Bangu Tsunami Joins Minnesota Thunder and Wings SC to form Minnesota Thunder Academy

 

Thunder Announce Revolutionary Youth Development System
Minnesota Thunder joins forces with Bangu Tsunami FC and Wings SC, two of the state’s most successful clubs, to develop an international-style soccer academy

(June 12, 2008) The Minnesota Thunder Professional Soccer Team has taken a bold new step to help reshape the soccer landscape and make Minnesota a national innovator in soccer development.  After seven months of extensive dialogue and collaborative research, the Thunder has combined two of the elite soccer clubs in Minnesota under the Thunder banner to add a new dimension to youth soccer in the state.  With the inclusion of Bangu Tsunami FC and Wings SC, the Thunder Academy will begin with over 90 competitive teams forming one of the largest clubs in the Midwest.  Together the two elite clubs have produced 39 State Cup Champions, 6 Regional Finalists, and 3 Regional Champions since 2002. 

Coinciding with the inception of the Minnesota Thunder Academy (MTA), the Thunder will offer an Open Affiliate Program which is available to all soccer clubs.  This program is designed to help Minnesota soccer youth organizations promote the sport in their community, by offering access to the Thunder’s growing network of resources, players, and coaches.  “Since our inception in 1990 the Thunder has served as a soccer ambassador to the Minnesota community,” comments Thunder owner Dean Johnson, “This new program is an extension of our overall cooperative vision.”

The Minnesota Thunder Academy will be comprised of Regional Academies (North, South, East, West, and Urban) and the Minnesota Thunder Elite Academy. 

Regional Academies are open to all interested players and will provide professional leadership for recreational and competitive players ages 4 to 19.  “The great thing about this collaboration is that these Regional Academies will embrace the structure and programming of both Bangu Tsunami FC and Wings SC, in addition to the youth development philosophy of the Minnesota Thunder,”  says team President Manny Lagos.

The Minnesota Thunder Elite Academy will be focused on the development of Minnesota’s top players.  There will be two teams formed at each age group/gender from U13 to U19 with the goal of regional and national success.  “Our philosophy is to bring together talented players under the guidance of top-level coaches in order to help the players reach their full potential,” states Thunder Technical Director Steve Bellis. 

Including Thunder Regional Academies and the Thunder Elite Academy, over 1400 players will wear the Thunder badge beginning in the fall of 2008.

Modeling the structure on existing European and South American academies, the Minnesota Thunder Academy will provide a uniquely American path from youth to professional.  “I’m committed to adding more Minnesota players to the Thunder roster,” states Thunder Head Coach Amos Magee,  “This youth initiative will help us identify and develop future Thunder and Lightning first team prospects.”

The Minnesota Thunder Academy has hired the following Directors to oversee this progressive program:

    Mark Cook - MTA Girls Elite Team Director
    Chad Moore - MTA Girls Elite Team Director
    Rob Zahl - MTA Boys Elite Team Director
    Tod Herskovitz - MTA Boys Elite Team Director
    Mark Abboud - MTA Technical Director
    Steve Bellis - MTA Technical Director   

The Thunder Academy’s innovative youth to pro structure, along with its history of successful soccer in the Midwest, has already sparked dialogue and interest from potential European partners.  These relationships are expected to include player and coach exchange as well as shared best practices. 

The Thunder Academy will be a non-profit organization focused on providing soccer opportunities for all participants regardless of economic status.  “In the United States, many high potential athletes are prohibited from taking advantage of professional-level training due to financial restraints.  A goal of the Thunder Academy is to provide cost reduction and eventual program cost elimination for all players through Thunder partnerships and sponsorships,” adds Thunder Technical Director Mark Abboud.

The Thunder Academy is actively seeking out the most interested soccer players and coaches to participate in structured, year-round training within team contexts.   Tryouts for U8-U11 players will be in July and for U12 and older players in August.  Tryouts will be open to all interested players, regardless of previous club affiliation and led by Thunder Academy Directors, Thunder Academy professional staff members, and Thunder/Lightning players. 

Full program details will be available by June 30, 2008, at the Thunder website, www.mnthunder.com

John Jerabek, Wings SC Board Member
Wings SC is extremely excited about this opportunity.  One of our main goals in structuring this arrangement was to provide opportunities for growth for all players within the organization, without requiring the children to leave their neighborhood teams at an early age or lose the community programming that both clubs have found successful.  The combined programs will provide for the development of every player at every ability and level of interest by bringing together Minnesota's top youth and professional coaching staffs, providing additional training opportunities for all players and enhancing those programs that have a proven track record of success.  This model provides the best of both worlds for the children in our community and provides a model organization for Minnesota youth soccer where the good of the players and families come first.

Rob Zahl, Bangu Tsunami FC Boys Coaching Director
I have been with Bangu Tsunami FC as a player, coach and director for nearly 20 years and have seen us grow from a handful of teams to the most competitive club in the state.  We began discussions with the Thunder late last year and the end result is an amazing collaboration for Minnesota soccer.

Along with the Wings SC and the Minnesota Thunder, we have created a unique development environment that will enable us to set the curve not only statewide but also nationally.  I am thrilled to be involved with this group and very excited to see the quality opportunity we will provide for the soccer community.

Minnesota Thunder Academy

There has been a lot of speculation and rumor in recent months about the initial Minnesota Thunder Academy proposal.  I've bit my tongue often enough since Dec, and wanted to honor the confidence of those involved from the onset.  I don't really feel the need to keep things close to the vest any longer as I've had plenty of conversation with parents, coaches, and directors here in MN since then.  I also know there are many people outside of MN who have emailed in looking for the truth.  The landscape of youth soccer is changing across this country, and many others are attempting to set up similar programs across the US.  Good luck... you'll need it :) 

Here is the PDF that was sent out to all the clubs we initially approached.

Minnesota Thunder Academy Proposal (PDF - 4.4MB)

As I mentioned, this was a very good proposal, one that we thought people would be excited about.  I don't think any of us expected the resistance we found.  But things have a way of working out in the end, and I believe this program will actually begin stronger in it's first years because of the initial lack of support from certain local organizations. 

Speaking for myself, it was frustrating to not get buy in from others.  It did open my eyes more to the animosity that is out there in the soccer community towards myself and my club.  But that comes with the territory as I know I'm not going to be popular with the masses when looking out for a smaller percentage of the whole.  I don't harbor continued resentment towards most of the people we dealt with in the last months - guess I'm admitting that I did harbor some :).  But there are some who are now working harder than they ever have to undermine what the Thunder are doing to, in my mind, protect self-interest - this is after when we approached them to be involved from our initiative from the get go.  I still can't let this go 100%... hopefully in time.

More on this as the months go on.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

What an unbelievable roller coaster these last few months have been. 

It is common knowledge now that Bangu and the Thunder have been in talks about merging.  As you can imagine, this has caused a huge stir in the soccer community as different people have different takes on the whole issue.  

When I left Woodbury in November of 2004, though committed to Bangu for that next season, I had approached the Thunder in early 2005 to talk about "dedicated" player development.  Note that dedicated doesn't mean "elite" for I prefer working at the younger age levels and good at 10 doesn't equate to good at 15.  However, with the taste of working with the Woodbury Inferno (now U16s) for three years and the development due to dedication that I saw those girls all go through, and the continuing involvement with the then newly launched Woodbury Soccer Academy and my work with the dedicated, soccer passionate kids who were drawn to the program, I knew that is what I wanted to be involved with - coaching the dedicated players who truly wanted to be involved with the sport. 

As with anything, there are some naturally gifted kids blessed with athleticism, technical ability, or just a pure sense for how the game is played.  But for the majority of kids, more touches on the ball under proper guidance usually leads to more rapid development.  Couple this with the fact that our programs have been able to draw in kids from multiple geographic areas (something community based clubs struggle to do at the younger age groups), and take the favorable game results this pooled talent begets, and people dub the program as "elite". 

Some people here in MN don't really like me because they think that because I choose to work with these dedicated players, I somehow think I'm better than them.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  I simply feel there has been a void in MN soccer, with very few people looking out for these more dedicated player - usually high potential athletes who, IMO, need to be surrounded by other high potential athletes in order to best be developed.  Some people claim that ODP fills this void.  I disagree.  ODP is a great supplemental tool for those players who take part.  It gets them out of their comfort zones, exposes them to new teammates and coaches' perspectives, and more.  I grew up playing MN ODP and had some fantastic soccer experiences.  However, no one is going to sell me on the fact that my girls would have developed faster and further with roughly a dozen ODP sessions in a year compared with the 100+ times I work with them.  Taking absolutely nothing away from ODP (again, I grew up with it and scheduled around it last year when I had all 17 girls participating in 2007), it is not the answer to higher level player development.

Where was I going with all this?  Oh yeah...

So I approached the Thunder in early 2005.  If there was one entity in Minnesota who I thought should be leading the development of the dedicated soccer players, it was the Thunder.  

We all know pro player doesn't mean pro coach.  That's just a simple fact.  However, there is no other Minnesota soccer organization that can ignite a child's passion for the game through the connection a professional soccer player and role model can.  Sure, there are coaches who can inspire kids, it happens all over this state.  There is no one who can offer the exact same passion fuel as Minnesota's own professional soccer athletes.

I speak from personal experience.  So does Manny Lagos, Minnesota Thunder President.  Though he attained just a wee bit higher level of play than I ever dreamed to reach, we both credit our professional longevity to our passion for the game, and we both credit our passion for the game as stemming from watching the Minnesota Kicks play when we were kids. 

We dreamed of being like Ace Ntsoelengoe, Alan Willey ,and other pros.  We attend games at Met Stadium, were both ball boys for games, and actually met each other at Kicks Camp - a residential camp at St Olaf.  Due in large part to the Kicks, Manny and I bult a true passion for the game that allowed us to WANT to train and play.   This dedication to the game translated in a stellar pro career.  Manny's wasn't to shabby either :)  Actually, I joke about this and I don't want to piss Manny off as he had a fantastic career with the Thunder, MLS teams, the US Olympic Team, and the US National Team. 

This connection is what the Thunder can bring young players.  Less than 1% of all the kids we could possible hope to deal with in the new Minnesota Thunder Academy will ever make it to the professional ranks. But I guarantee that the kids involved will be treated to a new development experience that will be unique to Minnesota.

* * * * *

The initial plan was a good one.  A very good one.  We identified key Minnesota soccer minds to try and get involved at the early stages to help us shape this proposal.  For the first time in 17 years, the Minnesota Thunder could filially be out in the soccer community saying "Here.  What can we offer you?" and "What do you need from us to help your members?".  Never once did we state anything was set in stone.  How could it be when every time we met with a group or a board, there was a very good chance that they would throw something out that would make the overall initiative stronger?  This "uncertainty" in the Thunder proposal was eventually cited as a weakness and a rallying cry to not get involved, but we saw it, and still see it, as a tremendous strength of what we were doing. 

It asked people to think outside the box, think progressively to what was best for the game of soccer in this State.  This is a difficult thing to ask, I know.  The Thunder have always been looked at as a rinky-dink pro organization in this state.  Though many of us in the know know that things are changing, it is difficult to expect those on the outside to change their mentality overnight.

Adding more ammo for naysayers was the fact that the Bangu club and club directors decided quickly that merging with the Thunder was the next evolution to higher level player development in this state.  Where most clubs in this state need meeting after meeting to make any type of major soccer decision, Bangu is where we are, in my mind, because we can act on decisions quickly.  After two meetings, one with me talking over the Thunder vision to the Bangu Board, and the other a face to face sit down with one of the two new Thunder owners, Bangu committed to moving forward.

This commitment allowed the Thunder to guarantee that it started it's youth program with 40+ teams, and allowed the Thunder to begin to solicit other involvement in earnest.  This commitment also became the major factor in why other clubs hesitated to get involved.  It's completely understandable.  Bangu doesn't have a favorable reputation in this state.  How can we?  It doesn't' change the fact that what's in the past is in the past, and if people can't understand that many of us know our own flaws and limitations, and see the bigger picture must involve cooperation and collaboration, then the timing for their own involvement is not now.  And that's completely fine. 

The initiative was organic at best, ever-changing and malleable as we looked to try and cater to the needs of those clubs we approached first.  It was 10 weeks straight of meetings, presentations, email and phone conversations, and the like.  It was energizing and draining at the same time, with our feelings about the whole program based on interest and responses shown from different people/clubs along the way were ecstatic one day, gloomy the next.  At one point, I had a chart that, based on our conversations with people up to that point, gave each club we had talked with more than a 50/50 chance of favoring the initiative and getting involved... even, believe it or not, Woodbury. 

However, in the end, the proposed affiliate clubs banded together and rejected what we were proposing.  And that's completely fine.  The wisest man that I know (my father, and pioneer of the sport of soccer in my hometown of Rochester, mN) said this to me a few weeks back - "When sewing the seeds of change, don't waste time on rocky ground.  There is more fertile land out there then you might first think."  Brilliant.

I was angry and first that people couldn't see what we were trying to do.  I was defensive when attacked, and had no problem lashing back.  However, I've now come to realize, through exposure to more "political" guys like Amos and Manny, that some people will see it, others won't.  It's going to take time for people to grasp the bigger picture.  You would think that I would have learned something about this with the SoWashCo Alliance and with the Woodbury Soccer Academy.  But I'm really, really stubborn sometimes.  Both aforementioned ideas were eventually riddled with critics' bullets, both have still managed to set the bar for others.  I say this with the least amount of arrogance I can.  It's a simple fact.  I also don't even pretend to tout that these ideas were thought up and executed all on my own, because there were many other soccer minds involved along the way.  I guess I'm verbalizing (typing) this to give myself a needed remembrance that people will come around and change will be made.  I continue to do what I think is best for the players involved with me and for the game as a whole.  I know I've got more enemies than most, but that comes with the territory when you cater to the great minority and that minority finds success.  That's OK, I can deal with it. 

The one absolute great thing is that the Manny, Amos, and probably more importantly, our new Thunder owners can also deal with it.  It is so refreshing and invigorating to hear our owners say that they know we're going to anger some people, but you can't make a cake without breaking some eggs.  You are doing what is right, and we're prepared to take our lumps along the way.

The staunch dedication and vision of the Bangu people has been equally impressive.  I'm proud to be associated with both organizations, and excited to help turn two hats into one.  

I believe enough time has passed and I will post in detail the Thunder proposal shortly.  This PDF will detail the Minnesota Thunder Academy proposal and includes Manny, Amos, and my personal comments within the presentation.  There is a TON of misinformation out there and, for those interested, you'll get to hear from the proverbial horse's mouth.  

We all continue to work towards our end goal.  I don't think people have heard the last of the Thunder Academy this spring, and I'm truly excited about what the coming weeks, months, and years will bring for Minnesota soccer.