Our Values

• It’s always about ‘Experience over Outcomes'

This is our ‘central cultural ethos’ or our ‘North Star’. It speaks to our journey together as a soccer Club and a conviction that if we patiently focus on the ‘experience’ of learning and not worry about the ‘outcomes’ then ‘results’, on and off the field will naturally follow! We are a competitive Club and will always try to win when we play the game of soccer but the traditional metric of ‘wins and losses’ is of secondary importance for us. This unwavering belief guides all that the Club was, is and ever will be. 

We believe in it so much that we put on our uniforms!!

• What we do, at its core, is really just about people and relationships…..the beautiful game of soccer is simply a ‘vehicle’ for the growth and development of both! 

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• Promoting trust and connection with the players and their parents is at the center of our coaching - we want to create strong bonds with these kids and treat them as unique individuals.   The TEAM provides the scaffolding for individual player development…..and like Rudyard Kipling wrote in ‘The Jungle Book’, “The strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf’.

• Enjoyment is our priority……it’s that simple.  We believe that if our kids truly enjoy their experience and time with our Club, then the likelihood of them continuing to be involved in sports during their lifetime, in one form or another, is significantly increased!  We can’t wait to see our kids playing adult soccer and one day coaching the next generation of young players!  As such, we hope to create the ‘ripples on the pond’!

• We want our Club to help redefine notions of success and failure in youth sports.  As the late great John Wooden once said, “Success is peace of mind in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming”.  Therefore, the only real ‘failure’ is that of not bravely trying your best!

• We want our kids and coaches to relearn their ‘ABC’s’ and ‘Always Be Curious’. We give them the support and freedom to lean into their ‘mistakes’ as this is how we learn. There is no perfection, only progress! As our TV hero Ted Lasso once said, ‘Be a goldfish’ and quickly learn and move on from errors. 

• Character is everything. We are working to instill a ‘Warrior Spirit’ in our young people. Central to this are concepts of resilience, effort, competitiveness and accountability. One of our mantras is that ‘The score is always 0-0’.....on the pitch and in life. Just keep going!

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• As a Club, we are striving to achieve ‘World Class’ intangibles!  The reality is that the Lightning Academy may not end up producing ‘World Class’ players but we can work to create a ‘special culture’ renowned for our excellence in regards to IPC - ‘Integrity’, ‘Positivity’ and ‘Connectivity’. 

• Further to the above, we ‘support’ our opponents.  We applaud their effort, brilliance and positive play!  We compliment their players, coaches and supporters!  This might sound unusual but this is the epitome of ‘sportsmanship’ and we want to be a model club for promoting and encouraging the growth and excellence of ALL young players - even if they are not yet our players!!

• Our Club supports our match day officials.  Referees are essential for our sport so we appreciate, honor and respect them.  We are committed to helping improve the shortage of referees in the sport of soccer nationwide by being a leader in our behavior towards them and in our efforts to grow the refereeing talent pool locally. 

• We are a united, grassroots and community oriented soccer Club, not just a collection of separate teams ‘siloed off’ from one another, and our Lightning culture, beliefs and values will always ‘win the day’. 

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• We welcome and encourage ALL players from ALL backgrounds and ALL abilities.  The only requirement is that you believe in our philosophy and support our vision!