Exciting Announcements & New Travel Soccer Updates

Featured in photo: HVAA Swarm 2012 Boys Team with Head Coach Mike Gould, HVAA Operations Director, Drexel University's Assistant Coach for Men's Soccer

HVAA Soccer Families,

Spring is finally here! As usual, we anticipate all the excitement the new season will bring. 2024 is going to be an incredible year for HVAA! This newsletter will put a spotlight on some of the great moments of 2023 and preview a few things we're anxiously looking forward to. We wrapped up last spring with two teams competing for State Cup titles and our impressive feature in the EPYSA Touchline Magazine. After that, we announced our new coaching additions, including our new Technical Director, Travis Regner. We hosted a World Cup watch party and took a field trip to East Rutherford to watch Rutgers play Penn State. Several teams competed in the brand-new, highly competitive Acela League, while others traveled to Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for College Showcases. It was a huge year, but we are just getting started!

Allie O'Brien, our HVAA board president, and I were invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Lower Moreland's brand-new high school. This marks the end of all that construction at Valley Center Park and the return of our lighted grass field come spring. The grass field has received a complete facelift and will give us 60% more training space. Additionally, HVAA has agreed to a substantial donation to LMTSD for their upgrades to Mark Mayson Stadium located at Murray Avenue, including a new artificial turf surface. When this is complete, HVAA will have the most exclusively available turf usage within 50 miles. Our club is growing, so we also will continue our great relationship with our friends at Bryn Athyn College and ANC. Access to their turf fields has been critical, and we appreciate the relationship.

HVAA also recently hosted a successful Winter Series league at Valley Center Park for our U8-U12 travel soccer teams and teams outside the club. It was a hit! Our camps and clinics continue to be popular. Our November Election Day Clinic and February President's Day Indoor Soccer sold out. So be sure to sign up early to get a spot in our upcoming camps and clinics. We also hosted our Club vs Club weekends with West-Mont United Soccer Club and PA Rush Soccer Club, where our athletes competed in games during these club-wide events at Valley Center Park. Now, it's time for all our athletes to get ready for the fun ahead as they compete in college showcases, tournaments, spring leagues, EPYSA Cups, and tryouts. The future is very bright at HVAA!

Please enjoy the newsletter and check out our website for more information. Have you followed us on Instagram? It's the best place to stay up to date and be in the know of all the buzz-worthy news that is happening in our club. Follow us @hvaa_soccer and stay connected!

- Brad Sorkin, HVAA Travel Soccer Director

NEW TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

In August, HVAA hired Travis Regner to become the soccer club's first Technical Director. Travis comes to the club having spent the past seven years in Eastern Pennsylvania soccer at both the college and club levels. His strong work ethic is a driving force behind HVAA's successful fall season. Travis is also the head coach of our 2010 Stingers Boys, 2015 Stars Girls, and 2016 Revolution Boys. Click here to learn more about Travis.

NEW VEO AI TECHNOLOGY

HVAA continues to be at the forefront of incorporating innovative technology in soccer. In September, HVAA launched a new partnership with Veo. Their AI-powered portable cameras record games and break down the matches, allowing players and coaches to review footage and match stats at away games and tournaments. VEO, coupled with our SPIIDEO technology at Valley Center Park, unlocks new insights to help our teams grow.

NEW GK ACADEMY TRAINER

Our HVAA GK Academy is a year-round training program for our club's goalkeepers. We relaunched the program with former Philadelphia Union keeper Thorne Holder this year. He is supported by our full keeper staff, Bree Pudlo, Mike Gould, Luke Shank, and additional keepers who have competed at the collegiate level. HVAA's GK Academy is designed to develop elite keepers with a strong mindset. Click here to learn more.

NEW ACELA LEAGUE

HVAA has been accepted to participate in the Acela League, which is managed by the Atlantic Premier League (APL), in its inaugural season. This league is brand new and offers a competitive experience for our younger teams. This year, six teams are competing in Acela: HVAA Freedom 2013 Girls, HVAA Pride 2012 Girls, HVAA Fury 2015 Boys, HVAA Rage 2014 Boys, HVAA Sting 2013 Boys, and HVAA Swarm 2012 Boys.

NEW TRAINING FIELD

Our partnership with Bryn Athyn College has been nothing short of amazing! Our coaches and players who have trained at the Junge Pavilion had a great experience, and we will continue to train here this spring. As a result of the successful partnership, we have added an additional training venue on Bryn Athyn's campus and have space at ANC's Terry & Eileen Glenn turf field.

NEW UA UNIFORM KITS

HVAA is in the process of redesigning the current uniform kit. We are excited to announce that we will launch our brand new Under Armour uniform kits for the upcoming 2024 fall season. Under Armour continues to be a leader in sports and their commitment to outfitting our players with high-quality uniforms continues. Our new uniform designs will be revealed in late May.

“I was asked to play HVAA travel soccer when I was in first grade. A coach told my mom I had the right temperament to play. Little did I know that my journey would lead me to being accepted to play college soccer at Bloomsburg University. I have been playing for HVAA my entire youth career. I have also worked at the soccer camps and I helped coach HVAA Revolution this fall. My second home has been the HVAA soccer fields from Albidale to Valley Center Park. The lessons that I have learned on and off the field have prepared me for my next step of becoming a Husky."

- Morgan Pennisi, HVAA Fusion 2005, '24 LM Grad, Bloomsburg

Congratulations to our HVAA Sting boys for being recognized as outstanding athletes on their high school teams this past fall.

“Along with additional players being recognized at other local high schools. The “Sting” family has grown in the past two years. We teach our boys to be role models for the younger teams coming up through the club, both on and off the field. Sting is family. Family is Sting."

- Coach Scott Schweizer

HVAA Sting 2008 Boys

2024 EPYSA Indoor State Cup Champions, U16 Boys

Click on the 'Protect This House' graphic below

to watch a video with past highlights.

HVAA is thrilled to congratulate our HVAA Coach and Alumna, Bridgette Alexander, who was nominated for EDP's prestigious award. She continues to be a role model for our athletes on and off the field. We are #hvaaproud!

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Penn State Women’s Soccer (#4) Head Coach and HVAA Alum Erica Dambach took time after Penn State’s big 2-1 win over Rutgers to not only take pictures and sign autographs but also speak to our HVAA female players about the importance of hard work and dedication. The inspiration and fascination in the eyes of our girls say it all!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE GAME