(October 4, 2017/Dayton, OH) The Dayton Dutch Lions FC youth Academy had the chance to attend and be part of the University of Dayton Men's soccer match this evening. This is another club initiative to enhance our program, grow our youth players and support our local college teams.
The University of Dayton competes as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A10), which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Besides homegrown talent, the Flyers team has several internationals from nine different countries represented on its roster. The Flyers won 3-2 in an overtime thriller versus Saint Joseph's.
Our players had the chance to walk out with the teams onto the pitch for announcements and the national anthem. We also participated in the half time activities. But the main purpose of this event was to provide our players the opportunity to be in contact and see first-hand what is required to play at the collegiate level, and hopefully increase their passion for the game. In addition, the coaching staff took advantage of this opportunity to have their players analyze the match. Using a match form, players were put in groups of three where they were asked to find out and draw the Dayton Flyers formation, describe shortly their playing style and figure a few things that they can implement / improve individually or/and on their own teams.
Coach Bruno Lopes who coaches our U15 and U14 Boys teams shared, “I really enjoyed this event, besides the opportunity that our players had to be on the field and walk in with the teams, I believe that this type of initiative represents a nice opportunity for us to learn and improve. Being around this level of soccer and players can only benefit our young athletes, especially the way they watch the game and what it takes to get to this next level. This kind of activity is what makes DDL FC different and unique. I look forward to reviewing what they have written down about the game, and how this can impact our teams positively.”
When asked about this event, Randall Warner, one of our U14 Boys parents in attendance stated "It was definitely a nice family event, being in the bleachers and seeing closely what the future could hold, for the ones that want to pursuit this dream of playing soccer, was amazing. I also loved the idea of having the kids working on the side line analyzing the Dayton team playing style, that can be a extremely helpful to our kids and the way they see the game.”
The Dutch Lions will attend another University of Dayton match on Wednesday, November 1st as the Flyers host George Mason with kickoff at 7:00pm.