The deep connection between NCFC Youth and the North Carolina FC professional team is a major part of what makes the club special.
From Head Coach John Bradford’s lengthy tenure as the academy director to current first team players coaching throughout the youth set up and former academy players turning pro with the team, the roots run deep at every level.
“That connection is what makes our club unique and makes us different than the majority of clubs that are out there. There are clubs that do what we do, but don’t have the vast connection that we have. From the club overall, for young players to have professional men’s and women’s soccer in their own club, in their backyard, and to be able to go and connect and aspire to learn from those role models is extremely unique,” Bradford said.
NCFC’s Shield Award Night is a celebration of that connection, a chance for the yearly sportsmanship award winners from each of the youth teams to be honored and to have a night of fun with their families and teammates.
“For us to invite them to a game and have them recognized in front of all the fans, team, and community speaks to how much we value the sportsmanship award and what the Shield Award represents. All three of my kids over their time with NCFC Youth have been fortunate enough to represent and be awarded the Shield Award and it has meant something to them. It’s something to value and achieve, but it is also important to support your teammates when they achieve it,” Bradford said.
Multiple current NCFC first team players coach throughout the youth set up, including starting goalkeeper Jake McGuire, who works with multiple different age groups of goalkeepers.
McGuire got into coaching on the youth side because of his love for the game and he has formed a great connection with his players, especially at home games.
“It is really fun to have the goalkeepers I coach behind me at home games, screaming, ‘Great save!’ It is a lot of fun. After the game, I go straight to them and high five them all. They’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, Coach Jake, you did so great!’ It is really important for them to have that connection because those good positive experiences with the club allows them to have a passion for them game and hopefully want to do this at the highest level, but if not, then they become lifelong NCFC fans,” McGuire said.
For Bradford, that level of buy-in from the professionals makes an impact.
“When you have a desire from the professional players to be in and around the same fields that the youth is on and have an impact in their development, in their lives, it becomes a unique experience. For these young players, they are fortunate to have those interactions with guys that were in their shoes many years ago and have gone on to reach the professional level,” Bradford said.
In addition to the professional players coaching on the youth side, North Carolina FC’s first team added seven NCFC Youth players to the roster on USL Academy Contracts this season. One of those players, Finn Sundstrom, made his debut earlier this year as a late substitute.
Whether youth players are learning directly from professional players coaching at WRAL Soccer Park or those same players see a future version of themselves on the WakeMed Soccer Park field, the deep connection between NCFC Youth and the first team is what makes the club special.