Effective June 2009, FC Springfield and SpringHigh Select will combine their soccer clubs to expand youth development teams, and to continue to grow a competitive soccer club for high school aged players.
The new club will be called FC Springfield, with the high school boys’ teams continuing to play with the SpringHigh Select name and uniforms, adding a FC Springfield logo. The club will continue to utilize Drury soccer players and other experienced area coaches to assist in player training.
FC Springfield was established in June of 2008 by Clint and Cliff Nurnberg. The club provides experienced coaching and player-focused growth through organized training sessions and equitable game time for youth development teams.
SpringHigh Select was founded in 2005 by Jeff Rogers, Rick Temple, and Coach Alf Bilbao, to provide training, league, and competitive tournament play to high school boys during the off season of high school soccer.
According to FC Springfield’s Club Director, Cliff Nurnberg, the combining of the clubs will provide the soccer community with a player-focused club that will provide seamless affiliation from youth to high school levels.
“SpringHigh Select and FC Springfield have performed as soccer programs run like a business, rather than a business built around a soccer program,” Nurnberg said. “The combining of our programs will provide players and families a healthy, economical, and instructive program that is capable of serving kids from their pre-K years through high school graduation.”
Plans include the continuation of boys’ teams from the U7 to U19 age ranges, with Drury University coaches Alf Bilbao and Ryan Swan continuing to instruct the high school boys.
In addition, the club plans to add at least one high school girls’ team. Some FC Springfield youth development teams are coed in nature, and additional girls’ teams may be established in the future depending on interest.