SWING BIG

It’s no joke that when we started this journey we sketched a set of goals on the back of a napkin. We couldn’t imagine in 2018 when we joined the USL-PDL that we would appear in the Voyageurs Cup. But it was on our napkin. So even getting to play in this game was a years long dream for Colin Elmes and Brendan Quarry and Will Cromack and Darren Russcher and everyone else at Total Soccer who wanted to give their players the best chance to achieve their dreams.

From the moment TSS Rovers began in 2017 we all set out to build something we saw was missing in the game here: an effective pathway that bridged the huge divide between college/amateur and the pro game. Also missing was a way to do it that enlisted the community and supporters and everyone else who wanted to give something to be a part of that project. So many of us just want to GIVE, to make meaning and create belonging and support. Which isn’t very corporate.

So we did our work together in the USL, always being left out of the Cup even as teams from the NASL and MLS were allowed to play for our national championship. We were the team made up only of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. It gave us time to think about the ways we could make our club a vehicle for true community and grass roots investment. Lots of people had complaints about the Canada Soccer system. Our men’s team was rated in the 100s and our women’s players had no league. It’s easy to complain but we wanted to give a way to make change. So we tried some concepts out: community advisory board, community investment co-op – all starts and stops – and finally a Supporters’ Trust and a true equity ownership scheme to support and sustain the club.

When League 1 BC came around we were thrilled that our players would finally get the chance to be seen and developed in our own Canadian soccer ecosystem. And so mwe moved our men’s and women’s teams to League 1 BC and were proud to do so. Last season was great! The new league is not an easy one to play in. We had our ups and downs, but the standard was high and it’s going to be even higher this season.

We came second in the men’s league but won the playoff final which mean we got our chance to play last night. We had belief but no one I know put a bet on the long odds that were offered.

Turns out belief is the secret sauce. We won.

And friends, let me tell you about the work that went into making last night happen.

Hosting a game like this under Canada Soccer’s archaic rules which were written for a three team MLS tournament is a huge undertaking. We were required to pay all the costs, manage all the media, do everything a pro club does just for the chance to play this game at home. Actual pro clubs turned down the chance to host games in tournament because of the work and cost. But the years we have spent building community meant we many so many resources to draw on.

We called on our 350 owners and our supporters and friends. to help raise money and sponsorships. Other clubs in our league bought blocks of tickets to help us cover costs. (Thank you Altitude FC and Nautsa’mawt FC!) We started a donation program to bring kids and their caregivers to this match. Organizations like Hope and Health and Kids Up Front Vancouver were able to bring literally hundreds of kids and their caregivers because of the generosity of folks around the country. (Those kids got to see a plucky little underdog beat a big pro team. And they were loud in that grandstand! Leading chants, cheering us on. Staying up past their bed time.)

Other local supporters’ groups joined us in our section. Jason Armond & his family repped the Lake Side Buoys with beer and drums. Vancouver Albion was there. Several Southsiders came as well. It was a whole League 1 BC effort, groups brought together by friendship and support.

All the media stuff was handled by AFTN Canada and women’s team players like Maddie Mah and others who chipped in on social media and logistics. And dozens of folks showed up as early as 7am in the rain to set up the stadium to CSA standards.

The coaching staff! Will Cromack was head coach for this but there were somethign like 10 people in total including our League 1 BC head coaches Darren Russcher and Chelsey Hannesson who worked for a month to prepare this team in the midst of all their other duties. We passed a hat to fly Steven Mosher and Ryan Lindsay in to run live tactical analysis in real time with a jerry-rigged set up and software that needed hacking and multiple fixes patched together in dodgy AirBNB’s just to be able to feed Will the info he needed in real time.

And to the players. Legends. This team showed up. I wouldn’t be surprised if we lost half our starters last night to pro teams before the summer is out! Matteo Polisi absolutely belongs back in the CPL. Guys like Kyle Jones and Ali Zohar and Ivan Mejia and our whole back line turned heads. Every single one of our squad deserved to be there last night and this game will leave a permanent mark on their lives. They now know they can wildly exceed expectations. And they know that they can only do that together. Working and supporting each other. So do we all. We glimpse a taste of what’s possible when people are invited to give what they have to build community and gives us all a tiny chance to play out of our skins and just once, maybe, improbably, do something truly remarkable.

None of us who were there or who watched from afar will forget last night. None of who have been on this journey remain unchanged by the past 5 or 20 years. You don’t get many chances in life to do something like this. So when they come, take them and see what happens.

You will never know the feeling of making history if you don’t swing big.

#TogetherOne.

Image Credits:
Residual Image
Twitter: @residualimage

AFTN
Twitter: @aftncanada
Website: AFTN.ca