The total was 24 teams and nearly 450 people overall counting players, parents, coaches and staff.
The group is from Noblesville, Ind., a suburb just north of Indianapolis.
“When I started with the club a couple years ago, we wanted to find a club tournament where everyone could come play and where there was a lot of excitement,” Fridley said. “We wanted to find a hotel where we could all stay, and wanted to find some good competition that would suit all our teams.”
He found it in Dayton at the Classic, a tournament Fridley scouted as head coach of the Anderson University men’s soccer team, a position he has held for 22 years.
“I’m a college coach and I’ve been coming here recruiting kids,” Fridley said. “I’m familiar with it. I knew them forever and told them I was wanting to bring the whole group out and that’s what we did.”
Saturday night, Hoosier FC was a guest at the Columbus Crew game. The group began working to make its trip to the Classic in November, and began working with the Crew in January to get tickets.
Fridley said 250 players made the trip to Columbus to watch the Crew defeat Chicago 2-1. The Hoosier FC U-16 boys team acted as ball runners during the game. The U-8 girls team walked onto the field with the Crew as starting lineups were announced.
“A lot of the parents just carpooled the kids,” Fridley said. “It was a lot of fun.”
When Hoosier FC wasn’t on the field or at the Crew game, it resided at the Dayton Marriott.
“We have the whole hotel,” Fridley said. “It’s all only two hours away, so you get a good, competitive tournament a short distance away. When you don’t do well, it can be a longer ride home, so two hours isn’t as bad as when we go to Memphis in November.”
Social soccer
Warrior Classic co-director Carol Maas has seen a lot of changes in soccer over the years. The biggest recently has been the advent of social media.
Maas said Facebook has led to new ways for the tournament to interact with clubs, fans and businesses in the area that are looking forward to all the extra customers.
“We’ve had a lot of businesses connecting through the tournament websites,” Maas said. “Restaurants, hotels, they have been running banners and pictures.
“This is our fourth year with a Facebook page, but it’s a different kind of feeling this year.”
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