COLUMBUS — As soccer has grown in North Mississippi and the Golden Triangle, the number of local soccer clubs has risen, giving additional opportunities for player development.
In Columbus, the Columbus Soccer Organization and Columbus United have dominated the local scene, but local players have continued to leave for other clubs in the region.
Instead of searching elsewhere, local businessman Jason Spears has developed his own club to hopefully keep that talent in-house and further build the status of soccer in Columbus.
“I really thought within our area that it’s something that could be a great opportunity for our players, parents, and the overall soccer community to bring that type of environment into the community,” Spears said.
The idea of Golden Triangle Elite first came to Spears last fall following the completion of his U.S. Soccer D license course.
A D license is the lowest level of certification on the grassroots level, but also allows for the ability to move up from a grassroots pathway to a pro pathway.
Seeing the current competition of players within Columbus, but also the Lowndes County is a hotbed of soccer talent in North Mississippi, concentrating talent internally was the ultimate goal.
GTE is beginning with U6-U14 girls players and U7-U12 boys players, not going for volume of players, but rather quality.
“People understand the mission of what I’m trying to do,” Spears said. “People do want the opportunities for their children to have higher level training and programs available to them locally.”
One of the biggest obstacles early on to legitimize what Spears’ vision was included getting other local programs on board with the idea.
Creating a partnership from the start with more established organizations who could not only provide insight, but provide pathways for success, is what GTE Soccer Club needed.
Tupelo Football Club was the perfect organization for that, and Spears approached its representatives directly with his idea, receiving overwhelming support in return.
“If he was leading it, it made sense for us to work with him because I know he gets stuff done,” said Jordon Beedle, director of coaching at TFC. “His idea of what he wants to do and his connections within the community and the fact that he wants to do this for the right reasons makes a big difference for us.”
Player development is at the center of GTE and that development will be aided by new technology and metrics used to track player progress.
Players will be wearing sensors that link to an artificial intelligence-powered camera and monitoring system from Trace, a software company.
The AI cameras film the entire game and will put together playlists of individual highlights for each player. The wearable sensors allow for that information to be tracked during practices or games.
“It provides game film, which we’re able to go back, analyze and take out additional clips to share with players, parents,” Spears said. “We’re trying to harness the power of technology to improve our players.”
Additionally, GTE will use Techne Futbol, an app that pushes for individual player skills training outside of practice.
Local coaches and new faces bought into the concept, with a base of coaches and staff already in place for the club’s first try-outs from 6-8 p.m. on May 18.
“His idea of narrowing down and finding talent in the area rather than creating more teams than necessary, I liked that aspect of it,” girls coach Kate Duffy said.
A former women’s college soccer player and coach, Duffy is a strong advocate for the women’s game and is hoping to expand that passion at the youth level.
Coaching on the girls side as a female coach is important for her when building a foundation of players wanting to continue on in the sport.
“I’m super excited,” Duffy said. “I don’t think people realize how big of an influence sports have on kids. This is what kids go to school for. It helps create opportunities for kids, especially young girls.”
Boys coach Lance Dodd is a prime example of the importance of bringing in higher-level programs to Lowndes County as he took his sons to play for TFC, a place where he also coached.
Now, having that in Columbus will make all the difference down the road.
“Kids need to be held accountable, even at this young age, in soccer for the sport to grow properly,” Dodd said. “… Through this organization, we’re providing kids the chance of playing at a high level and knowing that they’re competing for a spot to get on these teams.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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