Athena and Apollo Information

TRYOUT DATES: 
Girls:  Thursday May 18th 530-7pm 2011-2009 girls; 7-830pm 2008-2005 girls.  Pace Soccer Complex 3360 Joppa Dr. Pace, Florida 32571

Boys:  Friday May 19th 530-7pm 2011-2009 boys; 7-830pm 2008-2005 boys.  Pace Soccer Complex 3360 Joppa Dr. Pace, FL 32571

Interested in the Athena and Apollo Program?  Submit your interest by clicking here

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  Is Athena and Apollo a new soccer club?

A:  No.  DPL and NPL require a common brand for all of their teams therefore all of the teams that are playing in the NPL and DPL will be branded either Athena (for girls) or Apollo (for boys).  These teams may be made up a of a mix of players from both WFSC or NUFC or could be predominantly players from WFSC and NUFC depending upon the age group and the number of interested players.  NPL considers these team affiliate teams of WFSC and NUFC.  WFSC and NUFC could not on their own be accepted into the NPL or DPL but combined they can.  Technically, the players on Athena and Apollo will be registered with either WFSC or NUFC.

Q:  Who owns Athena and Apollo?

A:  They are jointly owned by WFSC and NUFC and controlled by the leadership of both of these soccer clubs.

Q:  Do I need to a current player with NUFC or WFSC to tryout for an Apollo or Athena?

A:  No.  Apollo and Athena tryouts are open to all players that are interested.  However, IF you make an Apollo or Athena team, you will not be able to play for any other local club for the upcoming 2023/2024 season.  You will be able to play on ECNL teams. 

Q:  Who will be coaching the Apollo and Athena teams?

A:  It will be either a current staff coach from WFSC or NUFC or it could be a new coach with no current WFSC or NUFC affiliation.

Q:  How often will Apollo and Athena teams practice?

A:  It is anticipated that they will practice on average once per week.  There may be some weeks that this number will increase and other weeks that this number will decrease based around the team game schedule.  The beauty is that once a player is fully registered they can attend any other practices that they wish as long as it is age appropriate and the coach running the session you are wanting to attend is okay with you attending.  Program wide this in encouraged. 

Q:  Can ECNL players be on an Apollo or Athena team?

A:  Absolutely!  This system allows them to get high level training with the Apollo or Athena team AND get access to all of the other training sessions at either NUFC or WFSC.  The goal is for this to be the program for the area elite players that need flexibility of schedule but still want regular very high level training sessions.

Q:  What age groups will there be an Athena or Apollo team for?

A:  This program begins at the 11v11 age group so for the seasonal 2023/2024 year, this will be 2011’s and older.  However, this does not mean that we will have a team for each age group.  It will be based solely on the interest of players that can play in these high level leagues. 

Q:  What about the younger age teams?

A:  The younger age teams will have the NPL Academy available to play in.  This is a professionally run league (not run by any other clubs or club affiliated personnel) and will include a multitude of other clubs in the local areas.  The goal is to have 6-8 games in the Fall and 6-8 games in the spring.   These teams will all be under the NUFC and WFSC banners as well as the banners of the other clubs involved.  This is being put together currently and the hopes is it will be ready by the Fall of 2023.  This will allow for less tournament play, which is known not to be good physically for the players. 

Q:  What is DPL?

A:  The DPL is the Development Player League, which is a National League connected to the Girls Academy.  This is the pathway to the Girls Academy, which is considered by many to the highest league for girls in the country.  For the first year in the DPL we will have an open status as we build our new conference.  This will allow us to play games and qualify for their two college showcases.  These are some of the most highly attended events in the country by college coaches.  See www.dpleague.org to learn more about the DPL.

Q:  What is NPL?

A:  National Premier League is the youth soccer league organized under the US Club Soccer brand.  There are various leagues around the country that play in the NPL.  We will be playing in the Florida Club League (www.FloridaClubLeague.com) Northern Division. 


Interested in the Athena and Apollo Program?  Submit your interest by clicking here