Mia Thillet invited to join Puerto Rican Full National Team

The Carolina Rapids are thrilled to announce that Mia Thillet has been invited to join the Puerto Rican national team!  Mia, who was originally born in Puerto Rico, will join a pool of 22 players on a 9 day tour involving training and friendlies in late April.

On her call up to the full national team, Mia had this to say.  “I was born in Puerto Rico and although my family and I left when I was really young, my parents have always incorporated the culture and traditions in my life.  I feel so honored to have the opportunity to play for such an amazing place which is home to some of my family and best friends!”

Rapids ECNL director, Nathan Williams added “this is such an incredible experience for an incredible young lady. I have had the fortune of working with Mia for the past four years; her hard work and determination have led her to this opportunity. We are so proud of all that she has been able to achieve to this point. The future is very bright for her and our program.”

Mia, who is currently a member of the Carolina Rapids U18 Academy team and will be playing in the Rapids ECNL program next year, has committed to play collegiately at NC State. 

“This is a tremendous honor for Mia,” said Girls Director Ray Fumo.  “As a young player, everyone dreams about the possibility of representing their country, and Mia is going to get the opportunity to fulfill that dream.  This is a wonderful reward for all of the hard work that Mia has put in over the years.  We could not be more proud of her!”

 Good luck Mia!

Carolina Rapids Soccer Welcomes Jeremy Weeks to the Rapids Staff!

We are delighted to announce a new addition to the staffing serving our membership and community.   Jeremy Weeks will join the Rapids officially starting on January 1, 2017.

Jeremy will oversee all aspects of our tournaments at the club as Tournament Director as well as Head Coach in the new ECNL program and Rapids Competitive Programming.  

Jeremy comes to us after 10 years developing and growing the Lake Norman Soccer Club - serving in various roles as Director of Operations and Director of Coaching.His background with club operations allows Jeremy to be successful integrating into his new role as Tournament Director immediately.  

“I am very excited to join the Carolina Rapids staff.  I am looking forward to helping with the addition of the ECNL program, continuing with their strong commitment to player development throughout the club, and helping grow their already strong tournaments.”

Jeremy holds his USSF A License, NSCAA Premier Diploma, and US Youth Soccer National Youth License.  

Currently serving as an Assistant Coach at Catawba College he is also a current staff member for US Soccer Market Training Centers.  Please help us welcoming Coach Jeremy to the club.  [email protected]

The Carolina Rapids is pleased to announce the continued relationship between Performance Unlimited and our elite level girls program.
December 20, 2016

Joining the Elite Clubs National League is an exciting time for our girls program.  The transition into the ECNL definitely raises the bar for competition on the weekends, increases our ability to showcase our players to play at the next level, but it is important for us to maintain our current philosophies and beliefs on what is best for player development.  The long-term model we have created allows our players to become the best possible player they can be, so there is no reason to make changes to this plan.  Performance Unlimited has been a big part of the development process for our most competitive girls, and we are excited that this relationship will continue into the 2017/18 season, which will be our first season in the Elite Clubs National League.

Performance Unlimited President and Sports Performance Director John Lytton stated, "Performance Unlimited is proud to be a part of the progression of youth soccer within a club that is willing to lead the way in physical development and injury prevention and maintain a relentless pursuit of the Player First culture that is rare amongst current youth club structures. Our experience working with Professional and College Teams as well as the US National Team has the Rapids ECNL Physical Development Program on par with each of these training environments."  

“John Lytton and his staff have had an unbelievably positive effect on our girls that he works with.  The personal attention given to each and every one of the players sets him apart,” said ECNL Director Nathan Williams.

“The workload and stress on the elite level female players, both mentally and physically, continue to grow.  To have someone like John leading our ECNL Physical Development Program allows us to know that our players are in good hands.  The professional relationship between John and Nathan combined with the daily monitoring of our players allows our staff to maintain the proper ratio of training and rest throughout the season so that players are ready to train and compete throughout the year.  The monitoring goes beyond just the physical components of the game, but also stress levels and sleep volume.  Monitoring these two areas have had positive implications on our girls as they balance their current academic demands with the workload of an elite level soccer player,” said Rapids Girls Director Ray Fumo.

The Carolina Rapids would like to announce Nathan Williams as the ECNL Director for our inaugural season within the Elite Clubs National League.

“We have lofty goals for our ECNL program, and hiring the right director is a massive next step.  Nathan is a natural fit to be the ECNL Director at the club.  His track record of working with and developing elite level players combined with his collegiate connections, fits perfectly with the goals for our program,” said Rapids Girls Director Ray Fumo.

Nathan is currently working as the director of our Academy Program, and has previous experience as an ECNL Director.  His ability to meld the strengths of both programs will create an unmatched environment for the top female soccer players in the greater Charlotte Area.  Prior to his move to Charlotte, Nathan served as the Executive Director at both Placer United in California and TCYSA in Winston Salem.  He also serves on the National Staff of the NSCAA, leading coaching education sessions nationwide.

Nathan Williams had this to say about accepting the role.  “I have a had a blast working within the Carolina Rapids the past 12 months and I can not wait to get started with the building of the Rapids ECNL program.   Our program will allow players and families in the greater Charlotte area (and beyond) the opportunity to make choices that suit them!  We will continue to lead the way in player development. Our incredible relationship with John Lytton and Performance Unlimited is just one of the ways that we are working to keep changing the landscape for our elite female players.”

The Elite Clubs National League is the most competitive league for female youth soccer players in the world.  We at the Rapids are extremely excited to be a part of the league moving forward.  Over the coming weeks and months, we will continue to update our website with exciting news regarding our implementation of the program!  Please join us in congratulating Coach Nathan!

We at the Carolina Rapids are extremely excited to announce that we are accepting our invitation to join theElite Clubs National League starting in the 2017/18 season.

Read the official press release here.

Over the past few years, the Rapids girls program has seen a major growth in reputation and quality.  We have seen this progress through a deliberate focus on creating a pathway emphasizing long-term player development while maintaining a positive experience for our players through our club culture.  Within our daily training environment, and through the Colorado Rapids Alliance, our players and coaches are on the forefront of technical curriculums and coaching methodology.  New program additions like our Girls Academyand WPSL Lady Rapids team have seen the girls program take another step forward in creating an elite-level training environment for those players with the highest aspirations.  Recent team and individual accomplishments are evidence of our successful platform for player development. At the team level, we’ve seen a US Club National Champion, USYS National Semi-Finalist, USYS Regional Semi-Finalists, and US Club Regional Finalists.  More importantly, individual players have achieved recognition such as 3 players receiving invitations to Youth National Team camps, multiple participants in US Market Training Centers, as well as a steady stream of players succeeding at the college level.  

Since its inaugural season in 2009, the ECNL has established itself as the leader on the female side in both competitive structure and exposure for female soccer players through regionalized leagues and national showcases.  The ECNL allows its members to continue to apply their own development model for their players.  This will allow us the ability to continue with our current training model, without outside restrictions such as negating our female players the opportunity to represent their high schools.

Combining our club culture and our continued focus on long term player development with the strengths of the ECNL, we believe our girls program is now set up to become one of the top girls’ programs in the country.  Simply put, partnering our philosophy at Carolina Rapids to offer the best environment for player development Monday-Friday with the Elite Clubs National League structure, which offers the best environment for competition on the weekends, we believe we will be able to create the absolutely best platform for female soccer players in our area.

I am sure our many members are just as excited about this news as we are here at the Carolina Rapids.  We are working to finalize an introduction night for the Carolina Rapids ECNL program on Monday, Nov 14th.  Please monitor our website for exact details as the date gets closer.  We hope everyone is able to come and hear about how this exciting news will help us shape the female game in our area moving forward.