Our Goal is to Promote Passion
Our goal is to promote passion for the game though skill development and personal growth as team players and leaders. By unlocking creativity, and developing game intelligence, we hope that kids develop a life long love of the game, and ultimately achieve their full potential at whatever level of soccer they choose to play.
Currently, our program consists of an In-House league for ages 4-7, and County Level (AAYSA) for our older age groups. As we evolve, our hope is to support travel/select teams and provide the higher level of year-round play that so many players/parents ultimately decide they want.
Arden Soccer has recently begun a partnership with Christo FC (CFC) which will provide additional benefits to our organization. CFC goal is to provide an impact to the Maryland soccer community from the grassroots level, priding itself on high quality and accessible programs for children of all ages. Their goals align seamlessly with Arden Recs, and we are excited to have them join us as we work to expand the reach/breadth of our program through our local community. Some of these benefits include:
- Training and support for Arden clinic and rec programs
- Coaching education for our parent coaches
- Supplying coaches as needed for Arden County teams
- Creating Select/Travel team for players who desire to play at a more competitive level
- Personalized 1 on 1 soccer and strength and agility training
More information about the CFC partnership, and its benefits to Arden, can be found on the Arden/CFC News Page.
Arden Rec is a volunteer organization (501c3 registered non-profit ) working for the betterment of our community.
Our History
Arden Rec has a rich history with multiple sports, soccer just being one of them. For a full read of the history, please refer to the main Arden Recreation website. As it relates to the soccer program, below are a few excerpts from that site, along with some great photos, and our current state of affairs.
This Fall (2019), Arden is celebrating its 50th year as an Anne Arundel County based soccer organization. Our first teams began playing in 1969, and are continuing strong to this day.
In 1976, with Ted Herrell leading the effort, soccer became a permanent part of Arden Recreation. It was Andy Platner, whose dog bit through a soccer ball. The following week when Andy replaced the ball, he was assigned as the coach of the 11 and under team which included one girl. Ted coached the 13 year old team which in this first year won their division championship and thus started a new force within AA County soccer.
Once again in 1978, the enthusiasm of soccer could not wait for the fall season. A hearty team attempted an AA County winter league but met with mostly snowed out games. Five teams played in the regular fall season. Boys and girls continued to play together on the younger teams while Joel Susano coached the first all girls team in the 14-17 bracket. This was also the year in which two teams first represented Arden Rec in the annual Linthicum – Ferndale soccer tournament.
Original Home of the Arundel Cup Soccer Tournament
The Arundel Cup was started by Charles Herman and Ron Mox, AACO soccer supervisor, in the mid 1980’s. Mr. Herman was the Arden Recreation President and AACO soccer league president at the time. The tournament was held at Arden-7 days a week for a month in the Fall for a good 10 year run till the soccer league took it over. It is now sponsored by one of our neighboring clubs. The pic below has Charles on the left and John Gary, the County Executive, on the right Presenting Trophy’s to a Team.
Through the hard work and dedication of many, especially Jeff Levy (pictured below), the program has continued to grow and flourish throughout the years. The soccer program now includes a robust in-house program of our youth, allowing children access to a soccer program long before they could start competitive play. All of this is made possible by the many volunteers that step-up every year and take the reigns of leadership, and mentoring, on the field, and on the sidelines. At the competitive level (AAYSA), Arden Soccer was home to many championship soccer teams, both boys and girls, and continues to be to this day. The program not only caters to local Crownsville (South Shore and Millersville Elementary) youth, but also attracts children from various areas throughout central Anne Arundel County.
The latest evolution of our club is our partnership with Christos FC. Through this partnership, our goal is to increase the level of training/instruction that our youth receive, and open the doors to more completive play at travel/select level teams throughout the region. Christos FC is strongly committed to giving back to the youth, and they have chosen our club to partner with to do just that. In our first year of the partnership, we have seen a growth in the number of youth players within our program (both in-house and AAYSA levels), attracted select/travel players from other clubs, and continue to attract others from outside the area. We have begun to offer soccer as a year-round sport, providing winter indoor training, ability to field Futsal teams, establishing a spring soccer season, and providing opportunities for pick-up and training during the summer months. The partnership is strong, and continues to strengthen every day by the addition of multiple CFC players, coaches and trainers, assisting with the program.
Every child should have the opportunity to rise to their full potential, and when it comes to soccer, we want Arden to be the place where that can happen. Our Partnership with CFC is just the latest testament to making that a reality, and we will continue to move forward to ensure it comes to fruition.
As the pictures above prove, there has been a long history of a committed soccer community here at Arden.
To all the trailblazers mentioned, and pictured, above (players, parents, coaches, and commissioners):
We will continue.
We will provide opportunities for our youth.
We will make our community a better place.
We will make you proud.
Attack on 3, 1-2-3, ATTACK!
