As the season opening date of May 22nd steadily approaches, members of the Chattanooga Football Club are busying themselves with the preparations necessary for a successful season. Meanwhile, other members of the Chattanooga community are also readying themselves for the upcoming season, albeit a season of a different kind.
Children ages 3-12 will be entering Finley Stadium on May 1st as participants in the Hamilton County YMCA’s youth soccer clinic. The clinic, which is part of the YMCA Strong Kids campaign, will have three sessions taking place from 12:00-1:30, 2:00-3:30, and 4:00-5:30 at Finley Stadium on Saturday. Campers may choose to participate in one of the three time slots, and the cost is only $15 for each camper with an additional sibling’s admittance costing just $5 more. T-shirts will be given to all entrants, and the first 100 to register will also receive a free soccer ball.
Several of Chattanooga Football Club’s top players will be in attendance at the clinic on Saturday, taking time out of their pre-season preparation schedules to help Chattanooga’s youth prepare for their own upcoming seasons in recreation and youth leagues.
“This exciting clinic is a great opportunity for your child to grow as a team player and develop soccer skills with the help of experienced players,” says Chris Knox, Hamilton County YMCA Director. “We’ll have some great players on-hand to work with the kids.”
The YMCA clinic will not be the only soccer action taking place at Finley on Saturday, though, as the May 1st date also marks the exhibition match between Chattanooga FC and the Nashville Metros. The Metros, a member of the Premier Development League (PDL), are the longest continuously owned and operated soccer club in the United Soccer Leagues, and have been playing since 1990. While Chattanooga Football Club hopes to emulate the Nashville club’s success for longevity at the professional level, it will no doubt at the same time be hoping to defeat its fellow Tennessee footballers when the game kicks off at 6:00 P.M.
“This game is a good measuring stick for us, both to see how our players perform in a high-level game, and to gauge our management and fan support for this year,” said CFC Director of Communications Sheldon Grizzle. “We want to encourage the community to come out and support us as we begin to prepare for the regular season.”
