What is the club's origin story? Whose idea was it and how did you get started?
Starting up a minor league soccer club clearly isn't unique in and of itself anymore. The United States has witnessed explosive growth in the number of serious amateur, semi-pro, and fully professional teams. Clubs seem to most commonly form from the efforts of a group of players who want to compete at a higher level, from a passionate person or company who sees a soccer team as a business venture, or from a youth development academy deciding to extend its offerings to adult customers. Tulip City United is one of those rare clubs that started as a communal effort. Holland, Michigan is a soccer-loving, strong, and proud community, steeped in heritage and doggedly determined to grab hold of a bright future. The way I see it, minor league soccer in Holland was inevitable, and I was simply the first spark to make it to the powder keg. When I reached out to the Start-Up To Success Agency in Holland back in Spring 2019, they liked the idea so much that they decided to help at no cost. We built up a board and a strong volunteer base. Unforeseeable to us, we'd chosen a terrible time to start a club. The coronavirus drastically changed our plans. By late 2021, only myself and Bryan Salinas were still committed to making this passion project for our city. It took bringing David Schroeder to the board and Greg Ceithaml as head coach for operations to pick up again because, after two depressing years, they were wellsprings of enthusiasm and determination who helped right the ship and get us back on course.

Tell us about the badge and the club's connection to the community.
Our badge is a crowned tulip. The symbolism is obvious for many: the tulip celebration in early May, when the area's enormous amount of tulips are in bloom, is what most locals and outsiders know Holland for and why it's been given the nickname 'Tulip City.' The tulip is also a fitting symbol for other reasons, if you know much about the history of tulips: the flower originated in Central Asia and wasn't in Western Europe's gardens until the late 16th century. Though the flower's natural climate is quite different from the Netherlands, the Dutch farmers put in the effort and made conditions ideal for the tulip, making it so popular that it grew into a symbol of Dutch culture and heritage. In that same way, the people of Holland, Michigan originate from all over the world, yet we have made this our city, our flower, and our team.

What league did you choose to begin life in and what helped lead you in that direction?
We've chosen to begin in the Midwest Premier League primarily for three reasons: schedule, cost, and comparable local clubs. We want to know we have a game every weekend of the summer, we want quality service at a reasonable price, and we want to be able to compete against solid regional squads. The MWPL checks all those boxes, and we are very glad to be a part of it.

What are the short term, and long term goals?
Short-term, we intend to grow our board and number of volunteers such that we can field a women's team as soon as possible. We want to transform our game day atmosphere, so each match is an event beyond what's happening on the field, to be more engaging to fans and more family friendly. This year we are bringing food trucks and face painters, and we'll expand our offerings in the coming years. We're working with other organizations in the community to feature theme nights, like a 'Bike to the Game' with Pedal Holland, and a pet-and-adopt zone with dogs from local shelters. We believe that the 'pub parade' from our sponsor Tulip City Brewstillery to the stadium will take off in popularity and become a community icon in the summertime. The social goal for the near term is to get lots of people from all walks of life together, rooting for our city and its team. During the pandemic, there was a lot of stress and all of us felt tossed about and exhausted. We want Tulip City United to be part of the recovery effort, of rebuilding camaraderie in our West Michigan community.

Long-term, we hope that the US soccer system becomes a proper pyramid, with levels divided by teams' merit, not a closed-off system based solely on money. We're not sure what will precipitate it, but we do anticipate the system will reform with promotion-relegation. When that happens, we will pivot to a fan-owned company in the vein of the Green Bay Packers or Chattanooga FC. Depending on investment, we would likely look to become a fully professional club playing for most of the year, and we'd start discussions with local municipalities to find a place for our own stadium. While we wait for the US Soccer Federation to reform, we want to help make youth soccer academy participation less expensive to help it expand and capture more talent and develop skills more effectively - there is an immediate barrier to entry for kids to get engaged with serious soccer: their parents' pocketbooks; we want to minimize that as much as possible. We also recognize that most of the athletes who play for our city won't go on to become professional players, so as we grow, we want to help them with life off the field in every form we can.

Who are you most looking forward to playing this year; either because of a fun away day or possible rivalry?
Tulip City United and the Grand Haven Admirals will be fighting in what we're calling the Lakeshore Classic, as Grand Haven is one of our nearest competitors. We'll be competing for possession of the same trophy each year, college football rivalry style. We are hosting Grand Haven this time, as part of the MWPL matchups - we intend for the trophy to come to Holland, and stay here forever.