BOCA RATON, FL — Boca Raton Football Club is proud to announce that Jim Rooney will return to the club for the 2019 Season.
“Bringing back Jim was our top priority this offseason,” said club president, Douglas Heizer. “We are excited to be able to keep Jim in his hometown club.”
Rooney led Boca Raton FC to a 10-10-2 record across all competitions in 2018, taking Boca Raton FC to their fourth straight APSL Semifinals and growing a young team from scratch to recreate a winning culture within the organization.
With only four players over the age of 25, Boca Raton FC was one of the youngest teams in both the NPSL and APSL last season, giving Rooney and his staff much room for growth as these young college stars mesh together in years to come.
“It’s great to be back for a second season,” said Rooney. “I’m excited to continue the work we began laying the groundwork for in the 2018 season and improve from it. Last year was a learning experience for a lot of these players and now that they had a year under their belt and I can ask more from them, and demand more as well.”
Coaching younger players is nothing new to Rooney, who was the assistant coach for the US Soccer U-17 Men’s National Team at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, where he coached a number of big-name players, including the 2017 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year, Christian Pulisic.
As a player, Rooney captained Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Miami Fusion from 1999 to 2001, leading the Fusion to the Supporters Shield crown in 2001 and the US Open Cup Final in 2000. Rooney was an MLS All-Star in 2001 and in total scored 21 times and notched 22 assists in an MLS career that spanned six seasons and playing for the MetroStars, Miami Fusion, and the New England Revolution.
“As a coach that played professional soccer, I look at a players point of view and see that training has to be the best part of their day,” explained Rooney. “At the same time, training must benefit both the players and the team. As a former pro, I look to create tactical drills that are also realistic to gameplay. We want our players to be aware of what to expect when that scenario presents itself in a game.”
“Having Jim lead the team in the 2019 Season is very important for us,” added Heizer. “A great foundation was laid in 2018 with a great core of players and we can’t wait to get 2019 started with this group of players. We are excited to continue to build a team that the fans and community can be proud of.”
“This season we are going to get the job done,” added Rooney. “We will play entertaining soccer, but we will also play with purpose and the design to win. We are going to push our players this year as we look for better results. Our most important job right now is to win every home game and give our fans quality soccer every time they come to The Shipyard and build it from there.”
Fans wanting to get in on the action early this year can already start purchasing season passes for the 2019 Season, which is available now at www.bocaratonfc.com/seasonpass.
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