Sporting Kaw Valley Named 2018 Sporting Club Network Member of the Year

Congratulations to Sporting Kaw Valley, who was named the 2018 Sporting Club Network Member of the Year, presented by Price Chopper. Executive Director Marcus Dudley accepted the award at Pitch Black, Sporting Kansas City’s annual team awards ceremony, on Friday night at Children’s Mercy Park. Marcus Dudley was also accompanied by Chad Zimmerman (Board President), Colby Williams (Director of Coaching) and Kirsten Judd (Assistant Executive Director) to represent Sporting Kaw Valley in acceptance of the award Friday night.

 

Throughout the year, SKV has put forth great effort and support of all our events we put on such as tournaments, Academy Affiliate All-Star Experience, coaching education programs, Academy Affiliate observation days and more.  Along with engaging and participating in all our events, SKV helped us in facilitating successful camps and affiliate market experiences in Lawrence, Topeka and Manhattan. In addition, some groups from SKV have come to Kansas City throughout the year to participate in exclusive experiences.

 

 

Not only has SKV participated and helped elevate our events we put on in both Kansas City and in their respective markets, but SKV has continued to enhance their connection with Sporting KC. One way they have been doing so is continuing to expand their brand between four communities; Manhattan, Salina, Lawrence and Topeka. They also have more players than ever involved in our pro pathway through Sporting KC Academy’s Center of Excellence program and the Sporting KC Academy. Sporting Kaw Valley native, goalkeeper Max Trejo, regularly starts for the SKC Academy U17 and U19 teams.

 

Furthermore, SKV has taken a huge step in expanding the developmental pathway for their members by offering a new developmental platform for their top male players moving on to play collegiate soccer. This sparked to the launch of Kaw Valley FC, a semi professional team who competed in the PDL (recently rebranded toUSL League Two) this year. This team allows players to continue development close to home while giving some players a chance to play at a higher level and continue to work towards a place on our USL/MLS team.

 

SKV Executive Director, Marcus Dudley, commented on the award, “It’s such an honor to be recognized by Sporting KC and I’d like to thank the Sporting KC staff for their support and guidance over the past year. It’s such a privilege for our coaches, internal staff, and players to have the opportunity to work with and alongside such a talented group of individuals within the SKC soccer community. In addition, I’d like to thank our Board of Directors and all of our Technical Directors, Premier coaches, Academy trainers, and internal operational staff for their dedication and commitment to our members and to the continued growth and success of our club. This has truly been an amazing year and we look forward to more success in 2019.”

 

The Sporting Club Network proudly congratulates Sporting Kaw Valley or winning SCN Member of the Year and appreciates all the organization does for the Sporting KC’s overall youth development system!

 

For more information on Sporting Kaw Valley, please visit www.sportingkawvalley.org. For more information on Sporting KC Youth Soccer, please visit https://sportingkcyouth.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.