Exploring the WPASL and the Expansion of the Amateur Game in Wisconsin

In a time when USL-associated clubs like Forward Madison and a soon-to-be named Green Bay USL League Two club are grabbing the headlines, the purely amateur base of Wisconsin soccer- one cemented by giants like Milwaukee Bavarians and the Croatian Eagles -has received yet another boost with the announcement of the Wisconsin Primary Amateur Soccer League (WPASL). Protagonist contacted the WPASL to discuss the league’s goals in both the near future and long term.

The WPASL, which was founded by a series of amateur clubs in northwest Wisconsin, has a clear-cut mission: “The purpose of the WPASL is to give northwest Wisconsin a legitimate, sustainable amateur league for the top players in the area to compete in. In the short term, we hope for our league to give the top amateur and college players in the area a place to play for the late spring and summer… our hopes are to have a team in each soccer-sustaining area and we also hope to have each amateur team have youth systems under them, giving the youth players in our area a team to look up to and aspire to play with.” The league will call northwest Wisconsin home, a region largely void of the beautiful game outside of the youth and recreational levels, and seems determined to take the first steps in changing that trend. “There is also no NPSL or UPSL teams in northwest Wisconsin currently, but I would keep an eye out in the future for developments in those leagues.”

The WPASL is not shying away from the fact that soccer in its home has often been, and may continue to be, attached to the scene in Minnesota. “The WPASL does feel proud to provide northwest Wisconsin with a higher level league for its soccer players, but we would say that we are more keen to compete against and with Minnesota clubs and leagues, due to the fact that most of our cities are closer to Minnesota cities (Duluth, St. Cloud, Twin Cities) compared to Wisconsin cities (Green Bay, Milwaukee, Madison).” The WPASL, despite aiming to maintain a relationship with its neighbors, does feel that it can change the narrative of northwest Wisconsin soccer, a narrative largely built around silence. “We do hope that our league can help to gain respect for soccer in northwest Wisconsin. Soccer up here is not very well respected, especially by those south of Eau Claire, and this is frustrating because there is talent up here, even if thin. This league will give our players a chance to showcase their skills.”

With its first year of existence approaching soon, the league has a clear direction for how large it hopes to be in the near future as it grows in the midst of an ever changing soccer environment. “We will have six teams in our league for 2019. We had interest from fifteen different cities, but there were only eight ready for play this summer, and we decided to begin with six for the first season to make sure we can keep costs low and to make sure our league will run smoothly. We hope to expand to eight to ten teams in 2020, and then we will see how many cities are ready to play after that. We will continue to announce our founding members on every Friday. It's a very exciting time for our league and for soccer in northwest Wisconsin.” The league has announced three of those clubs, including Hayward United, Rice Lake City, and the Eau Claire Heat.

The league’s first announced member was Hayward United, which finished its first and only Duluth Amateur Soccer League (DASL) season in seventh place with a 2-2-4 record. The club grew quickly during its time in a league that, despite its lack of flash, gave birth to Duluth FC of the NPSL. “We [Hayward] joined the DASL in 2018. We were looking for somewhere to play regionally, and they were the closest league. We learned a lot from playing in the DASL. It was a great experience for our team and we met and played against some really great people. The Duluth teams we played against were very even all around, with most of the games being decided by less than two goals. The competition was great for us, but it was also difficult because we had to travel an hour and a half for each game and the league was quite expensive for only getting eight games.” Hayward does hope to maintain a connection to the soccer scene in Duluth, “We hope to continue to play against the teams we played against in the DASL, as they were very even games and we have formed great relationships with the people up there, but it will likely be non-league games.”

Hayward sees its new start and new league as a great way to launch the club into a new era, one where it can build on the beautiful game’s legacy and the way it exists- and maybe eventually prospers -in the northwest of Wisconsin. “We are hoping that the new league will boost our club's support by having more games in Hayward… When I was growing up, there was an adult team here called the Hayward Scorpions who played 2-3 games a year against Rice Lake and Washburn, and I had always hoped to create something more professional, a team for our youth to look up to and aspire to play on. That is the goal we are trying to create here, a system where soccer doesn't have to end after high school/college. We think that this model will help boost soccer all over northwest Wisconsin, and I think that most of the other teams in the league have the same vision.”

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The league’s second announced member, Rice Lake City, does not have prior experience in one of the region’s more well-known leagues, but has played previously to joining the WPASL, “We participated in the Rice Lake Amateur Soccer League (RLASL), a 7v7 adult soccer league… After a successful adult summer season in the year of 2017, the Rice Lake Adult Soccer League had become a growing group of soccer enthusiasts with the goal of providing soccer to adults within the Barron County area.”

Rice Lake City, who had played against Hayward United in friendlies and paired with the club as key voices in the forming of the new league, sees the league as a chance to develop the way people view the adult sport in Wisconsin. “The WPASL was simply the next step as we had so many teams playing in the RLASL… and so much more interest available… we came up with this extension of what the RLASL was already doing and started with a small piece of what will be a much larger puzzle, which will be eight teams in a league eventually. We have a long way to go but the future looks great for northern Wisconsin soccer! Investing in this now can only promote larger soccer in northern Wisconsin.”

The WPASL will play its first season in 2019 with six founding members, though more are expected for later seasons. The league will be the first of its kind through its efforts to unite a largely forgotten chunk of Wisconsin under the banner of soccer. Its current operation, like most of the leagues at its level, is humble at the moment, but lower league soccer in the upper Midwest all too often has shown us that such simple beginnings can easily birth clubs that compete at the top levels. Will WPASL follow the likes of DASL and MASL and provide the beginnings for the next big club? Only time will tell. Until then, the WPASL will make sure that northwest Wisconsin is on the map of the world’s game.

- Dominic Bisogno

Forward Thinking: How Forward Madison FC Decided Their Newly Beloved Crest

It’s rare to see the majority of the soccer world all in favor of a new crest. A crest that captures the personality of the city, colors brought by the eclectic residents, and one that stands out more than others. Forward Madison FC went to the community to get help for what is now one of the most beloved crests in the soccer community. And while the background story about the plastic flamingo and why it was chosen has made its way throughout the press, this is the story about how the crest was chosen and how it almost wasn’t the one that set the internet ablaze.

For those still unaware, USL League One’s new team Forward Madison FC, caught the eyes of many when it revealed its crest as a plastic pink flamingo- the city’s official bird after UW-Madison students put 1,008 plastic pink flamingo lawn ornaments across the university’s front lawn as a prank back in 1979, leading to the official adoption of the bird in 2009. This was the type of quirkiness and “Madison-ness” that Managing Director Peter Wilt wanted represented with the new crest and team in Madison.

“I think we wanted to reflect the spirit of the community. And Madison is a progressive community that doesn’t always follow the mainstream of the United States. As a community, they kind of forge their own path and they’re not always serious. That story of the flamingos is a representation of that culture that has been built in Madison, largely because it’s a university town and it has a progressive, indeed liberal, history that doesn’t always take itself so seriously.”

It wasn’t luck or going with a backstory that ultimately decided the crest. After Peter and his team- including Kuba Krzyzostaniak, Director of Fan Engagement and Digital Media -held focus groups, surveys, and input from the community, they knew they were on the right path of representing their community in a way that would make the town proud. Kuba spoke about the authenticity, saying:

“I think for us, it’s kind of a lot about being authentic and so with the uniqueness of the crest that being true to our community, true to Madison, and how people here view the city and view themselves as kind of being fun, quirky, and different. I think we’re just being really authentic and unique to what our community is about..”

However, the process was a long one and at times sailing wasn’t smooth. In fact, the crest we now love almost didn’t happen, as Peter Wilt explains:

“Forward was the ultimate decision on the name because it was the most popular voted name, we recognize that that name cannot really have a tangible icon that will help fans connect with. So, we started thinking about how we could get an icon incorporated into it. The one that was obvious to us was the Lady Forward statue and we did go down the road quite a bit with that,  to the point that we had several logo designs made with her in it and then a fan, who is also a friend of mine, a former season ticket holder with Chicago Fire, told me how disappointed she was that Flamingos didn’t make the final cut. I told her that after Forward, I think we had more submissions for Flamingos than any other name and I’ve always loved the flamingo story with Bascom Hill. So, I pushed it to our ownership and I was pleased that they embraced it. I think at first they may have been a little hesitant to go divert a little bit from tradition and have essentially inanimate pink plastic flamingo is a bit unusual but they quickly embraced it.”

Peter continued speaking about once the decision was made on the flamingos:

“So, once we had bought in internally, then it was a matter of getting the actual image of what it would look like, and that was a process that took longer than I think any of us wanted. We were busy trying to market the team and connect with the community and once we have a logo and a name, it’s easier to do. But we also recognize that you only get one chance to do this and we wanted to make sure it’s done right.”

And “right” they did. Moving forward, no pun intended, the club hopes to continue to build on its marketing and overall success by doing what’s worked: using the community’s voice. Kuba closed our interview thinking about the future.

“I think that’s kind of what it comes back to for us, is just building from the ground up and making sure we’re getting in front of everybody in our community as much as possible and telling them about our club and getting them excited. From the grassroots all the way up.”

- Jason Weintraub

The Development Team – How a Club in Thessaloniki Inspired Perseverance in Wisconsin

Founded in 2008 and playing its first NPSL season in 2009, La Crosse Aris is a well-known club throughout the lower league landscape of the upper Midwest and a member of the more-recently formed NPSL North. The team’s legacy however, is far more complicated than its veteran status and year to year results may suggest. In search of what drives the club and its origins, I spoke with its founder, Greg Saliaras.

Saliaras founded the club as a tribute to his hometown club, Aris Thessaloniki of the Greek Super League. “It’s a team that’s been established for over 100 years. It’s one of the most historic clubs, especially up in the north in Greece. It has some championships and cups, it’s had some big European moments… I grew up as a fan of the team and always aspired to play for them…  we have tried in the past to build contacts with them… as of this point our closest point has been having a former player as our coach for several years.” Aris Thessaloniki was promoted back into the Super League last season and is sitting in seventh place as of the writing of this article after suffering relegation in connection to financial troubles.

Aris’ time in the NPSL North- and the NPSL in general -has been a tough history of bottom-of-the-table finishes. The club has a combined 0-2-26 record in the NPSL North and has finished last in both of its seasons. However, the nature of the club reveals that the observer should not allow these results to simplify the team as one that just can’t make it click. The team, based in the Wisconsin town of La Crosse, is the only lower league option in an area vastly under-targeted by the soccer community. This has helped form the club’s goal, which is not necessarily to collect points, but rather to pursue development. “We are a team that doesn’t really compete with points, it’s more of a development team. We are in a small market and we always use the team as a vehicle for the 16s, 17s, 18s, and early 20s to get experience at a higher level… and prepare for college.” This approach, while often tough, does bring about positive results. “This last year we had a kid from Holmen, which is an even smaller community than La Crosse. After playing for most of the season with us he went to Greece for a month and a half with a semi-pro team over there just to experience the game over there.” It’s these younger players that call LC Aris home that give the club purpose in its purest sense; to provide paths for local talent to find opportunities in the game in college and beyond.

Image courtesy of Steffenhagen Photography

In conjunction with this, LC Aris considers itself to be a powerful tool that can teach players to always put their best on the pitch regardless of what may have happened last week. “Our mission was always to put a good product on the field, not necessarily win but be competitive and develop youth.” That effort can help kids in La Crosse earn attention that La Crosse would otherwise completely lose out on. “A high school kid when he has two years of playing in the NPSL on his resume… it gives him a better opportunity to get a good scholarship or maybe to get into a better school… players here do not get any exposure… they have to compete with kids from Madison or Milwaukee and they’re so far from those hubs that they don’t get noticed.”

As Saliaras mentions, the Wisconsin scene is one dominated by eastern cities, while western centers- even those with a collegiate presence like La Crosse, Eau Claire, and River Falls -are often left completely off the guest list.

Aris’ experiment, while a challenge, does not lack the occasional prize. Aris’ earned attention during the 2018 NPSL season when it drew the conference champions, Minneapolis City, 0-0 and sent the Crows’ title claim into a brief chaos. The draw, though not entirely expected, is a source of positivity for Saliaras and the club. “We snuck up on them, we had a few other close games too. Toward the end of the season the team really came together… By midseason, we always put a bit better product out there. We almost snuck up on a couple teams actually.” That they did, putting up real fights against Dakota Fusion, Sioux Falls Thunder, and Duluth FC. Asked to summarize how things felt about the both famous and infamous draw, Saliaras simply said that Minneapolis “Were not very happy,” a situation that Aris couldn’t help but enjoy and feel was well-earned.

The year in general represented big improvements for Aris. “We held Duluth for the first half… we were very organized… our goalkeeper was phenomenal all year but towards the end the defense helped him out more… we came together as a team and looked really nice.” The team’s actions on the pitch impacted how the other teams viewed it, with many voices from the conference’s bigger clubs voicing that they saw real improvement coming out of La Crosse. Shortly after the season had ended, Minneapolis City assistant coach Derric Johnson voiced his opinions on the various clubs in the conference on Twitter and had this to say about Aris: “Despite their position on the table Aris made massive positive changes this year. Their shape and positioning was enormously improved… they were also the only team in the North to shutout the highest scoring team in the nation.”

I asked Saliaras about those improvements and how the club, which admittedly focused more on development than results, felt about the fact that it may very well be able to get better results. “Next year we are optimistic. We’re working on a couple deals right now to find different avenues to bring better plays in to support our talented players from last year… we are looking forward to next year.” With several clubs, particularly Sioux Falls and Dakota Fusion, managing to float above Aris with thirteen and fifteen points respectively, the idea that a few wins could change Aris’ reputation is anything but unwarranted.

Remember that club from the beginning of this article, Aris Thessaloniki? The club that had great passion and big moments but, until recently found itself spending three years in the second division due to financial issues? Aris Thessaloniki went from the highest of highs to quite a few lows over the last several years but has found itself back in the big time, playing against the giants of Greek football again. It is that fighting spirit and will to continue regardless of what happened the week before that we now see in La Crosse. Perhaps, just perhaps, in the near future we might see the club that put development before points finding itself following in the footsteps of its namesake, pulling itself up from struggles and making the best of the best remember its name. Until that time, La Crosse will continue to develop young talent and continue to play the beautiful game.

- Dominic Bisogno