When was the club first though of and who were the folks involved? What motivated the creation of the Commonwealth Cardinals?
The story of the Commonwealth Cardinals is actually, pretty crazy. The thought to come up with a team first arose in the Spring of 2021. Over the years, I have been training some of the elite soccer talent in the Fredericksburg area. I would organize some open play, which started to attract top tier players from the area, due to the level of competition at these games. Through this and the connections I've made from being involved with getting my son to the highest levels of soccer possible, I started to feel like there should be an avenue for these players to showcase their talents in this area. There is a great love for the sport in this area, but there aren't many opportunities for the players to realize their full potential or an avenue to make their dreams come true. I realized that there are a lot of talented players in the area, and in the United States in general, that may not have an opportunity due to socio-economic factors or just the lack of experience and knowledge of how to proceed. That is when I decided to bring Commonwealth Cardinals FC to life. We want to create a platform for players to showcase themselves at the highest level. We speak about the "next level" and what we look to do is provide that pathway for each player to reach their own "next level", be that college or some sort of professional play. Most importantly, we wanted this opportunity to be merit based; the players themselves determine how far they get based on how hard they are willing to work for their own goals.

As far as those involved, Cardinals originated with me and Rebecca Knapp. I was a little overwhelmed when it came to creating a business plan and filling out the necessary paperwork. I had tons of ideas, but the thought of all the paperwork was intimidating. It was Rebecca who helped guide me through that painstaking process of materializing the vision that was in my head. She was hugely influential in getting the Cardinals off the ground.

We're a sucker for a bird logo; tell us about the naming, the choice of mascot and which one of the several logos you've shown off will be the primary.
Yes, honestly, as far as the name goes, we were originally going with "Fredericksburg Armory". We have a lot of military and history in the area, and it was to pay homage to that; however, eventually we decided to go a different route to incorporate all of Virginia, instead of just the immediate area. In thinking about the state, obviously "Commonwealth" came up and then with the cardinal being ironically beautiful as well as the state bird, we decided on that. As a side note, the branch in the logo is also the dogwood, the state tree; we are proud to be from the area, so we went all in on Virginia. But in the end, we want the Cardinals to be a team that all of Virginia can embrace, identify with and be proud of. The name encapsulates the state, not just the Fredericksburg area.

We are proud of all of the logos, and we would like to use them all for different apparel, but the primary logo will be the one on Instagram, the white logo with the cardinal on the dogwood branch. It's just a beautiful, clean logo that has that "pop".

You'll be playing in the USL2; which clubs are you most looking forward to playing and if you could play a friendly or two with any team from outside your division, who would it be and why?
Oh, that's a great question! I would have to say, Lionsbridge FC. The Lionsbridge owner has been integral to getting us meetings and helping us along the way. We have a great relationship, and even a friendship if I may say. It's going to be a great opportunity to play against that team. Hopefully we can give them a worthy matchup and possibly form a friendly rivalry. "REDBIRDS v LIONS!!"

Other teams I would love to play would be Loudon United or the Richmond Kickers and also Ashland Town FC. I've followed Ashland for some time now, and I really like the way they do business. I think that could be a great relationship for CCFC in order to build players and promote local talent.

Tell us about swag; with such a great name and eye-catching logo, surely, we'll see some items for sale. Is there merch already available and what can we look forward to?
We have jerseys and a few pants available right now. We have almost sold out of everything. We started with pins and magnets, but most of our stock has been sold already. We are working on making it all available again; t-shirts, hoodies, hats, beanies, scarves- all of it. You name it, we want to make it available to our fans, so they can show off their "Redbird/Cardinal Pride".

Getting involved in the community is a strong way to get local support- have you considered any ways the club could volunteer? Join a Chamber of Commerce or Rotary? What are you doing, or what would you do if you could?
Community is and always will be the foundation of the Commonwealth Cardinals. We want to give opportunities to all the players to give back to their community. My son started playing soccer in Parks and Rec. He was able to make it through the ranks and had the honor to play for the Puerto Rico U20 National team. You never know the heights a player can reach when given the opportunity. CCFC has built everything from the ground up; we are grass roots. We will run camps, clinic and even some open play to continue to grow talent through our Youth Development Programs. Our goal is to provide players an environment in which they can come to and learn and grow in the game of soccer. We want to offer them the opportunity to express themselves through the game and have fun with it. We have been working with the Fredericksburg Fieldhouse and Fredericksburg Parks and Rec to create programs to foster a love for and bring the sport to every individual that wishes to participate.

What are your goals for 2022? What markers would you need to hit to say it was successful?
I think every season will have its own unique challenges. With 2022 being our inaugural season, I think the markers for success will be evolving. We obviously would like to see our players grow and develop within the game during the season. Our system will require a high work rate, and we want our product on the field to be entertaining. We want to put on a show for the fans, but most importantly we want to produce elite talent and help these players raise their level of play. Being a first-year team, I think a good goal is to help get any of our rostered players an opportunity to move on to their "next level". If they are looking for overseas trials, I would love for the players to get that opportunity. Whatever their goals are, our goal is to help them reach it, because in the end, it's about the players. If we can help them reach their goals and build a brand through the players that showcases beautiful soccer and provides opportunities for the advancement of our players, then every year we are able to do that I will consider a success, win or lose.

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Shop and get club information from their club website HERE