FC WI Eclipse Announces Madison-Based Program

A Developmental Partnership with Verona Area Soccer Club

FC Wisconsin Eclipse has announced a ground-breaking new partnership with Verona Area Soccer Club (VASC) to provide more opportunity and new resources for Madison’s youth female soccer players.  Beginning in the fall of 2015, the two clubs will work together to create a new developmental and educational platform for players from Verona and throughout Madison.

The new platform will include weekly training clinics for Verona players ages 7-13 during the fall and spring season, coaching education clinics for Verona coaches in the fall and spring, and the launch of new U11/12 “FC Wisconsin Eclipse – Madison” girl’s teams based in Verona.

FC Wisconsin Eclipse is Wisconsin’s only member of the Elite Clubs National League, the highest competitive and development platform for youth female soccer players in the country.  The club consistently places 90% of its graduating seniors in college soccer programs at schools throughout the country.  Verona Area Soccer Club is a youth soccer club based in Verona, WI with teams from recreational to competitive levels.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to improve the development of our players, open doors to higher levels, and provide new resources for our coaches,” said Mellanie Nai, Director of Coaching for VASC.  “By working together with FC Wisconsin Eclipse we will be able to better serve our players at every level, and provide an unmatched opportunity for our top players to maximize their potential.”

“Our Board has looked at what is necessary to create the best long-term athletic development environment for our players, and determined that the best structure was to build something new and bring in some real experts to work with Mellanie,” said Jeff Standiford, President of VASC.  “By working together with FC Wisconsin Eclipse we will be able to open new doors for top players, improve the daily environment for all our players, and continue raising the bar for Madison soccer.”

The FC Wisconsin Eclipse – Madison teams will be coached by Nai, new coaches Christina Toda and Drew Watson, and will train in Verona.  Toda (formerly Reuter) is a Madison native who played goalkeeper for Boston University, and coached collegiately at Seton Hall and Farleigh Dickinson before returning to her hometown last year.  Watson is a pediatric sports medicine physician and team physician for the University of Wisconsin Badgers who earned his USSF National Youth License in 1999 and his "A" license in 2001.  He previously coached with the Madison 56ers and was a founder of Capitol Elite Soccer Academy in Madison from 1998-2003.  Staff from the Milwaukee-based teams of FC Wisconsin Eclipse will also come to Verona to work with Madison teams every week.

Try-outs for the new FC Wisconsin Eclipse – Madison teams will be held in conjunction with VASC, are open to any players U10-U12, and will be held on Monday, May 18 and Tuesday, May 19.  To sign-up for the FC WI Eclipse - Madison try-outs, click here

For more on Verona Area Soccer Club, go to www.veronasoccer.org.

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