Catalyst and 345FC join forces to support youth soccer in the Cayman Islands
The Catalyst Group has joined forces with 345FC to support the development of local footballing talent.
In late 2022, we were introduced to Peter Reijn, James Haggerty, and the team at 345FC and Total Soccer about the possibility of supporting some exciting new initiatives as they prepared for their 2023 season.
345FC is the preeminent youth football club in the Cayman Islands and boasts one of the most successful performance records in the local leagues. More importantly, the organization was built upon, and continues to be managed by a clear set of values that extend far beyond the score board.
The staff and coaches of 345FC and their commercial entity, Total Soccer, believe in using sport as a tool to enrich children’s lives, to teach them important life skills, values, and responsibility. Moreover, they believe in excellence both on and off the pitch. This philosophy and these values have led to the creation of a community of coaches, players, parents and supporters who are accomplishing incredible things.
A large component of 345FC’s player development efforts involves creating opportunities for the players to compete against other talented teams beyond the local leagues. One of the greatest challenges associated with developing sporting talent in a small island community is gaining experience playing against a diverse range of teams with different skill levels. Achieving this involves a mammoth coordination and logistical effort as teams routinely travel to the US, UK, and Europe, to compete in tournaments and play friendly matches against premiership academy sides. The limitation with this is that budgetary constraints limit the number of players that are able to travel each year.
The latest initiative from Peter, James, and the team to help their players hone their skills is the creation of the ‘345 FC Catalyst Development League’. The league, which will run from January to June, will see teams from across the 345FC organization compete against each other under the watchful eye of the coaching staff and parents.
Benji Reid, Co-founder and Co-Managing Partner of The Catalyst Group, commented, “As we grow as a firm, we are really proud to be sponsoring the 345 FC Youth Football Academy and their new development league. This is a great opportunity for us to give back to the community, support young and upcoming talented athletes and to create an opportunity for Cayman to identify the talent that will represent our Islands on the regional and global stage. Along with our sponsorship of CICA, we see this sponsorship as a great way to help nurture and growth the youth of the Cayman Islands.”
Total Soccer Owner & Head Coach, Peter Reijn, explained, “We are very happy to have Catalyst on board as a sponsor as this will enable us to build out more projects that help maximize the development of our children!”