Old Line FC is excited that players from the 2007 Girls and 2011 Boys had the opportunity to train with the Southampton FC Academy coaches in Southampton, England, in late April 2022. This week long training was arranged by Elite Tournaments.
Southampton FC was established in 1885 and has been nicknamed “The Saints” due to its history as a church football team, founded as St. Mary’s Church of England Young Men’s Association. And Southampton FC’s Academy program is one of the most successful programs in Europe, which has produced many world class players, such as Luke Shaw and Gareth Bale.
According to Southampton FC, “The Academy has always prided itself on developing not just young footballers but fine young men and women that will represent Southampton Football Club in the right way, on and off the pitch. This holistic approach forms the basis of our success in achieving a high percentage of productivity from our Academy system going onto senior football in the Premier League.”
During the week of intense training, some of the Old Line FC 2007 Girls players (Pieper McCue, Ava Patino, and Kasey Resh) and Old Line FC 2011 Azzurri players (Tyler Choinski, Evan Lotocki, Ethan Phillips, Nathan Sulkowski, Colton Tamanini, AJ Tiburzi, and Aaron Zayas) learned “The Southampton Way” through this Academy experience.
These Old Line FC players received coaching from Southampton FC Academy staff, video analysis of their training, and a “combine-like” session, where they were benchmarked against Southampton FC Academy player characteristics.
With this data-driven approach, the Southampton FC Academy coaches were able to develop “Player Evaluation Packets” for each player, which included their benchmarking, match footage, and their position specific characteristics for the goal of helping our Old Line FC players reach their full potential.
And at the end of their intense week of training, our Old Line FC players played against very good local teams, where they were able to apply all of the knowledge and skills they have learned through this experience.
From Coaches Tony Tamanini and Mike Lotocki: "Old Line Football Club was fortunate enough to receive an invitation for several players to be a part of the spring tour in Southampton, England, after the Elite Tournaments 2021 Southampton Cup. Never having made a trip of this scale, we were unaware of what to expect and if it was even possible. With the help of the Elite Tournaments staff and Southampton FC, we had an experience that will last a lifetime for both the players and parents. From the start of the planning and booking, to arrival, training for players and tours for parents it was an organized and detailed experience. The Southampton coaching staff was exceptional and provided both football and life skills that made anyone in attendance better for being a part of it. If given the opportunity for any player to have this experience, we would highly recommend taking advantage of what Elite Tournaments has to offer."