After partnering with the Houston Dynamo, Texas Rush Soccer Club officially rebranded in February to become the Houston Dynamo-Dash Youth Soccer Club. Although training and curriculum will stay the same, the new partnership helps further the soccer careers of its players by offering outlets for athletes older than age 18, Director of Soccer Operations Simon Boddison said. “It’s a unique club,” Boddison said. “It’s something that didn’t exist in the Houston market. We’re trying to provide all of the opportunities for kids who start off at the age of 3, going all the way through the divisions of competition.” Texas Rush Soccer Club launched in 2005 with approximately 1,000 players. Now, under its Houston Dynamo-Dash Youth Soccer Club name, the group includes 5,500 players metrowide, Boddison said. One Greater Houston area location is in The Woodlands, Boddison said. Since partnering with the Houston Dynamo, the group has expanded its reach as far west as Katy and as far east as Beaumont. “Naturally, being partnered with the Dynamo-Dash helps to promote our name across the city,” Boddison said. “It helps on a regional basis, [and] it helps on a national basis.” Soccer programs range from recreational—welcoming all players ages 3-18—to college-age and professional leagues, Boddison said. Although there are no tryouts for the recreational teams, competitive programs welcome children as young as 11 years old, Boddison said. “There’s different levels of commitment from all of these kids,” he said. “Our elite players—[who] play in the development academy that’s sponsored by the U.S. Soccer Federation—those kids are traveling around the country on the weekend [to play].” Boddison has witnessed the program’s change over time and hopes to see the new partnership increase soccer development in the Greater Houston area, he said. “It’s been an exciting time because we’ve seen it grow,” Boddison said. “It’s an exciting time to be in the game right now.”