Raptors and Force enter ECNL partnership!
March 2, 2023
Rockford Raptors FC and Crystal Lake Soccer Federation are excited to announce an ECNL partnership starting in the upcoming 2023-24 season.
The prestigious ECNL league offers the highest level of competition and player development in the country for Boys & Girls, U13-U19 age groups.
Rockford Raptors will expand its ECNL footprint into Crystal Lake, IL, creating more opportunities for players in McHenry County to compete at the highest level in the national ECNL club platform under the Rockford Raptors umbrella.
Raptors will host two weekly training sessions at the SportScore II facility in Rockford. Force will host one weekly training session at the MAC Athletic Complex in Crystal Lake.
ECNL teams will be coached by coaches from both Rockford Raptors and Force, with a coach from both clubs assigned to each ECNL team. The Force coaching team will attend one Rockford ECNL practice per week, in addition to all Crystal Lake based ECNL practices. The Raptors coaching team will attend both Rockford based ECNL practices.
Rockford Raptors and Force will continue to provide top quality local, state, & regional level programming for its core member players & teams.
Force Executive Director Kristian Rockall shared his excitement: “CLSF has always strived to provide its members the opportunity to compete at every level. An ECNL partnership with Rockford Raptors gives our Force players a direct pathway to the highest level, while maintaining our community roots. This partnership will do exactly that, and will bring players & coaches together from two "player first", family centered clubs with great facilities!
Both clubs share a common philosophy on helping players reach the next level with a focus on inspiring many high school players to continue playing soccer in college. There’s no disputing that at the high school level, ECNL continues to prove itself as THE place to be seen by college coaches nationwide. We’re also thrilled that the partnership will continue to include multiple Force-Raptors hosted College ID events in both Rockford & Crystal Lake.”
Frank Mateus, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Rockford Raptors added “We are thrilled to bring in a great partner in Crystal Lake Force to strengthen our ECNL platform, to open more doors for our kids to play at the next level, and have more opportunities for playing in college. This is a great day for the Rockford Raptors and Crystal Lake Force! We have a vision to continue moving forward and create an excellent environment for all of our kids. We can't wait to see all of what we can do together and continue raising our profile in the ECNL."
Tryouts for U13-U19 GIRLS (birth years 2011-2005) & U13-U14 BOYS (birth years (2011-2010) will take place in Rockford at Sportscore 2 on Sunday March 19 and in Crystal Lake at the MAC on Sunday March 26.
REGISTER HERE TO TRYOUT
Tryouts for U15-U19 BOYS (birth years 2009-2005) will take place later in the Spring. Dates, locations and other details to follow.
Force will host an informational meeting for its members on Tuesday March 14 at 7:00PM, providing more details on the partnership and answering any questions. A Google Meet link for the meeting will be sent out to the Force membership closer to the date.