June Players of the Month

Congratulations to our OrthoCarolina Players of the Month for June!

Natalia Bonanno, 10 ECNL RL White: Tally’s determination and work ethic is her greatest asset, but her contribution during games does not go unnoticed. She is the captain of her team and her energy is incredibly contagious which makes the team better. She had a fantastic Southeast Regional Playoffs where she scored 3 goals and assisted 3 times out of the teams total of 10 goals. She plays how she practices and is a joy to coach. Can’t wait to see her progress in years to come.

Alex Stillman, 07 ECNL RL White: Alex captained the 2007 ECNL White RL team to its most successful season ever, almost qualifying for playoffs, and posting the most points and wins in a season. Due to his success individually and with his team, Alex was moved up to the 2006 ECNL White RL for Southeast Regional Playoffs. Alex played significant minutes and helped lead the the team to the Southeast Regional Championship match, winning 1-0 to help the team qualify for Nationals where he will travel with the squad.

Jillian Johnston, 10 Charlotte King G: Jillian had a phenomenal season with King team, despite an injury at the end of the season she was able to persevere and make the 2010 CSA ECRL Blue team.

Madison Crenshaw, 10 Uptown/Matthews Select G: Madison has worked tremendously hard this year. She helped to lead the 2010 CSA Uptown Matthews Select Girls to a Kepner Cup Final where they secured a spot in the President’s Cup Regionals. We are very proud of Madison and the hard work she puts in every day!

May Players of the Month

Congratulations to our OrthoCarolina Players of the Month for May!

Leo Brasser, 08 Charlotte SA Blue RL: After a long 2 months of rehab with a knee injury, Leo returned to the field at the Coast FA tournament. He led the team in scoring and assists throughout the tournament helping his team win this event.

Mille Haaber, 09 Charlotte SA Blue RL: Mille has done a great job in developing her game and putting in the time to get better on and off the field. She has become a box to box player and we are proud of her work, also a great teammate.

Lizbella Jaimes, 12 CSA North King: Lizbella Jaime joined CSA in the Spring 2023 season and her coaches quickly realized she wasn’t just lightning in the bottle, “she’s the whole storm.” Playing for the U11 North King Girls team, “LB” netted 24 times in their undefeated season while also helping her team win the Strikers Invitational with a 6 goal performance in the semi-finals. Called up to the U11 North/Huntersville PRE-ECNL team, LB netted 4 more times in the Jeff Cup for a 2nd place finish, and 13 times in the Seaside Soccer Classic where the team was crowned champions. She has EXCEPTIONAL dribbling skills, strength, and field awareness combined with creativity and finishing abilities that are well beyond her years. She is a tenacious worker off the ball, and constantly creates opportunities for herself and team in the final 3rdof the field. She is fiercely competitive and never gives up on a loose ball or 50/50 challenge. An exciting player with a bright future ahead of her!

Elias Stanley, 12 CSA Matthews YA: Elias is a very dedicated player who attends all training, including all extra Friday sessions offered in our YA. Elias is enthusiastic, technical, hard-working and committed. He enjoys learning new skills and he is always working to improve his game. Elias enjoys playing out wide as winger/wide midfielder, where he thrives in 1v1 situations. Elias has a fantastic attitude! He is respectful, positive, focused and team oriented.

May 22, 2023

Congratulations to our CSA teams on their amazing performances at the Kepner Presidents Cup this past weekend!
The teams will advance to the Presidents Cup Regional Championships in Greenville, SC, June 14-18!

06 (17U) Charlotte King – Champions
10 (13U) North Broncos Blue – Champions
10 (13U) Uptown/Matthews MH G – Finalists

April Players of the Month!

Congratulations to our OrthoCarolina Players of the Month for April!

Quinn McGuire
05/04 National ECNL
Quinn captains the team that sits at the top of the ECNL Mid-Atlantic Conference. He leads both on and off the field, playing in different positions all along the back line.

Kinleigh Thornton
10 National ECNL
She’s an outside back for this (currently) 1st place team in the Girls ECNL Mid-Atlantic Conference. Though she’s an outside back, Kinleigh was brave in filling in as a Goalkeeper in one of their games at the PDA Spring Classic in Somerset, NJ. She made some wonderful saves against a very strong Tophat GA Gold team to keep the score level at 1-1. In addition to her goalkeeping heroics that game, she’s helped her team’s solid defense to be one of the top defenses in the league and has contributed some assists and a couple of nice goals from distance from her outside back position.

Mikayla Barsanti
09 York King
Mikayla has shown outstanding play and leadership qualities. At training Mikayla leads not only by example with her great work rate but also is a vocal leader that is very positive and mature above her years. Mikayla is a key component for our midfield as she is strong on the ball and tenacious on defense. Mikayla’s strong play and willingness to be a leader has helped our team have a successful spring season.

Benicio De Almeida
09 North/Hville King
Benicio always leads the team from the front with his intensity and physicality off the ball. He possesses the quality and finesse to create something special with the ball at his feet. Benicio is one of those players that can create something out of nothing and can score goals of all kinds. He is a big game player that has helped his team secure some big wins this month and all season.

Pre-ECNL Program Expansion

Date:  March 30, 2023

From:  Charlotte Soccer Academy, 13333 Dorman Road, Pineville, NC 28134

Contact:  Brad Wylde – 704.708.4166.

For Immediate Release: 

CSA Pre-ECNL Boys and Girls Program to Extend to the 9U and 10U Age Groups

CSA is excited to announce a new initiative that will start with the fall 2023 season, extending the current Pre-ECNL program to the 9U and 10U age groups. Following the success of the Futures program within the Youth Academy, combined with the rapid growth occurring at the younger age groups, and a desire to advance a larger player pool into our ECNL and ECNL RL program, the club feels it’s in the best interest of players to extend the current Futures program to a 9U and 10U Pre-ECNL program.

By extending the Pre-ECNL platform to the 9U and 10U age groups, it gives CSA the opportunity to grow the Youth Academy program in its Charlotte section, which hit it’s ceiling this year in terms of the number of players in the program. With the current player pool in our Charlotte Recreation program, it allows CSA to offer more players the opportunity to join the Competitive program in the Charlotte section.

The Pre-ECNL boys’ program will be directed by Ben Cook, who is the current Pre-ECNL 11U/12U Director of Coaching. Stephano Williams will take the lead role directing the girl’s side. Coach Williams is a current Director of Coaching in Charlotte who coaches in the ECNL National program as well as the Pre-ECNL girls’ program in Charlotte.

The CSA Youth Academy program will continue to operate as it has in the past with Greg Henschel and Erik Imler remaining the Charlotte Youth Academy girls and boys Director of Coaching respectively. Richard Butler will continue in his role of overseeing CSA’s entire Youth Academy program at all sections of the club.

CSA is extremely excited about the opportunities provided to players because of extending the Pre-ECNL to the younger age groups. Coach Cook and Coach Williams will host Zoom meetings in the coming weeks leading up to open evaluations explaining the programs and registration process for families that may have players in consideration for teams within these programs.

Open evaluations for the 9U and 10U Pre-ECNL will be held in conjunction with the Charlotte section Youth Academy evaluations during the first week of May at Flat Branch Park. Emails will be sent to the respective age groups regarding these programs. Continue to check the CSA website for the latest program information. Please see the attached FAQs for additional information. If you have any immediate questions regarding the Pre-ECNL programs, contact Coach Ben Cook at bcook@charlottesocceracademy.com about the boys program and Coach Stephano Williams at swilliams@charlottesocceracademy.com about the girls program.

9U-10U Pre-ECNL Progrram Frequently Asked Questions.

 
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Charlotte Soccer Academy is a premier youth soccer organization, offering members opportunities to play and develop at all ages and levels. Visit the Charlotte Soccer Academy website to learn more about CSA’s competitive, recreational, camp and tournament programs.

www.CharlotteSoccerAcademy.com

CSA Enters the United Premier Soccer League for Spring/Summer 2023

Charlotte Soccer Academy will enter a men’s team in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) 2023 Spring /Summer league. The UPSL positions itself to bridge the gap between youth soccer and collegiate and professional teams. This level of play will provide the next step in the CSA player development model, allowing promising youth club players an opportunity for further development and advancement in support of their goal to continue their soccer career in college or professionally. In addition to players currently in the youth club soccer program, graduate players participate on UPSL teams to gain additional advanced level training and game experience to continue to pursue their goals.

CSA’s UPSL team will play its home games and train at OrthoCarolina. The team will play 10-12 league games in the Mid-Atlantic Conference which include teams in North and South Carolina. A playoff series is played at the conclusion of the league schedule.

For more information regarding the program contact Steve Gummer – 678 -362-6255 or sgummer@charlottesocceracademy.com

About United Premier Soccer League

https://premier.upsl.com/

Founded in 2011, the United Premier Soccer League now stands as the largest and most competitive pro-development league in North America. The league was started in Santa Ana, California by Leonel Lopez, with 10 teams. Today the league has nearly 400 clubs competing nationwide, and the Premier Division for Spring 2022 has 255 clubs competing for 32 places in the National Playoff Bracket to become National Champion.

The league occupies the 4th tier of the US Soccer pyramid, just below the three professional tiers in the pyramid. With a participant average age of 22.5 years, the UPSL fills and brings structure to the large gap that exists between the youth game and the professional game, serving thousands of aspiring players and coaches as they strive to further their aspirations and fuel their passions.

Each UPSL club is independently owned and operated. The league operates year-round, comprising two seasons each calendar year, with the Spring season beginning in March and ending with national playoffs the first weekend in August, and a Fall season with play beginning in September with national playoffs the first weekend in February. The league prides itself on openness, inclusion, and accessibility. Currently players with origins in 90 different nations are participating, and over 50% of players and coaches are of Hispanic descent.

The mission is to provide a strong and consistent platform which provides opportunity and projects from the grassroots of the game advancing to the highest levels. UPSL clubs are eligible to compete in the U.S. Open Cup Qualifying Rounds through the league’s affiliation with the U.S Soccer Federation (USSF). An organization dedicated to success of its members; the UPSL is focused on raising the minimum standards throughout all levels of the sport. In doing so, the league aspires to bring international exposure to the talent in local communities throughout North America.

As a modern and socially responsible private soccer association, the UPSL continues to evolve by utilizing technology to uplift the sport in every facet of society. In January 2020, it was acquired by ELP Brands. By 2021, the league announced its joint-ventured partnership with the launch of UPSL MX, the commencing of the UPSL Women’s division, and in 2022 direct membership of the US Soccer Federation as a National Affiliate and the establishment of the UPSL Foundation. The United Premier Soccer League is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and functions parallel to its satellite office in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Matheau Denner, of Denner Chiropractic & Performance, offers free baseline concussion testing to all CSA players. The office is conveniently located near the OrthoCarolina Sportsplex at 13501 Dorman Road, Pineville.

Please visit the website to schedule an appointment.

Denner Chiropractic and Performance | Sports Chiropractic, Soft Tissue Therapy, Rehabilitation, Pineville NC (dennerchiroperformance.com)

CSA is pleased to announce the promotion of coach Joe Distaffen as the new Director of Coaching for the 11U-13U Charlotte boys age groups. Coach Distaffen joined CSA at the start of the 2021 season and has made an immediate impact with the teams he has coached in his first season at the club. Prior to joining CSA, coach Distaffen was an assistant DOC for Azzurri Storm Soccer Club in South Florida running their development program for three years. His organization skills, passion, and knowledge of the game combined with his interaction with players and families made him a natural choice to succeed coach Matt Ford, who has taken an assistant coaching position with Charlotte FC.

“I am beyond excited to enter the role of Director of Coaching with Charlotte Soccer Academy,” states Joe Distaffen. “Being able to work with the talented young men and women of our club, as well as assist our coaching staff, has me energized and ready to enter the 2022-2023 season. I am grateful to my colleagues and mentors at CSA who took me in last season and allowed me the room to grow as a coach and leader. Thank you to Raymond Fraser and Brad Wylde for allowing me the opportunity to continue my growth with such an amazing club.”

Coach Distaffen will be meeting with all the U11-U13 Charlotte boys teams over the next few weeks.