Winkel Visits Rush Headquarters and ACC Tournament
UNC vs Boston College in the ACC Championship Final
Olé Football Academy Director Nate Winkel has just returned from the United States. While in the US he met with the coaches and management of US professional, university, and elite youth clubs. “It was a great learning experience for me, and the trip came at the perfect time. We start the Premier Academy in about 2 months and it was great to talk player development with the US coaches, and see how the elite US youth players compare to our NZ players.” said Winkel.
Winkel’s first stop in the US was at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament. The ACC is widely considered the best conference for mens soccer in the US, and currently boasts 3 of the top 5 ranked teams in the country – U of North Carolina, U of Maryland, and Boston College. Other ACC teams include North Carolina State, U of Virginia, Duke, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. “I got to sit on half-time speeches, and pre game talks. It was great to see what our players are aspiring to, and spend quality time with some of the top coaches in the country. The ACC regularly produces professional players and I was extremely impressed with the level of play at the tournament.”
Next Winkel was in Denver, Colorado to meet with Olé’s official club partner Rush Soccer. Rush Soccer started in Denver, but now has over 40,000 registered youth players all over the world. “Rush has a rich tradition of producing elite players, and we are excited to be part of their new mission to establish an elite youth academy that feeds into a Rush professional team. Meeting with Tim Schulz (CEO) and the Rush staff was very stimulating. It reinforced to me how unique our opportunity is with the Premier Academy boys. If we can get the group culture right, I think our players will move onto achieve their dreams and play at really elite schools and clubs.”
While in the US Winkel was able to watch 14 matches
ACC Tournament
NC State 1 vs Virginia Tech 0
UNC 4 vs NC State
Boston College 2 vs Duke 1
UNC 1 vs Virginia 0 (OT)
UNC 3 vs Boston College 1
Big South Tournament
Liberty 0 vs Radford 0 (Liberty wins on PKs)
Coastal Carolina 2 vs UNC Asheville 0
Campbell 1 vs High Point 3
Gardner Webb 2 vs Winthrop 1
US Development Academy
u16s Colorado Rush 0 vs Houston Texans 0
u18s Houston Texans 3 vs Colorado Rush 1
u16s Colorado Rapids 3 vs Texas Rush 1
u18s Colorado Rapids 3 vs Texas Rush 1
Click here for more info on Rush Soccer or the ACC
