North Charlotte Today

After a break during the holidays, the Academy resumed activities in January with an agenda that included a visit from U.S. National Team Legend Clint Dempsey and the first-ever Academy matches at Atrium Health Performance Park.

Last month, the Academy players hosted CLTFC captain and midfielder Ashley Westwood, who shared his story of resilience and perseverance in reaching Premier League football.

Continuing the tradition of inviting former pros to impart wisdom to the next generation, Clint Dempsey followed suit. Hailing from a small Texas town, Dempsey ascended from college soccer to the Premier League, becoming the joint all-time leading scorer for the USMNT.

“It’s a big resource to be able to hear from someone that sounds like them and has a similar background but has represented clubs at the MLS level and also represented their country in three World Cups,” said U-15 head coach Torrey Stricklin. “It’s someone they can relate to and someone that's gone over to Europe and been successful at some big clubs in the Premier League. However, I think the thing that was probably most relatable to them is the amount of adversity he had to go through to get to those places and his mentality.”

Against all odds, Dempsey reached high levels of play when professional academies didn’t exist, and the United States was still emerging on the global scale. He touched on the mentality required to reach top levels, demonstrating for Academy players not to take today's resources for granted.

Since its inception, Charlotte FC's Academy never had a place to call home until now. For the first time in its history, it hosted home matches in its own facilities at Atrium Health Performance Park.

In their inaugural home matches, the U-15s and U-17s triumphed over Orlando City and Inter Miami.

“It was special because we got to come into the facility first and prepare for the game,” described U-17 Head Coach Jason Osborne. “Feels more like a pro. Instead of turning up in your dad's car and going out [to the field], you actually came into the facility and got ready for a game."

Building a connection with a brand-new Club takes time but having a home accelerates that bond.

“You could tell that they're really feeling connected to the Club now," added Stricklin. "There's a real excitement from the guys about going out there and being able to protect something that's ours.”

The coaches expect these two groups (U-15s and U-17s) for this season's second half – improve with every match and remain undefeated at home.

A key factor in an MLS academy's success lies in its collaborative network with local youth clubs. Recognizing this, Charlotte FC's academy prioritizes maintaining strong relationships with these clubs.

To further this aim, Director of Community Engagement Dustin Swinehart and Academy staff hosted 35 local coaches at Atrium Health Performance Park for a youth soccer summit.

“We want good relationships with all these clubs,” explained Executive Academy Director Bryan Scales. “Part of that is sharing our ideas... It’s an opportunity to show them what happens here on a daily basis... This is professional youth development."

Another development was Charlotte FC hosting U.S. Youth National Team I.D. camp on new turf fields at Atrium Health Performance Park. A remarkable 23 players from Charlotte FC were chosen from 2009 and 2010 age groups for this event.

The month of February will continue regular season games as they road towards Generation adidas Cup in April continues.

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