We are the Strikers of Gaston County Soccer Association (SGCSA) and we are the only North Carolina Youth Soccer Association (NCYSA) credentialed soccer club in Gaston County, NC.  We are sanctioned by NCYSA to offer several levels of soccer: Academy, Challenge, and Classic (Division III, Division II, Division I, and Premier).

SGCSA was founded in 2000 with two original teams, the 90 Hurricanes (girls) and the 92 Flames (boys). SGCSA was founded to offer first-class soccer to children regardless of socio-economic status and we continue to live those values today! In our 23 year history we have helped thousands of local boys and girls to foster their love of the game. Our mission is to be the soccer club of choice for our community. We are able to do this by having dedicated coaches, Board of Directors, and other staff that volunteer many hours to help SGCSA thrive. 

Our founding principles are that all coaches must be highly qualified, show a demonstrated passion for the game, be excellent teachers for young people, and be trusted individuals to the growth of your soccer player on AND off of the field.  As a soccer club, we watch our players become better teammates and learn to cooperate - through wins and losses. Our players develop friendships that are uniquely bound in their love of athletic competition.  Having quality soccer players being coached by quality soccer coaches helps kids to grow up to be quality people.

Our coaches have played or coached competitive soccer either at the professional level, collegiate, select military, high school, or club soccer in their past.  In addition, our coaches are strongly encouraged to obtain coaching licenses and certificates to ensure that their continuing education and their quality of coaching are up to date.  

SGCSA has a long lasting legacy in Gaston County helping soccer players achieve their goals.  We want to thank all of the players past and present for your commitment to the club. We want to invite our players of the future to check us out and see what the Strikers are all about.

Soccer clubs are notorious for their long abbreviations. SGCSA represents the Strikers of Gaston County Soccer Association. We are the only NCYSA sanctioned soccer club based in Gaston County. Our team colors are red, white, and black. If you have heard of the Strikers or even the Flames and Hurricanes of the past, that's us! 

Most of our home games are held at George Poston Park in Lowell or Martha Rivers Park in Gastonia.  SGCSA teams can travel all over the state for "away" games and tournaments, but our teams play in leagues within the NC Youth Soccer Association on the Western side of the state including Charlotte and clubs west of Charlotte.

This is where you have to be shrewd when comparing the cost of clubs and even when comparing club soccer to rec. soccer. In most cases, there are two categories of annual fees - club fees and team fees.

• Club fees are paid to SGCSA directly and cover costs including NCYSA membership dues and player cards, field rental and light fees, coaches' stipends and other costs that the club incurs in order to field teams. Our current fees currently range from $325-$425 a year depending on the age of your player. These are often the only fees published by soccer clubs and the only fees paid to the organization. We find that our club fee is under 50% of other nearby clubs. The $25 tryout fee that you pay at registration will be credited to your club fee if you accept an offer to join our club.
• Team fees are paid to your coach or team manager each year or each season (fall and spring). These are dictated by the activity of your individual team and as such vary from team to team. The two major expenses covered by teams are the referee costs for each home game and the registration fees for any tournaments your team decides to attend. We have estimated the very cautiously at $275 per year. If your team is part of a larger division playing more games OR decides to do more tournaments, this fee will be larger and near that mark, but in many case, playing in two tournaments doesn't require nearly that much. Other clubs, might collect these as tournaments arise or as an additional flat fee regardless of your individual team's activity.
• Uniforms are the final expense and at SGCSA we refresh them every 2 years. We use Adidas kits and you will be responsible for purchasing a home and away kit for your athlete. We estimate that cost at around $125. If you choose to purchase additional branded items such as a soccer bag or team gear for your family, that is entirely up to you. You will be sent a link to Soccer.com to purchase the kits every other year where we will have loaded your athletes name and number. Each kit will display our crest, a jersey sponsor, and your athlete's number.

The Strikers of Gaston County Soccer Association was founded as an all volunteer organization 23 years ago.  We have evolved as a club to compensate head coaches for their time and dedication to develop kids into quality soccer players with a stipend for the fall and spring halves of each season. However, the spirit of volunteerism lives on!  We have a dedicated Board of Directors that help guide and direct our club. We also have a head registrar to maintain player cards and information to make sure we are operating within NCYSA guidelines. However, we have ZERO full-time staff members. We are able to keep our club fees as low as we do by utilizing volunteers at all levels of our organization. But our main assets are the coaches on the field and the players that make our teams!

Tryouts are held in mid-late May each year for most of our age groups. These dates are dictated by NCYSA who prohibits player evaluations from occuring until the completion of the seasons. High school age ladies who play only a fall season have tryouts for the following fall season in late January or early February in a window also dictated by the state. Those clubs holding tryouts in other periods are not NCYSA sanctioned soccer clubs and operate outside of NC Youth Soccer and US Youth Soccer rules.

All players trying out must be register online and pay a small evaluation fee that will be credited to your club fee should the player make an SGCSA team and accept our offer to join.