The Academy concept finally found a good home in November of 2004 under the Bangu Tsunami Futbol Club (BTFC).

Bangu FC was established in 1988 as an alternate development option for those players who could not find what they were looking for in their community club settings. In the early years, the Bangu basically opened its doors to dissatisfied groups of players and teams to come and play in a less restrictive (relatively speaking) environment. As the years went on Bangu slowly started to form more teams through the identification and tryout process. These teams began to have some good success and the club thus garnered the reputation that is still present today as the club that raided other clubs’ top players.

From a handful of teams in the late ‘80s, the club has developed into arguably the most regionally and nationally competitive club Minnesota has to offer. I say arguably because Wings SC (Plymouth, MN) has a number of very strong boy’s teams any many could say that their boys program is stronger than our boys program at present. No one can touch the BTFC girls program. Not that BTFC girls dominate every age group, but as a whole the program helps develop some of the most female players in the area.

Why such strength on the girls side of the program? I think there are a few reasons. First, the club has had a number of very strong girl’s teams in recent history that had regional and national success. Namely, Danny Storlien’s Tsunami Sota group of a few years back, and currently the top U16s (BTFC Stars) and top U17s (BTFC 89/90 Blue). This success has helped to attract more girls into the program at the younger age groups.

• 2001 Tsunami Sota 85/86 16's Region 2 Finalist
• 2002 Tsunami Sota 85/86 17's National Finalist
• 2003 Tsunami Sota 85/86 18's National Finalist
• 2004 Tsunami Sota 85/86 19's Region 2 Semi Finalist
• 2004 Tsunami Sota 87/88 16's State Cup Champions
• 2005 Tsunami Sota 87/88 17's Region 2 Finalist

In addition to this success, the girls program also has a full time Coaching Director, Mark Cook, and they have me, an almost full time Academy Director and BTFC Staff Coach with a real interested in developing younger female talent. Couple this all with some extremely qualified coaches in place on the girl’s side, and it is not hard to see where the success comes from.

When I made the decision to leave Woodbury, I immediately contacted a friend of mine, Bob Hoaglin. His oldest daughter’s team was one of the very first local girls teams I had worked with back in the mid-1990’s. His youngest daughter was now playing for the Bangu Tsunami Stars and he was the club Vice President.

We chatted for a while, I told him of my dilemma (a handful of very good teams looking for a home), and he offered to have us play under the BTFC banner. Bob knew about my coaching ability and connections, and I’m sure in addition to helping me out, he saw this “acquisition” of my Academy program as a good opportunity for BTFC to begin developing younger teams.

So we came up with a plan and I presented it to the entire Woodbury Soccer Academy in a forum in early November.  As previously mentioned in the Woodbury Soccer Academy section, six out of the eight WSA teams decided they wanted to continue the Academy concept under Bangu, and we all made the move together to the new club.

In this title, I use the phrase “home sweet home”. That is exactly what I feel as my true vision of an Academy program could never have thrived under a community club setting. This is nothing against the community clubs for they all do an admirable job of providing an enjoyable and safe playing environment for thousands of kids across Minnesota. However, I throw out there that they cannot provide what we can provide for the players who have above-average interests nor for those with the most potential to play at the highest levels of this game.  You can read more about this here – Soccer Club vs Community Club

Tangent Thought

In my opinion, many volunteer parent boards here in Minnesota want a puppet Coaching Director. These boards want to govern and think they know best when it comes down to player development. They may have some knowledgeable people on board that are qualified to assist the development of the recreational and what I call the “recreational competitive” players, but rarely do they have the personnel in place who have the experience to cater to the top level players. If boards want to improve programming for their members, they should hire a soccer professional and give that professional the support and resources he/she needs to do what he/she does best.

If we want to improve at the top levels of the game, the development of the top players should be in the hands of our most qualified coaches. There are many people who can coach a lower level competitive team and give those players an educational, enjoyable, and worthwhile experience with the game. There are fewer people who have the ability to do the same with the small percentage of top soccer athletes.

We must also always reevaluate our development structure and be willing to change and adapt when needed. This is what didn’t happen under the Woodbury Soccer Club. There as no vision, no desire to even look to change to begin to cater to the growing number of young players who wanted more. It’s the mentality to push the envelope that will elevate the game in our state, in our region, and across the country. It is the “why us?”, or “why not let someone else do it first” mentality that will leave clubs, and the game as a whole in Minnesota, in mediocrity.

End Tangent Thought

Under BTFC, I have basically been given carte blanche to run this Academy program how I see fit. As a soccer professional, I am given the freedom and support needed to help develop and implement programs that I see as beneficial for the development of the younger soccer athletes. I am not restricted from program implementation by a parent board of soccer neophytes, and I’m encouraged to try new things and take risks.

This Academy would have been micro managed, handcuffed, and suffocated under the governance of any community club or athletic association with the responsibility for dealing with the masses.  Now with Bangu Tsunami, it has the ability to thrive, flourish, and reach its true potential. I guess time will tell if the concept will be a successful one.