The Troy United Football Club won its first ever tournament in February. Six months later, they continue to find success.

Troy United made a trip up to Dothan this past weekend and walked away runner-up in the 9U Division.

“We just had our first tournament,” Green said. “We were runners up. It was a really good start for us. It was a very competitive tournament with some really good teams.”

The tournament featured teams throughout the state of Alabama.

“Our age group was all Alabama teams,” Green said. “There were thousands of kids at this tournament of all different age groups. The U9 had two teams from the Montgomery area play.”

Since becoming a team, Troy United has had a lot of support from Troy Parks and Recreation Director Dan Smith along with the Troy community.

“We have a lot of support from the local community,” Green said. “Dan Smith in particular has really supported us. We really wanted to give back to the community, so we are trying to find things for the kids to do to give back.”

Recently, the players visited the Troy Animal Shelter. While they were visiting, they helped walked the dogs and cleaned out cages. “All the kids and the parents helped out so it was really cool.”

The community support is a testament to how much the interest in the Troy United program continues to grow. Although they field just one team, there has been plenty of interest around town for more teams and more age groups.

“We have a lot of people asking for different age groups,” Green said. “We modeled our club after the club in Enterprise. There is talent in Troy and soccer is huge in the recreation department, so we have a lot of interest from people that want us to start older age groups and a girls team.”

Green and Adam Drinkwater are currently running the team, so for Troy United to grow, the two would need an increase in the amount of coaches and volunteers.

“We just don’t have enough people at the moment to grow it,” Green said. “What we are looking for are coaches.”

Like Enterprise – who also started with one team – Troy does not require its players to sign any registration fees that later go to coaches.

“They started with one team just like us,” Green said. “They don’t charge registration fees, neither do we. They’re about 200 people now, so they have grown into multiple age groups. I think over time we certainly will as well.”

Troy United will be in action again on September 8 when they travel to participate in the Peanut Classic in Dothan. They will also play in a tournament in October in Montgomery.

Even though Troy United is a 9-and-under program, their roster is full of 7 and 8-year-olds, many of which are in the early stages of learning the game of soccer.

Baseball, football and basketball are popular sports in Troy, but soccer is on the rise. Green believes the interest in soccer could lead to bigger things down the road.

“As long as kids continue to sign up for recreation soccer and get exposure to it, I think it will grow,” Green said.

Players on the current roster include Cole Davis, Joe Drinkwater, Chris Frigge, Jackson Gierke, Pierce Gill, Jordan Green, Bennett Greer, AJ Gutierrez, Dru Jinright and Trip Royal.