BEHIND THE HEADLINES
CASL’S COLLABORATION WITH RAILHAWKS
By Charlie Slagle-CASL CEO
You have seen it on the CASL web site, you have seen it on the RailHawks’s web site, you have seen it in Soccer America, you have seen it in the News & Observer and have heard it from the tongues of many soccer enthusiasts in the area, yes, CASL and the RailHawks have collaborated for the betterment of soccer in the area. There are always questions when something new is announced. I will try to answer those questions. Some of the facts have been skewed in different ways and this article will, hopefully, clear those up.
There are two parts of this landmark sponsorship and this article will concentrate on the Academy part that also extends to the areas of play within CASL. Very soon, there will be another “Behind the Headlines” article on the sponsorship that brought the CASL Tower into existence.
The Academy (U14, U16 and U18) and all teams that CASL has fielded in the past will be CASL teams in the future:
The USSF CASL Development Academy has been the most successful Academy in the country as it has qualified 7 of a possible 10 times for the Academy finals….no other club including the MLS team’s youth clubs have qualified more than 5 of 10.
All CASL ECNL (Elite Club National League) U14-U18 teams will be CASL teams.
CASL has won 2 national championships in the ECNL in the last two years.
CASL was just ranked by Soccer America as the #8 boys’ club in the country and the #9 girls’ club in the country. This ranking rates only the classic level of soccer and does not include recreation and challenge soccer. My contention is that CASL is the #1 full service club in the nation.
So, what is the deal?
CASL will be fully running the Academy and ECNL teams and will be the entity that deals with the USSF (United States Soccer Federation) and the ECNL. CASL will have the final say in the selection of coaches and the selection of players. John Bradford will be the Academy Director and Sean Nahas will be the ECNL Director. The RailHawks will have a presence on the Academy Advisory Board. That board, as it stands right now, is composed of CASL Director of Soccer, Rusty Scarborough, RailHawks President, Curt Johnson and myself.
The CASL Academy and ECNL teams will be playing as the Capital Area RailHawks and will be wearing RailHawk uniforms.
The RailHawks will provide funds for the Academy and ECNL teams through a variety of sources including a portion of their gross ticket sales.
Some RailHawks’ coaches will be coaching and/or assisting with the CASL Academy teams along with other coaches from the area including the area’s college coaches.
The goal is to make the Academy free for all players as to hopefully qualify for the top division of the USSF Development Academy, when and if that comes to pass. If that does happen, it is presumed that all the MLS youth clubs and select other youth clubs, that are competitive and are free to their participants, from across the nation, will comprise the top division.
It has been my stated goal and the goal of CASL to NOT make other players (families) in the CASL system pay for the Academy through their fees. It is our goal to not raise fees in the next five years, for existing programs, unless there is an increase in uniform fees or fees that we pay to our affiliation groups, NCYSA (NC Youth Soccer Assn.) and USYS (US Youth Soccer).
The RailHawks’ involvement helps to cover some of the cost of making the Academy free and lessening the price on the ECNL teams. Both of these leagues require extensive travel as compared to the travel of other classic teams and challenge teams in the CASL system. It is our goal to have the Academy free to the participants by the 2013-14 season.
Both the Academy and ECNL will be looking for sponsorship opportunities to help defray the extra cost of these ventures. Companies and/or individuals that are interested in sponsoring this or any other CASL program can contact me at charlies@caslemail.com.
Will other levels of CASL be affected?
In terms of fees, NO, the fees will not go up and they will not go down due to this RailHawks sponsorship (see above). The RailHawks are sponsoring the teams that are playing in the top competition leagues in the US, only.
However, CASL will be having some changes in the rest of classic, in challenge and recreation due to the sponsorship. They are:
Classic:
· Home jerseys will become orange as their primary color
· In two years, all training shirts will be orange-CASL will provide one orange training shirt to all classic players for the 2013-14 season.
· RailHawks’ logo will be on the right sleeve of all jerseys and training shirts
· Backpacks will have a RailHawks’ bag tag.
Note: There will be no added cost for this.
Challenge:
· Home jerseys (the ones provided in the age groups where CASL provides a jersey) will be orange.
· All CASL provided training shirts will be orange.
· All jerseys and training shirts will have the RailHawks’ logo on the right sleeve.
Note: There will be no added cost for this.
Recreation:
· One of the jerseys or t-shirts that CASL provides (in the ages CASL does provide these items) will be orange and will have the RailHawks’ logo on the right sleeve.
Note: There will be no added cost for this.
CASL’s relationship with Chelsea will be terminated at the end of the 2013 Spring season. This 6 year relationship has been a good one for both entities but due to the sponsorship agreement with the RailHawks, the Chelsea relationship, as it stood, needed to be terminated. I have become a Chelsea fan and appreciate Chelsea reaching out to make CASL its first sponsored club in the US.
There will be some new signs at WRAL Soccer Center that will highlight the RailHawks plus the popular 3s and 7s tournaments will be the RailHawks 3s and 7s.
Conclusion:
· All CASL teams including the Academy teams and ECNL teams will be fully run by CASL.
· There will be uniform changes in the coming year.
· Fees will stay relatively the same for all levels of CASL and no other level will be paying for the Academy teams or ECNL teams.