Nipissing District Soccer Club (NDSC) is committed to providing the best soccer experience and pathway opportunities for all its members.
The NDSC is hoping a new and unique affiliation with a southern Ontario organization will prove that.
"NDSC is proud to announce a monumental affiliation agreement with the Richmond Hill Raiders OPDL program which provides NDSC players U13-U18 a pathway to highest level of youth soccer in Ontario," the association stated in a release.
This affiliation is meant to provide a talent pathway for players, to support and strengthen player development, to educate parents and players about the talented pathway. NDSC along with Richmond Hill Technical Director and High-Performance Coach to identify players for the OPDL program.
This allows NDSC to provide players with the opportunity to play at the top tier level in Ontario and this affiliation agreement will allow us to do so.
The affiliation agreement will allow NDSC players to join the Richmond Hill OPDL as affiliate players if identified.
The start of the new partnership took place at the very impressive Canadore College Soccer Dome on Sunday with Richmond Hill staff attending the Canadore College Sportsplex Dome with some of NDSC representatives to officially announce the affiliation between the two organizations.
Richmond Hill Raiders Under 15 Girls OPDL were also present to participate in a friendly exhibition game against the NDSC U15/16 girls which have players made up of mostly North Bay and also include players from Sudbury & Muskoka. This is the first game of this magnitude in North Bay for competitive soccer which provided a glance towards the future of competitive soccer in the North Bay Area.
This friendly match ended in a score of 3-2 for NDSC Lakers in a very competitive match. Goal scorers for the Lakers Ariana Tonkovic (Sudbury), Makenna Linkie (North Bay) and Gabriella Celebre (North Bay).
This collaboration will bring long-term value to both clubs. It brings a more complete player pathway for the NDSC Lakers as this opportunity for greater knowledge share along with the opportunity to develop people through sport –a key objective of both soccer organizations. Currently the NDSC Lakers competitive pathway includes Richmond Hill Raiders OPDL & Nipissing University Lakers Varsity Soccer Program.