Category: Sidewinder Insider

Thirteen months ago – before I weaned myself from big box American soccer and made a pledge to “shop local” – I became enamored with the fledgling National Independent Soccer Association.

I’ll always give NISA credit for planting the promotion/relegation seed in my head, as well as making me realize the long-term success of soccer in the United States starts at the grassroots level.

Frankly, those were things I hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about before.

According to NISA’s original website:

Promotion and relegation is not complete if it does not include a first division. NISA’s vision for pro/rel is not limited to lower division leagues, but we recognize that pro/rel needs to start somewhere. It will likely take 3 to 4 years to fully populate NISA with 24 teams. At that point NISA can begin promoting teams to a second division league. Once that second division league is fully populated, it can begin relegating teams to NISA. There may be a few years that require NISA to bring on expansion teams to replace promoted teams until the second division is fully populated. Pro/Rel with a fourth division league will not happen until a fourth division league plays a full schedule. Connecting to an existing (MLS) or new first division league with pro/rel is something that requires a bit of faith and vision right now, but we believe NISA’s creation is an important piece of that vision.

Loved the sentiment, dug the plan.

NISA was being proactive in a soccer culture that – more and more – was being shaped by a handful of people representing and working with Soccer United Marketing (SUM) to corner the professional market in the U.S. I’m not a pro/rel crusader in the sense that I’m going to start screaming at you if you don’t think it’s the most important issue facing humanity, but I believe it’s the best path forward.

However, much has changed since the new league introduced itself.

Last weekend, Chris Kivlehan of Midfield Press reported that the United States Soccer Federation had granted NISA provisional Division III sanctioning, greenlighting an inaugural season that begins this coming August.

Currently only Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia and a Connecticut-based entry are officially on board, but it’s expected to launch with at least eight clubs.

So this is all good news, right?

I mean, NISA is now more than just a logo. Plus, playing a fall schedule puts it line with much of international soccer, which I think is a positive step.

But …

I’m not sure what the league’s long game is anymore. Apparently, it doesn’t include pro/rel, which was its “raison d’être” at the outset. Any reference to that has been scrubbed from its website, and has been replaced by this:

We will provide the American soccer community with a dynamic and different approach to the game, where everything is settled on the field.

We will build an affordable pathway that will bring professional clubs to communities throughout the land.

We will create opportunities for local participation while blazing a trail for young players to achieve their highest potential.

We will do it all for the love of the game.

It breaks from the USSF by eliminating entry fees, but now seems less likely to rock the boat. That tends to happen when you want to work and play with the USSF.

Beyond that, though, I’m curious about its impact.

In terms of Division III, fans of “traditional” American professional soccer will have the USL League One to fill their needs this spring; it debuts next month with 10 franchises.

Those of us who want to see a soccer infrastructure built outside the USSF have the Founders Cup to look forward to in the fall; the National Premier Soccer League’s pro venture will answer to the United States Adult Soccer Association, not the USSF. Following its tournament-style intro, it will move to a full spring to fall schedule in 2020.

It made a splash with Chattanooga FC’s public ownership initiative (in the interest of full disclosure, I bought in), and the inclusion of clubs such as the New York Cosmos, Miami FC and Detroit City FC give it some added punch.

While the NPSL has already won me over with its amateur clubs in Asheville and Greenville, my prime professional rooting interest will be with whatever the Founders Cup eventually morphs into.

And frankly, NISA didn’t exactly generate a “wow factor” by rolling out franchises in the form of city postcards with a bit of the markets’ soccer history.

Nothing wrong with that, but if a league wants me to buy into it, it needs to tell me what’s coming, not what’s already been.

Still, I certainly hope it succeeds. While there are certain things I want to see in American soccer’s future, what I want to see immediately are players get more opportunities – and supporters get more options in what they choose to support.

Meanwhile, I’m gonna play the role of “tycoon” with Chattanooga FC, continue my decades-long love affair with the Cosmos, and keep wearing my ACSC and Greenville FC tee shirts.

I’m not sure where those clubs will ultimately lead me – or the sport – but I’m fully committed to the ride.

The soccer community – players, coaches, supporters – can’t get enough of “The Beautiful Game.” And when it comes to community soccer, Lee Squires is excited about doubling his pleasure.

Squires, who guided Greenville Football Club in their first season of competition last summer, is back to coach the squad again in its second year as members of the National Premier Soccer League.

As an expansion team in 2018, GVLFC finished 4-7-3 in the Southeast Conference Division of the South Region, but was in the mix for a playoff spot until the final week of the season.

The club showed marked improvement from week to week, and there were plenty of positives.

“There were many individual moments that were special, such as the first win down in New Orleans, the last minute equalizer at home to Chattanooga, or the two wins over Asheville,” Squires said. “But overall, it was great to see how the club grew in year one, both on and off the field. The connection to the fans and the culture we built is something that we will carry forward into this season, more so than any win and moment on the field from last year.”

Squires already had a great coaching pedigree before taking the reins of Greenville’s adult amateur soccer club. As head coach of Lander University, Squires has compiled a 57-13-9 record with four NCAA Tournament appearances. Last fall the Bearcats finished 16-2-3 and won the Southeast Region championship – making their deepest run in the postseason in 13 years.

According to the skipper, segueing from one team to the other isn’t a difficult transition.

“I wouldn’t say there are too many differences,” Squires explains. “I get more time with my college guys than the Greenville guys, so we can cover more things in practice. We are trying to build a summer squad of high level players, so the depth throughout the team in the summer may be higher.”

Greenville FC President Marco Carrizales said in an earlier interview that bringing Squires back is a huge boost going into 2019.

“His hunger to be better as a coach and his desire to perfect his craft were things that made me very comfortable,” Carrizales said. “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.”

Even though the NPSL season is still three months from kickoff, preparations are well underway. On Saturday, the first of two open tryouts were held at the Kroc Center, with the next slated for February 16.

In 2018, four trialists earned roster spots.

“Tryouts are a great way to bring players in who have an interest in competing for the club,” said Squires, who worked with more than 30 hopefuls over the weekend. “Of course, we cannot make an in-depth assessment on every player in just one day, so we are looking for little things that show there is development potential in a player. Ultimately, we want these guys to make our roster, but in reality they just need to show well enough on the day for us to want to see more going forward.”

As was the case in 2018, GVLFC will face Anderson University in an exhibition once tryouts are complete. That preseason match is set for March 2 at 3 p.m. at the Kroc Center.

GVLFC will once again be aligned in the Southeast Conference Division this season, although there are some changes.

The Atlanta Silverbacks have been rebranded as Atlanta SC, and Chattanooga FC will be making its farewell tour of the league’s amateur wing as it transitions to the NPSL Founders Cup and professional status.

But the bulk of the league will still be based on the adult amateur model, and Squires says that’s important for the growth – and health – of American soccer.

“It’s huge, especially in the smaller or mid-size markets,” Squires said. “Soccer needs to be accessible to as many people as possible, so teams like ours can reach people who cannot easily get to the nearest MLS team. You can see from our fan base last summer what soccer can mean to a community like Greenville.”

GVLFC dug its roots even deeper in the community when the formation of Greenville FC Academy was announced on Monday. The early stage developmental program will be offered at no charge to participants and their families, and is open to participants age 8-12.

Academy training sessions will be led by Greenville FC players and staff and will run concurrently with regular season NPSL play.

And Squires hopes those who come to Stone Stadium for the first time this summer for Greenville FC’s second season will get a taste of what community soccer is all about.

“They can expect a family friendly atmosphere, lots of entertainment, a connection to the players and staff, and an exciting brand of soccer that’ll deliver more memorable moments,” he said.

Chattanooga Football Club has been the Scenic City’s soccer team since 2009.

As of January 17, 2019, it can be your team, too.

CFC’s world got a whole lot bigger – and American soccer got a whole lot better – when the club introduced supporter ownership on Thursday. Eight thousand shares will be sold, giving a turbo boost to the team’s evolution from elite amateurs to a founding member of the National Premier Soccer League’s professional division.

“The American sports landscape is dominated by a relatively small group of very wealthy owners,” club co-founder and chairman Tim Kelly said during the announcement. “We feel this could be a real game-changer to connect communities across the country with teams they love in a deep and meaningful way. Teams leave cities because their objective is not to serve the community, but to maximize profit. By offering our fans ownership and re-organizing as a public benefit corporation, we are permanently committing ourselves to Chattanooga.

“We love this city and will never leave it.”

If you believe in grassroots soccer – if you want to see what it can become – you have to believe this is the best possible move. Instead of an ownership group parachuting into town with a franchise hoping you’ll buy into their vision, a group of people can, quite literally, buy into a club.

Fortunately for football fanatics in Chattanooga and beyond, that club was already there, one that has drawn more than 350,000 supporters since its inception.

This marks the first time an American sports team has “gone public” since the securities reform laws were passed in 2016, allowing these types of investments.

But perhaps even more importantly it lays the foundation for other clubs to do the same.

Instead of big box soccer franchises run by wealthy owners or ownership groups, now there exists a legitimate opportunity for communities to invest in soccer and make it as big as they want it to be.

“This is a great example of (Chattanooga’s) way of coming together and creating a new style of football club,” Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said. “This is another way for us to democratize something that people think of as something for only super wealthy people, to own a sports team. You look at the people who own an NFL team or an NBA team, I’m not talking about if they’re great or terrible people but to do that, you have to be super wealthy.

“This is a chance for us to show a different path for ownership.”

Thursday’s bombshell is not only huge news for Chattanooga, but gives a nice boost to the NPSL as well. Once the “traditional” league season ends late this summer, the NPSL Founders Cup competition – featuring the organization’s fledgling pro squads – will run from August to November, 2019.

The 11 founding members are ASC San Diego, Cal FC, California United Strikers FC, Chattanooga FC, FC Arizona, Detroit City FC, Miami FC, Miami United FC, Milwaukee Torrent, New York Cosmos and Oakland Roots, and I truly hope as many clubs as possible will follow CFC’s lead.

In fact, I hope January 17, 2019, will one day be remembered as the date that forever changed the landscape of American soccer – making it bolder and brighter.

If that’s the case, I guess it makes sense that a club in the Scenic City was at the forefront of the movement.

Investment opportunities can be found at wefunder.com/chattanoogafc.