Surf Nation is comprised of like-minded coaches and administrators dedicated to our Surf mission to provide the best experiences and opportunities for their athletes. Since 2020, Rhode Island Surf has been a proud partner of Surf Nation, and we have thoroughly enjoyed the partnership, watching their amazing club grow and seeing them take full advantage of being under the Surf brand.
We sat down with Rhode Island Surf Soccer Club’s Girls Director, Aleksej Skundric, to find out more about how Surf has helped his club, players, coaches, and administrators and their upcoming season goals:
What is the biggest value to RI Surf being part of the Surf Nation Community?
There isn’t one single area Surf Nation provides that we could identify as the most valuable. The coach education calls, the coaching manual material, and summit provides all of our coaches a very unique and broad coach education piece which any club in the world would be envious of. The partnerships with Surf clubs around our geographical area has enabled us to grow our events and run joint programs providing something different to our teams and players. Lastly, the Surf Select program gives our club’s very best players an opportunity to compete at some of the best tournament events in the world. The unique structure of the Surf Select National Teams gives each player a unique experience to play with Surf players from all around the country and not just have an amazing soccer experience but create lifelong memories.
What are some of the Clubs on-field goals moving into Spring 2023 and beyond?
We look back on our opening couple of seasons and we have a lot to be proud of. A number of semi-finalists at National competitions, Regional competition winners, and most recently the Surf club with the most Surf Select team representatives in the younger age groups. All of our on field success comes from the club’s drive to provide the “best of the best” for all our players and families. Continuing to adjust and add programs, tools, and different resources at the disposal of all our players and coaches remains the club’s priority. Building our own facility which would mean taking control of our own destiny is our number one goal. We continue to make slow progress and hope to overcome the last few hurdles this year. This would be a game changer for not just but soccer in the state of Rhode Island.
Please share any recent highlights, experiences and or goals that have been achieved so far this season?
Most recently we had our 2008 Elite Boys finish joint second in their first season in the USYS National League P.R.O league, beating some of the top ranked teams in the country within the USYS platform. Our younger girls teams all sit in the top of their respective DPL brackets. Last season we had our 2008 and 2007 girls finish third at the DPL Nationals we hope to repeat and build up on those results this summer!
Learn more about Rhode Island Surf Soccer club at https://rhodeislandsurfsoccer.com/
