Bulls Soccer Club Philosophy:
Facts vs. Myths
The Bulls Soccer Club; founded in 2008, has a very rich and successful history of developing young
players to reach their full potential as a soccer player. The Bulls were the result of a merger between
the Aiken Soccer Club, The North Augusta Kicks and The Columbia County Patriots.
Through high level training and competition, we take pride in teaching youth players the technical
skill and tactical awareness of soccer, sportsmanship, self worth and leadership skills. Before selecting
a club for you and your child to be involved with, we would like to outline some myths and facts about
the Bulls Soccer Club to help you gain a better understanding of our club.
Myth: The Bulls Soccer Club plays in too many tournaments.
Fact: Quite the opposite, the Bulls Soccer Club has a philosophy of quality over quantity. We have a
club rule that each team will play in no more than three tournaments; (not including the SC State
Championships or Region 3 National Championships). The US Soccer Federation has published on
more than one occasion that our youth players are playing too many games and not receiving enough
quality training, something the Bulls Soccer Club agrees with.
Myth: The Bulls Soccer Club plays games and tournaments having teams travel every weekend.
Fact: The Bulls Soccer Club enters all of its teams from U13 and up into SCYSA –South Carolina Youth
Soccer or GYSA-Georgia Youth Soccer. Both play their league season in the fall. These leagues offer a
more competitive environment for our players to develop at the highest level. Generally we play 8 to
10 matches over 8-10 weekends. If we play in SC the coaches create their own schedule and work
around the needs of the team. Most SC Teams meet somewhere in the middle to limit travel. If you
play out of Georgia then you are guaranteed an equal number of home and away games but they are
scheduled by the state.
Myth: The Bulls Soccer Club wants to win at all cost.
Fact: Though we have been and continue to be successful as a club, we do not believe in winning at
all cost. We believe in creating an environment of high level training, continued development of each
player with a strong desire to compete, our teams will be successful. We have won State
Championships at the U14 age group but this is not our focus at the younger age groups. Fostering
the above environment and identifying players that have the potential to develop to the next level is
our focus. We will select a young player that has the ability to learn and improve at the highest levels
over time instead of the player that can help us win now. Youth soccer development is a marathon not
a sprint.
Myth: Playing for a select soccer club will guarantee my son/daughter a soccer scholarship.
Fact: No club can or should make this guarantee. The Bulls Soccer Club has produced many collegiate
and regional ODP Players. Playing at the collegiate level is reached by a desire of the player to
continue to develop and playing for a club that can give them the best opportunity to be identified by
collegiate coaches. With the success of the Bulls Soccer Club and our affiliation with the Honolulu Bulls
Soccer Club we do generally get into most tournaments we apply to. The U16/17 teams attend college
showcase tournaments that attract the most college coaches and enable our players to be identified.
We also have college recruiting seminars and programs to help the player that wants to advance to
the next level.
Myth: The Bulls Soccer Club has its coaches change teams every year.
Fact: The Bulls Soccer Club has introduced a new coaching model utilizing the strengths of its coaches
as well as exposing our players to more of our coaching staff. This model is always a work in progress
in helping do what is best for the club, teams, players and our coaches. By exposing our players to
more than one coach in his/her playing career we have found that it makes our players and coaches
better. We are in a teaching environment and as with a school; you would not expect your child’s first
grade teacher to move up with them all the way to their senior year.
Myth: The Bulls Soccer Teams are on their own and do what they want.
Fact: This we have rarely heard but has been out there and couldn’t be further from the truth. We are
a club first and foremost. We would venture to say that no other club in the surrounding area is as
supportive and as unified as we are. Just attend one of our games or tournaments, you will find
players and parents from other teams supporting a team they are not on. Our coaches do cross
trainings and work with teams they don’t directly coach. We take great pride in this!
Myth: The Bulls Juniors program only wants the best players.
Fact: We believe that all players at the U7 – U12 age groups should have the opportunity to learn the
technical skills to develop at the next level. We do not have try-outs at these age groups, we do not
want these players to leave their local/in-house programs, instead we would like to work with these
programs to offer any assistance we can in helping develop players in these age groups. Our junior’s
programs are open to all boys and girls that want to learn and develop their technical skills. We are
currently running Academy Clinics in Aiken and Columbia County and will continue to add programs in
Aiken as the club grows.
Myth: The Bulls Soccer Club is the most expensive club to play for.
Fact: The Bulls Soccer Club is not the most expensive. We are competitive with all clubs and believe
we provide the best product within the CSRA. We have reduced our fees over the years; we have very
convenient payment plans, and offer scholarships to players who need financial assistance. Our
philosophy on tournaments and travel dictates that we may be less than most other clubs, and less
than other travel sports and activities.
Myth: The Bulls Soccer Club doesn’t develop players – rather only recruit the biggest and fastest?
Fact: The Bulls Soccer Club is committed to developing our area’s youth. At the youngest levels (7 –
12), this is demonstrated by the highly successful Bulls Academy and Junior Academy Programs and
the dedication of the best coaching staff in the CSRA. It is open to everyone, there are no tryouts,
giving each child an opportunity to train with talented instructors that develop their skills at the
appropriate age level.
At middle age groups (11 – 15), we continue to be dedicated to developing players that have the
potential to continue to grow and progress. Potential, skill and drive are all important qualities at this
age group. The desire to retain these individuals outweighs an individual that may not have those
qualities but can help us win now.
The oldest age group, (16 – 19), has proven to be a successful model time and time again that has
the tendency to draw some of the best players in the area to our program, particularly when they get
to the college recruiting years. Continued development of skill and tactics are applied to prepare the
athlete for post high school.
While not all players within the Bulls organization play from U7 – U19, the game doesn’t lie. Players
develop and mature at different stages. It is the goal of the Bulls Soccer Club to see every player to
continue to develop. While it is the objective of the Bulls club that every player stays within the club
for their entire youth soccer career. Bulls realized that this goal is not realistic or feasible. As in any
successful program The Bulls Soccer Club has the ability to attract players that have both the desire
and aptitude to take their game to the highest level.
If you would like any other information regarding the Bulls Soccer Club or one of our team’s, please
feel free to contact any of the following:
Andrew Hammer
Bulls Director of Coaching
706-550-2858
Bullsdoc12@gmail.com
The Bulls Soccer Club Philosophy
The Bulls Soccer Club is committed to the pursuit of excellence for our youth players by providing the highest level of
coaching. Our goal is to develop well-rounded players whose academic and playing abilities enable them to achieve
their highest potential in soccer. Our starting point is to begin with the individual player. From this reference point,
we are committed to educating and developing every player through our coaching staff and Club organization. As a
Club that focuses on “select or classic soccer”, we can instruct, train, educate, and expose every player that is ready to
move on to a more competitive level of play from the traditional recreational experience. Our programs are designed
to assist every player to develop to their highest potential through soccer and as a person. We are committed to the
CSRA working to further improve Augusta soccer, Columbia County Soccer, Aiken Soccer, North Augusta Soccer and
other surrounding areas.
"Success Through Education"