Unfortunately, Minnesota Thunder Academy started with high expectations and great plans. However, after the failure of the Minnesota Thunder professional soccer club which gave this organization it's status, MTA has been on the decline. Although it is supposed to exist to promote the growth of and raise the standard of youth soccer in Minnesota, it has declined into a club that exists, not for the players, but for the coaches. The initial coaches have mostly left the club and the remaining coaching directors simply hire their high school buddies to coach.
The quality of the coaching has declined significantly, with some coaches not having any certification at all. In addition, some coaching practices, such as refusing to communicate with parents and only communicating with young players personally, insisting on direct texting from the coach to the young player, and using every possible scheme to force the parents to not attend out of town tournaments and events, can make any responsible parent very nervous about giving their child over to this group. It's an open question as to whether they perform background checks on their coaches, but a simple database check shows one of the coaching directors to have been convicted of assault.
We left this past year and are very glad we did.
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- EIN 26-3017116
- (612) 669-1098
- 6600 Nicollet Ave Richfield MN 55423-2462 USA
- mnthunderacademy.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Mission: The minnesota thunder academy is a non-profit corporation that promotes the growth, and raising the standard of youth soccer, in the state of minnesota
Programs: The minnesota thunder academy promotes, sponsors, organized and administers soccer programs- which include the highest levels of play, guidance, instruction and competition, with the emphasis on skill development, teamwork and good sportsmanship for the committed soccer player. The academy has approximately 500 participants.