olympic Development Program (ODP) State team.

Departing as the Technical Director is Ed Beach. Ed has been a fixture in GFSC since 2004 and is the visionary behind the club's success. Prior to Ed's arrival, the club was a little rural club unknown to the greater soccer community. Through his leadership, the club has gone on to become one of the top "little" clubs in the nation, consistently producing players in high school, college, Olympic Development Program (ODP), US National Team, and Major League Soccer (MLS).

While the movement of Ed Beach is a tremendous loss to GFSC, the addition of Sam Bader is a tremendous gain.

GFSC wishes both Ed and Sam the absolute best in their bright futures!

Great Falls Soccer elects Kenny Cushing as Commissioner

Great Falls, VA. -Kenny Cushing has been elected Commissioner of Great Falls Soccer Club. Here are the Commissioner's Critical 10 priorities to improve the club for the future. An actionable "Strategic Improvement Plan" will guide the club's efforts and will allow members to 1) see areas where they can get involved and help move the club forward, and 2) hold Commissioner Cushing accountable." (click HERE to see the priorities).

The vote count on the recent election was 204 for Kenny Cushing and 145 for Jack Kerrigan. Thank you sincerely to all members that came out to vote and support the Club.