Summary of FC-1 Academy Parent Meeting

Dear Parents,

For those who were not able to attend our FC-1 Academy parent meeting, here is a summary of the important topics that we covered:

Here’s what is changing:

• FC-1 Academy will be operated by Glenview Youth Soccer Association beginning with upcoming tryouts. We are adding resources to operate a FC-1 Academy boys program that will complement our existing, highly successful girls program.  We recently announced the hiring of Isaac Moushi to the staff as a Director of Coaching and the promotion of Kyle Kurz to Assistant Director of Coaching.  You can take look at their accomplishments on our website.
• Founded in 1980, Glenview Youth Soccer Association is one of the oldest competitive soccer organizations on the North Shore. We are a not-for-profit club, with a volunteer board of directors.  We will operate Glenview Soccer Club for U8-U11 players and FC-1 Academy for U12-U18 players.  We will be forming an FC-1 Academy oversight committee with representatives from participating communities so that everyone will have a voice in the direction of the program.  We are here to serve our communities now and in the future.

Here’s what is not changing:

• FC-1 Academy will continue to welcome boys and girls players from Glenview, Northbrook, Wilmette and surrounding communities to join the program.
• Under GYSA’s leadership, FC-1 will continue to:
  • Run a high quality, professional travel soccer program.
  • Offer a high level of competition for our players.
  • Retain our family feel and supportive environment.
  • Enjoy top-notch, easily accessible facilities & fields.
• We have enough field space at Community Park West in Glenview to accommodate all FC-1 Academy teams and we are working with the Northbrook Parks Department to add additional field space at Techny and exploring other locations.  We have a multi-year contract for winter indoor space at the conveniently located Accelerated Center.

We are committed to player development and competition:

• Our professional coaching staff will continue to provide well-constructed, age-appropriate training sessions designed to develop our players’ technical, tactical, physical & psychological skills based on the US Soccer Curriculum.
• Boys and girls teams will continue to compete at a high level, including the Midwest Regional League and the IYSA Premiership, and attend select college showcase tournaments.
• GYSA has added substantial expertise to the FC-1 Academy staff by hiring Isaac Moushi as a Director of Coaching.   Isaac developed an excellent program at Team Evanston and his experience in running a premier boys program will complement our successful girls program.  And to maintain that success, Kyle Kurz has been promoted to Assistant Director of Coaching.  Kyle has been an important part of our high school girls program for many years.   Albert Gudmundsson will continue as Director of Coaching at Glenview Soccer Club and provide overall programmatic coordination during our transition.  We have retained our core GYSA coaching staff and have added additional quality coaches to replace coaches from Spartan FC.

The importance of having a choice:

• Glenview Youth Soccer Association’s board is disappointed that we couldn’t see eye to eye with Spartan FC on running FC-1 Academy.  We’ll just have to agree to disagree that the FC-1 Academy program is an important and needed option for the vast majority of our local U12-U18 soccer players.
• FC-1 Academy will continue to be a high quality program at a great value.
  • Our season fees and exactly what they include will be posted on our website, no mystery.  Other clubs who claim that their season fees are more inclusive do not include their additional team fees and travel costs, which can be substantial.
  • Need-based scholarships are available for those who qualify.  Your fees will not subsidize “performance” scholarships used by other clubs to recruit players.
• We believe that it is important maintain a strong, community program to serve Glenview, Northbrook, Wilmette and surrounding communities.  Our program is not about ruling the soccer world.  It is about being responsive to the needs of our parents and players.

Building our affiliations the right way:

• We are strengthening our solid relationship with the Wilmette Wings and actively pursuing other strategic opportunities.  For tryouts this year, the Wings are an official partner at the U15-U18 boys and girls high school level.
• Our programs will continue to be about skill development and the excitement of competition. The goal is to prepare players to compete for a spot on high school varsity teams and beyond.
  
  And we look forward to many more years of success!