Charlotte Co. Youth Soccer Unveils New Crest, Looks Toward Future

By April Hall, Staff Writer

CHARLOTTE COUNTY – Charlotte County Youth Soccer (CCYS), which has been in existence since 2003, has seen much growth through the years, and with that growth comes new and exciting ideas. Just this past January, it was decided in a board meeting to seek a new crest for the league, and to create a brand around the crest.

Board members Kevin Miller and Michelle Parry reached out to the Design Lab at Longwood University, and its professor, Wade Lough and Senior Art Director, Monica McGraw (Class of 2017), to assist in the efforts of creating the new crest. Miller and Parry worked with McGraw’s team to decide on the crest (seen here).

“The concept and direction we wanted to go in was to have something rooted in the history of the county, but that invoked action, and would appeal to the wide range of ages within the league,” stated Miller. “We selected the league name of The Cannons to pay homage to the many artillery units that have served in various wars from the county,” he continued. “I had found a newspaper article that mentioned units from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and many wars after; the article specifically mentioned the Battle of Craney Island in the War of 1812 because the unit from Charlotte County received many laurels for their service. So we thought it would be a great way to tie the league name to the history of the county and was an easy name to brand around,” he concluded.

Patrick Shay, President of CCYS, stated, “I want to say thank you to Longwood’s Design Lab for producing this wonderful crest. It is so much more than I could envision myself. I believe the crest not only pays tribute to Charlotte County’s past, but also to the exciting future of soccer within the county.”

The mission of the Charlotte County Youth Soccer Club is to promote the personal growth, leadership, team building, and sportsmanship skills of our local youth in a safe and positive environment through the sport of soccer.

“The Club offers teams ages 4-18 in the fall and 4-16 in the spring; we are always looking for new sponsors and encourage newcomers to join us regardless of age or skill,” stated Shay. “We will be working on a fundraiser in the near future that will showcase the new crest.”

For more information on Charlotte County Youth Soccer, visit them on Facebook or on their website at sports.bluesombrero.com. Also, please watch for upcoming stories in The Southside Messenger on fundraisers to benefit CCYS.