St. Croix Soccer Club Testimonial (Coach: Chris Early)
- rearegan91
- Apr 2
- 4 min read
SUMMARY: This is a testimonial from St. Croix Coach Chris Early. Chris has been involved with St. Croix Soccer Club for almost 25 years now, first as a player in the U8-U9 team and now as a coach at the club. He has had nothing but positive experiences at St. Croix and recommends it anyone who is looking to get started, develop competitively, and engage in their community.
St. Croix Soccer Club Testimonial Featuring Coach Chris Early
Read more about a member's experience at St. Croix Soccer Club, a soccer club in Minnesota.
How long have you been a part of St. Croix Soccer Club? What attracted you to the club?
I've been with St. Croix Soccer Club off and on for [about] 25 years from being a player at U8-U9 to coaching with the club a few summers throughout college, moving away for a number of years. And now that I've moved back to the Twin Cities a few years ago, being able to coach with the club again. And what really attracted me to St. Croix was the coaches, the community, and just the people in general that are involved with the club.
It's been a very, very good experience for me both as a player and now on the other side as a coach, being able to work with the players still in our community, but it attracts players from all over. We've got some players on the team that I coach from North Dakota, from Duluth, which goes just to show how great this club really is.
What has been a favorite experience at St. Croix Soccer Club?
This is a really tough question for me just given the amount of experiences that I've had both as a player and now as a coach. So it's really hard to pick a favorite experience just because there's been so many. Last year, winning NPL finals with my U15 girls team to this year, the amount of success that we had last year, opening up experiences for the group going into this year, watching them succeed, being able to learn from coaches throughout the years, when I was first getting started taking U12 boys teams to tournaments and winning those and watching them succeed and watching their growth has all been an incredible experience for me.
It's almost impossible to pick a favorite experience just given the amount of amazing times that I've been able to have with this club, with these players, and coaches in general. Right? I honestly can't choose a favorite, but there have been many, many amazing experiences that I've had with the club.
What kind of impact can St. Croix Soccer Club have on a player’s development?
Knowing how much the club impacted me as a kid, seeing how much the club impacts players that I've gotten to know throughout the years, players that I currently coach, players that I've coached in the past that I'm still in contact with their families. They're playing college soccer now. And hearing them talk about how much the club has impacted them, I can only imagine how much the club will impact my infant son as soon as he can start walking, get some cleats on, and start moving the ball around. But, yeah, I'm excited to watch him grow within the club and see how much the club can impact him as well.
What do you like about the facilities used by St. Croix Soccer Club?
What I like most about the facilities that we have access to is being able to train year-round and develop players year-round. Being a Minnesota club, we aren't able to train in nice weather outdoors year-round. So being able to access the dome at the St. Croix Rec Center is key to our success as a team. Being able to develop the team, being able to develop players year-round, throughout the winter months, throughout the cold months, in adverse weather, whatever it is, has been incredible, and we're really lucky to have that, as well as community facilities throughout the year, in the warmer months. It's great to have as a club.
Would you recommend St. Croix Soccer Club to a friend or colleague?
Yeah. I recommend the club to colleagues and friends and will continue to do so. Mostly because of the community, the coaches, the folks on the admin side, the players, the parent groups are all second to none really, as well as the success of the club. If it's a player that you know, whether they're just starting out, and they want to grow their interest for the game, our programs at the rec level and at the younger ages, those coaches work really, really well with players in getting their interest in the game to players that are competitive and want to play at the next level. This club really, really helps kids get there from a competitive standpoint to a development standpoint to now helping them through the college recruiting process. We offer a lot of resources.
And from [my] experience, both as a player and now as a coach to helping kids achieve their goals, it is a great club to be a part of. And I will continue to recommend it to colleagues, friends, anyone who's looking to, whether it's to start soccer, whether it's to continue their soccer career, I will continue to recommend it to anyone and everyone.