2021 Inaugural USYS Keeper Wars National Championship Recap

Bradenton, Florida / July-23-25, 2021

Our Inaugural USYS Keeper Wars National Championship event took place in Bradenton Florida at the Premiere Sports Complex, July 23-25, 2021.

The festivities began Friday afternoon as we checked in over 180 participants from 29 different states! The only thing hotter than Friday’s temperature was our participants' excitement to be there! From the very beginning of our ceremony announcing the cream of the crop that came out of our 15, 2020-2021 City Tour National Qualifiers, you could feel the excitement that our goalkeeper community brought! As we lined up our keepers down the middle of the field goal to go goal it was quite a sight to see an entire full sized pitch completely filled with keepers shoulder to shoulder as we recognized them for their accomplishments to make it this far! 

The voice of Keeper Wars, Jim Clark, announced our participants by state that they represent. You could see the nervous excitement from our young players that are new to the spotlight but ready to receive their long overdue spotlight as a keeper. Pictures were taken and smiles were made.

The Co-Founder and CEO Casey Clark followed this with a tear jerking speech shedding light on how Keeper Wars got to this stage and congratulating his team, the families and goalkeepers for all of their accomplishments with a heartfelt personal message and small reminder to enjoy the game and enjoy your achievements it took just to get here when you they go to battle Saturday morning. 

The ceremony concluded with individual achievement awards from the players stats in their respective age brackets. This was done to give individual stats that Keeper Wars see as an important part of the Keeper Wars game as well as the goalkeeper position recognition from the city tour tournaments that took place to get to nationals. The sense of true community and cohesion throughout all participants was felt by everyone involved! 

The stadium field was then opened up to all keeper families and spectators for autographs and pictures with Casey Clark, Rob Acosta & Shae McNamara (All Professional athletes).

Saturday morning couldn’t come soon enough, as it came, so did the Florida heat and Humidity. After a few opening remarks and a national anthem we were under way! From the start it was great action on over 18 Keeper War Fields on some of the best grass fields money can buy! 

Just like in any battle, injuries and exhaustion were present. But goalkeepers are resilient creatures and battled with all their heart! Cooling stations with ice water and wet towels were provided by Keeper Wars Ink to all and over 400 towels later I think it was safe to say it was a huge hit. With music, food, and a crazy action packed one on one competition it is no wonder we had families, USYS state association reps, coaches and spectators coming out to see what we were all about! 

As we asked participants how they felt today was going, one of the most said answers was, the competition here is unlike they’ve seen anywhere else! Which would make sense when you only invite the top keepers from all city tour Keeper Wars national qualifying events!

Day 2 saw keepers rise and fall to the heat, competition, pressure, injuries and opportunity to seize their name in Keeper Wars history books! As the day went on less and less keepers were still in the tournament but more and more friendships were made! After tough wins and losses they all seemed to end with smiles and fist bumps as the keepers understand how mentally and physically tough their position is. 

As tears of happiness and sadness came at the end of the keepers tournament ride, it was truly special to see how much this national event meant to our young aspiring keepers. Keeper Wars Ink was able to watch celebrations that made all the behind the scenes work to get there well worth every bit of it. It was not only a celebration for the families that came, saw and conquered but also for the KWI team that took a leap of faith to try and leave this world a little bit better than they found it… and saw it come to tuition right in front of them. It was a dream that turned into a goal and was solidified into reality as the final games ended and the national championships were concluded.

Quote from Co-Founder and CEO: “I was truly taken back by the passion and sense of community our Inaugural USYS Keeper Wars National Championship had from the beginning of Friday to the end of Sunday. What we set out to do as a company in year one was achieved with the completion of our first national championship. The words of phrase and support from participating families, US Youth Soccer Staff and fans coming out asking where they can pay to watch our (free) event was something that helps refuel the reason for why we are here and what we are doing for the position of goalkeeper. My team did an amazing job and we are excited to build onto this monumental stop on the growing journey of Keeper Wars.”

(Photo credit: Huge shout out to Stacy Hoffman, keeper Mom from Missouri, for always capturing & sharing awesome photos with us!)

Opening Ceremony Video

National qualifying Individual award winners from City Tour 2020-2021

Inaugural US Youth Soccer Keeper Wars National Championship - Age bracket winners

Want to join us for our 2022 National Championship?!

Visit our Tour Schedule page and find an event near you!