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Fort Lauderdale Strikers made the finals of
the NASL in their first year back. Congrats Strikers!
Fort Lauderdale's history is rich with some
of the best soccer ever played in
the United States. Between 1977-1983 the
Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL stormed the scene
playing at Lockhart Stadium in front of jubilant crowds. Our teams were
coached by Ron Newman (77-79), Cor Van der Hart ('80), Eckhard Krautzun
('81-82) and Dave Chadwick ('83).
Fort Lauderdale Strikers, owned by Traffic Sports,
a first division club, adopts the retro uniform of its past and signs on
former owner Tim Robbie as its President. The team will play in
the first division, NASL, which feeds Major League Soccer.
The 77-79 Strikers
really put Fort Lauderdale and all of South Florida on the soccer map.
Clearly Fort Lauderdale needs to be the centerpiece of South Florida
professional soccer as the city and county lacks a professional sports
franchise of any kind.
2010 NCAA COLLEGE CUP
RESULTS
Women's
professional soccer in Florida is alive and growing.
The Washington Freedom have been purchased and moved to Boca Raton and
christened magicJack Football Club, playing out of FAU Soccer Stadium.
At present there are 6 teams in Florida playing professional, first division, W-League; and
second division, WPSL.
The WPS women's professional league
restarted in 2009 after a five year hiatus. The league currently fields
six teams.
FIFA
now ranks
the WPS as having a clear superiority in terms of the
number of international stars from around the world. Players like
Marta of Brazil left the
Damallsvenskan Swedish League in favor of WPS when it was launched in
2007. Today the top world players can be found on WPS teams
in part due to the USA having the largest media market-share of all countries offering
women's professional soccer. This means better player compensation pay, albeit not
substantial by
any standard.
RECREATIONAL OR
COMPETITIVE-TRAVEL IN AMERICA EXPLAINED...
In the United States there are two levels of
youth soccer: recreational and competitive (aka "travel
or select
club").
Recreational soccer
is where all youth begin playing. This is traditionally a Fall season
sport in Florida. There are programs offered through your city,
school or community programs such as the Boys & Girls Club or the Y. Players learn soccer
from volunteer parents or community coaches, with "equal" playing time for
all.
After a few years of playing at the recreational level, as a parent you
will know whether advancing to a higher level is right for your child
and your family. If not, there is plenty of excitement found in
playing recreational soccer.
read more...
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