News release from the Shindigz National Soccer Festival:
Shindigz National Soccer touches on all amateur levels of soccer for fans
Youth to NCAA Division 1 Champions All Find Role at Festival
(August 21, 2014) – The Shindigz National Soccer Festival will once again return to Fort Wayne on Thursday, August 21st through Saturday, August 23rd. Schedules are now available online at www.NationalSoccerFestival.com. Advance discount tickets can now be purchased at Fort Wayne-area Walgreen’s and Connolly’s Do It Best Hardware locations. Tickets can also be purchased on the days of the event at the gate as in years past.
All levels of amateur soccer, boy’s and girl’s … men’s and women’s, will be embodied at the Festival. Youth players and teams will have the opportunity to participate in clinics and workshops working closely with collegiate players and coaching staff. Area young people also serve as ball kids during several games and enjoy the World Cup Walkout. High School teams play in the Bishop Luers High School Boy’s & Girl’s Soccer Invitational tournament.
Academy competition continues this year and will be represented by the Chicago Fire Academies from both Chicago and Indianapolis. Finally, at the collegiate level, all levels of NCAA competition are represented as well, including Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3. “There is no other soccer event in the Midwest that I’m aware of that characterizes so many levels of play,” said Shindigz National Soccer Festival Executive Director Terry Stefankiewicz. “Our young people who attend the Festival can see the progression throughout the weekend of the skill and talent levels that they need in order to be competitive at each level of play. They can see where they fit in or where they need to improve in order to play at each level. Coaches can observe many levels of amateur play in one place and pick up tips on how to be competitive.”
The Shindigz National Soccer Festival is eager to announce a new, long-term partnership with the Fort Wayne Sport Club and is very excited to announce that the entire event, including the 26 team high school tournament, will now take place at the meticulously manicured fields of the Fort Wayne Sport Club campus located at 3102 Ardmore Avenue in Fort Wayne. The Fort Wayne Sport Club was founded in 1927 by an active group of soccer players who immigrated to the area from Germany in the aftermath of World War I. Their immediate goal was ‘the promotion of football (soccer) and German culture’ in the northeast Indiana area. Today, the Fort Wayne Sport Club is the hub of regional soccer activity, with programs for recreational and competitive soccer players from age 4-years to 30-and-over.
What began in 2000 has now become the nationally known phenomenon of the Shindigz National Soccer Festival. What was merely a soccer event has now turned into a full-fledged, grass roots community supported soccer celebration. Corporations, foundations and personal donations are the backbone of the festival. The beneficiaries of the event are the city of Fort Wayne for the national recognition it receives; the area youth for the hands-on interaction with the soccer players and coaches from national major universities; the local businesses of northeast Indiana, for the added commerce brought to the region; the area universities, for the added exposure and the average Fort Wayne citizen who knows nothing about the game, but loves to have fun in a family oriented atmosphere.
Currently, the Shindigz National Soccer Festival has evolved into a true community soccer celebration, including youth clinics put on by major university coaches and players, wide ranges of live entertainment, opportunities for youth involvement, food vendors, giveaway prizes, and for those 21-and-older: a beer tent; all located at the beautiful Fort Wayne Sport Club campus. Shindigz National Soccer Festival is honoured again, this year, to bring top-ranked college soccer teams, along with highly prestigious high school teams, to Fort Wayne. Due to its great history, Shindigz National Soccer Festival has been recognized nationally as the premier event to attend for pre-season collegiate soccer.
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