NEW YORK - BW Gottschee, a charter member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, has merged with Manhattan Kickers FC to form BW Gottschee NYC. The union, which became official on July 15, 2009, will enable both clubs to further develop New York City-based youth soccer talent and bring its players to the attention of national team scouts. 

In the two years since the Queens-based BW Gottschee became one of the first 11 teams invited to join the Development Academy, the club has continued to build on its 58-year history of training its players to compete at the highest level of U.S. youth soccer. “By integrating the player pools and coaching staffs of these two clubs, you increase the chances for exposure by better enabling the club to compete nationally,” says Milton Espinoza, Jr., BW Gottschee NYC’s Academy Administrator.

The Kickers have proven to be the most innovative and successful youth soccer program in Manhattan for players between the ages of 7 and 14, with a strong focus on individual player development. “This is a merger of the city’s two most serious youth soccer programs,” says Curt Rosenthal, Director of the Kickers. “It consolidates the best talent in the city and will create a competitive, first-class training atmosphere for the players.”

Joining these two highly successful clubs will enable them to combine administrative and financial resources and leverage the ability to provide more scholarship assistance to those players in need, as well as open doors for potential sponsors. The new club will offer the most training facilities in the boroughs: two in Queens at Brennan Field and Leavitts Park, two in Brooklyn at Aviator Sports & Recreation, four in Manhattan at Pier 40, East 6th Street, Sara Roosevelt Park and Grand Street, in addition to the new fields at Randall’s Island.

There will be two youth development locations with programs for ages 6 through 13 — one in Manhattan and one in Queens, with both programs integrating into a single player pool for the U-13/14 US Club Soccer Academy team, and ultimately for the teams in the U-15/16 and U-17/18 US Soccer Development Academy, which will train primarily at Randall’s Island.  

This initiative will be headed by Milton Espinoza Jr., BW Gottschee NYC Academy Administrator, and Chris Boehning, current President of Manhattan Kickers FC. In the new structure the Director of Coaching will be Dieter Ficken, and Curt Rosenthal has been named Technical Director.


For more information go to: www.bwgottschee.org or www.manhattankickersfc.com.