BENTONVILLE -- The Northwest Arkansas Lightning soccer club, a staple in Northwest Arkansas for many years, is no more.
That is good news for the nearly 600 players on nearly 50 teams in Northwest Arkansas as the club will now be known as Sporting Arkansas after becoming the 15th affiliate of the Major League Soccer team Sporting Kansas City. Sporting KC is one of the 10 original MLS charter members and it won the MLS Cup in 2013.
New soccer organization forming in Washington County
The Washington County United Soccer Club has formed a partnership with St. Louis FC and the Chicago Fire, two professional soccer organizations.
St. Louis FC is a member of the USL, and the Fire is an MLS franchise. The announcement was made on Saturday.
The Washington United organization is based out of Prairie Grove. The affiliation will allow local players more development opportunities, said Washington United advisor Kevin Knight. The club also allows more playing opportunities at all levels, from academy/development to recreational to select teams, Knight said.
The Prairie Grove School District has allowed the new organization to use space on school-owned land, and the group also plans to expand into Farmington, Knight said.
“The great thing about our club is that they can live anywhere in NW Arkansas and play at any level as long as they have the talent and desire,” said Knight, who is a former professional player for various German professional teams. “We are excited in the program and its affiliation with professional soccer. We want the kids and players to have a blast at a game that is so much fun.
“Our number one rule is simple: Have fun.”
Washington United will host a US Soccer coaching certification clinic at Prairie Grove High School later this month. This is the only certification clinic available in Northwest Arkansas, Knight said.
For more information on Washington United, visit washingtonunitedsoc…
Sporting Arkansas has recreational soccer from the age of four up to competitive academy soccer for boys and girls in age groups U11-U19. The group has playing facilities in Centerton and Bella Vista.
"Sporting Arkansas is thrilled to be the newest academy affiliate to join the Sporting Kansas City family," said Sporting Arkansas board president Lance Holly. "This will be a great opportunity for our players and coaches."
The new agreement with Sporting Kansas City allows Sporting Arkansas to become part of the Sporting KC scouting network. It also means that select players from Sporting Arkansas could be invited to attend the annual Academy Affiliate weekend with other top players players from the other 14 affiliates from across the Midwest.
"We're excited to welcome all the players, coaches and families from Sporting Arkansas into the Sporting Club Network," said Sporting KC Academy Director of Coaching Jon Parry in a news release. "We strive to make our Academy Affiliate program the strongest in the league, and their addition will make the program stronger as it continues to grow across the Midwest. Sporting Arkansas has our full backing and we can't wait to working closely with their entire club."
Holly said the new agreement will give players, both boys and girls, even more opportunities to advance their playing careers.
"We want to tell parents that if you are a player that wants to play college soccer, we can give them every opportunity to train and do that," Holly said. "Our goal is to give them every tool to do that."
The change in name has also resulted in added emphasis on player development within Sporting Arkansas. Several new coaches have also been hired, including Brock Duckworth, a former professional goalkeeper who is also Director of Technology and Scouting for the Arkansas women's soccer team.
"We are devoting a lot more resources to training," Holly said. "We wanted to improve our coaching ranks, and we have several new great coaches."
Sports on 07/15/2015