A Check in with Maryland Bobcats

With the UPSL playoffs wrapping up, the Maryland Bobcats are proving yet again to be the class of another league. Lately the club has been all aces, matching their play on the field with a slick rebrand and new kit designs. Set to face Soda City in the UPSL semi-finals, they have continued their run league success. I sat down with Evan Raimist, communications director for the club, to fire off a quick set of questions headed into this weekend.

2019/20 has been a great season, can you talk about what has contributed to your success in the UPSL?

There has been a lot involved in the success we've had the last year in the UPSL. I think a lot has to do with the combination of planning on the team's part as well as the dedication to continue to work and get better by all the guys we have on our roster. With our coaching staff, there's no time to switch off and players know that if they do, there is someone chomping at the bit behind them to take their spot. It sounds cutthroat, but there's healthy competition in the team and guys really do want to see other guys do better. We've used a lot of different lineups, used guys in positions that maybe they weren't used to, but if it could help the team, they were willing to give it a go. The guys are fighting hard for each other and the team, and we also have a lot of really smart, dedicated people involved in the club as well. From Head Coach Phil Nana and Assistant Coach Ben Aryeetey who are as invested and smart as they come to our athletic trainer, our equipment manager, and new Technical Director and Assistant Technical Director, everyone is invested in the same goal. As the saying goes, it takes a village, but in our cause I think the key is that our village all has tunnel vision for the same goal.

Thoughts on your playoff run so far?

I think the only thought from everyone at our club is that we're not done yet. We want to finish this thing off as champions and we feel like anything short of that won't do. We've had success this season, but we came in with the goal of a National Championship and that's what we've been working towards all year.

Your opponent is Soda City, what do you know about your opponent and what's the plan for the semis?

We know they're a strong team and have only gotten stronger. We watched their Quarterfinal game against OFC Barca and were impressed with how hard they worked. To get to the National Finals they are obviously a good team, but we feel like we just have to play our game. The coaching staff has been working with a certain plan in mind, but with the quality of the guys on our roster and how we can switch players in and out (and their positions and formations too) we feel like if we play our game and how we are supposed to play, we can play with and against anyone.

What's the magic sauce? Strong runs in MMSL, UPSL, expansion into NPSL - How are you doing it?

There is no secret sauce and I think that's the secret. It just comes down to a group of highly invested people wanting to make a difference on the field and in our community. From the top down, from our President and ownership group down to each and every player, everyone knows that they are just a piece in a bigger vision and that it is going to take each person doing their job to be successful. On the field it's the guys continuing to work, train, and learn the game even if we don't have a game for 4 or 5 weeks in a row. It's going from work or school to train at 9pm and putting in the work, listening to the coaches, and then taking that and performing on the weekends to be successful. From the staff perspective, it's making sure that we do everything we can to make the guys on the field jobs as easy as possible. From having balls for training to gear so they don't have to think about what to wear to letting everyone know plans and travel details as soon as we can, our goal is promote our guys, make sure they are set up to be successful, and let them do the playing on the field. All of this was not built overnight and neither was our decision to join the UPSL and now the NPSL. Everything is very calculated and the NPSL was the next step. It's another step up, both in play and professionalism, and is another platform to showcase the amazing talent we have in the DMV area and beyond. Our goal is to have our club run as professionally as possible to give our guys the best platform to display their talents. 

What players should we be looking to contribute in the semis?

I may be biased but I think you should be on the lookout for every player on our roster because they can all ball out. If we really wanted to give you some players to be on the lookout for, the three players would be midfielder Alex Kao, forward Elton Joe, and midfielder Levi Houapeu. Alex can dictate the pace of play and find the killer pass that leads to a goal. Elton has an eye for goal as he's shown this season so far and can make chances out of nothing. Levi is as smart a player as they come and can read the game amazingly well. 

"A Leap in the Dark"

Last week, NPSL announced a new season, split between the spring and fall. This season won’t replace the existing summer league, but would be an addition and all clubs that planned to participate in the new season would be required to also participate in the traditional NPSL summer league. The logic behind this expansion, according to NPSL Chairman Kenny Farrell, is that “a longer season will provide more opportunities for our players, while teams will benefit from a year-round presence in their market.” Other reporters have done a great job reporting on this new season and, if you aren’t up on the details, I’d refer you to this Midfield Press’ article.

Rather than repeat the league talking points that you can read in every other article about this move, I’m going to instead try to take the mile-up point of view on what this move actually means. Some basic questions came to mind as soon as I heard the announcement and I’d like to discuss those rather than repeat the carefully-crafted talking points that the league is distributing. I don’t think the league is lying or candy-coating things, I think they are painting this in the best possible light, like EVERY organization would. So let’s jump in with both feet.

Appearances May Be Deceiving

Oh, what could have been.

We all know how the Founders Cup fell apart. It seemed half-baked and reactionary from the start and things began crumbling before the ink had dried on the announcement. There was the issue of minimum standards and what clubs could actually afford to be involved. Then, clubs began dropping out before a schedule was even constructed. Then, the issue of insurance (or the lack thereof) reared its head and finished the thing off. It was a black eye for the league and felt the entire thing felt rushed.

What I didn’t know was that the NPSL held off on announcing this new Spring/Fall league BECAUSE of the Founders Cup, in an effort to give the fledgling pro league a chance to shine on its own. In fact, Farrell feels this delay directly led to the departure of certain big name, former NPSL clubs. “We held off on releasing this league because we were trying to get the Founders Cup off the ground. That may or may not have hurt us a bit because some of the teams had decided they needed to play year round and moved to NISA. Had the league been in place, announced in June like we wanted to, we may not have lost those teams. If we had this organized last year, there would have been no need to go to NISA. But then again, maybe they truly want professional players. It’s up to them on what they want.”

That statement is shocking to me because it REALLY emphasizes how unready the Founders Cup was. This Spring/Fall league may feel rushed and reactionary, but it may be nothing more than on pace with the general movement in grassroots soccer. Rather than a reaction to NISA’s rollout or UPSL’s dual season approach, the NPSL may have been on pace with these other leagues but behind closed doors. However, only now did it come into the public’s awareness. If so, good on them for running that tight of a ship.

But what is 100% clear, Founders Cup was a trainwreck from day one. And it was a damn shame. I can only hope that, no matter what this league ends up being, it has been well-thought out and planned.

Seemingly Obvious Concerns

I do worry about the dilution of what a “NPSL championship” means. It might be my biggest complaint against the UPSL model and it applies to this new NPSL model as well. No matter what the league says, one of these championships will grow to dwarf the other, especially considering one season is longer and requires an opt-in that will only be feasible for the larger and better-funded clubs. When I spoke with Farrell, his first response was that “we just don’t know yet” if one championship would top the other, but that “when they are playing the games, it won’t matter to anyone [meaning the players].” And while he called the traditional summer season the “golden child,” he emphasized that this whole move was part of a process and that “to get to where we want to go, we have to be somewhat flexible and creative. We’re taking a leap in the dark.”

And the requirement that clubs participate in the summer season will certainly hurt some of these clubs’ chances in the longer season. Will we see clubs alternate rosters during the summer season to save their better players for the fall stretch run? Mitigating injuries and managing rosters will creep into managers’ minds because it’s an obvious factor they need to consider. I can see scenarios where a club could be leading the spring/fall season standings and then drop down during the summer season.

And while we’re on the question of rosters, we need to discuss the elephant in the room: college players. NCAA soccer season runs August to November. The NPSL has leaned heavily on college talent traditionally, because how else do you fill the rosters of over 100 grassroots clubs without young people willing to play for the benefits of development. So without this talent to fill rosters, what will that fall portion of the longer season look like when all those student-athletes return to their programs to prepare for their collegiate seasons. One side effect is that clubs will be incentivized to build balanced rosters, but amatuer or ex-pro talent willing to play for free is hard to come by. Considering the growth of the USL system and NISA, that pool of available talent is even shallower.

There isn’t an announced deadline for the spring/fall league, nor is there a branded name for this extended league. Both of these facts are a little troubling, particularly if Farrell is accurate about the planning timeline. The NPSL Chairman mentioned that the league was in the works for close to 5 years. And no one decided what to call the thing? Why not iron out the branding before the announcement so it all rolls out as a complete package? There may be a master plan in place, but, at this point, the logic isn’t obvious to me.

One common complaint against the current iteration of the NPSL is there are too many exemptions for clubs who can’t fulfill league minimum standards. According to the NPSL’s press release, standards will be raised for the spring/fall season. Some of those standards affected specifically highlighted include “stadia, staffing, budget, and referees.” To quote Farrell, “we’re not going to have teams just pushing bleachers up to the fields.” That will be welcome news to many owners who have complained both publicly and privately about clubs not achieving the standards. This requirement alone, if enforced as written, will eliminate many of the current NPSL sides. Long-term it will serve to bring everyone up to a certain level, but many teams may sense that their welcome is wearing thin. Will we see rifts grow between clubs who can afford the longer season and those that can only participate in the summer league?

A Fan First

When we started Protagonist, we decided early on to emphasize the positives in every story. And another, longer league is a good thing, without a doubt. I could have tried to write a glowing article about the exciting aspects of a new, longer NPSL season. But at this point in the site’s development, I am also confident we can speak the truth, even to a partner like the NPSL. There is, of course, a chance my fears are unfounded and everything turns out fine. And regardless of your perspective on me or my work, I promise you, that is my wish. But even Farrell has his own reservations about the unknown aspects of this move by the league. “We’ll see where it goes. We don’t know where this will be in two years. It may fail, I doubt that it will fail, I think it could be one of the most popular leagues in the country.” I hope so, too.

- Dan Vaughn

Soccer in the Last Frontier – UPSL’s Alaskan Conference

“Leave the state I love, to play the game I love… or stay home in Alaska, and accept that my best football days are those days behind me.”

— Brett Banks - General Manager of Alaska City FC

Surrounded by the Tordrillo Mountains to the West, Alaska Range to the North, and Chugach Mountains to the South, the setting to soccer in Anchorage is majestic.

In a stirring piece from Alaska City FC’s homepage, founder and General Manager of the Anchorage Alaska based soccer club recalls the story of a talented Alaskan player, who has to make the difficult choice of staying home to be just another local player or leaving to pursue soccer at levels not available in the US’s largest state. An all to familiar story, really, because it could be his own or that of countless amounts of players who want the familiarity of working and studying close to home, but know there just might be a chance of breaking through, if only they can get the opportunity. To be fair, leaving home is a challenge which players from all over the country face when going to off to college to play or taking a chance on playing for that UPSL side far away—but let’s be honest, Alaska is really really far away and until recently, there were no easy choices to make.

Early Spring 2019, however, it was announced by UPSL that the situation in Alaska was about to change for high-level players—the league announced the Final Frontier Conference. It was to consist of four clubs, all based, in and around the largest city in the state, Anchorage. Currently the 68th most populated city in the United States, with 291, 538 residents, spread out over 1,706 square miles; twice the square miles of Houston, Texas. Alaska City FC, Arctic Rush, Cook Inlet SC, and Olimpa FC were shown, first as provisional clubs on the UPSL’s standings page, then as an official conference followed, a month later, by their conference schedule. While the rest of the league, for the most part, kicked off in early Spring, the Last Frontier had to wait until June for their season to begin—it’s Alaska after all, the weather window for outdoor soccer is a small one.

Announced by the league and included in the initial standings, Olimpia FC has not played a UPSL match—whereabouts unknown.

A month before the season was set to start, Olimpia FC was still in the standings table, but organization non-grata in the Last Frontier schedule. According to the league release, Olimpia FC had participated in the Anchorage-based Soccer Alaska League since 2015—placing third in the competition as recently as Winter 2018. The club was founded in 2015 by owner, coach, and Anchorage’s East High School graduate Jose Osequeda. No reason for the club having disappeared from the schedule was given, but a league official has confirmed Olimpia FC will participate in conference play starting 2020. For the other three Alaskan sides, after a short pre-season, the regular Final Frontier fixtures list is underway. According to the schedule, the three organizations take turns hosting at any of the four local soccer fields: Anchorage Gardens, Kincaid Soccer Stadium, Machetanz Stadium, or at Service High School—none of which are more than an hour away from one another.

Because there are only three active clubs, the league schedule is easy to track, with only one Conference match a week. The inaugural Last Frontier match was between Alaska City FC and Arctic Rush, and ended a nil-nil draw. The preseason matchup, however, finished as a goal fest, with Arctic Rush putting six past City and City giving their best to score three goals of their own. Alaska City FC, whose name is an historical reference to the effort of former territorial governor, John Franklin, to rename Anchorage in 1915—ultimately, the name didn’t change, but the club likes to say “Alaskans now have the name they voted for 100 years ago, and the club they’ve wanted for years.” According to Alaska City FC General Manager, Brett Banks, the club’s vision is to be “A true community team that flourishes in Matanuska Valley, partnered with the local community to elevate the level of competitive play in Alaska, provide opportunities for youth development, and provide a positive force for community engagement.” The club’s number one goal listed is to be a participant in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup by 2020—perhaps look for them this fall in the qualifying rounds!

Alaska City FC prepare for the inaugural Last Frontier season and take on Falcons FC in an exhibition match

Brett says it was his son (Josh Banks) who approached him, initially, to look into bring UPSL soccer to Alaska, and set up the state’s first semi-professional soccer team. He pushed back, explaining all the reasons it wouldn’t work, but his son’s persistence and entrepreneurial sprit won the day and paved the way for more local clubs to make the decision to join the league’s expansion conference. Clubs like Artic Rush, who’s badge seems nice, shiny and new, but according to Mike Naylor, the General Manager of Arctic Rush, it comes from some hybridization over the last decade, plus. “Back in 2005, the Alaska Gold-Strikers Soccer Club combined with Rush Soccer… Arctic Rush came from the affiliation of Alaska Rush SC and Arctic North FC, an amateur men’s league team that was run by myself.” Much like Alaska City FC, Artic Rush was born from a player’s love of the sport and the desire to provide a place to play for like-minded athletes.

Mike Naylor goes on to attribute the inclusion of Arctic Rush into the Last Frontier to the Banks family, “I was approached by Josh Banks of AK City FC about the UPSL wanting to start a conference in Alaska, and he thought my team would be a good fit. With the help of Alaska Rush… we were able to enter Arctic Rush into the UPSL for this first season.” Naylor, a former player for Alaska Rush himself, was also a three-year varsity soccer player at South Anchorage High School—he echoes the sentiment that this is a needed step for developing players in Alaska. In a league interview he said, “For a long time US soccer players had to choose between soccer and staying home, and more often than not, home ends up winning… you’re just so far from family and there’s something about being here, and I know there’s a lot of players still here that just going to school and not playing… this will bring those guys back out of the woods, especially now that there’s something to play for.”

Arctic Rush, the combination of Alaska Rush and Arctic North FC, take in a training session at South Anchorage High School

On February 4th, 2019, the league announced Cook Inlet SC would be joining the UPSL’s Last Frontier Conference as well. Founded in 1982, CISC’s academy teams have competed in, and won, over a hundred soccer tournaments from around the United States. They have produced over 60 Alaska State Championship teams and boast full-service professional staff and technical instructors. They are one of the most historic clubs in Alaska and according to Club Executive Director, Brand Horton, “We’re definitely the club that has set the pace for what a soccer club can be in Alaska, and we recognize that there’s a gap for the players in college who want to come back.” So, in addition to the already existing one-on-one training that college players can receive there, Cook Inlet SC has just started up its “Premier” squad to offer competitive soccer at a high-level for these athletes to keep their fitness and maintain technical and tactical sharpness in their collegiate offseason.

“Currently we are not looking to travel but eventually, and hopefully, with some sponsorship, we will in the near future,” said Tim Valesko, Director of Coaching, when asked about Cook Inlet SC Premier’s potential participation in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. We may not see their talented side in the lower 48 in the Cup, but we can keep a lookout for them in the college ranks. Lorenzo Froehle, an alum of their academy, plays his soccer at Manhattan College and for USL L2 side AC Connecticut, while Kelly Cobb, who played at Duke University, also played for the Women’s U20s who won the World Cup. While there is a whole list of players from CISC who decided to leave their home to find success in soccer, the club’s sentiments echo those of their Anchorage neighbors when it comes to providing opportunity to stay local. “Most of our players have stayed in the lower 48 state and played Pro Development near the colleges, but now we’re giving them the opportunity to com home, be around their friends and family, get some high-quality training… and play in a competitive environment.”

- Joshua Duder

All of Cook Inlet SC’s programs, from youth to the newly minted Premier, get access to The Dome—especially useful in Alaska’s climate.

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The UPSL’s Last Frontier Conference season has just begun, follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or just check out their websites for more information (below). Keep an eye on https://www.protagonistsoccer.com/ for upcoming player profiles, club spotlights, and match results.

Alaska City FC: Website, www.alaskacityfc.com/ and Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/akcityfc/

Arctic Rush: Website, https://www.alaskarush.com/ and Twitter, https://twitter.com/ArcticRush1?lang=en

Cook Inlet SC: Website, http://www.cookinletsc.com/home.php and Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/cookinletsoccerclub/