When we first announced the SPIRE soccer program last year, we knew the opportunities to evolve were nearly limitless. Led by Director of Soccer Troy Bingham, a vision was created to help put us on the soccer map not only domestically, but internationally. It’s clear that in just a handful of months, that vision is already coming to life. 

The SPIRE FC program was created to develop the next generation of talent and build the SPIRE brand across the country. Recently, a number of FC athletes have claimed some remarkable achievements:

• Seven players have announced their commitments to Division I programs for next fall, which includes a list of schools such as Penn, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
• Four FC players recently received awards at the United Soccer Coaches Convention.
• Several SPIRE FC players will be participating in the upcoming Ohio State Cup tournament later this spring. 
• The ‘05 team has qualified for the National Championships, while the ‘06 and ‘07 teams are one win away from qualifying for their respective championships as well. 
• Two SPIRE FC players will be heading overseas this year to train with Villarreal CF, which plays in La Liga, the top professional league in Spain. 

“SPIRE Academy and SPIRE FC are committed to developing technically skilled athletes who love to train and live to compete,” explained Sean Lane, SPIRE Soccer Technical Director and Head Coach. “We do this via an intensive regimen of technical and tactical training, customized competition and long-term athletic performance development. We are seeing the benefits of this already with the fantastic results in the National League competition.”

SPIRE FC dedicates itself to both challenging and helping these young soccer players to each reach their own individual potential. The club also allows such spectacular young athletes in northeast Ohio to play in our own world-class facilities where they’re developed and trained by some of the most experienced coaches in the sport. The ultimate goal of SPIRE FC is for these players to elevate their own game to the highest level possible and continue playing at the elite levels collegiately and professionally.

On the Academy side, progress continues at a rapid rate as we start to build our roster of students for the inaugural 2023–24 class. We are building our own elite training and development program which is fully designed for high school-age players who want to reach their full potential. This is a full-time school and academy program with its own college preparatory and academic facilities and programs. This purposeful design allows us to give students both world-class facilities along with all the necessary comprehensive support they need.

Some of the latest and most exciting developments on the Academy side include:

• The signing of our first three Soccer Academy student athletes, two of which come from Erie, PA via The Congo, with the third hailing from Kenya.
• Additional Academy interest from across the globe, including China, Australia and the Middle East. 
• Plans to develop three new outdoor on-campus soccer fields coming in late 2023.
• The development of a new partnership with the Ohio Soccer Association to allow their clubs and programs to compete and train at SPIRE.

It’s clear that SPIRE Soccer is on the rise, but we’ve barely even scratched the surface of what’s to come. Interested in learning more? Check out our Academy or Camps pages to find out what we’re all about!