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Vermes shows off new training complex on Parallel
Pinnacle, at 99th and Parallel in Kansas City, Kan., is a national training center for Sporting KC and USA Soccer. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)
by Brian Turrel
Sporting KC head coach and technical director Peter Vermes showed off the embodiment of his vision for a state-of-the-art complex for training soccer players, coaches and officials.
The training complex is located on over 50 acres near the intersection of 99th Street and Parallel Avenue in Kansas City, Kan. It features three full-size soccer fields, along with advanced sports training, sports medicine and rehabilitation capabilities. A sports medicine center for Children’s Mercy Hospital is adjoining and will share some facilities.
Named Pinnacle, the complex contains team areas for both Sporting KC and the U.S. national teams. Sporting will use Pinnacle as its primary training location, starting this week when the team is in Kansas City for preseason work. The national teams do not yet have a scheduled date for training at the facility.
Coach licensing courses will begin in March, and nearly 200 advanced coaching students from around the country will be trained there by the end of the year. In addition to their classroom work, coaching students will gain practical experience by working with elite youth teams from the Kansas City area, along with Sporting KC academy players.
USA Soccer officials believe that the hotel, shopping, and entertainment infrastructure in the Legends area will be used by trainees and players and will complement the soccer complex by their proximity.
Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes smiled as he talked about the feeling of walking through the state-of-the-art facility. Visiting players, team owners and national officials have expressed their amazement at the capabilities the complex provides. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)Sporting KC veteran defender Graham Zusi joked that the only thing missing in the training center is a dog park. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)Coaching classrooms in the training center adjoin and look out over the fields, to combine class and field instruction in near real time. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)One wall of the great hall common area is dedicated to important moments and championships in Sporting KC and national team history. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)The team lounge includes table tennis and billiards tables, as well as a team classroom and a barber shop. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)Players can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the full-service dining area, with all meals prepared on site. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)The Sporting KC locker room is built so that all the locker space folds completely into the walls. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)The “boot room” lies just a few feet off the training field for players to hang their soiled gear. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)Rows of exercise equipment are available for players to use in the training facility. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)
