THE EMERALD FORCE SOCCER CLUB GOES AGAINST THE NORM OF MANY SOCCER CLUBS. “We started as a recreational league and we are a very blessed club,” said Derrick Long, the director of coaching. “People at first thought we were just a recreational club but we’ve kind of turned a lot of heads this last year and a half with how competitive every one of our teams is.” Emerald Force is a youth club in inner-city Knoxville. Affiliated with the Emerald Youth Foundation, Emerald Force aims to provide ample opportunities for inner city youth to play and excel in soccer. Emerald Force consists of an academy league, competitive teams, as well as adult leagues, and was formed in the spring of 2014 with three teams and approximately 25 players. It now has more than 700 players throughout the year with more than 50 teams at the academy and club levels. However, don’t make the mistake of viewing Emerald Force as just another recreational program. It has teams in the state league for the first time and three of those squads sit atop their DERRICK LONG respective leagues. “We’re getting our name out there, not only in Knoxville,” Long said. “We’re Director of Coaching showing the whole state of Tennessee how good our teams are and how competitive we are.” NSCAA Goalkeeping Level 3 Emerald Force has an all-volunteer coaching staff. It has its own curriculum and makes sure NSCAA Advanced National USSF National D each coach has a USSF D license and also has an extensive coaching resource center. NSCAA Director of Coaching “We have to find the right people who understand that we’re not charging these kids a lot of money,” Long said. “We’re doing it for the right reasons instead of making a lot of money off people.” TYPES OF PROGRAMS OFFERED Emerald Force benefited from a philanthropist who helped the club build a turf complex in the Recreational | Competitive | Adult downtown area and youngsters have swarmed to it. The club is building another turf soccer complex ADDRESS in a primarily Hispanic neighborhood that is also in the inner city. “We’re really trying to reach out 234 Dale Ave Knoxville, TN 37921 to more kids who have issues with the transportation and getting to our complex,” the coaching PHONE: 865-724-5971 director said. “We’re doubling in size, getting the WEBSITE: emeraldyouthsports.org word out and being able to teach these kids life lessons and about the game.” The second training site should be done by the spring of 2018. In the meantime, staffers will go into that neighborhood this summer and get to know children there. But there is another relationship Emerald Force wants to foster. “If we’re doing our job right, they’re coming out of there knowing the Lord,” Long said. “The things we bring them on an emotional and intellectual level, we want that to be something that they use in every aspect of their lives.”