Many New Yorkers have gotten invested in soccer with the World Cup taking place in the United States, but there are also plenty of local teams that play throughout the year, and unlike the World Cup, it’s free to attend the matches.
One of those clubs is Central Park Rangers (CPR), which, despite the name, plays throughout New York and has multiple men’s and women’s teams as well as an over-40 team.
The Rangers started as a humble five-a-side team in the ‘90s and went by the name Blue Hawaii. Eventually, Paul Clayton, one of the team’s players, suggested becoming an 11-a-side club, and Central Park Rangers was officially formed in 1999.
“I joined in 2004, so it was already five years in, and there were already great men’s teams and women’s teams,” said Stephen Morse, who is their executive director. “It was well established in terms of training and matches. The players showed up when they were supposed to, and that’s what drew me to it.”
Like Morse, Sean Fitzpatrick got involved with CPR by playing games, but he has also gotten involved behind the scenes.
“Soccer was the only sport I was any good at growing up,” said Fitzpatrick, who sets up Rangers events, including watch parties for World Cup matches. “I just continued to play after college through all of these different rec leagues, and then I found CPR about a year ago, and it was the most organized.”
CPR has had watch parties for the United States’ World Cup matches at Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg.
“When the World Cup is going on, a lot of people get interested in soccer, so we love having events like the watch parties,” Fitzpatrick said. “From the World Cup, I think a lot of people start to love soccer and either get interested in playing or become fans.”
While both Fitzpatrick and Morse still play as much as possible, Morse is involved at all of CPR’s various levels.
“On a day-to-day basis, I’m very involved in the women’s side and the youth side,” Morse said. “With the women, we train three nights per week, and we often train in Red Hook, and we also play many games in Red Hook. The women’s team plays in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, which is a national league, and we’re in the tri-state conference.”
Local team Red Hook FC also plays in the UPSL, but on the men’s side, which is in the fourth tier of American soccer. The top tier is Major League Soccer, and the sixth tier is the lowest one. The fourth tier is a semi-pro level.
“We have a large pool of players in the women’s program, so over the weekend, we were up in Hartford, and then we came back and played in the New York City League and won to clinch first place in the league,” Morse said. “We got to pour champagne on each other’s heads and celebrate, which was a lot of fun. I still get chills thinking about it. It was such a cool experience.”
Morse and Fitzpatrick said that there is some variation within the different leagues, and some leagues within the same tiers are considered to be at a higher level than others.
“On the women’s side, if we win our conference, which includes New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, then we go and play the winner of the conference in upstate New York, and the winner of that then goes to the national finals in California in July,” Morse said. “Even though the conferences start fairly locally, there is always another level and league has teams throughout the United States.
“The game days are always a lot of fun, and we try to get the fans and community involved. Last weekend, we were at Queens College, and we had the youth academy from 9-11 am. Towards the end of that, we had the kids come over to the main field, and after the women are warmed up, the kids come over and walk out onto the field with the players. We also had face painting, food, and a DJ playing, so it’s a lot of fun.”
CPR is also planning to develop its own small facility, and Morse said he loves both Red Hook and Gowanus and sees them as possible locations. Additionally, a goal for CPR is to be fully professional for both the men’s and women’s teams within 10 years.
“Despite the name, the fields in Central Park aren’t always conducive to having bigger crowds, so for now, home games are kind of all over the City,” Morse said. “However, this summer, our youth academy is going to have camps in Central Park.
“Community is at the heart of everything for CPR, and we want to have a space that we can call home and also make it accessible for kids.”
“Something I observed growing up was that soccer was always a middle to upper-class sport, and I felt like they were missing out on so much talent,” Fitzpatrick said. “Most of the talent from around the world isn’t middle to upper-class kids. With our youth program and looking to create a facility, we want to open this up to everyone and give all kids a chance to play.”
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