A community has embraced us, embraced a new beginning and a promising future. We can't believe the summer has come and gone, but are excited for what the near future holds and the upcoming year as we enter a new decade...a decade which involves big plans for the Home of Champions.
The summer truly began in late winter as we started to plan and promote our official Grand Opening event which would eventually take place on June 1, 2019. From early March and onward, our staff went all in on organizing an amazing event to help benefit our friends, Beautiful People. Our Vice President, Christian Fuchs, wanted the event to be one of community spirit and just good old fashion fun. The main event, a Celebrity Soccer Match.
As part of the Grand Opening, we began to organize a soccer tournament for local players to have the chance to play alongside the current and retired professional soccer stars who would battle it out on June 1. This qualifying tournament took place and concluded in late May. The month of May was also crucial as we announced the plans to create a semi-professional soccer team. Fast forward six months, and our FSA PRO squad has:
1. Achieved their first victory at home and away in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)
2. Played in front of over 400 people at Hudson Sports Complex (The Fox Den)
3. Currently hold a goal differential of 13-2 in just two matches with their next game at home this Saturday, Sept. 28! You can purchase tickets here to enjoy a great night out with the family!
May was also a huge month as Christian Fuchs held a special Meet and Greet event for the local community. Parents and children were invited to meet our Premier League Champion founder, take pictures with his Premier League winning medial, and play a little soccer in between!
June 1, 2019...a day that will forever live strong in our hearts: our official Grand Opening Event. Over a 1,000 visitors, dozens of vendors and food trucks, a few top name celebrities, and one major outcome...a fantastic day had by all! An emotional day full of camaraderie, laughs, donations, and memories. The beautiful game was able to bring together so many people for a wonderful cause which we are eternally grateful for.
Just a couple days later, we held freestyle soccer clinics with 5x World Champion, Andrew Henderson. Talk about someone who is at the top of their profession and we were lucky enough to have him show off his skills at HSC! Andrew has traveled the world with top celebrities and players making him a social media sensation. We are so grateful for his time this past summer and look forward to having him back very soon!
In late June, we had the wonderful opportunity to partner with Baseball Buddy USA. Several travel team clubs from across the Hudson Valley made their way to HSC to compete in our very first 'Fox Den' baseball tournament! The fans, coaches, players, and Baseball Buddy USA staff made this first tournament one for the ages. We were lucky enough to have Baseball Buddy USA and more teams in July for the second round of the 'Fox Den' Tournament which also turned out to be a fantastic weekend!
In just a few weeks, we are hosting our final 'Fox Den' Tournament over Columbus Day Weekend as we close out the baseball fun with over ten teams! We can't wait to see who will be crowned champion of the final tournament.
In addition to baseball, we had plenty of soccer events this summer. We had a wonderful time hosting not 1, not 2, BUT 3 Fox Soccer Academy (FSA) specific camps. We had over 125+ kids this summer from several regions and states who joined us at HSC for our summer camps and Goalkeeper camp in association with Carillo Keeper School! We can't wait for next summer as we look to put on several more weeks of camps for passionate young kids looking to up their skills!
Another wonderful soccer event we hosted was our Fox Soccer Academy Combine! We invited dozens of young men to HSC to showcase their talents in front of prep school, college, and even professional scouts. As the Home of Champions, we feel it is our job to provide young players not only the tools to train and become champions, but we want to put them on the best path suitable for overall success. We feel this type of event will become an annual endeavor that we hope can change the lives of dedicated individuals looking to make a career in soccer.
Potentially the most exciting week of the summer was Aug. 5-8. We aren't shy about having our fair share of celebrities on campus, however, it was a privilege for us to host star Premier Lacrosse League players as they ran their Premier Lacrosse League Academy Camp. The likes of Joe Walters, Mike Chanenchuck, Jules Heningburg, and Matt Kavanagh all graced us with their presence and they couldn't have been a nicer group of guys. Not only were they a great group, the entire 50+ campers who joined us that week were extremely professional and brought such an infectious energy to HSC that entire week. It just so happens that all four of these top players went face-to-face in the recent PLL Championship match! Mike Chanenchuck and his Whipsnake teammates were able to hold off Joe, Jules, Matt, and the rest of the Redwoods' squad in an absolute nail-biter! We are beyond excited to host the PPL once again next summer for what will surely be another week full of amazing lax skills!
August also saw its fair share of athleticism from all kinds of individuals ranging from many sports and ages. Specifically, August 10th was a very busy day as we were so thrilled to host our very first Speed & Agility Combine which was ran by our Speed & Agility Program leader, Coach Crown. In addition to the Speed & Agility event that day, we had several soccer teams compete for the HSC Cup!
For the Speed & Agility Combine, we had over 50 athletes from across the Hudson Valley, NJ, and NYC test their skills by performing certain feats in a pro-day type environment. They tested their speed, strength, jumping abilities, and more!
Stay tuned as we look to host another Speed & Agility Combine during winter break of 2019/20. Be on the lookout for upcoming announcements for dates and times as we want to make this a foundational event towards our goal of building Champions!
To close out the summer, we had two very big happenings here at HSC. First, we were honored to host the 10th Anniversary of the Sweitzer Cup. Dozens of local alumni soccer teams got together to battle it out at HSC. The Sweitzer Cup has become synonymous with a great day for a wonderful cause. To top off a day full of smiles and gritty competitiveness under the sun, your very own hometown team of Warwick were the last one's standing and raised the cup! Yet again, we can't wait to host this soccer tournament next year and for hopefully many many more to come.
Finally, what is a good beginning if the end is just sub par...well, we hope to think we closed out the summer as strong as we began it as we debuted the very first professional soccer team to call Warwick home! As mentioned earlier, Christian had the vision of starting a team here in the US as he does in Leicester. By the time September rolled around, several hundred of you joined us at HSC to see the FSA PRO Foxes take the pitch and make history.
The head Fox, Christian Fuchs, was here along with his family to take in the sights and fanfare. It was a beautiful evening which yet again symbolizes the goals and hard work we are putting in to make this place truly something special.
So far, your Foxes are 2-1 with a goal differential of 13-2! FSA PRO has two home matches left...one on Sept. 28 and then another on Oct. 26. Round of your family and friends so you can come cheer on your hometown squad at the Fox Den!
Now that summer has come and gone, we turn the focus towards the end of the Fall as well as the Winter months. We have some much going on here at HSC including all of our current Fox Soccer Academy Supplemental Training and Goalkeeper Clinics. As of now, we are also planning Winter Supplemental Training programs as well as our 'Little Foxes' curriculum which will be geared to young children looking to get started with the beautiful game. Stay updated on all things FSA by following them on their website.
In addition to the FSA programs, we are delighted to begin our Pickup Dodgeball very soon as well as our Halloween Prison Tours! Get your family and friends to HSC on Friday nights for some dodgeball madness so you can let off some steam from the busy work week.
To really get the Fall spirit going though, we have put together a truly unique experience we hope you will enjoy! Experience a tour like no other as we will take you on a journey showcasing the spooky history of our grounds...Prepare yourself for some creepy scenes as you will get to experience a guided tour of several unoccupied buildings...or are they...These tours begin Friday Oct. 18 so book with us today!
We hope everyone had an amazing summer because we definitely did! We hope to see you all in the near future as we continue to plan big things here at the Home of Champions!