The Carlsbad Lightning Soccer Club digs its cleats into a new division of the club that focuses solely on the college bound elite soccer player.

Carlsbad Elite offers players the unique opportunity to compete in the prestigious Coast Soccer League, which draws over 2,200 teams and 35,000 players from all over Southern California.

The Elite teams will be formed this spring and will compete at the boys & girls U14 levels and up.

Jimmy Murphy, a veteran coach of CSL, has been hired as the director of the Carlsbad Elite program. Murphy, with 16 years of coaching experience, has led teams in CSL competition for the past seven years while with the Rancho Santa Fe Attack Soccer Club.

"Carlsbad Lightning Soccer Club has developed one of the most comprehensive programs in San Diego with a large recreation program, our Challenger program for players with special needs, and over 50 teams which play at the competitive levels," said Judith La Bounty, president of the Carlsbad Lightning Soccer Club. "The new Carlsbad Elite program is a great complement to our competitive program giving high school age players an additional option beyond our Presidio League.”

“On behalf of our Lightning families, competitive directors -- Michael Duggan, Carl Higham, Glenn Malone -- and the Lightning Board, I am pleased to welcome Jimmy Murphy to our club as the director of this new division. We are very excited to see our Carlsbad Elite teams in action this summer.”

Duggan, Lightning's director of coaching, is excited about the launch of the club’s new division.

“Our goal at Lightning Soccer is to offer players at every level of competitive soccer the best environment to enhance their game,” Duggan said. “We have successfully developed the Lightning program to be highly competitive throughout all levels of Presidio League competition. Jimmy Murphy has been very successful in attracting some of the strongest talent in the area and developing outstanding teams in Coast Soccer League. We look forward to working with Jimmy to launch this program and give our families more options for their youth soccer players."

The Carlsbad Elite program will offer the following benefits:

• Comprehensive training and a progressive path of long-term player growth and premier team development.
• Exposure, connection and placement of Elite players into colleges and universities through participation in Coast Soccer League, National Cup, Far West Regional League and Premier Elite Tournaments and College Showcases.
• Access to San Diego County’s state-of-the-art lighted turf-training facilities.

"The Carlsbad Elite program will benefit greatly from the infrastructure, facilities and deep talent already established at Carlsbad Lightning,” Murphy said. "I look forward to working with the Lightning directors to develop teams and compete both in the Coast Soccer League and on a national level. I have been bringing teams up to Coast Soccer League for a number of years and feel this opportunity will greatly enhance the ability to support college bound soccer players wishing to take their game to the next level."

Murphy and Lightning directors have been in discussions with CCSL officials about the Carlsbad Elite program.

"We welcome the Carlsbad Elite Program into Coast Soccer League and wish it great success,” CSL Executive Director Karen Sparks said. “It is a bold program and one of the first of its kind in San Diego County to offer an overall comprehensive program for all its elite players to play in Coast Soccer League. We look forward to seeing it grow and expand and as it does, Coast Soccer League will work with the Carlsbad Elite program to possibly host home games on Carlsbad Elite fields in the near future."

Information on the Carlsbad Elite program, including tryout schedules, are available on the Carlsbad Lightning Soccer Club website www.lightningsoccerclub.com. For additional information, contact Jimmy Murphy at jimmymurphy13@yahoo.com or Michael Duggan at michaelbass1@aol.com.