KAILUA-KONA — In a significant move aimed at boosting youth soccer development on the Big Island, City SC (Soccer Club) — a prestigious national soccer club affiliate program based out of Carlsbad, San Diego — announced today an exciting new partnership with Kona Crush Soccer Academy which includes rebranding under the name City SC Hawaii.
The announcement comes on the heels of the Hawaii Youth Soccer Association (HYSA) spring soccer season, and leads into City SC Hawaii’s soccer team tryouts scheduled for June 4 and 6 at Old Airport. The partnership marks a new era and a strategic shift for the youth soccer club as it not only aligns with the extensive City SC network, but also promises to bring a vast trove of resources, coaching expertise and development programs to aspiring young athletes, providing greater opportunities and visibility for local talent on a national scale.
Ryan Kreps, who transitioned his role as president from Kona Crush to City SC Hawaii, expressed excitement and enthusiasm for the new partnership. Kreps stated the rebranding of Kona Crush, a 501(c)(3) soccer club, was a unanimous decision among all board members that was guided and supported by the Director of Coaching, Thomas Croke.
“The Kona Crush system was never broken — it’s a great player development system and model that we work with,” Kreps said. “What’s happening is that we continue to develop more and more players who are competing at high levels with ODP (Olympic Development Program), regional and national level players, and we already have players that have moved on with MLS (Major League Soccer) professional teams. However, we have developed them through years of knowledge that’s been passed down.
“We chose to partner with City SC because of their extensive player development model that has a very cohesive curriculum to follow. The curriculum was something that the co-founders of City SC built along with some influence from Real Salt Lake (professional MLS soccer club). By partnering with City SC, we have access to cutting edge curriculum, methodology from U6 to U19 players, so we have a pathway now to not only develop players in-house properly with good foundations, but we now have a pathway for players to become elite players and play with City SC’s MLS Next teams, ECNL (Elite Clubs National League) teams, EA (Elite Academy League) teams and DA (Development Academy) teams.”
The partnership comes with many advantages. As the newly branded City SC Hawaii, players will benefit from a top-tier training program, experienced coaches from across the US and UK, and a curriculum designed to elevate their game to the next level. City SC is not only very passionate about player development, but also strives to develop coaches to their highest levels as well.
“We want to give not only our players, but also our coaches the best opportunities out there,” Kreps said. “We will have access to a pool of coaches across the US and the UK where we’ve never had access to in the past. This is all part of the City SC systems and network. They are growing fast and are one of the most successful club organizations in the nation, and it’s through their branding, systems and development. They are a national organization, so their network is huge. They have programs in place for basically everything — from their player development curriculum, for players moving into the direction of college identification, and a system for identified players who plan to move toward a professional soccer atmosphere as well.”
Kona Crush Soccer Academy, established in 2010, began as a grassroots nonprofit organization led by a volunteer board of directors and volunteer coaches for the purpose of developing youth soccer in West Hawaii. In 2013, the club was able to bring on a professional coach, Vincent “Vinny” La Porta, who became the director of coaching (DOC) for six years, ending with a historic Oahu State Cup victory in 2019 by the club’s U16 girl’s squad before relocating to Seattle, Washington. Brazilian coach Tiago Oliveira took over as DOC for the next year, followed by current DOC, Thomas Croke, for the last four years.
“We have been operating off of a curriculum and methodology earlier introduced by Vince La Porta,” Kreps said. “Though we’ve had great success, our curriculum has been very organic and grass-roots led from different coaches, different ideas, different directors and a large portion of it is the volunteer work that goes on behind the scenes by the board of directors.
“One thing that is true is that Kona Crush Soccer Academy will still retain its identity. It’s not going away. We are rebranding to offer more resources and networks to our players, coaches and families. Through our partnership with City SC, we have the opportunity to be their flagship club within the state. Currently we are the only club within the state that is partnered with them. We will always have our Kona roots, but we are expanding our network across the state and nation for the benefit of our players, coaches and families.”
In today’s City SC press release, Thomas Croke, director of coaching for City SC Hawaii, highlighted the alignment of visions between the two organizations. “City SC aligns closely with our vision for player development. We are looking forward to leveraging the extensive City SC network to provide comprehensive support to our coaches, players, and parents, enhancing playing and growth opportunities.”
Steve Cowell, co-founder of City SC, echoed these sentiments stating, “We’re thrilled to partner with a distinguished club like Kona Crush Soccer Academy to introduce the City SC experience to Hawaii. With Kona Crush’s legacy of cultivating top soccer talent, this collaboration opens doors for local players to access premier programming and playing opportunities, nurturing their short and long-term development.”
For players and parents, there’s much to be excited about. Players will have access to pre-ECNL teams through City SC, international trips to Spain with City SC groups, and quality Nike uniforms. Parents will have access to the seasonal coaching curriculum and weekly training updates. This will provide parents with a more comprehensive understanding of where their player’s development is at, and what they can expect at the next level if they keep working at it.
For Kreps, the bottom line is, “Everyone matters.”
“With this partnership and rebranding, we are focused on the 90% of players while still taking care of the top 10% that will go on to higher levels of play. The success of a program is not its name. The success of a program comes down to the people who are working with it. The success of the club comes down to the people. We are excited for the new opportunities that are going to come from this partnership with City SC. The vision and mission of Kona Crush Soccer Academy will live on through this process.”
Players interested in trying out for the City SC Hawaii team’s 2024-25 season in the U8 through U12 age groups will have an opportunity from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on June 4 at the Old Airport Soccer Fields.