In April 2019, the Charlotte Independence announced a historic formation of the Charlotte Independence Soccer Club (Independence SC). Independence Soccer Club is one of the top-10 largest, youth-to-professional clubs in the United States with a player network of close to 12,000 members and playing levels for boys and girls ranging from recreation levels, ECNL, NPL, USL (United Soccer League) Academy, USL League Two, to the USL Championship, formed from existing youth soccer clubs of Carolina Rapids Soccer Club, Discoveries Soccer Club, and Lake Norman Soccer Club,.
With the executive leadership team of Thomas Finlay (Chief Executive Officer), Chad Metzler (Chief Operations Officer), and Dave Carton (Technical Director), the club’s joint mission is to serve local communities and elevate each player’s pathway performance, while striving to develop, promote, and administer the game of soccer using the key values of Character, Commitment, Community, Competition, and Communication as the guiding principles to achieve success and provide an exceptional experience, while also developing and promoting life lessons and values.
The creation of Independence Soccer Club allows for pooled resources from all legacy clubs, which effectively elevates player experiences, expands club programming, increases coaching development opportunities, and strengthens partnerships with local municipalities and sponsors. It has also enhanced marketing efforts, increased sponsorship opportunities, and facilitated future infrastructure development in every single community associated with the club.
Furthermore, the affiliation with the Charlotte Independence professional soccer team provides players a clear pathway to the highest level of professional soccer. The Charlotte Independence currently plays in the United Soccer League Championship and is focused on building the profile of the club through culture, community and performance as the team moves to a revitalized 10,000-seat American Legion Memorial Stadium in the spring of 2021.
Together, the Independence and Independence Soccer Club are positioned to build a better club in serving the surrounding Charlotte-area soccer communities.
