Story and photos submitted by St. Thomas Soccer Club
When Sam Buragina arrived at St. Thomas Soccer Club as its first-ever technical director, he immediately identified a key area of focus to improve the overall betterment of club. His plan was to develop house league players at a higher rate and level, developing not only a more valuable recreational soccer experience for the area’s youth but also to serve as a feeder system for St. Thomas’ competitive teams.
“London area soccer players don’t wake up one day and decide they want to play soccer in St. Thomas,” Buragina said, “so we need to develop players from within the club to fill an increasing number of spots on our competitive rosters.”
Moving forward from the strong foundation established by Joyce Rose – STSC’s long-serving Director of Youth Recreational Soccer – Buragina targeted the U12 boys and girls select program. Select teams feature house league players that display an advanced natural ability to play the game combined with the all-important drive for improvement. Working with U12 Boys’ Coach Robert Meth and U12 Girls’ Coach Woody Darling, Buragina led additional weekly training sessions last summer, further developing base skills of the players in preparation for a year-end, high-level competitive tournament.
This development strategy has paid immediate dividends, as STSC is now fielding four youth competitive U13 teams in 2014. The St. Thomas Rebellion (U13 Boys) and St. Thomas SWAT (U13 Girls) are competing in the U13 Recreational (formerly L6) divisions of LDYSL this summer, while the St. Thomas Thunder (U13 Boys) and the St. Thomas Warriors (U13 Girls) are representing STSC in the U13 Competitive (formerly L5) divisions.
“Adding two new teams to our Competitive Program, especially at the U13 level, is a great boost for our community’s players,” said Meth, who serves as manager of the Rebellion, as well as STSC’s Director of Youth Competitive Soccer. “There is talent and desire to learn amongst these players and I’m very happy that we’re able to provide this opportunity. With Sam’s leadership and a strong focus on development, St. Thomas Soccer Club is well positioned for long-term success and, more importantly, long-term development.”
www.stthomassoccer.com
