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West Jordan Journal

Club opens indoor training facility in West Jordan

Dec 08, 2016 02:59PM ● By Greg James

The 20,000-square-foot Forza West soccer club facility has an indoor turf specially designed to withstand the rigors of soccer training. (Greg James/City Journals)

By Greg James | [email protected]


The competition soccer club Forza West has constructed its own indoor training facility in West Jordan. The facility will be the home to the club’s 65 teams and more than 1,700 players, coaches and parents.

“One of the biggest problems in Utah is inclement weather five months of the year and lack of light,” said Forza Club President Christopher Roemer. “That leads to lack of training for the kids. Most clubs buy space at a warehouse or at a fitness center. Now we can do technical training year-round.” 

The 20,000-square-foot facility is designed with an indoor specialty turf and drop-down curtains to divide the surface into four separate training areas. It cost about $1.5 million to build. The club board members believe it is an investment in the community that will last for some time.

The turf is just shy of 2 inches tall and costs about $4 a square foot. The location of the building is just east of Bangerter Highway off the Old Bingham Highway (3570 West Galaxy Park Place). Its central location will allow families from Sandy, Herriman or West Jordan to access the facility without driving more than 15 minutes.

“Club teams hold an advantage over high school teams because of the amount of talent,” Roemer said. “We met with West Jordan City and tried to let them know what we are trying to do. It is important for us to show them this an investment in the city and our program. We run soccer programs in a few of the schools. It is about the love of the game.”

Forza West is a subsidiary of Forza Futbol, located in Farmington. It claims to be the largest soccer club in the state of Utah. The West branch of the club allows for players to be members but facilitates less travel and more localized play for the club members. The club began in 1979 and expanded to the western part of Salt Lake County two and a half years ago.

Forza Club allows for competitive soccer for players beginning at 6 years old. The club’s coaches are licensed with the United States Soccer Coaches Association. Every team has two weekly hour-and-a-half trainings and competitive tournaments in Utah and across the Western United States.

The 98 Forza AB 19U team won the State Cup, the most prestigious club tournament in Utah.

Forza was originally the South Davis Soccer Association. Building a facility for the club has been the goal, so the teams did not need to try to squeeze into community fitness centers or Soccer City to train during the winter. 

“Competitive soccer has been wonderful for my kids,” said Forza marketing director Julia Howard. “I like to keep them busy to help keep them out of trouble. They have learned to listen to a coach and take instruction. I have had four kids that have played competitive soccer. I am glad we now have this club out here so I do not need to drive to get the best coaching and experience.” 

The club has partnerships with local business such as Mountain America Credit Union and Sports Clips that help create fundraising opportunities and community networking opportunities. 

Forza also promotes its players with college coaches and provides training for success at the college level. They have reached an agreement with eKnowledge Corporation to provide access to the ACT & SAT PowerPrep Programs. These two programs will help players prepare for and increase their ACT and SAT scores. 

“I feel like the coaches in this club are great,” Forza parent Alma Mendoza said. “They do not put the kids down, and they really try to lift them up. They teach and believe in respect. I love this building, and it is beautiful.” 

Club officials realize that most players will not play soccer in college and some athletic scholarships do not pay entirely for the student, therefore, they help provide ways for students to excel and gain more opportunities.

“We try to help the teams financially with fundraisers and stuff like that,” Roemer said. “Realistically, you could play without paying anything if you put the time in and fundraise all of your costs.” 

Forza has another similar facility in Farmington and has plans to build a third facility in the south end of the valley soon. The training facility will help the club to train to develop and play to win, which is the club’s motto.