Soccer in the Midwest has a great history and a great future—DeKalb County FC, of the UPSL Midwest, is a newer club but has long-vision. Club President John Hall helps us get to the roots of non-profit organization; he explains how they aren’t here to plow down the competition, but instead, nurture meaningful soccer relationships and other clubs bear the fruit of their labors. We put DeKalb County United in the spotlight, added a UV bulb, and can’t wait to see the results…

You were established in 2017 as a 501(c)-4, why is it important to be set up as a non-profit? Dekalb County has no ownership and is volunteer managed—tell us about the club culture this creates.

When we formed the club, not only did we have no money to start it, but we had no intent of ever taking any money out of it IF it became profitable. Our status as a non-profit was not only about our corporate business structure but also of our intent. The goal was never about making money, and that has not changed. Being a non-profit, with a working Board of Directors and volunteer staff members shows our community and players that we do it because we love it, not because someone is paying us to love it. We have events where we have 10 to 15 volunteers show up to help and I think that really meshes with our goal of bringing people together in support of a club that represents us all, and it will go as far as we each contribute to it. I have repeatedly said that if the community decides at some point that it doesn't need a soccer club like this, or can't afford to support it through sponsors, ticket sales, etc… then we don't need to exist. So far, the community, the people and the passionate volunteers have been excited about having a local club to support so it's really started off well.

There’s plenty of teams in and around Chicago, what led you to set up Dekalb County? How does it help a neighborhood or community to have a club of its own?

DeKalb County is about 60 miles west of Chicago and DeKalb/Sycamore is separated by about 25 miles of corn fields from the nearest suburbs. We're on a bit of an island geographically which can be a benefit and also a challenge. With 70,000 people or so, we're big enough to support a club like this, but assuming we can sustain through the first five years will may plateau in terms of growth potential. Within 45 minutes there are a number of large, strong youth clubs closer to the city and we're hoping to draw a few of those youth players, parents and coaches west in support of our program over time. The Board is currently made up of five people who grew up in DeKalb County, so representing this community was the only option.

There seems to be a remarkable amount of soccer clubs in Illinois, and close-in to the Chicago area, are any of them rivals? Some of them even play in regional leagues you might not ever compete in—what kind of relationships do you have, or hope to form, with these clubs?

I've said it many times before, the more teams the better. In our first season in the UPSL in 2018, we had four division opponents under 75 minutes away in the Chicago area. Our farthest road trip was 2.5 hours to play Union Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa. We were spoiled, and yet as you said, Chicago has the population to support 50 teams. I'm not sure why more have not made the jump to a national league, although I expect the costs associated with operating are a big factor.

As for relationships with other clubs, this is a never-ending process. Our club is trying to sort out our identity between being a club that can help young players develop and get to the next level, and a club that allows local talent to feature for their hometown club and keep scratching that itch to compete. I'd like to see us find a place in the middle so a 19-year-old can come play a few years and then we can help them get a trial with a USL club and go pro. But we saw it last year too that players who may be a bit closer to the end of their careers, but who are from DeKalb County, dig a little deeper in the late minutes of a match. There's something romantic about the hometown kid, now a grown up with a family, being able to wear the shirt for us. So finding a way to serve both types of players will be an important balance for us and it will take time to really figure out our identity.

*#DKCU give their fans something to cheer about (Photo from DeKalb Daily Chronicle)*

You’re an hour or so away from Chicago, which has a rich history of soccer, do you plug into that history? Do you feel like Dekalb County is a part of Chicago’s pedigree?

I don't think we're "Chicago-based" but we have plenty of players tryout and play for our club that travel from the city so maybe I'm too close to it to really know. We want to be known by the Chicago masses for a number of reasons, but we're focused more on growing our awareness in our own community first.

You have one of the most unique badges in American soccer, could you explain the elements of its design?

Thank you. We had a local artist named Michael Figueroa (@figsigarts on twitter) design it. We just told him we wanted the design to incorporate the corn fields and soccer. He came up with some sketches and it didn't take long to sort it out. The green and yellow is obviously a corn field color scheme and he was able to throw in a bit of barbed wire which was invented in DeKalb. The big yellow ball, aside from being corn, shows that the club is literally growing from nothing. DKCU was a grass-roots effort to start it, it takes time and effort to maintain the club and it reminds me that it'll all be worth it when we harvest (lift trophies.) Yes, it's very cliche but it hits home.

*The first sketch of the DeKalb County United badge—who doesn’t love seeing works of art in progress!*

Dekalb County is a new club, what have you accomplished in the past two seasons and where do you see yourself by 2020—what are you competing for, what are the incentives for competing?

A few things come to mind by 2020 for me.

1. Sustain. We've read the articles, we've seen clubs come and go and we know that there is nothing promised for tomorrow in life or with this club. We have to understand our situation, know the limits of what we can do, and focus on things that move us forward even if that means sacrificing something today so that we can be here tomorrow. We opted not to participate in the Open Cup qualifying this past fall. I've been excited to see us participate and let our players have that experience since the beginning. But when we stepped back and took the romance out, participation in the US Open Cup does nothing for our club other than cost us money. The appeal of the tournament is to get to play an MLS team, but we aren't ready as a program to win 3 or 4 qualifying fixtures yet and we can't afford to spend $10,000 to do it. I can argue the Open Cup like anyone, but it doesn't move us forward at this point so we passed. To make a true impact on our community, our youth players, our supporters or our players, we have to exist.

2. Financial independence. In our opening season we relied heavily on sponsors to help cover operating costs as we were getting our feet wet. This worked out for us in year one, but I don't expect, or want to rely on those contributions for the long term. In the next 12-18 months I want to find ways to create our own revenue through camps, clinics, tournaments and other soccer related projects.

3. Find our place. We enjoyed the UPSL last season and from a cost standpoint, there's not a better option in a national league. But we found the varying levels of professionalism to be a challenge. This is not a knock on other programs, but we were passionate about our game day experience where as others just had a field to play on. We don't want to be a recreational program and we want full stands of supporters. We want, and need, supporters to pay money for the experience of watching us play and enjoying our game day experience and we want them to feel they've got great value in doing so. We want other clubs to do the same so that our fans want to travel and support our team. There may have been better teams out there, but we'd put our professionalism up there with anyone. I'd like to see all clubs put their best foot forward so that this level of soccer is something to be valued and appreciated by our communities.

*DeKalb County United unveil their kits (photo from DeKalb Daily Chronicle)*

Bonus - My last two points I'd like to make on your platform are these...there is a need for the UPSL and NPSL to work together. There can be a common ground by which both can meet league objectives and grow. I've shared those with the UPSL leadership as a member club and I hope that somehow, they can get in a room and sort it out. For the next 5-10 years, there should be both a drive to grow the number of clubs so that geographical areas can have cost effective travel, and an initiative to listen to and assist clubs in ways that help them sustain. If that stats run true then we'll see hundreds of clubs shut down in the next five years, and new one start, then shut down, etc. Our iconic clubs that last a hundred years will be few and far between. UPSL and NPSL have different business models but I think those differences can be overcome and actually complement each other very nicely if there is a desire to work together.

Bonus 2 - If you are in this semi-pro, non-league, division 4, 5, 6 level of soccer for money then take a step back. I'd love to hear from a club that makes money consistently from running these teams. Truthfully, because you have knowledge that needs to be shared. For most, I suspect the clock is ticking before current owners decide enough is enough. Any club that folds is a loss for us all. We need to find value to helping each other, sharing ideas, networking and promoting each other. I'll share anything I can with anyone, just as Dennis Crowley did for many of us, because this isn't about me. It's about soccer and the smiles on the kids’ faces who come and watch DKCU play.

Silo Supporters have their own badge, incorporating elements of the club’s badge—DeKalb County seem to be set up for the long-haul, and with great support, we hope they stick around for years to come.

- Josh Duder

Paul Azor (pronounced like the Azores) took some time out of his schedule as club President of America Soccer Club to sit down and answer some questions about the high-flying new club based out of Winter Garden, Florida.

Can you give us a little bit about your soccer background?

I played in Manchester United (laughing and poking fun at this writer’s love of Liverpool FC). No, I played in many, many countries for over thirty years, but never professionally. I had the typical Brazilian background, I played it and watched it, so basically it was in the blood.

So, you have that Samba style of play?

I’m half Brazilian, so a quarter of that half is good enough to start something (more laughter).

You answered this prior to the interview, but America Soccer Club started as an adult side first, correct? And you recently started building a youth academy out from that?

Correct.

When the adult side was first established, did you look at any other leagues besides UPSL?

Yes. We were going to go with PDL or D3, but UPSL at the moment when coach Marcos came and gave me the idea, it was much more affordable for what we needed to start with. Once we got in UPSL and got started, we really liked it. Everything’s still new and needs some more organization, but it’s perfect for us right now so we’re going to stay.

You said the affordability of UPSL was what really brought you to the league.

It makes sense. We wanted a team and wanted a league to participate in something like the US Open and UPSL has provided all these answers for us. So, I would pay much, much more for a league we aren’t going to leave. Later on, we may move to another league, but we aren’t going to leave UPSL. We are going to stay with UPSL.

Were/Are there plans to expand to PDL, NPSL, even the new D3, NISA, and maintaining a reserve side in UPSL?

All options are on the table right now. We are going to start studying all of these options next year. Once we get established after this first year or even the first half of 2019, it will teach us a lot of things to gain experience and we will know a little bit more of the know-how.

As the President of an amateur Non-League club here in the US, what do you feel are some of the biggest challenges that the team faces?

The uncertainty or what’s going to happen. I’m sure every team owner in this country is focused on this. Tell us what needs to be done, tell us what is going to be done. We hear stuff that they are going to regulate it. Is UPSL going to be third league or fourth league? We need to know if there’s a serious chance (of moving up with UPSL) or not. It’s okay both ways. We just need to plan. We need to plan where we’re going with our club.

Maybe I don’t want to stay amateur and want to go professional. But if UPSL has a chance of moving us to a pro level, I’m sure with the cost, I’m not denying that. At least we can stay with UPSL, but we don’t know what’s going on. Nobody knows. It’s all guesswork and talk, but you cannot take them seriously. That’s my first problem, where are we going to head next?

We are in UPSL and going to stay UPSL, whether it stays semi-pro or goes full professional. We are staying with them, but again, what do we need to be pro? We need that pro team. Where do we go? D3? Then I don’t know what. We may as well stay with UPSL. No one communicates with us because we are semi-pro or amateurs. We don’t know the answers.

So, again, the biggest issue is lack of communication over the structure and whether UPSL will be third division or fourth division. Okay, when? Three years? Fine, we’ll go build our own field with ten thousand seats and we wait. If no, we can make other plans. That’s what we need to know.

So, the uncertainty of the future is another issue in your eyes?

Exactly.

What can US Soccer and USASA do to help the amateur side of the game here in the US?

More budget. It all comes down to more budget. We’re doing this alone with one owner. And the owner has to hold on to everything, including expenses. They talk about sponsors, but I haven’t tried yet. But, for sponsors at this level, what are we talking about? 500? A thousand, five thousand? That wouldn’t pay the salaries of the team for a week. So, there’s nothing to look toward for clubs that are getting serious about this.

If you look at our staff, they are at the higher end at this level. We are ready to produce players and teach the young ones how to play correctly. We are doing everything the US needs today the right way, but we’re only one, so they can come and interfere. They need to come and see what we are doing right and assist clubs that are serious about producing players, like sponsorships or incentives. Even advice, forget the money, we’ll take care of that. We are on our own. There’s no book we can open and learn from.

The system and budget are left in the air. To tell you the truth, we are a club that will produce players. Players that started with us less than a year ago will be in the US Open next year. We just need a point of contact if questions come up. We can’t just be left alone and ignored.

This should have been asked at the beginning, but I’ll ask it now: what are the club’s core principles?

I used to go to a lot of academies around Jacksonville and found out that most of them were a joke. I don’t know what people are paying for. It’s going nowhere, the kids go for fun and just kick the ball and go home. It got me a little bit upset.

So, we decided to start a soccer school to teach kids correctly.

All of our coaches are very good from the technical side of the game. We want to produce players and teach them to become something, whether it’s a college player or professional player. But it depends on them. We can open all the doors for them, but they have to take that step forward. We’ve got connections in almost every club. But to open doors, you have to produce players and the US isn’t doing that. (Writer’s Note: there have been more young players going overseas in recent months). Why? Because clubs just want to make money. They don’t want to teach and produce players.

Our number one goal is to produce pro players in the states. We already know the guys from Brazil have it in their blood. We want the American guy who decides he wants his son to have a shot at soccer (e.g. Pulisic or McKennie).

We have three Americans in our team. Is that normal? I don’t find it normal. We have to have Americans in the team that came up from our academy.

We have two places in Jacksonville and Orlando that we are planning on building training centers. We have the land and the permits but I’m holding off for now due to the issues we talked about. I’m willing to build these centers with 6,000-10,000 seat stadiums, but I don’t know what’s going to happen. If I get an answer today, I’ll start building tomorrow.

With the interview done, Mr. Azor invited me to attend the club’s next training session and speak with one of the coaches and possibly some of the players. I showed up the following week to the field they were training at and stood to the side until they were done with practice. I got the opportunity to speak with both the coach, Marco Borges, and former Orlando City and soon to be Orlando Seawolves player Tyler Turner. I didn’t waste much of their time due to it being late, but I was able to ask a few questions.

What are some of the biggest issues with US Soccer?

(Marcos): The kids aren’t allowed to express themselves and the coaches want specific things. Our club is looking to change that with the introduction of our youth program.

What would you describe the team playing style as?

(Marcos): The team is a mesh of different nationalities, so the playing style is a mix of samba, tiki taka and direct play. I mean, we have guys with the team who are as young as seventeen trying to make a name for themselves and the mix of styles is beneficial for them.

I only got to ask Tyler one question before he had to leave, but I feel it was a solid question to ask.

As a player who’s played both professionally and at the semi-pro level, what is the biggest difference between the two?

(Tyler): When I was with Orlando, I played under an English coach who was more direct in the team approach, whereas playing for Marcos at America has given me more of a tiki-taka style of play.

- Shawn Laird