The goal of our HFC Competitive Program (also known as "Classic") is to provide talented young athletes, who possess a strong interest in soccer training and competition, an environment that will allow them to reach their maximum potential in the sport. We offer the highest level of soccer training available to youth in Western North Carolina and employ the best coaching staff available. The majority of our coaches have played soccer at the collegiate level or higher and hold coaching licenses from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), United States Youth Soccer (USYS) and United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as NSCAA). Coaches in the older age groups commonly have collegiate coaching experience.

2025 - 2026 TRYOUT INFO COMING SOON

As mandated by US Soccer, all HFC programs are based off of birth year, not player age or grade level. 

HFC PARTICIPATING LEAGUES

ECNL | U13-U19

Boys top tier teams from the U13-U19 age groups will compete in the Mid-Atlantic ECNL conference. Boys selected for an ECNL team will be expected to train x4 per week when in season. Players selected in this program will start late July* and continue through to early May. We anticipate ECNL league games to begin for the U13/U14 teams after Labor Day in September and continue through April/May. Based on last year’s ECNL Mid-Atlantic Conference schedule we anticipate ECNL League games to begin for the U15-U19 age groups in late October/early November. Those schedules will not be released until later in July. All teams compete on the same day, same venue and within a few hours of each other. 
*U15-U19 Boys full time training start date TBD.

ECNL Regional League (RL) | U13-U19

Girls top tier - Boys second tier; teams from the U13-U19 age groups will compete in the Carolinas ECNL RL conference. Girls selected for an ECNL RL team will be expected to train x4 per week when in season. Boys selected for an ECNL RL team will be expected to train x3 per week when in season. Players selected in this program will start late July* and continue through to early May. We anticipate ECNL RL league games to begin for the U13/U14 teams after Labor Day in September and continue through April/May. U15-U19 age teams play each team in the league 2x (once home and once away) when in the opposing season to their High School season. Girls (U15-19) compete in RL play during the fall, Boys (U15-19) compete during the Spring. All teams (within their gender) compete on the same day, same venue and within a few hours of each other. 
*U15-19 Boys ECNL RL, will start early November

Pre-ECNL | U10-12

In our U11-12 Boys age groups, we pool our top two teams together. The teams will assigned a head coach, and an assistant coach, with the expectation to train x3 per week. U11/12 age group uses  9v9 game model. Players selected in this program will start late July and continue through to early May. Throughout the week, the team will train together as a large group (24-26 players x 2 coaches) and then for weekends will split into two teams. When the teams are split on weekends, they will typically be tiered, but will also encounter match ups where the teams are balanced. Games will be played throughout the Fall - Spring  vs other Pre-ECNL clubs within the region. When travelling for a game, both ages (U11/12) and teams will travel and compete on the same day, at the same venue.
U10 Pre-ECNL is also a training pool, this group will consist of 18-20 players who are invited from our Academy program. U10 age group uses 7v7 game model. The group are expected to train x3 per week, and will start late July and continue through early May. The training set up will be the same for this group, all players will train as one big group, with their two coaches. When it comes to games, all games will be friendly match ups with no standings in play. The games will be a mixture of balanced and tiered games vs clubs within our region. 

NCYSA | U11-19

All girls second tier teams and lower will compete in NCYSA. All Boys third tier teams and lower will compete in NCYSA. Teams will placed in a division in accordance to the ability of the team, decided by both Program Directors, and the teams coach. One coach per team. Each roster size will differ depending on the game model within the age:
- U11-U12 = 9v9 Game Model (average roster size (12-14)
-U13-U19 = 11v11 Game Model (average roster size 16-18)
Roster size will fluctuate across different teams/levels

U11-14 age groups:
Season will begin late July and end early May. The year will consist of two seasons within NCYSA: the first will go from August-November, the second will go from January-May. During this time frame, your designated coach will schedule all league games throughout the season. On average, each team will compete in 6-9 league games throughout the season, with a mixture of both home and away games within the region. 
U15-19 age groups: 
Season will begin early January and end early May. The NCYSA season will go from late January-May. During this time frame, your designated coach will schedule all league games throughout the season. On average, each team will compete in 6-9 league games throughout the season, with a mixture of both home and away games within the region. 

College Recruiting

HFC is proud to say that every year we have numerous male and female players who go on to play college soccer. Both the Boys and Girls Classic programs hold a "college night" each year in order to guide families through the recruiting process.

Click here for all information related to college recruiting (including a list of our past HFC player college commitments)