Crossfire DA Joins ECNL Boys Northwest Conference
The Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) Boys is excited to announce that Crossfire Premier’s former DA program will be joining the ECNL Boys Northwest Conference in the 2020-2021 season.
Crossfire Premier is a highly respected youth soccer club based in Redmond, Washington, just a few miles east of Seattle. Nationally recognized for excellence in player development, and assisting players in advancing to the highest levels of play available in the United States, Crossfire was a force to be reckoned with in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
Crossfire’s Boys U-18/19 played in the West – Blue Division and had secured the #13 spot in the coveted DA Playoffs. In addition, Crossfire’s U16/17 team also was set with a playoff berth and the club was in the running for the Boy’s DA Cup.
A founding member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, CrossFire Premier joins several other top teams from former DA clubs in ECNL and will add significant quality and strength to the Northwest Conference.
Not new to ECNL, Crossfire has been committed to the ECNL with its girls’ programs since the league’s inception and in 2019-2020 competed in the first-ever season of Boys ECNL in the Pacific Northwest.
“Just as with the girls’ programming, we found a competitive, compelling league format and national structure that allows for us to seek and find the highest possible level of competition for our teams,” said Director of Coaching Bernie James.
“Putting our players in a demanding game environment is a crucial component of our development model.”
Bernie James, Crossfire Premier Director of Coaching
“We feel the ECNL provides our club with an ideal platform for elite competition and player development. We are excited to be moving our top boys’ teams into the ECNL in 2020-21,” added James.
Read: TOP SO CAL BOYS TEAMS MOVE TO ECNL IN ANTICIPATION OF DA DEMISE
A perennial participant in the Academy Playoffs, Crossfire had been to three consecutive National Quarterfinals in the Development Academy U-19 division and had won its conference championship, which included four MLS academies, for the past two years.
Crossfire has also produced three MLS SuperDraft picks in the past two years.
ECNL Boys is adding teams and a program that also philosophically align with the league’s core values.
Read: TOP MID ATLANTIC BOYS TEAMS MOVE TO ECNL IN WAKE OF DA TURMOIL
“Elite competition with a national scope is an important part of our decision, but we are at least equally intrigued by a range of other positives the ECNL brings to the table,” said James. “ECNL does a remarkable job with all of its player-focused programming, and especially, in the league’s college recruiting programs. This is incredibly important to our players and families.
“The bottom line is we need consistent club-driven leadership, a long-term direction, and a stable player pathway. The ECNL provides all this and more.”
Bernie James, Crossfire Premier Director of Coaching
“Crossfire will continue to train and compete under the same philosophy, standards and expectations as always, and the club will also continue to fully-fund our top boys’ teams as before, demonstrating our commitment to the development of players in our region, not just to the league we play in,” said James. “We are also excited to now be open to explore a greater range of outside competition, including increased international travel and tournaments at such time as that again becomes feasible.”
