FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Coach Eugene Alves returns to Oshawa in an exciting partnership between FC Durham Academy and Oshawa Kicks Soccer Club!

OSHAWA, ON  - August 1, 2017 - FC Durham Academy and Oshawa Kicks Soccer Club jointly announce the return of Eugene Alves to Oshawa as the new acting Head of Goalkeeping for both organizations.

Coach Eugene has an extensive background both on the pitch as a player and off as a dedicated Goalkeeper Coach. He is a highly regarded goalkeeper development coach within the Ontario Soccer community and a currently player with Ontario’s League 1 Durham United FA.

“It was an easy marriage for both FC Durham Academy and Oshawa Kicks when it came to Coach Eugene. Both organizations share a philosophy of high-performance principles along with a collective needs for a skilled goalkeeper coach” notes FC Durham Academy Girl’s Academy Manager Rich Hirst.

Coach Eugene is a certified teacher for K-12 with a BA of Arts in Physical Education/Health with a minor in Special Education.  His education is soccer coaching is extensive with NSCAA Goalkeeper Diplomas (Levels 1-4), NSCAA Premier Diploma, as well as many other licenses.

Both organizations will split Coach Eugene’s time between their player development and academy programs. Goalkeepers will also have a unique opportunity to cross train between the clubs in open training opportunities allowing for additional training and showcasing talent between the clubs.

A win-win in the eyes of Oshawa Kicks Director of Soccer Development Ron Clarke “Goalkeepers are a specialized position within our game. They deserve the dedication of a full-time development coach. This partnership allows for a larger training pool providing our goalkeepers with increased saves, touches and ball mastery when training. We are extremely excited to have a missing piece of our club staff back on the pitch this Fall”

On Monday August 21 all FC Durham Academy Goalkeepers and Goalkeeper Parents are invited to the FC Durham Academy Training Centre (ATC) for a meet and greet with Coach Eugene from 6:30-8:30pm.

Coach Howard Tulloch is a dedicated coach and will be remaining with the Academy as our U8 Program Staff Coach.

With the addition of Eugene we will be enhancing the goalkeeper program at the Academy:  2 goalkeeper specific training sessions per week will now be year round, game visits with instant feedback, development of appropriate pre-game warm-ups and much more.