Dear Crossfire Family,
Over the past few months, your Coaching Directors and board members have had the opportunity of traveling literally across the country to various soccer events. Some of these include the Nike Friendlies (FL), the Gatorade Soccer Summit (IL), the Super Y-League National ODP Camp (FL), the Nomads Spring Showcase (CA), the Nike Premier Club Summit (OR) and the Dallas Cup (TX). During this time we also completed WSYSA State Cups where at the highest levels Crossfire had unprecedented success, winning 8 State Championships (BU11, 15, 16, 17, GU11, 13, 15, 16), having one more team going to Regionals (BU12), and two more finalists (BU14 and BU18). These experiences have given us the opportunity to see and hear what is going on around the state and nation and to better understand where we stand relative to other clubs in the country.
We are pleased to report that Crossfire has built a reputation that places it among the absolute top youth soccer organizations in the country. We can also be very proud because though some clubs are renowned for achievements in a certain gender or age group, Crossfire is one of the select few that can point to success that is uniform across the board and deep into our program, meaning success that goes well beyond our A-teams. For that we have our world class coaches, tireless volunteers, generous sponsors and dedicated office staff to thank. These groups put our players in a position where they can succeed.
Over the years we have pointed to key tournament titles (Manchester United Cup, Surf Cup), inclusion in prestigious events (Red Bull NL17 League, Nike Friendlies), Regional Championships (USYSA, US Club and SYL), National Rankings, a National Championship (SYL), players in the US Soccer Residency Program, invitations to and participation in national ODP events (US Club id2, USYSA ODP National events and Super Y-League National teams) as well a alumni in the professional ranks as measures of where we rank. In this letter we would like to share with you another area where we believe our club stands out, college placement.
It really became clear recently how far we have come in this area when we were at the Dallas Cup talking to some U17 players from other clubs . These were boys in the spring of their high school junior year. We inquired what schools they were talking to and how their college search was going. We were surprised to hear that although they played for recognized clubs, none of these boys had been in contact with any school and they had not started their search. For quality players such as these this raised our eyebrows. It also stood in great contrast to our own Crossfire team in the age group where four of our young men have already committed to colleges (University of Washington (2), UCLA and Wake Forest), others have solid offers, all have received letters and have been in contact with numerous universities. Furthermore, over the past two weeks, we counted over 100 schools that have come to watch our U17s play, including Stanford, Penn, Brown, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina, Yale, Pomona, Duke, UCLA, Princeton, Notre Dame, Army, Navy, Cornell, American, University of San Diego, Kenyon College, Northwestern, SMU, Harvard, University of Michigan, Ohio State, Georgetown, University of Washington, Gonzaga, University of Portland, Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara. We find this list very impressive and are proud to say that each of these universities has contacted at least one of our players about playing for their respective schools.
This past year every player on our BU18 Crossfire James team that was eligible will be playing college soccer next year at schools such as University of Washington, Seattle University (2), University of Portland, Cal Poly SLI, UNLV, Sonoma State and Saint Martins, just to name a few. On our GU18 Jenkins team, players will be attending schools such as Utah State, Seattle University, Western Washington, Northwest Nazarene, Rollins College, Saint Martins, Central Washington, Eastern Washington and Chapman College. The team will continue training throughout the summer to prepare the girls for their freshman season. Again I would like to point out, this is unique!
Reflecting on this made us greatly appreciate the job many of the individuals at the club are doing. First, we should recognize our coaching staff. It is amazing the countless hours our coaches put in talking to college coaches about our players. This is above and beyond the time that is spent at games and practices developing to players so they can take the step to the next level. As a parent I tend to take this for granted and have thought of this as something that is “just done for the players.” Now that I am seeing this firsthand and multiplying the amount of calls and emails a coach makes for one player by sixteen, I realize the mammoth amount of effort a coach contributes to this. Realize that this coach makes not one penny more for the added work and it is not in his or her contract. I want to personally thank coaches Bernie James and Scott Jenkins for what they have done for our children. You have helped change young people’s lives!
Second, I would like to recognize Sean Henderson, our Crossfire Director of College Placement. Sean is just finishing his first year in the position and his impact has been immediately felt. We are one of the few clubs in the country with a staff member dedicated to serving our players’ college needs and with Sean we have a nationally recognized individual who has a passion for seeing our players take the next step. Sean has taken the time to meet with all our older teams or their coaches to make them aware of the steps they should be taking to prepare for colleges. He has arranged programs with experts both locally and nationally to further educate the Crossfire community, the next being April 22. Sean has developed a matrix of college coaches and Crossfire coaches to know where we have relationships in the college ranks. On top of that he has been to the games of our teams with juniors and seniors to familiarize himself with the players firsthand, talking to their coaches and serving as a resource to universities inquiring about Crossfire players. He has also contacted universities on their behalf, at the request of families . I have heard from many families who have worked directly with Sean and their feedback has been tremendous.
Finally, I would like to thank Scott Brayton and Gary Whitehouse at the Varsity Student Institute (VSI). VSI is a private sector college counseling service that focuses on high school athletes. They help build a customized program which is tailored to the individual student and his or her college search. They are seen as one of the leaders in their field by colleges throughout the country and we are very fortunate to have them located in the Seattle area. VSI has committed their resources to give each Crossfire player one hour of consultation per year at no cost. This is done in our LWYSA offices, which Crossfire has provided them free of charge, to give our student athletes a convenient location to meet. VSI is also offering pro bono the full counseling package to many of our scholarship players. As far as I know, the soup to nuts combination of dedicated coaches, a Crossfire staff member and a best of class college counseling service is not being offered by any other club in the country.
One of the unique aspects of the American university system is that colleges actually seek students to play the sport they love, often providing them financial aid to do so. We strongly believe that there is a place in college for every Crossfire player to participate that has that desire and we have worked hard to put together the infrastructure to make that a reality. This is not the norm at soccer clubs across the country and I am so appreciative of our team of individuals who make this happen. We often lose sight during the multitude of experiences associated with youth soccer that there is nothing more important in young adulthood than an education. At Crossfire, I believe it is the norm and should always be embedded in the fabric of what we are to never lose sight of this; through our college placement efforts we aim to use our sport to make a substantial difference in our players’ lives.
Sincerely,
Brian Klein
President
Crossfire Premier Soccer Club
