XF Elite Training for ECNL Girls
Crossfire Premier is pleased to announce a new addition to its elite girls’ training program, adding another layer to the most comprehensive, professional and successful youth development program in the Pacific Northwest.
In keeping with the club’s tradition of innovation through existing development platforms, Crossfire directors and staff have designed a training & competition program for 2019-20 ECNL players who choose to not take part in the high-school soccer season. Within the ECNL structure, players are allowed to play in outside competitions, including high-soccer, which is an opportunity Crossfire wants to make available, allowing our players the social benefits of playing with their classmates in front of their communities, the exposure of additional showcases and the value of additional competitive experiences. However, for those players who feel they are better served by remaining within the everyday training environment of the club, a regular training group will be formed, offering a mix of training within the group as well as with the club’s boys’ Development Academy teams. All training will be conducted according to XF curriculum and within players’ existing development plans. Additionally, Crossfire will arrange a schedule of competition for the players, which likewise will include a mix of intra-squad scrimmages with boys’ teams and some travel to play other clubs on the West Coast.
“As everyone knows by now, we have committed to featuring our top girls’ teams in the ECNL, a decision that brings about certain changes,” said Director Bernie James, “Obviously, allowing our top players to have the choice of whether or not to participate with their high-school teams is one of the most noticeable deviations from the past couple of years, and while we’re happy to make that a choice each individual player can make on her own, at the same time we want to make sure we have programming in place that accounts for those players who choose to remain in the daily club environment.”
James added that the club isn’t done designing the full scope of the 2019-20 competitive season for the ECNL teams, but that each team can also expect to again take part in the best tournaments on the West Coast, including Surf Cup. Crossfire will be sending our U-13, U-14 (Lennart Johannsen Academy Trophy) and U-16 (Madrid Girls Football Cup) teams to Europe, while the U-19 ECNL team will be touring Holland, Belgium, Germany and France next spring for a series of friendly matches.
“As always, we continue to seek the highest possible level of training and competition for our teams,” he finished. “The daily training environment is the critical piece in our development model, but we strongly feel that a varied and challenging game environment also plays a crucial role in developing our players to be the very best they can be.”