FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Crossfire Premier Secures Relationship with Matanuska Soccer Club
Kirkland, WA (December 18, 2011) -- Matanuska Soccer Club, arguably Alaska’s most successful youth soccer club, and Crossfire Premier Soccer Club, Washington State’s largest premier level soccer institution for boys and girls under 19 years of age, have announced an exciting new affiliation between the two clubs. The announcement launches a relationship that will offer benefits to both clubs’ players.
The affiliation between Crossfire Premier and Matanuska Soccer Club is to collaborate and leverage the clubs’ strengths to foster players’ developmental and competitive opportunities, improving the overall youth soccer experience for both clubs’ players, coaches and families. Among the main goals of the affiliation are to create opportunities for players that would otherwise not be available to them and to establish more advanced player training programs.
Jaime Chew, President of Matanuska Soccer Club, explained, “As a club seeking to provide more and better opportunities for player development, we are extremely excited to be affiliating with Crossfire Premier, one of only eight clubs throughout the United States—and the only club in the Pacific Northwest—with national ‘top 30’ rankings for both its boys’ and girls’ programs.”
The multi-faceted agreement meets needs vital for the continued development of MSC’s elite players, Chew continued, while also allowing the Alaska club to maintain its unique character and continue to provide benefits to players across all ages and abilities.
“Our membership already recognizes Crossfire Premier as the region’s model for elite youth-soccer development, and we’re honored to have the chance to work with them,” she said. “Through this carefully structured relationship, we can now provide access to programs and competition far beyond what’s ever been regularly available to the Alaska player before, while sustaining the development vision that’s served our club so well over the past five years.”
Crossfire Premier Coaching Director Bernie James added, “Matanuska Soccer Club has been building a great developmental model for years. I have admired their ability to develop players that can compete at the highest levels. Crossfire Premier will benefit greatly from this relationship. We have been working for quite a while to develop partners outside of our traditional geographic boundaries. Our relationship with Highline Premier and now Matanuska Soccer Club are great first steps to expand Crossfire Premiers reach.”
Matanuska Soccer Club is committed to delivering professional player development in a competitive environment, and provides personalized player-development roadmaps that meet the distinctive and variable needs of its players. This affiliation translates into access to more top-quality outlets for development, competitive play and tournament showcase opportunities at the highest levels for MSC’s most capable players. Additionally, it provides for supplemental opportunities throughout a player’s development that will permit him or her to continue local instruction within the club, with periodic participation in supplemental activities.
“Prior to the establishment of this relationship, there’s been something of an artificial ceiling to elite player development in Alaska,” noted MSC Technical Director Troy Letherman. “Partly due to geography, this problem has been exacerbated in recent years by our top players’ lack of access to competition at the highest level—namely, the Elite Clubs National League for girls and the USSF Development Academy for boys. This is development terrain where Crossfire Premier not only competes, but thrives, and we’re thrilled to present that goal as an opportunity for our players, as well as to provide other supplemental opportunities for them to further their soccer educations.”
The benefits of the affiliation are nearly endless, Letherman continued, and are a testament to foresight provided by Crossfire Premier, as well as the Washington club’s ability to innovate.
According to the MSC technical director, “Great credit needs to go to the leadership at Crossfire Premier, primarily due the model they set for youth soccer in the Northwest but also for their continued willingness to break new ground and for the spirit of collaboration provided. As a club, we can continue to concentrate on the things we do best, which is provide the highest possible level of individual technical development for younger players, while opening a door for our top players to move on and seek new challenges at a higher level. This is good for everyone at MSC—from our coaches to our players and parents—as those players can then use their experiences with Crossfire Premier to help raise the overall standard here in Alaska.”
About Crossfire Premier
The Mission of the Crossfire Premier Soccer Club is to promote the game of soccer by providing the highest possible level of technical and tactical training, skill development, competitive team play, and to provide highly skilled and capable players with an opportunity to further excel in the sport. It is Crossfire’s goal to become and to be recognized as a consistently successful Premier Soccer Club within Washington State, within our region, and throughout the United States. Crossfire Players, Coaches, Managers and Member Families will strive to be an asset to the sport of soccer and to the community in which they live. Crossfire Premier Soccer Club is Washington State’s only Nike Premier Soccer Club. To learn more, visit http://www.crossfiresoccer.org
About Matanuska Soccer Club
The mission of Matanuska Soccer Club is to foster the physical, mental and emotional growth of Alaska’s youth soccer players by providing innovative, advanced training opportunities in a professional atmosphere, stressing our core belief in the development of the individual player, and by promoting match play in the most challenging environments. The club offers development programs for beginning players who are looking to progress into a more competitive environment, as well as programs and initiatives for the most accomplished athletes, who are seeking the highest level of technical, tactical and physical training. The MSC focus is always on the individual, and it is the club’s intention to provide the level of training, competition and outside opportunities necessary for the individual’s growth and development within the game. For more information, please visit www.matanuskasoccerclub.org. 
