When you founded and have you always been in the same league?
We were founded in 2016 by Mike Garrett, and ownership was transferred to current owner Dave Shufelt in 2019. At that time we entered NPSL and remained in that league until our move to USL2 for this (2021) season. In terms of the differences in leagues it’s astronomical. The professionalism of the USL ecosystem is top notch.

How connected are you to the community; do you have a youth program? Do you have a connected social club?
The Kalamazoo community is an interesting one. In terms of the youth side of our outfit we see ourselves more as a “Switzerland” and we have done well to provide a platform for each club in the city to feel as though this club is a part of them. We currently are working on key partnerships within the area to narrow down who we view as key community establishments to align with our brand. From 2019 when we were brought on, and up until this point we have really tried to focus on creating our on-field product for the most part.

With so many great teams in your region, where do you draw most of your players from? Youth Club? Local Universities?
Honestly everywhere. Our coaching staff headed by Shane Lyons (WMU), and Ian Spooner has been tremendous in gathering players from all backgrounds and regions. We house over 3/4 of our team, and that’s because we view ourselves as an elite program that sources all the way from west coast to east costs to internationally. With Shane being a coach at WMU we obviously lose the eligibility factor of those guys we have been able to host in the past, but overall, we can see that our results this year have been nothing short of spectacular.

Some clubs sell a lot of merch to keep the lights on, while others seek sponsorships to help pay the bills - does your club fall into either category? How do you cover the costs?
Yeah for sure. You know we have had multiple discussions similar to you with teams in regards to their models, and movements. The one thing we gathered is that each team is completely different. For our club we are fortunate to have a great relationship with our sponsors, and we certainly operate with a tremendous amount of help from them. On the other hand, the Shufelt family has dedicated their own assets both tangible and intangible to ensuring that we grow year in and year out.

How did covid impact your 2020 season and how has 2021 been so far? Who do you look most forward to playing?
COVID was tough. We are a front office of very people-oriented individuals so having to wait essentially just short of two years to knock a ball around again was very difficult for us. Strategically however it allowed for us to prepare for the season we have seen unfold. Our staff worked tirelessly to ensure that we brought on the right personnel to bring our fans the wins they wanted and I can comfortably say that we have done so. Now with us having taken the USL2 Great Lakes Division championship we are making history not only for the club, but for the history of Men’s Soccer at this level in Kalamazoo. We’ve turned this club into a winning franchise, and the energy is contagious through all of our ranks. Going into this season, we had a prior relationship with Fort Wayne FC, as we were both in NPSL for 2020 so being able to take them on in their inaugural season as a club was a great experience that we were happy to be a part of. In terms of our confidence, we wanted to take on Flint. With them being the reigning national champions they obviously had a very large target on their back from our side of things, and we were thrilled to take 3 out of 3 available pts from them when we had the chance.

With this said we are club who focuses on the game ahead. We love our victories, and we enjoy our success but we are hungry. We are here to make a statement, and that only goes as far as your most recent game.

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