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Far Post Soccer Club

Year Founded: 1996
Where located: Chittenden County, Vermont
Teams/players: 21 travel teams (U10-U18, boys & girls), 360 players
Distance from Needham, MA: 230 miles: 4 hours driving time
Website: www.farpostsoccerclub.com

Paulette Bergeron, business manager for the Far Post Soccer Club of Vermont, agreed to be interviewed for this feature story on one of the many New England soccer clubs that regularly attend the Needham Invitational Memorial Day Tournament. Paulette has been a parent volunteer with Far Post since its inception nine years ago, has served on the club’s board of directors, and recently accepted a full-time position as the club’s first professional business manager. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Vermont Soccer Association (VSA), and is the current VSA treasurer. With two boys (18 and 20 years of age) who have played for Far Post Soccer Club since the beginning, Paulette is a shining example of the kind of dedicated adult volunteer who makes possible a successful youth soccer program.

Far Post Soccer Club was founded nine years ago (Fall 1996), with the first team tryouts hosted in South Burlington, which is still the hub of the club’s expanding membership area.  The first-ever tournament attended by Far Post travel teams was the Needham Invitational in May 1997. That first year, Far Post fielded six teams, boys and girls U12, U14, and U16. Paulette’s eldest son Christopher (now a player at Keene State College in New Hampshire) was a member of one of these ‘charter’ travel teams that attended the club’s first tournament in Needham. Her younger son, David, plays with the U18 team and will be heading off to college next year.

According to Paulette, some of the Far Post teams had a pretty rough go of it that first year, getting their first close-up look at the abundance of talented, well-coached, and competitive New England youth soccer teams in all age brackets. “It was both an eye-opener and an inspiration for the players to experience the high level of competition at that first Needham tournament,” according to Paulette. “Everyone went home with the conviction to come back with stronger teams each year.” And that’s exactly what has happened.

Far Post Soccer Club has attended the Needham Invitational every year since 1996, with increasing success each year. In the 2005 Tournament, for example, Far Post teams came away from Needham with championships in girls U16 Premier and boys U12 Premier; and were runners-up in boys U13, Division 1, as well. This was quite the showing, considering that over 250 teams, and over 5,000 players, attend the tournament each year.

And it isn’t just a few Far Post travel teams that attend the Needham Tournament each year. By tradition, this has always been a tournament that is attended by the entire Far Post Soccer Club. Travel teams of all ages, coaches and families travel together, stay in the same hotels, and host many all-club activities in the greater Boston area. This year, Far Post will invade Needham with another impressive squadron of 17 teams (U11-U16, both boys and girls). Paulette notes that during the busy home soccer season in Vermont, teams of different ages rarely have a chance to watch and support one another during matches. But at the Needham Invitational, players and their entourage of family and friends, when not involved in their own matches, can wander freely about the more than 20 fields of play and stop by to cheer on other “Orange and Navy” teams whenever they happen upon them.

Paulette believes that this tradition is important for maintaining a sense of group identity and pride for the extended community of Far Post member families. Not only is this a chance for different age level players to support one another on the field, but it is a great time for soccer families with different age children to meet one another, relax, and socialize. As in past years, the Far Post community plans on attending the Saturday evening New England Revolution match at Gillette Stadium. The club's block of tickets usually exceeds 400 seats, so watch for that sea of Orange and Navy if you attend or watch the match on television! And hold your ears if you are sitting nearby when the Revolution scores.

The Needham Invitational has also become a much-anticipated event because it has come to symbolize the official kick-off of their outdoor soccer season. With Vermont snows sometimes covering fields or keeping them too soggy to play into the beginning of May, in some years the teams have only a few short weeks for outdoor preparation prior to the tournament.

Travel Teams, Training/Education Programs, and Futsal Fever

Far Post’s travel team program now consists of 21 established teams at various age and skill levels (U10 to U18, both girls and boys) with more than 360 youth travel team players. Over 30 volunteer coaches work with these teams, receiving modest stipends to help to cover their travel expenses for away matches. Additional adult volunteers and some part-time professionals, specialize in training, assisted by some older student/players who are trained both as referees and as assistant trainers.

From its modest beginnings around Burlington, the Far Post Soccer Club has expanded over the past decade to service about 25 communities, most of which are located in Chittenden County, in the beautiful rural northwest corner of Vermont along the shores of Lake Champlain. As the reputation of the club’s teams and training programs has spread, so has the geographic area of its membership. Some families now come from as far away as 50 miles to participate in teams, training activities, and other club events.,

But travel teams are just one of three major activities of the club, and each of these departments now has a professional director with management responsibility for their specific program area. This efficient division of responsibilities among the professional management team is supervised by a volunteer Board of Directors and operates day-to-day under the watchful eye of Todd Kingsbury, who has served as full-time Executive Directory for the club since 2001. Todd is a former high school and university (UVM) soccer player, a former high school varsity soccer coach, and for many years a coach in Vermont ODP (Olympic Development Program). And, of course, he still holds his own as a player in the Futsal leagues.

Todd has contributed greatly to the Club’s successful efforts to recruit and increase involvement of new and continuing adult volunteers and coaches, many of whom themselves bring impressive resumes and extensive soccer experience as both players and coaches.  Parents and other adult volunteers contribute time and expertise as coaches and trainers. And each travel team has assigned to it a parent administrative manager who takes charge of team communications and other details (this allows the coaches to concentrate on working with the players on the field). The dedicated adults at Far Post Soccer club are a major reason for the club’s dramatic growth in the past four years.

Please take time to visit the club’s impressive website: www.farpostsoccerclub.com which provides a great deal of information about the structure of the club, its philosophies and programs, as well as biographical information about the professional staff, volunteer directors, coaches and trainers.

Far Post Soccer is particularly proud of its self-standing Education and Training Programs, which have over 400 youth participants, aged 4-18. In fact, the club is organized as a 501c3 organization due to its commitment to Education and Youth Development, and it continues to introduce new and innovative training and education programs which run throughout the year. Among these are soccer camps and clinics, organized around developing fundamental soccer skills, strength and conditioning, high school player pre-season camps, and many more. Recently, the Club initiated a Soccer Academy, beginning with a pilot program for a dozen of the most dedicated high school players, each of whom are concentrating on a single sport year-round. The academy entails indoor practices three days per week during all of the off-seasons for outdoor soccer, both during the school year and toward the end of summer.

The club leases space at a commercial indoor athletic facility located in Williston, VT. Because the club began negotiations with the owners of the facility even before construction was complete, they were able to influence the design and layout of the indoor fields and practice areas, including three smaller (approximately 60 x 100 feet) fields for playing the indoor game of Futsal.

Futsal has grown in popularity so rapidly that it has become a third major, independent program offered by Far Post Soccer Club. Futsal has helped to keep the soccer action and enthusiasm going year-round. The sport is modeled after European-style indoor soccer. It makes use of a smaller, weighted ball, and is played 5 versus 5 on smaller fields with no boards. This game is all about footwork, and because there are only 8 players per team (4 on field and a goalie playing at any one time) everyone gets plenty of action and more touches on the ball than they could have imagined. Paulette believes that this program has significantly improved player skill development and fundamental understanding of the game (particularly footwork, passing and ball control). And most important, everyone seems to think that this sport is one heck of a lot of FUN. A frequent highlight at the end of each winter training session is a rousing finale of “Futsal Grande”, an 8 vs. 8 contest played sideways across all three small fields combined.

In past seasons, there has been over 90 (8-person) teams, with teams ranging in age from 10 to high school teams, women, men, and some over-35 teams, too. And the play continues at a fast and furious pace through three sessions beginning in October and not wrapping up until outdoor play begins anew in May. Without bothering to do the math, it’s clear that hundreds of youth and adult enthusiasts have taken a shine to this club offering. For those interested in learning more about Futsal, Soccer New England recently ran a feature story on the growth in popularity of this sport.

Innovation seems to be the magic word at Far Post Soccer Club. Individual players are developed and the club supports their participation in ODP (Olympic Development Program) competition in state, regional and national pools. Graduates of the Far Post player development programs have gone on to college soccer teams at Skidmore, Ithaca, BC, Bucknell, Springfield, Keene State, Middlebury, UVM, UNH, So. NH University, to name just a few.

Far Post has also started a new “Soccer For Life” program, which prepares and supports players for entry into the Vermont Amateur Soccer League. This year, the club will sponsor both U18 girls and boys teams in VASL.

Other clubs may wonder how Far Post Soccer Club has been so successful in keeping such a high percentage of their youth active and motivated in this sport from an early age (as young as four) up through college and beyond.

But with programs like the annual trip to Holland for the U14 boys and U14 girl’s teams, there is little wonder why the members of Far Post Soccer Club feel that they belong to a very special organization. Highly motivated 12 and 13 year old players begin fundraising activities months in advance (deferred expenses are proportional to an individual’s effort in the group fundraising). When the spring break rolls around each year, the middle school-aged Far Post players climb on board an airplane and embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Packed into just one week, the kids play four matches against like-aged Dutch students, they both attend and observe training and practice sessions given by professional Dutch soccer trainers. And, as if that is not enough, they also attend two professional soccer matches in this country where soccer is king, level of play is superb, and the color of the national soccer team is what else? Orange. No wonder Far Post feels so at ease in the Netherlands!

By all indications, the Needham Invitational Memorial Day Tournament will continue to host the Far Post Soccer Club well into the future. Paulette explains that because the wide range of competitive skill levels brackets for all age groups, any Far Post travel team can find an appropriate level of competition. Secondly, Far Post teams find that Needham Invitational tournament is well-organized and skillfully managed. Everyone in the Far Post Soccer Club has always been made to feel welcome. When troubles like inclement weather have cropped up, the tournament organizers have always gone out of their way to quickly find new fields and make last-minute schedule changes, rather than just cancel contests, as happens at many tournaments. Tournament managers also do a very good job at communicating with all participants. The introduction of a website with scores posted within minutes of the games ending, was much appreciated. Needham’s tournament website can be accessed from most of the soccer tournament host hotels, or even by the folks back home in Vermont who wish to monitor their Club’s progress. Coaches can go on the website for special announcements or changes in schedule or field assignment.

On a more personal note, many Far Post soccer families have family ties in the greater Boston area, and take the opportunity to catch up with visits to relatives and friends between games.  For high school- aged players, the plethora of colleges and universities in the greater Boston area, the trip to Needham provides a great opportunity for students and families to piggy-back some campus visits onto a weekend of soccer.

In summary, the Needham Invitational Memorial Day Tournament has been a part of the Far Post Soccer experience since the club started. One might say that after all these years, the annual Memorial Day migration to Needham is beginning to feel like a natural event. And the appreciation is mutual from the Needham Invitational Memorial Day Tournament Committee, which recommended Far Post as one of the first clubs chosen to be recognized with a feature story for the Tournament Website. Now all of the other participating teams will know a lot more about all those orange and navy teams they see on the fields of Needham this Memorial Day Weekend!