Photo of the Next Level Soccer SoBo Dominators U13 team
South Baltimore-based club soccer team Next Level Soccer SoBo Dominators U13 finished the fall season winning two championships. The squad won the CMSA Fall League U13 Division II championship and the Fallston Cup U13 Silver tournament championship.
Matt Shudtz, one of the head coaches for the U13 SoBo Dominators team, along with Billy Herrfeldt, noted the core group of players have been together for three to four years and have won the Fallston Cup four years in a row, each year moving into a higher division.
New this year for the SoBo Dominators was a collaboration with Next Level Soccer, another South Baltimore-based club soccer organization that had traditionally worked with players entering and in high school to help them prepare for college and professional soccer programs.
Next Level was started by Rafik Kechrid and Daniel Bulls in 2015. Kechrid is a resident of the neighborhood and also a co-owner of La Cosette Artisan French Pastry Shop in Riverside. Growing up in Tunisia, Kechrid played in the youth system of Esperance Sportive de Tunis. Bulls played soccer at UMBC as well as professionally in the United States and Trinidad.
The coaching staff at Next Level was trained by AFC Ajax in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Shudtz said he was introduced to the team at Next Level and they had a couple of meetings to see where things overlap, and saw eye-to-eye on many things. They decided to coach the U13 SoBo Dominators and U12 SoBo Dominators teams together.
Prior to this fall, the SoBo Dominators teams had been coached only by parent volunteers.
“You can only go so far,” said Shudtz. “These guys have much more experience coaching. They’ve gone to Europe to train as coaches with the academy programs there. They are basing their coaching on the best models in the world. It’s an amazing thing to have right here in South Baltimore.”
Shudtz was very excited about the academic success of the players who have been with Next Level Soccer and the amount of players who have gone on to play in college.
“Our mission is about teaching kids the game, as well as life lessons, and building friendships,” said Shudtz.
“Connecting with Matt connects us to South Baltimore,” said Kechrid.
Kechrid noted a lot of his teams have been more connected to North Anne Arundel County, but have always trained locally starting at Swann Park and more recently at Banner Field at Latrobe Park.
Kechrid said he and Bulls really like to focus their growth on the community they are in. “If we are missing players, we can start bringing in outsiders.”
“A lot of other clubs are not about community, they are about that first team,” added Kechrid.
Next Level is looking to grow into additional age groups in the future, including with players born in 2015, 2016, and 2017, as well as working with local coaches to start girls teams.
Kechrid noted getting players from the age 10 to 12 into a hybrid program where they can also play in the rec league at South Baltimore Youth Soccer League (SBYSL) is ideal before moving towards a true travel soccer experience.
For the two SoBo Dominators teams this year, Kechrid said, “everything was a little bit more competitive, there were different voices, and we saw the improvement. Wins is not the only thing we judge. We look at player development first. We have an emphasis on game decisions and problem solving, which are things needed for everyday life.”
He added he was impressed by the commitment and of the players and their ability to learn new positions and roles.
While the U12 team didn’t win any titles this year, both Shudtz and Kechrid noted the tremendous growth of the team.
“They are playing soccer in a way that will bring them a ton of success in the coming years,” said Shudtz.
The U12 SoBo Dominators team is coached by Al Passarella and Mike Daley.
The U13 SoBo Dominators team was led in scoring by Liam Roberts, a first-year player for the team, and Kevin Shudtz.
Matt Shudtz credited strong defensive play from Ryan Shea, Owen Adams, and Ardy Scholz.
The team had contributions throughout the year from Alex Coughlan, Andrew Miller, Ardy Scholz, Boden Lyttle, Brenton Carper, Cameron Fiataugaluia, Heath Stone, Henry Wahl, Holden Kirkby, Kaden Kulesz, Milo Biscoe, Sofia Burgess, and Will Herrfeldt.
Both Next Level SoBo Dominators teams will be competing in a spring league.
Another South Baltimore-based team, the SOBO FC U10, has competed in several tournaments, the CMSA Fall League, and indoor soccer leagues. SOBO FC won an indoor soccer championship last winter.
The SoBo Dazzlers girls club teams have been growing in South Baltimore over the past two years.
Next Level Soccer SoBo Dominators U13 and U12 teams
Next Level SoBo Dominators U12 team
