Tryouts slated for broward college soccer teams

A player from Broward’s men’s club soccer team tries to slide tackle the ball from a Miami-Dade North
player as players from both teams provide support.

Lace up your boots! Competitive soccer will return to Broward College during the 2009-2010 school year. The college’s athletic department will field men’s and women’s club teams led by experienced, qualified coaches who have long, strong ties to the sport in South Florida.

The women’s team will be coached by longtime Broward coach Patti Barney and will compete in the Broward Women’s Soccer League; the men’s team will be coached by former professional player Ernst “Nono” Jean-Baptiste and will play in the Broward Premier Soccer League. Both leagues play their games at Brian Piccolo Park, 9501 Sheridan St., Cooper City, and both teams’ seasons start around January.

Tryout sessions will be conducted the following days:

• Thursday, October 1, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.;
• Saturday, October 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and
• Tuesday, October 6 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

All sessions will be held at the baseball complex on the A. Hugh Adams Central Campus, located on the northwest side of campus, adjacent to College Avenue. Players interested in tryouts MUST pre-register with the athletic department at (954) 201-6997.

The individuals chosen to coach the Seahawks teams are both experienced on the field as well as on the sidelines. Barney, who started playing the sport at 10, has been a coach for more than a quarter century. She served three years as Western High School’s first girls’ varsity soccer coach. She has coached women’s teams in the BWSL and also has coached youth teams in Pembroke Pines and Weston. She is certified as a coach by the National Soccer Coaching Association of America and has served as a member of the board of directors of the Broward Women’s Soccer League. A Broward College graduate, Barney also is the college’s vice president for information technology and still finds time to play the game in a women’s competitive league.

Jean-Baptiste began playing soccer in his youth and was named captain of Haiti’s top soccer club – Victory Sportif – when he was 18. He represented Haiti’s national team in international competitions 47 times. He came to Florida to play at Miami-Dade College and served as captain of one of the college’s three National Junior College Athletic Association champion teams. He later coached Miami-Dade’s team for seven years. Jean-Baptiste also played in the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League, the New England Sharks, Miami Americans and Philadelphia Stoners of the United Soccer League and the Phoenix Infernos of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Broward College has fielded men’s and women’s soccer teams in the past. In February 1973, as the college recognized its expanding multicultural base, it started a club soccer team for men. The club played against Miami-Dade College’s three teams, Marymount College (now Lynn University), local teams from Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, and a team from the visiting British aircraft carrier Ark Royal. Players expressed their hopes the club team would expand to a varsity sport, but that expansion never occurred.

In 1997-1998, Broward fielded a varsity women’s soccer team. In its two years, the team went 25-7-2, finishing its first year ranked No.3 nationally, and the second year at No. 2. Three players – goalkeeper Angelica Hallengren and field players Ginger Pringle and Heather Slaugenhaupt were named all-Americans.