It starts in Tucson goes beyond city limits. FC Tucson players and coaches travelled to Sierra Vista on Thursday to host a clinic with over 200 youth players from Coronado Athletic Club.
Coronado Directors Stephen Settle and Maria Maxwell are committed to growing the game and providing the best possible opportunities for all children in the region. To assist in this growth at all levels, Coronado has teams from the U-6 level all the way up to U-19 and services talent from Douglas and Tombstone, Arizona; Mexico, and the military families residing in Fort Huachuca.
The club also has a pre-professional men’s team currently playing in the United Premier Soccer League.
Settle and Maxwell worked closely with FC Tucson President Amanda Powers to create the clinic and give the youth players training experience with the FC Tucson professional players.
“We all believed in the power of having an alliance that would have the pro team assisting the youth by doing clinics and putting the pro players in front of young players,” said Powers. “We see this as a good long-term relationship where we’re growing the game in Southern Arizona and beyond.”
FC Tucson Director of Goalkeeping Vito Higgins led the camp, utilizing his experience from Gonzaga University to give the youth players trainings and drills that will lead them towards their goals.
Accompanying Higgins was FC Tucson Head Coach Jon Pearlman, FC Tucson Pro Academy Head Coach Sebastian Pineda and nine FC Tucson professional players including Sierra Vista native Jerod Allen.
Allen previously played with Coronado before joining FC Tucson. He returned to his hometown to help in the development of the young players and show that Southern Arizona has a lot of talent to offer to the beautiful game.
“This was an amazing experience for our players, they left the fields energized and wanting more,” Maxwell said. “We look forward to a continued relationship with FC Tucson.”
