Amalgamated soccer clubs can pool resources

By Yvette d'Entremont - The Weekly News
The amalgamation of four local soccer clubs will improve player development and help instill greater passion for the game, the president of the newly formed Suburban District Soccer Association said last week.
"We have some really high-calibre people who I believe will make a huge difference in the delivery of our programs," said the association's president Phil Swinney. "This is the start of something big."
The Bedford Soccer Association, East Hants Soccer Association, Sackville United Soccer Association and Scotia Soccer Club have joined forces, uniting more than 4,000 local soccer players under one umbrella. In addition to forming an amalgamated district, they've also formed a new suburban club that will represent Tier 1 and Senior A players in the region.
"The big change will come for the Tier 1 teams, because underneath the new banner they'll have new jerseys, a new name, and a number of new flashy things to show off," said Swinney.
"At the club level it won't be as obvious."
The merger was initiated when the presidents of the Bedford Soccer Club and Scotia Soccer Club discussed what they could do to improve player development in the region.
"We wanted to work as a team to provide better services for soccer players and build a better environment, more passion in young players," said Swinney.
Development of the sport will improve locally with all four clubs pooling their technical resources, Swinney said. He noted that in the past, the four clubs more or less worked against each other.
The new district includes soccer players from Fall River, Lower Sackville, East Hants and Bedford who range in age from three-years-old to senior fielding teams at all levels of play.
The new Suburban District also plans to launch its new website within the next week. It already held its first regional event Jan. 10 at Sackville High School, where teams from each of the four clubs participated in player development sessions.
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca