SPORT

Bend It Like BINGHAM…AT ERIE SPORTS CENTER

WORDS: Jason Oxenbridge PHOTOGRAPHY Supplied

Former Gold Coast United boss Troy Bingham is kicking goals in the US with a residential sports academy that is creating stars of the future

Erie Sports Center in Pennsylvania is a multi-sports complex with 10 soccer fields, dorms to house 400 student-athletes, a private school, cafeteria and a top-of-the-range sports medical centre that provides care for student-athletes, staff and the local community.

The ex-professional soccer player is upbeat when contacted by Ocean Road. He’s just welcomed 56 junior players from 20 different countries to his own ‘field of dreams’.

“It has been a lifelong aspiration to build a full-time professional soccer project that provides players with the coaching, support and facilities required to make it to the next level,” beams Bingham.

“It’s a full-time academy using the same methodology used in Europe. There is talent coming in from all over the world, including Australia and the Gold Coast… it’s a real professional development environment.”

And European football is taking plenty of notice. In a major coup, the Spanish La Liga Giants Villarreal Club de Fútbol will host their first full-time international residential academy, camps and tournaments for the Villarreal Academy family in North America.

“Villarreal have been outstanding in sharing the same vision focused on truly identifying and developing players and creating a pathway,” says Bingham.

“They have one of the top academy and development systems in the world, with a proven track record of bringing players through their system into the first team.

“Our partnership will now see players across the world and USA have access to these same coaches, curriculum, playing opportunities and full-time development programs here at the Erie Sports Center.

“When I visited Spain and Europe, we looked at other clubs to collaborate with, but we went with Villarreal for their culture and development expertise”.

Villarreal CF Commercial Director, Juan Antón de Salas, says the partnership kicks countless opportunities, not only for players based in Erie, but also has a positive impact for partner and affiliate academies in the US, Canada and Mexico.

“We are very proud of how our Villarreal Academy family just keeps on growing and we are super excited to see what the future holds – especially ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Soccer is the fastest growing sport in North America and we want to be a part of that.”

It’s the first time Villarreal CF has collaborated with a US-based residential soccer academy and Bingham foresees endless possibilities for the ‘Yellows’.

The same can be said for nurturing Gold Coast players with students signing up from schools including TSS and King’s College.

“To make the jump from Australia to Europe is very difficult,” he says.

“Some of the plans I had as CEO at GC United were to create better pathways for junior players. There’s a lot of talent on the Gold Coast but not many places for them to go. We invest all this money into developing youth, but they have limited options.

“Soccer is very competitive in the US and we’re attracting a lot of high school age and graduating soccer players as a pathway to scholarships at US Colleges and Universities.”

One of the state-of-the-art fields at the Erie Sports Center is an 11v11 full-size indoor soccer dome which enables training and competition all year round.

The academy also houses a $6.5 million sports medicine and sports performance training facility. Bingham and his team recently inked a partnership with Allegheny Health Network (AHN) and Highmark Health, ushering in a new era of advanced clinical care and sports performance training for athletes of all ages across the northwest Pennsylvania region.

Growing up in South Africa, Bingham has seen firsthand the challenges faced by families experiencing financial hardship where sport is not always an affordable option.

In honour of his late son, the Declan Bingham Scholarship Fund was created to provide free and affordable sporting opportunities to children.

“Our goal is to encourage children from diverse backgrounds to engage in sports, foster friendships, and embrace the values that made Declan an exceptional young man,” says Bingham.

Bingham might be a savvy corporate administrator, but he knows what it takes to prepare and play at the elite level.

 He played in the South Africa National U19 Team, later landing at Durban City FC and Amazulu FC in South Africa.

The fast-scoring forward played in Canada with St Catherines Roma FC and Wichita Wings and Columbus in the US. He was also an All-American College Team player and made the American College Senior Bowl All-Star Team.

“We didn’t have much money growing up, but through soccer, we have created these opportunities,” he says.

Opportunities that are sure to spark vast interest from the next generation of sporting talent aiming for the stars.

Visit: www.eriesportscenter.com

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