Any truth to the rumor that CESA is taking over USA???

My understanding is that CESA is moving into Spartanburg by absorbing USA.

I am surprised it took this long.

How does a takeover/merger like this work? Was there a vote of the membership? I talked with a couple of USA parents (older age teams) and they weren't even aware of what was going on.

Heard USA shopped themselves around due to financial issues...Cesa was the buyer. Not heard anything official. Email with information was sent to their membership.

Did the membership get to vote or was it a board decision?

Rumor is there was a vote by someone, not sure if one or the other or both.

http://www.upstatesoccer.org/
There was a message on their site that said they were closed on May 8th for a vote.

Carolina Elite Soccer Academy (CESA) and Upstate Soccer Alliance (USA)


CESA and USA would like to announce that on Tuesday, April 6 and Thursday, April 8, 2010 the current membership of Upstate Soccer Alliance voted to join the CESA organization. The CESA-Spartanburg program will begin play in the fall 2010 season and will be based at the current USA facilities which are located in Duncan, South Carolina. The administrative headquarters for the CESA-Spartanburg program will be at the main CESA office at 18 Boland Court in Greenville.

“CESA is very excited about this new opportunity. We feel strongly that the CESA-Spartanburg program will be able to continue to build upon what has been established by the leadership at USA.” said CESA Co-Executive Director Pearse Tormey.

CESA-Spartanburg will serve players from Spartanburg and beyond ranging in age from 4-19 and will offer a comprehensive program that will provide soccer opportunities for players of all ability levels. Solomon Nakom will head up the CESA-Spartanburg program and will have the staff and resources needed to both retain and attract potential players. CESA’s new Director of Soccer, Solomon Nakom, stated “I am very excited to see CESA put forth the resources we need to help accelerate the soccer programs in Spartanburg County. The coming years promise to be full of excitement for both players and coaches alike.”

CESA Co-Executive Director Andrew Hyslop stated, “We are fully committed to providing our CESA members in the Spartanburg area top notch soccer services. We will look to make positive additions to the facilities that our members will use on a day to day basis, while remaining focused on the ultimate goal which is to provide a comprehensive and affordable soccer program that all soccer families in the Spartanburg area can be proud to be a part of. “

Information regarding the programs offered at CESA can be found at www.carolinaelitesc.com and important CESA-Spartanburg announcements will be forthcoming on the website. Evaluations and tryouts for the Academy and Select programs in Spartanburg will be held in the near future and registration for the Recreational and Dutch Soccer programs at CESA-Spartanburg will be available shortly.

Those with an interest in additional information regarding the CESA-Spartanburg program can contact the main office at CESA at 864-329-1113 or the USA Club Line at 864-978-8024.

Since it's out in the public domain, I'll add a couple facts to satisfy some of the curiousity out there.

1)  Yes, Obviously USA has voted to merge with CESA and become CESA-Spartanburg.

2)  The active membership of the USA club voted 98% in favor of this merger.  It was board recommended AND membership approved.

3)  Finances were not the driving force behind the merger.  USA is the youngest of the major clubs in the Spartanburg area yet it was the first to own it's own soccer fields in Spartanburg County, the first to erect permanent lighting on soccer fields, and has the lowest amount of debt and lowest expenses of any of the major clubs in the area.

USA has been in the restructure mode for a couple of years now so as to be able to set up sustainable programs that do NOT depend on individuals or on heroic volunteers willing to hand over their personal lives to the cause. Rather we have been looking for a structure that will transcend the years and serve the youth of Spartanburg permanently.  CESA fits that model. Their success is because of their organizational structure, not simply because of a few personalities.  That is what we wanted for the kids here in Spartanburg.  CESA was not the only option investigated, but it IS the right answer for Spartanburg now and for it's future.

Here's the announcement posted above as listed on the USA website:

http://www.upstatesoccer.org/merger.html

Does "active membership" include those teams/players/parents that played in the fall? Those "older age" parents that I know weren't even aware of the meeting.

Yes

I am one of the "older age group" parents and received multiple emails about the merge. So, if you didn't know anything about it then you must not read your email or the club didn't have an email address for you.

Interesting and somewhat ironic after the conversation about the "homespun" USA club winning two PMSL championships in the fall to hear that they are now merging with CESA in the spring. USA has done a good job of providing development and success to their homegrown players at the Classic level; I hope to see CESA-Spartanburg continuing that tradition of providing opportunities and having high expectations of success at ALL levels of competition!

Best wishes, and looking forward to meeting the new CESA-Spartanburg on the field this fall,

Will Chassereau
CUSC U18 Girls

Thanks Coach. I don't think you'll see too many changes too fast at all other than the colors. See you on the fields this fall - maybe even in that rematch we spoke of

I'd definitely enjoy that!

Any thoughts on how this change will impact other spartanburg clubs? Arsenal. AYSO.CFC?

The AYSO organisation has long had a hold on the rec soccer population in Spartanburg. I wonder if they will be able to change that?

Comment from Obadiah - "...I don't think you'll see too many changes too fast at all other than the colors."

Charging a $30 tryout fee is certainly a big change. What other changes can we expect to see?

Quote:

---

Interesting and somewhat ironic after the conversation about the "homespun" USA club winning two PMSL championships in the fall to hear that they are now merging with CESA in the spring. USA has done a good job of providing development and success to their homegrown players at the Classic level; I hope to see CESA-Spartanburg continuing that tradition of providing opportunities and having high expectations of success at ALL levels of competition!

Best wishes, and looking forward to meeting the new CESA-Spartanburg on the field this fall,

Will Chassereau
CUSC U18 Girls

---

So now there is designation for CESA "areas", too? First Columbia/SC United, now CESA. What next?