What a year 2023 was! I would like to first thank everyone who participated in any DFA camps, training sessions, clinics, and other events. Thank you parents for trusting DFA to help in the development of your players, and a thank you to the players for trusting and believing the process that DFA has become known for. DFA is the Cincinnati soccer training headquarters for serious players!
Expanded Partnerships
Soccer Village (www.soccervillage.com) and DFA have been partners since the inception of the Elite camps, 5 years ago. Our partnership with SV has only grown over the years and is on a healthy track to expand as time goes on.
Nike (www.nike.com) has once again signed on to sponsor DFA in it's entirety - not just the summer programs (4th year). I'm proud to say that there is no other training program in the Cincinnati market or Mid-West with a sponsor of this caliber. One of the requirements for Nike (www.nike.com/soccer) is that DFA is continuously pushing the norm and #innovation with training and making players better. I'm very proud to say that DFA does that in spades and has never shied away from that!
ECP Sports Recruiting (https://www.ecpsoccerlacrosse.com/) is a fantastic partner of DFA and a great asset to the players in the Cincinnati market. Our partnership is now in its 5th year and going strong. Over 20 players have worked with DFA And ECP over the years, and each of those players have been placed and recruited to schools that fit their academic and soccer needs. Looking forward to expanding this partnership as we go.
Select (https://us.select-sport.com/) is the newest sponsor for DFA and is the official soccer ball sponsor for DFA in its entirety. Select has been a great asset and partner to have. One of the reasons they chose DFA to partner with is because of our high level training environment and our commitment to excellence. Select, like DFA, only accepts the best in what they produce. Which is why their have the worlds best soccer balls and why they chose to sponsor DFA.
Finally we have TEKKRS (www.tekkrs.com) which is a soccer equipment company owned and operated by Durel Football, LLC. TEKKRS is the official equipment sponsor for DFA and is a growing brand across the college landscape, clubs, and players coast-to-coast. I accidently created TEKKRS when trying to find someone to build me a rebounder to my specifications. Thus TEKKRS was born and it's been a blessing in disguise. Expect to see big things coming this year!
The Players At DFA
This past summer we were lucky enough to work with over 120 players throughout the summer
months. ALL were part of our elite programs that span a minimum 6 weeks and go up to 9 weeks.
We were blessed to work with over 40 college players who played at over 30 colleges across the country. These players represent multiple conferences throughout the country and play in the NCAA D1, D2, D3, and NAIA. We have multiple tournament appearances, multiple conference champions, and All Conference players.
We worked with other 80 youth players (5th grade to 12th) who play anywhere from Girls Academy (https://girlsacademyleague.com/), ECNL (https://theecnl.com/), MLS Next (https://www.mlssoccer.com/mlsnext/), The National Premier League (https://usclubsoccer.org/npl/), and more! Our players not only represent their schools and clubs throughout the country, but several also represent their respective countries on their YNT's and SNT's. Several of our players get regular invites to the USYNT camps and already have overseas playing experience.
Elite Camp 2023 By The Numbers
83% of the 2024's were committed by end of summer
96% of the 2024's are now committed before January 24'Â
19% of the 2025's were committed before start of Junior year
36% of the 2025's are now committed before December 22'
62% of the 2025's are currently in talks with schools
Innovation
I'm excited to announce the creation of DF Elite which piloted this past September. DF Elite is a year round training program placing players of similar caliber together (8th grade to 12th) into a DFA style training environment 3 days a week from September through July. The first of its kind in our market. We have personal trainers who help our players work on Strength, Speed & Agility, Mechanics, and Recovery. We partner with Thrive Nutrition Cincinnati (https://thrivenutritioncincinnati.com/) to deliver valuable knowledge and communication with our players throughout the year. The DF Elite program is like nothing else see, though there are a few who try to mimic - our program simply cannot be matched!
What's Next in 2024?
I'm always looking for was to improve, innovate, and bring something to the players that they need. I plan to expand DF Elite to add another group of 20 players who have the commitment to their development and thrive in a competitive, yet nurturing environment. I'm looking to grow our Elite summer program in Lexington, KY (2 yrs so far), to a larger audience to bring my style of training to more players in KY.
DFA has been invited to train and speak at the KYSA Soccer Learning University later this month to show how I train speed-of-play to coaches from all over Kentucky. I'm very much looking forward to this!
Check our website (www.durelfootball.com) on a regular basis for updates. Cheers to a new year and new adventures in 2024!
~ BJ Durel