Panama City Pirates News Release - www.panamacitypirates.com

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

PANAMA CITY, FL -- The expansion Panama City Pirates of the Premier Development League announced local product Nick Mroczkowski as their first player signing in team history.

Mroczkowski knows Florida soccer. The Deltona, Florida native has been playing competitively in the Sunshine State since age five. After spending his boyhood playing club soccer, he was selected to participate in the Olympic Developmental Program when he was in high school, during which time he netted 30 goals and 20 assists for Pine Ridge High School. In 2003, he joined the University of West Florida men’s soccer team and in 2006 he was named to the NCAA Division II South Region All-Tournament team.

Mroczkowski has even seen his fair share of Premier Development League action, having played for Ajax Orlando, a developmental side for the Dutch super club of the same name. After the team left Orlando in 2006, he continued his PDL career with the Central Florida Kraze. Now he will venture away from his home in Central Florida to help bring USL soccer to the Emerald Coast.

Now in his third season in the USL, Mroczkowski joins his former coach, Bill Elliott, at the Panama City Pirates. Having such an established chemistry between coaches and players at such an early stage should make for entertaining soccer.

According to Coach Elliott, “The good thing about having Nick in midfield is having had him play for me for 4 years at West Florida, so there is no learning curve. He’s a hard-working, organizing, ball winning midfielder. He knows the game. And, he’s an incredibly intelligent player.”

At UWF, Coach Elliott was able to see many of the players he will be coaching this summer, both in his own squad and in competition.

The wealth of experience and knowledge Elliott brings to the team has Mroczkowski optimistic about the upcoming season. He says, “The coaching style that he has with the Pirates should make for an easy transition not just for me, but for every other player.”

When the Pirates take the field this summer, fans will be treated to one of the highest levels of developmental soccer in the nation. According to Mroczkowski, “The Southeast Region of the PDL is probably one of the strongest, if not the strongest in the PDL, and I think Florida has a lot to do with that.”

Even with the high level of play and the Pirates’ status as expansion club, Mroczkowski has high expectations for his new club. “I’ve seen the teams that are out there; and when we start practicing together, I think we’re going to be a really big team to deal with. My expectations are for us to be in the top two in the Southeast Division, and definitely to make the playoffs.”