3/14/08 Open Practices and Tryouts are around the corner! Open Practices and Tryouts are just around the corner! Open Practices run throughout the month of June and are open (and free) to all interested players. Tryouts, the process by which players are slotted on teams, follow beginning July 1 and continue through July 10. FWU is expecting another round of explosive growth this year and will be opening up several new teams for the 2008-2009 year. Visit the Open Practices page for complete schedules or feel free to shoot us an email with questions.

5/1/08
FWU Welcomes Benny Cristantielli as the new West Branch Director and Club Coach
FWU is excited to welcome Benny Cristantielli to his new position of Director – West Branch!  Benny will also serve as a Club coach next year.  Benny joins us from the Dallas Texans where he served as a club coach, skills coach, and keeper coach for the Texans.  Benny played competitive soccer with the ’72 Longhorns (National Champions) and the ’73 Hornets (Dallas Cup Champions).  He attended Clemson University and was a member of the U-18 US National team, the U-20 US National Team, the US Olympic Team Pool, and went on to work with the Men’s US National team.  His list of awards include three-time Parade All-American, USYSA All-American, and Puma All-American.  After college, Benny went on to play in the professional ranks with the Shamrock Rovers FC (Irish Premiere Division), Bari S.A. (Italian Serie), and the Dallas Rockets (USISL) where he was named Rookie of the Year.  Benny’s coaching career is just as distinguished as his playing career.  Benny coached the Nolan Catholic High School Girls who were State Finalists both years that he coached them. In the competitive ranks, he has served as head coach for the Dallas Texans and has coached several Classic and Lake Highlands Classic competitive players including two National Team players.  In addition to directing the FWU West Branch, Benny will coach the Fort Worth United 93 Girls and 97 Girls teams.

4/26/08
FWU Begins New Practice Facility Expansion
Due to the recent growth of Fort Worth United Soccer Club, FWU's private Resource Connection practice facility operates at near capacity most days of the week. With forecasts pointing towards further growth of the Club, FWU announced last week the expansion of their Resource Connection practice facilities. In addition to the two current full-sized playing fields, a third "oversized" field will be built adjacent to field #1 - construction personnel have already been given the directive to begin clearing the ground in preparation. As part of the project, permanent lighting for all three fields will be included (FWU currently uses temporary lighting during the winter months). In addition, other concurrent RC development activities will include a new entrance to the facility, a permanent running path, and a new, larger sand pit (the construction of the sand pit, used for strength and agility training, is already nearing completion).

3/12/08
FWU Classic Tournament Reinstated for 2009
Area soccer players know that FWU had traditionally hosted the largest and longest running competitive soccer tournament in Fort Worth. A Bronze level event, the FWU Classic tournament was entering its 15th annual iteration when NTX could not sanction the tournament due to conflicts with the State Cup.  Working with the City of Fort Worth, FWU is excited to announce the reinstatement of the FWU Classic tournament in 2009!  The reinstated event promises to be even bigger and better than ever!  Keep an eye on the FWU Classic Tournament page for updates and further details.

2/24/08
FWU Inner City Development League Growth Continues
As Fort Worth's oldest and largest competitive soccer club, FWU recognizes it's obligation to "give back" to the local community.  As such, FWU proudly offers the Fort Worth United Development League in an effort to assist our area inner-city players.  The Fort Worth United Inner City Development League, directed by League Commissioners Chico Sanchez and Gabriel Hernandez, is sponsored and hosted by Fort Worth United Soccer Club and offered as a low-cost alternative to other area soccer leagues.

The Fall 2007 season was a huge success with over a dozen teams from the Metroplex participating. This year, the league expanded to 20+ teams including a new 00/01 bracket.  All league games are played at Fort Worth United's Resource Connection practice facility.  Interested teams are encouraged to contact League Commissioner Chico Sanchez for details.

9/12/07
FWU Introduces Private Training Program for Club Members
FWU announced today the introduction of a new training and development service exclusively for Fort Worth United club members.  Fort Worth United players may now schedule private training sessions lead by Fort Worth United Soccer Club Technical Skills Coordinator, Brian Nelson.  Included as part of your club membership, two hourly timeslots have been allocated each week for private player training sessions giving you 1-on-1 attention from the Club's Technical Coordinator.  Please contact Coach Nelson to schedule a timeslot.

TEAM NEWS

4/20/08
95 Girls East Gold Learn How to Save a Life
Several players from the 95 East Gold girl participated in a First Aid and CPR training class recently hosted by Craig Jones and LifeQuest.  As many of you know, Craig Jones, Coach of the 95 East Gold girls, father suffered a massive heart attack back in February.  Craig attributes his fathers’ co-workers for saving his dad’s life by administering CPR in the early minutes following his heart attack and as a result wanted to increase awareness to his players and club parents.  Congratulations girls on spending 3 hours of your Friday night to learn how to save a life!

2/8/08
’95 East Gold Girls Have Done It Again!
Congratulations to the ’95 East Gold girls on their Championship victory in the 2008 Winterfest tournament in Garland.  This makes the 4th consecutive tournament championship win since June of 2007.  In addition, the ’95 East Gold girls, led by Head Coach Craig Jones and Assistant Coach JP Ramirez, also took First Place for the Fall season playing up in the ’94 Arlington Premier League.  This dedicated group of girls persevered through illness and injury, five games of which the Semi-Final and Final games when into overtime play and never gave up. Goals by Lauren and Madison progress the team to the finals. And it was in the Finals, FWU fought to the very end against the ’95 Hurst United FC.  The Championship came down to penalty shots. With penalty shots made by Kelly and Kayla it came to a final penalty save from Nikki, the FWU Keeper, to clinch the Championship title. The performance from all of the girls this tournament weekend was outstanding!

1/28/08
FWU 96 Girls Gold win AYSES Texas Winter Classic
Congratulations to the Fort Worth United 96 Girls Gold on their 1-0 victory over Sting Dallas White to take home 1st place in the Texas Winter Classic. The girls persevered through some very cold and foggy conditions scoring 12 goals in 5 games while only allowing 2 goals against. Coach Silva, Coach Jones and the girls are looking forward to a great spring season in the Lake Highlands Girls Classic League. Congratulations on an outstanding job girls!

12/10/07
FWU Academy 98 Boys and 98 Girls Finish the Fall 2007 Season in Winning Form
Jamie Southern's 98 boys provided a glimpse of things to come this past season with resounding wins over potential Classic D1 teams, Solar Red and Oak Cliff United, further fueling the buzz surrounding this fine group of players.  Following the same path to success, the FWU 98 Girls Academy PAL team, coached by Frank Cordova, knocked off several contenders including our friendly rival, Sting Soccer Club.  Congratulations to both teams!

11/24/07
FWU 95 Boys Gold Excel in Oklahoma
The Fort Worth United 95 Boys Gold team, seeking a challenge from competitors outside of their normal Classic Division 1 opponents, trekked to central Oklahoma to compete in the Normal Classic this past weekend. Facing several quality teams, including the #3 ranked team in Oklahoma and the #1 ranked Oklahoma competitive team, the boys turned up the heat and came out smiling. Facing unusual circumstances (including less than 2 hours in between games), the boys in blue fought into the finals where they faced the #1 ranked team from Oklahoma, Tulsa Thunder, and relinquished the championship win in the final seconds of the game on a penalty kick. The FWU 95 Boys Gold teams competes in Division 1 of the Dallas Classic League and are coached by Chico Sanchez and Arthur Silva.

MORE INFORMATION (ARCHIVED)

Check out FWU History - 1968 State Champions Trek to National Championship
Fort Worth United Soccer Club was founded in 1966.  Its first team included several exceptional players including Dave Rubinson, former Head Soccer Coach at TCU. This team played several years together in Dallas and traveled to compete against teams from all across the United States.  Now you can view our historical archive online including details and photos from the FWU '51 team's State Championship win.

New College Bound Recruiting Program Introduced
In an area of the country where 1 out of 4 soccer players receive college scholarships, FWU is excited to announce its new College Bound Recruiting program.  The new College Bound recruiting program features an extensive, online inventory of articles covering inside details on the recruiting process (from college coaches themselves), details on how to pick a college, template cover letters and resumes, a detailed explanation of the NCAA process, an interactive checklist/calendar of recruiting tasks, and more.  In addition, an online Scout Report is available for all college-bound FWU members - seeded by team game schedules and player statistics, coach and manager input, and updatable by the player themselves, the Scout Report will be actively promoted to college recruiters throughout the playing year.

FWU Coaching Staff Additions further Enhance FWU's New Player Development Objectives
FWU is excited to announce our newest coach hire - TCU coach Michelle Royal.  Michelle's credentials are impressive - NSCCA All-American, played on the Martin High School team that won the 5A State Championship in 1998, and played at Texas A&M where she was named to the All-Big 12 Conference Team.  She has a degree in Sports Management and a Masters Degree in Education.  More details on Michelle Royal and the other Fort Worth United coaches may be found on the Fort Worth United Coaches page.

While on the coaches page, take note of the coaches that have been hired this year – Brian Nelson, Derek Vierling, Craig Jones, Bryan Johnson, and James Southern.  FWU has one of the largest coaching pools in North Texas and our coaching staff is nothing short of phenomenal.  A solid coaching pool such as this, allows us the means to “mix and match” coaches (in order to ensure the coach is the proper “fit” for a particular team), to provide assistant coaches for our club teams, and to create an environment where coaches can learn from each other.  When you see this crew on the pitch, please give them a hearty welcome and let them know you appreciate their contribution to the Club's continuing success.

FWU Offers New Team Model System
FWU recently rolled out an innovative club solution this past year – the new Team Model concept. Consisting of Metals, Colors, and Metro team classifications, the new FWU Team Model will ensure our teams continue to receive the best possible service and development opportunities catered to each player’s specific goals and objectives. Each operating under a unique set of requirements and objectives, the new team models allow us to ensure that Fort Worth United's development programs are extended to all players regardless of skill or income level while at the same time, the new Metals team model provides our Classic League and Lake Highlands League teams a platform to ensure that they can compete successfully at the highest possible level of play.  You can find complete details on the Fort Worth United team model system or contact us for additional details.

Kaboom! Explosive Growth propels FWU into Top 10 Largest Clubs in North Texas
We knew it was coming, preliminary plans were developed and put into place, and true to form – it happened. Fort Worth United Soccer Club’s explosive growth continued. On July 9th, FWU expanded an additional 40% to reach 24 competitive teams total (plus nearly a dozen Academy teams) putting it firmly into the top 10 largest clubs in North Texas. Organizational changes that have served to produce efficient processes, quality new coach hires, steadfast leadership, and innovative enhancements to our player development programs have served to fuel the sizzling growth. If you are a current member of the Club, understand that the innovative changes will continue to come at a fiery pace. If you are not a current member, feel free to contact us to see what the excitement is all about and how you can become a member of Fort Worth’s oldest and largest competitive soccer club.

FWU Announces New Coach Hires - Doubles Coach Staff Size to Accommodate New and Projected Growth
In a continuing effort to provide Metroplex players with the top coaching personnel in North Texas, FWU has completed another round of stellar new coach hires. Fort Worth United is pleased to introduce the following new coaches: Derek Vierling (current Head Coach at State Finalists, Aledo High School), Keith Winton (former Texas Tech and Bray Wanderers professional player), James Southern (current Southhills High School coach), Jessica Carrion (current holder of six collegiate records at TWU), Bryan Johnson (2006 District 4A Coach of the Year), Chico Sanchez (former Coaching Director for Texas Heat), Craig Jones (former professional player at Manchester), and TJ Sanchez (High School All-American and current State and National Record holder).  Complete bios on all Fort Worth United Soccer Club coaches may be found on the Coaches Page.