Who are you and what’s your role with OKC 1889 FC?
My name is Dustin Hooker. I from Norman, Oklahoma. I grew up playing for Norman Celtic and what is now Oklahoma Celtic. I played college soccer as well as semi-professionally briefly. My passion for soccer started at the age of 8 when I realized I was not going to grow a lot and soccer was a sport for a person of any size. I am part owner and Associate Head Coach of Imps, LLC alongside with Adam Kay our Head Coach.

Can you tell us about the club's history?
The club has been around since 2015. We were the OKC Pulse and renamed to OKC 1889 in 2017 “The Imps”. We played two years in the UPSL and this is our first year in the NPSL.

You're an expansion side this year in the NPSL, what made you decide to join the league?
We joined the league because we wanted to be a part of a better structure in and a higher level in the soccer Pyramid. We felt long term the NPSL met our needs for player development and competition.

How do you feel about the conference you play in? Who do you see as your main challengers?
The level in our conference is very good. We feel Tulsa Athletic will be our biggest challenge and rival. Sonny (owner of Tulsa Athletic) does an excellent job recruiting top talent and has a long history of competing in the league.

Oklahoma is seen as a grid-iron football state; what's the soccer scene?
Oklahoma City has had a lot of great talent come out of the area. Most recently Darryl Dike who is playing in EPL. We have a great following and support group. We are looking forward to establishing a training facility and home playing ground on a more permanent basis.

Can you talk about your team? What players stand out?
The team has a unique mixture of players who have played for me since the existence of the team. The understand the core values of the team and the style we play. We brought in a more diverse college group this year and the standard has been set very high. We are excited about the ability of this group and believe it’s the strongest we have had since 2015. Players who stand out. Keep an eye on Abdel Nait-Zerrad. He is a current player at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. We also like our goalkeeper Seth Wilson. A local Dallas, TX kid who came up through FC Dallas Academy and is a University of Pittsburgh commit.

What are your goals for this first year in the NPSL?
For year one we want to compete and let the league and city know we are able to maintain a competitive team in this league. We expect to play hard and have fun doing it.

Anything else we should know about your club?
We are really excited to be a part of the NPSL. Coach Adam Kay and I have had success at many levels doing this. So we are looking forward to the challenge of what the season brings. Up the Imps!!!

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