Category: Sidewinder Insider

As understatements go, calling 2018 a challenging year for Motorik FC Alexandria ranks right up there with the classics.

The grassroots soccer team made a huge leap forward when it joined the 2nd Division of the Maryland Major Soccer League, and managed a 3-1-6 record while competing in the South Division of the promotion/relegation circuit.

But wins, losses and draws don’t come close to telling the season’s tale.

There were player defections that kept the roster in flux and, sometimes, made the squad shorthanded on match day; coaching changes that came in-season; occasional practice challenges (such as players not showing up); and the club even had difficulty securing a pitch for its home matches.

Growing pains are to be expected; the hair-pulling pains are much worse.

Still, club founder Kenneth Tebo knew going in there would be many obstacles to overcome and hurdles to clear.

Part of grassroots soccer is planting the grass and then giving it time to grow.

The good news is that Motorik survived the volatile campaign thanks to a core of fully committed players.

“Last season was very tough,” said midfielder Roger Castro, who joined the club during its Summer shakeup. “A lot of guys left, and left us to die in a hole. But we managed to bounce back and get two more wins under our belt, and just narrowly missed the playoffs.”

The hackneyed saying – “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” – has some merit in this case.

“Last season we had a lot of ups and downs,” forward and team Golden Boot winner Ibrahim Kabba said. “But we have a tryout January 13th so I hope new, better and more dedicated players come and see what great opportunities Motorik FC has in store for them. Clubs at this level don’t give what Motorik and the president offer, to be honest. You only find these things at pro academies, and it always comes with a hefty price.

“But here at Motorik you spend maybe about $200 for the season, and you’re set.”

Kabba was an object lesson in perseverance last season, overcoming a major ankle injury – and some self-doubt – to win the Golden Boot and emerge as one of the club’s leaders.

“The worst part of the season was a game against Rockville where I sprained my ankle and was out for basically half the fall season,” he said. “I missed four games, and at that time I had only one goal for the season, so mentally I was dealing with thoughts of maybe quitting or maybe I just wasn’t good enough for my position.

“But knowing my mentality and how hard I work, I just blocked those thoughts and continued to recover, and ended up coming back stronger and setting records.”

Kabba finished the season with five goals and one assist in league play and nine goals and two assists overall, and he and his mates won’t have to wait long to get back to work.

After the January 13 tryouts at Loisdale Park in Springfield, Virginia, the squad plays El Salvador de Manassas FC in a friendly on January 26.

Then, Motorik begins Stewart Cup play on February 3 when it faces 1st Division club Academy FC in Columbia, Maryland. That competition dates back to 1932 and determines the amateur champion of Maryland. The winner advances to the United States Adult Soccer Association Region I qualifiers for the US Amateur Cup.

Between friendlies, cup competitions and Spring and Fall seasons, Motorik is in almost constant motion.

And the players who saw things through to the end in 2018 are proud they helped hold things together.

“I think Motorik is the best fit for me right now because of how well-connected everyone is and how everyone pushes each other to strive for greatness, and that can only help you in positive way,” Castro explained. “We’re building something truly special to become a championship team, and with our dedication, there is nothing that can stop us.”

Both Kabba and Castro says the naming of Walter Cobb as the club’s new skipper has been arguably the biggest offseason boost.

“The coach is phenomenal,” Kabba said. “I personally train with him and he has helped me improve a lot on my finishing and turning towards the goal. These are the kind of coaches you want when you want your team to go forward.”

Castro agrees.

“Walter Cobb is an amazing coach,” Castro said. “His play style is one that all players love – a possession base style where we don’t force any balls and are comfortable with the ball and scanning our shoulders constantly and limiting our touches to help us play the game faster.

“And if we are two seconds faster than the other team, we will surely make the jump to first division in the Maryland majors.”

Motorik FC has already expanded its footprint by entering into a working relationship with Nigerian club FC Leyenda, with the goal of acquiring a couple of its players on loan.

Closer to home the club has a tentative agreement to play a pair of high profile friendlies against Chattanooga FC – one of the founding members of the fledgling professional wing of the National Premier Soccer League and a shining example of grassroots soccer.

Supporters can also become patrons; for a minimum contribution of $250, members of the Motorik FC Player Sponsor Program can have their name and/or logo placed on the back bottom of a player’s jersey with the investment split evenly between the club and player.

And while there are sure to be more challenges ahead – even unexpected ones – there is no lack of enthusiasm on the part of the players.

“I’m really looking forward to lifting a trophy with Motorik this season,” Kabba said. “This will be our second season playing together so we’re still working on the chemistry. We already have individual talent. This season for me our main strength will be defense and midfield.

“If we can get those two parts better with the help of our new coach, we’ll be looking at our first league trophy.”

The 2018 National Premier Soccer League season ended in August and won’t restart until May, 2019.

But anyone who follows the league knows it has stayed busy since Miami FC2 won the NPSL championship.

And anyone who follows Greenville Football Club CEO and President Marco Carrizales – well, they need to keep up.

Other than a brief break following GVLFC’s inaugural campaign, Carrizales has stayed in motion, working to build on the club’s foundation.

“It may seem like a long time, but the work never stopped,” Carrizales said. “We went on a brief vacation after the season ended but picked up right where we left off. I consider this my in-season and the actual season as my off-season, if that makes sense. This is when all the real work takes place. Finding new partners, acquiring new sponsorships, finding new ways that will position us better in the community as well as focus on things we can improve on.

“I’ve been busy and only expect that to increase as we inch closer and closer to season.”

Greenville finished 4-7-3 while competing in the Southeast Division of the South Region Conference last season, showing marked improvement as the campaign progressed.

Aside from showcasing quality amateur players (midfielder Jack Hoey was an all-region selection) the team also found the perfect fit in head coach Lee Squires.

Squires, whose primary job is head coach of the Lander University men’s soccer team, led the Bearcats to a 16-2-3 record in the fall and produced five all-region players.

“Lee reached out to me after another opportunity fell through,” Carrizales explained. “At the time we were talking to a couple different options, but Lee immediately stood out to me. His hunger to be better as a coach and his desire to perfect his craft were things that made me very comfortable. Player development and player happiness are essential for us to recruit high level talent, and Lee provides that for us.

“I can confidently say that Lee has full trust from us and I’d like for him to stay for as long as we can have him.”

GVLFC plays its home matches at Eugene Stone III Stadium on the campus of Furman University, and developed a strong following in its inaugural campaign.

The “prep and landing” was first-rate from the start, and Carrizales says one of the most gratifying aspects of year one was seeing the club grow from an idea to an actuality is such a short period of time.

“I think the biggest obstacle was pinpointing how we wanted to present this club to the community,” Carrizales said. “What do we want to be about, and how do we want to go about creating our image as a club? That was tough. You don’t get a second chance at launching a club so we really needed to be set on what we believed in and how we could build foundation we could further build upon. It’s a scary thing going into the ‘unknown,’ but we just had to embrace it and believe we were right.

“I think it panned out better than we ever could have imagined.”

Carrizales recently returned from the NPSL annual owners meeting in Minneapolis, and the big takeaway was the formation of a professional division sponsored by the league.

Starting with a Founders Cup competition in the fall, the new league will play a full schedule in 2020 with 11 charter members: ASC San Diego, Cal FC, California United Strikers FC, Chattanooga FC, Detroit City FC, FC Arizona, Miami FC, Miami United FC, Milwaukee Torrent, New York Cosmos, and Oakland Roots, with plenty of room for growth.

Otherwise, the NPSL will maintain amateur status with its other clubs spread across the country, including Greenville.

“We took a deep dive into (the owner meetings) and we learned a lot,” Carrizales said. “As far as Greenville FC is concerned, we are very happy where we currently are. The opportunity to remain sustainable is at an all-time high where we currently stand, and we are very comfortable with that. I will say, however, that our league is in a very good position and the executive staff as well as board of directors are the right individuals for the job. I left the (meetings) feeling very reassured in the direction and mission of the NPSL.

“I’m excited to see it grow.”

Of course GVLFC will have company in 2019 as Greenville Triumph SC joins the Upstate soccer scene.

The Triumph will play in League One of the United Soccer League and is part of the USL’s closed professional pyramid.

But the addition of a new franchise won’t change the mission of a second-year club that looks to deepen its roots next summer.

“I knew that if we presented this club in the right light and created something that wasn’t about the club but the community, then it would really take off,” Carrizales said. I think attendance numbers showed that we were right in our thinking. We get asked a lot about maintaining attendance, and I’ll say that we don’t look at it like that. We are only in competition with ourselves as marketers and club executives. We didn’t start this to mirror any other club or try to outdo any certain club. We set out to create something the community believes in and build the GVLFC community around that, day by day.”

As part of that commitment, Greenville FC and Copa Indoor Soccer are hosting a holiday camp on December 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Copa Indoor Soccer. Copa’s Anthony Esquivel and GVLFC staffers will offer instruction, but the event will also serve as a soccer cleat drive.
The GVLFC supporters group, the Mill Town Operatives, and Copa staff members will be on site accepting new and used soccer cleats during the camp hours.

The boots will be donated to those in need in the community.

“I can tell you that when making decisions as a club, we do that with our GVLFC community in mind and what we believe will outdo what we did yesterday or the day before,” Carrizales said. “I believe we’ve built something strong and something to stay.”

For someone who has followed Chattanooga FC for a while now, hearing on Thursday that the club has a new life in a new league was terrific news.

Same goes for Detroit City FC, another club built by supporters, for supporters.

And as a guy who still cheers for the New York Cosmos and used to live for the old “Soccer Bowls” and the original North American Soccer League – the launch of the National Premier Soccer League’s pro circuit resonates.

According to a NPSL news release, the clubs will compete in the first-ever NPSL Founders Cup competition that will run from August to November, 2019.

The exact format is still being worked out.

After that tournament-style debut, the circuit will play a full league schedule from spring to fall in 2020, falling in line with the American professional soccer calendar.

While the “traditional” NPSL plays a truncated summer schedule with amateur players, NPSL Pro (or however it ultimately brands itself) will be full-time with paid coaches, players and staff.

“We are very excited to bring a new brand of community-based soccer to the U.S. market,” NPSL Chairman Joe Barone said in a statement. “Beginning with the Founders Cup, fans will be able to enjoy watching authentic clubs compete with professional players and staff.  This new venture will build upon the success and experience of NPSL and its nationwide network of local soccer club members.”

Aside from Chattanooga, Detroit and New York, the 11 founding members are ASC San Diego, Cal FC, California United Strikers FC, FC Arizona, Miami FC, Miami United FC, Milwaukee Torrent, and Oakland Roots, with plenty of room for more clubs in the future.

(The Roots, by the way, have one of the best crests in the history of crests. Look it up).

If you want to view NPSL Pro as a “renegade league,” feel free … I doubt they mind.

It will exist outside of the United States Soccer Federation because instead of a franchise model, these clubs are sticking to their grassroots growth plan.

“Having been Chattanooga’s football club for 10 years, we are really excited about the future and moving up to the next level,” Sheldon Grizzle, Chattanooga FC general manager, said. “This has been in the works for several years and we are proud for our fans and supporters to see this come to fruition.”

Instead of the USSF’s blessing – which was neither sought nor expected – the new league is aligned with the United States Adult Soccer Association.

“We support our members’ growth and expansion of their leagues,” USASA President John Motta said. “This is another opportunity to develop players, coaches, administrators, and referees at the highest level of adult soccer. This is absolutely critical for player development, as it prepares players onto the next level and also for referee development, as this level of adult soccer is the best training ground for referees in this country.”

Growing up in the Deep South in the late 1960s, soccer to me was so rare it was damn near exotic. Now, though, it’s everywhere.

Aside from NPSL Pro, the National Independent Soccer Association is set to kick off its inaugural season in 2019 with eight teams.

USL League One, the United Soccer League’s newest circuit, also debuts in 2019 with 10 franchises.

They function as a “third division” in America’s mythical soccer pyramid, with Major League Soccer and USL Championship serving as the first and second divisions, respectively.

However, since NPSL Pro exists outside the USSF structure, it conceivably can grow into something more.

When you look at the vastness of the fourth-tier NPSL – more than 90 clubs are scattered across the country – the possibility of one day having a true pyramid with promotion and relegation exists.

Beyond that, though, I just like the fact that these 11 clubs want to chart their own course in “The Beautiful Game.”

Obviously I’m happy for all the teams involved, and glad the Cosmos have found a professional home again. But I’m especially pleased for Chattanooga and Detroit, two clubs that have refused to stray from their grassroots model.

If NPSL Pro is ultimately the future of American soccer, those two cities will always be remembered for being ahead of the curve – and helping lay the foundation.