Sporting Kansas City Youth Soccer is excited to announce Sporting City East, a new competitive youth soccer club owned and operated by Sporting KC that will primarily serve players and families in Jackson County, the Kansas City, Missouri metro area and surrounding communities.
“I’m thrilled to officially welcome Sporting City East as the newest member of the Sporting City network of clubs,” said Dan Popik, Sporting KC Vice President of Youth Sports Properties. “We’re excited to create a new competitive youth soccer club in a historic soccer area of Kansas City at a premium youth soccer facility, Swope Soccer Village.”
Sporting City East will debut during the 2023-2024 season, featuring boys teams in the U8 (2016) through U19 (2005) and girls teams in the U8 (2016) through U14 (2010) age groups. Sporting City East will host clinics, informational parent meetings and events during the spring season in preparation for tryouts in June.
The on-field, day-to-day operations of the club will be led in part by the Director of Coaching, Chris Dean. Most recently, Dean a U.S. Soccer B License coach, served as the Director of Coaching for Sporting Missouri Valley. In addition, Dean holds a U.S. Soccer Director of Coaching License and has eight years of leadership experience as a Director of Coaching for multiple youth soccer clubs in the Kansas City area.
“I’m thrilled to join Sporting KC as the Director of Coaching for Sporting City East,” said Chris Dean, Sporting City East Director of Coaching. “Through our world-class facilities, resources and expertise, we’ll be able to provide our families and players with a premier youth soccer experience. I’m excited to build a dedicated and knowledgeable team of coaches who will be focused on developing talent and encouraging success.”
As the full-time Director of Coaching, Dean will not directly coach teams. His position will primarily focus on hiring and managing the coaching staff, supporting and educating all the coaches during training sessions and games and creating a positive learning environment for all players to reach their maximum potential.
Sporting City East will place a great emphasis on providing its members with a high level of communication, organization, customer service and professionalism. The administrative side of the club will be led by Sporting City Director of Operations, Tammy Stauffer and Club Administrator, Jacob Tumlin. They will be responsible for making sure all Sporting City families are informed, educated and updated on club and team news.
The club’s full-time, outdoor turf training location, Swope Soccer Village is located in Kansas City, Missouri’s historic Swope Park. This state-of-the-art facility features six turf fields, three grass fields and also serves as the training complex for Sporting KC II and Sporting KC Academy. In addition, the complex has hosted many prominent teams including the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams, Uruguayan National Team, Manchester United and AC Milan.
As an Academy Affiliate, Sporting City East players and coaches will benefit from the best resources, education and developmental opportunities both on and off the field, along with unparalleled access to Sporting Kansas City. These opportunities include player and coach education sessions, the Academy Affiliate All-Star Experience, Sporting Development League, Affiliate Market Experiences and more.
In addition, Sporting City East players and families will also enjoy additional benefits including club goalkeeper training, supplemental training programs, a centralized communication and registration system through PlayMetrics and more.
Pre-Tryout Camp will take place on June 5-7 and Tryouts will be hosted on June 9-11 at Swope Soccer Village. Registration for Sporting City East’s Pre-Tryout Camp and Tryouts is now open! To learn more, visit SportingCitySoccer.com/City-East.
Over the course of the spring season, Sporting City East will announce its coaching staff, pre-tryout and tryout schedule, club fees, and additional information in preparation for tryouts.
Learn more about Sporting City East at SportingCitySoccer.com/City-East.
