Soccer Club develops skills

"The Heartland Soccer Club (HSC) was established to help Highlands County soccer players develop their skills in a highly competitive venue," said Brittany Hay, Vice President for the club. "For years, teams had to travel out of town to find fields to play on. It has been nothing short of a pleasure to play on the beautiful fields here at home for the past three years."

The Highlands County Sports Complex is the "home fields" for these young athletes aged 12 – 18.

Gelene Cochrane, club treasurer, stated that she and husband Ron, who serves as President for HSC, got involved through their son.

"Our son started playing club soccer about five years ago," she said. "The club president was moving and he asked Ron to be the president. At the same time the secretary/treasurer resigned and they brought me in to help. We now have a daughter who is a senior. We're still trying to develop a girl's team. We are hoping for a junior division. We hope that by starting them younger, they will continue in the sport and keep the program alive.

"It is about developing skills. When they get to high school level, they have to practice year round. High school players are more developed and they've usually been playing since an earlier age. This club teaches these young athletes to learn the game. The YMCA is a great starting point. The players can go on from that level and get more instruction on developing their skills, teamwork and rules. And we love the fields at the sports complex. They are well maintained and more teams are becoming interested. When coaches came for the certification class from as far away as Miami, they were very impressed with the complex."

She went on to state that the club depends heavily on volunteers and sponsors.

"Watch for fundraisers," she said. "We do have some very dedicated volunteers that paint the fields for the games, but we are always looking for additional community support. We also have great parent involvement. They help the teams by driving them to games and providing snacks."

The coaches for the organization are made up of local parents like Keith Bowyer, who has two sons that play. He has coached the U17 team and he's also the boy's varsity coach at Sebring high school. Edgar Vazquez coached the U17 team from Lake Placid last year and Greg Ramos coached the U12 team. Jon Frey serves as the JV coach and he is trying to get a U17 and U15 team organized. Coaches Rob Livingston and EJ Koning led the U14 team to the top three finishers in Division II South regional play this past winter. Paul Brown coaches the girl's recreation program. He offers training and conditioning through out the summer. If the organization is able to develop a girl's team it will be in the Jr. Division and Carlos Moran will coach.

Brittany Hay states that, "Competitive HSC teams have seen a moderate level of success over the years within division II and III play of the United Soccer Association. Several teams have broken into their top tier of Division II level play which is a compliment to our coaches and players coming from such a small area. Teams have been drawn to matches in our county from Brandon, Winter Haven, Auburndale, Venice, Sarasota, Immokalee, Tampa and Tarpon Springs. We have developed partnerships with local colleges to afford our players access to college level coaching and potential scholarships."

HSC strives to promote the welfare of these young athletes by being involved in soccer. It promotes good sportsmanship and instruction for this competitive sport. The club has been grooming young soccer players to become better athletes for about seven years now. They are members of the Florida Youth Soccer Association and their mission is to foster the physical, mental and emotional growth and development of Florida's youth through the sport of soccer at all levels of age and competition. They also consider it their job to make it fun and instill a lifelong passion for the sport in young players.

Brittany said, "Our program continues to develop with the support of parents, coaches, area referees and businesses working along with the HSC Board of Directors to provide a quality program. Our volunteers have been instrumental in teaching the youth of Highlands County the values of team sports, including leadership and sportsmanship."

If you're interested in joining this competitive organization, the Senior Division season for U15 and up is August through October and the Junior Division U12 – U14 is October through February.

Signups can be done on the Heartland Soccer Club Facebook or email heartlandsoccerclub@yahoo.com.