Building a Club

I’m not sure if most of you know how this club started. To me, it began with a conversation. I was at my wedding shower where a bunch of friends and family came together for the first time. It was nicely done and our hosts were incredibly generous with their home, food, presents, guests, etc. I was talking with a friend who just arrived when another friend, John Staab, came up to me and said, “I didn’t know you played soccer growing up. Your dad just told me.” 

This was the seed. Our discussion led to me training Brennan a few months after. I went to some recreation games that year where I saw Cael, Knox, and Joaquin play together. Later, I saw Finn play in a school game. The next year I saw AFC play with Bear and Alex. I knew there was a need for a different style of soccer, one where possession, technical proficiency, attacking, and constant pressure were a part of an organization's core values. The club I envisioned was open-minded, dedicated to positional play or total football based on my experience as a player and what I loved to watch professionally. This is when I started to tell others, starting with Jessica, John, and Jason (Brennan’s parents). Each one of them had valuable insight, resources, and contacts. Jason Smith even became our sponsor which was an invaluable help in getting started. We setup a team info session and I met Kerry and Cisco, Tyler, John and Melanie, and even spoke to Linda and Ben over the phone since they were sick and couldn’t make it.

I went to a youth coaching training since I put away soccer for several years and wanted to educate myself better. This is where I met Chris Cage. We went out for coffee later on and completely gelled on our soccer philosophies. It was strange how similar our beliefs were. I didn’t know he had a son named Ryan who was only a year older than the boys above, and we started collaborating together. I met so many of you after that: Rhonda, Jaime and Melinda, Stephen, Jasmin, Faiza and Mo, Brian and Dianna. Vanessa, a friend and training partner at jiujitsu, said she wanted her son, Yovannie, to be a part of the team.

In the Winter and Spring, we’ve had Donovan, Colt, Caleb, Adrian, Hayden, Isaiah, and Braedyn join. I’m incredibly thankful to all of you, and to those who were a part of our team for a season such as Tobias, Santi, and Joaquin. And I’m telling you this story because it is the beginning. Above is a web of interconnection between all of us. We’ve all helped one another whether it was carpooling, emailing or texting, taking photos and videos of the players, aiding in our end of the season party, sponsorships, and/or cheering on each player as they play the game they love. All of it is what makes this club meaningful and enjoyable. 

Our club’s story is evolving. We’re looking to build another team for Fall 2020. This team will be an 09/10 boys team. In order to expand, I’m asking everyone to turn on their creative minds and help in any way they can. If you know people I should talk to, or Coach Chris or Coach Vily should talk to, please let us know. I’m happy to reach out to anyone by phone to tell them what we’re about and give them details as to when we’ll be starting next year. 

The month of May will be our "club tryouts”. It’s a time when players will be able to come experience our practices and see how well they fit in with our team and club philosophy. If it’s a fit, great. If not, that's okay. We would rather have a player practice with us a few times, know how we operate, say it’s not for them, than have them sign on for a year and have it not work out shortly into our Fall season. We are looking for boys born in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

If you have someone in mind for Fall 2020 who would like to come to a practice before May, let me know and we’ll be happy to have him at practice. 

Also, I did tell Melinda and some others I’d love to start a girls team. We’ve had interest for it over the year but the ages are all over the place. If you know a girl player who would like to be a part of our club, please let me know. If we have enough interest in an age group, we will begin to promote open practices. 

I really enjoy creating with all of you. Thank you for your input, your efforts, and your continued dedication toward your son and the club. It means a lot to me. 

At Home Ball Mastery

Rollover, Touch - 5 minutes

Wall Pass Turn - 5 minutes

Wall Ball Part 2 - 5 minutes

See you tonight.

Michael