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Ballistic partners with English soccer club
Local players will be able to showcase their soccer skills overseas

by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

Pleasanton's Ballistic United Soccer Club, which has programs for boys to develop their skills to play at the highest levels, has announced its first partnership with Sheffield Wednesday.

Sheffield Wednesday is a professional football (soccer) club located in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is now competing in Championship League following promotion from League One at the end of the 2011-12 season. Sheffield Wednesday is one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and is the fifth oldest in the English league.

"I have been in search of the right partnership abroad to better enhance the soccer program we offer to players and their parents," said Kevin Crow, Ballistic technical director for the past three years. "As a club that values player development, coaching development, and is open to creating opportunities for teams to travel abroad, we found that the partnership with Sheffield Wednesday will enhance all of these values."

The partnership will also provide individual players the opportunity to train with Sheffield Wednesday academy teams.

Crow recently traveled to Italy, Holland and England to develop a relationship with some of the clubs in those countries, and last year his club started its "Ballistic Abroad" program. Under the program, the U14 Premier team traveled to England over the spring break, where it trained and played games at Sheffield Wednesday and toured London, Manchester and Sheffield and watched professional soccer games. The team also took a group tour through Manchester United's stadium.

"As part of the partnership program, Ballistic United and Sheffield Wednesday will create an annual identification program that will enable Ballistic players an opportunity to showcase themselves in front of Sheffield Wednesday's academy coaches," Crow said. "The first program is slated for the summer of 2013. Players identified through this program will have the opportunity to travel abroad and train alongside Sheffield Wednesday's academy teams."