Over the course of many weekends throughout June, July, and August of summer 2025, Central Park Rangers FC hosted Youth Workshops for children ages 2-12. This was the new beginning to a dream that Central Park Rangers had been working towards for years. In early 2020, Central Park Rangers began its first youth program, with children aged 6-12 showing up every week to work on their skills. Children, families, coaches and local volunteers all came out to learn and laugh and build relationships with community and the beautiful game that will last a lifetime. Then, in March of 2020, came the chapter that we all know and loathe: COVID-19 and lockdown. The ability to come together physically had become an impossibility, but the longing for football never ended. CPR coaches hosted online tutorials for players, and children practiced their skills while juggling virtual classrooms, close quarters with siblings, and the ever-present rule of "no football in the house!"

Central Park Rangers worked hard to keep their men's and women's teams strong after the pandemic, but something was still missing. The demand for a youth program was high and the club's strong desire to serve future generations led them to focus once again on developing a program that would benefit the NYC community.

In the summer of 2025, the club launched a series of free workshops for children of all ages. The club was thrilled to see youth coming every week with such excitement to learn what football was all about. Strangers became teammates. New faces became familiar faces. Familiar faces became post-workshop pizza-covered faces. Children were invited to stay and watch the CPR men's and women's matches that followed the workshops, and they left with smiles, proud to wear the CPR badge on their chests.

Now, Central Park Rangers is happy to announce their most exciting endeavor yet: CPR Youth Academy. Registration will open for the spring and summer in early 2026, and we cannot wait to see you there!