Weitzman Selected to Coach NPSL ALL STARS
FC Sonic Head Coach, Dave “Weitie” Weitzman, has been selected to coach the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) All-Star team alongside NPSL Technical Director, Matt Driver.
Weitzman will be with the All-Stars for a week as they travel to Madison, Ala. and Atlanta, Ga. to showcase the league’s talent.
While in Madison, Weitzman’s All-Stars will challenge the host city’s NPSL team, Rocket City United, to an exhibition match. Aside from playing host to the All-Stars, Madison will also be the site for the 2011 NPSL semi-finals and championship game.
This will be Weitzman’s second time coaching soccer in Madison in as many years. Last year, his FC Sonic squad won the Northeast division earning them the right to travel to Madison and compete for the NPSL national championship. Unfortunately, FC Sonic was unable to bring home a championship but Weitzman is excited to be back.
“It has been a wonderful honor to be down here assisting and co-coaching with Matt Driver for the last week,” remarked Weitzman.
Weitzman is not the sole All-Star representative for FC Sonic, joining him is midfielder, Cody Antonini.
“Cody is a great player, he’s a two-time All-American from Muhlenberg College and has been with our organization for the past three years,” said Weitzman. “Everyone in our organization thinks very highly of him. He’s very sound technically and works hard to comply with his defensive responsibilities. He can play multiple positions, has a great head on his shoulders and is overall just a great kid.”
After their weekend in Madison, Weitzman and the All-Stars will travel to Atlanta where they will play the Atlanta Silverbacks of the North American Soccer League (NASL). The NASL represents the second tier of the US professional soccer pyramid. Their league is just one step under Major League Soccer (MLS) and is comparable to Major League Baseball’s (MLB) AAA league in respects to professional baseball’s league hierarchy.
The NPSL All-Star team is a great way for players to gain exposure and experience playing against “next-level” competition. Many of the league’s players aspire to play soccer at the highest level, either for an MLS team or for one of the other premier-level professional clubs around the world.
“Having the NPSL do the things they have done over the past year such as the All-Star week and giving our kids the opportunity to play against NASL teams has been been great for our league and its players,” explained Weitzman. “These events will improve our teams and give our players more exposure throughout the country and I believe the league is doing a great job at the administrative level.” According to Weitzman, FC Sonic as an organization also benefits from the exposure generated by events such as NPSL’s All-Star Week. Aside from their players and coaches gaining professional experience, youth clubs and organizations associated with FC Sonic also reap the rewards.
“[FC Sonic] has been distributing free tickets to come see our games within our surrounding communities including Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and beyond,” said Weitzman. “ We hope that young soccer players will come out and watch players like Antonini and former FC Sonic All-Stars Ricky Mucelli and James Graf so that they can emulate the things those players do on the field and aspire to be as good, if not better than them.”
This season, FC Sonic (9 wins, 1 loss, 2 ties) narrowly missed contending for an NPSL national championship two seasons in a row. They finished second in the Northeast-Keystone conference, just two points behind 2011 NPSL third-place winners, Erie Admirals.
With a strong foundation in place and quality players and coaches leading the way, FC Sonic is looking forward to the 2012 season and has already begun the pursuit of a national championship.
Written By: Ulises Terrones
