Sporting Kansas City Youth Soccer is thrilled to welcome Gérard Jones as the Director of Coaching for Sporting City North.
The newest addition to the Academy Affiliate network, Sporting City North is a competitive youth soccer club that will primarily serve families located in Platte County, Missouri as well as the surrounding Northland communities.
“I’m very excited to announce Gérard Jones as the Director of Coaching for Sporting City North,” said Dan Popik, Sporting KC Vice President of Youth Business Development. “Gérard has a tremendous amount of domestic and international coaching experience, is a leader in coaching education, and has a passion for developing youth soccer players. He will have a significant impact in all aspects of building Sporting City North.”
Sporting City North will debut during the 2022-2023 season, featuring boys and girls teams in the U8 (2015) through U19 (2004) age groups.
Sporting City North will be the anchor soccer tenant at Central Bank Sporting Complex, which is slated to open in September and will feature 10 multi-sport turf fields. Tryouts for the 2022-2023 season will be held June 10-12, 2022.
"I'm excited to join Sporting City North to lead the club, player and coach development across all programs," said Jones. "This is an incredible opportunity to build a new club in the Northland at a world-class facility that will create an unmatched training environment for our players. I can’t wait to get started!”
Jones joins Sporting City North from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation where he served as the elite coach educator. In this role, Jones designed all coaching education courses for the federation, mentored elite coaches and created individualized training methods for the youth national team players. He also coached across the U15, U17 and U20 men’s and women’s youth national teams.
Prior to his role with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Jones was the Director of Coaching & Player Development for multiple youth soccer clubs in the United States including John Jay FC and Steel United FC in New York, and Eastside FC in Michigan. While at these clubs, Jones created and implemented the club’s coaching curriculum, playing philosophy and development models across their programs. He also planned and delivered coaching education programs and mentored the coaching staff on their education pathways.
During his 14-year career, Jones has held multiple positions with professional soccer clubs in the UK including Rochdale AFC as an Academy Coach, Bristol Rovers as Head of Coaching, and Arsenal Soccer Schools as the Director of Coaching.
Jones holds a UEFA A License, USSF B License and is a coach educator for US Soccer, and UEFA Coach Developer.
“A passion of mine is developing and mentoring coaches at all levels. We will prioritize coaching education at Sporting City North to create the best learning environment for all our future players.”
In the coming weeks, Sporting City North will announce the schedules for pre-tryout camp, tryouts, and ID Clinics this spring.
You can find the most up-to-date information on the club’s website at www.SportingCN.com.
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