We often talk about the importance of the regional leagues, the leagues that cover cities and regions, but rarely get much coverage outside of a fan blog or a club’s twitter account. We like to say these leagues are the backbone of the pyramid, the core component of what makes a soccer community thrive. We say these leagues are full of the next superstars, the players you’ve never heard about but will soon enough. We herald the sacrifice of the club operators and talk about how important they are, even if you’ve never heard of them. And it’s all true, in theory.

Because too often, those local leagues are full of operators that never stretch their wings. They grind it out, weekend to weekend, season to season, year to year, never see a return, just survive. And no matter how many figurative pats on the back they get, those pats don’t fill wallets. The stories of success are always drowned by the piles and piles of the failures. So when one of those local operators decides its time to grow beyond just surviving and get to the point of “making it,” we should stand on our roof and yell the news to everyone:

MARYLAND BOBCATS SHOULD BE CLUB OF THE YEAR!

Maryland Bobcats, originally World Class Premier, began as members of Maryland Majors Soccer League in 2016. They are the prototype of a local club making good and 2020 was a year with multiple, massive steps towards making good. When the club made the jump from MMSL to UPSL I spoke with their GM, Evan Raimist and asked him how the club measured success. His response sums up why the club has continued to grow through every league they’ve joined - “We measure our success by the impact we're making in the community and the feedback we're getting from our community.”

So let’s consider their case for 2020 Club of the Year. The year began with WCP having just finished off an incredible undefeated run in the 2019 Fall UPSL season. After a quick run through the playoffs, the team qualified for the Final Four and drew powerhouse Soda City. After going down 2-0, the Bobcats (yes, they’d changed their name at that point) the club scored three unanswered to advance to the final. In the final, the Bobcats would again go down early, before battling back, this time beating Winds FC 3-1 in overtime. The win capped an incredible UPSL season for the club and the beginning of a standout year for Maryland.

And let’s mentioned the rebrand, because it should be heralded. Plenty of clubs don’t get rebrands right, but Maryland nailed it. And with the rebrand and renaming came the kits, so many beautiful Icarus FC kits. You can’t go wrong with any of them, though I’m biased towards the black. I remember when the club announced the change of name, we discussed it in our writers’ Slack and the general consensus was “does this club ever miss?”

Maryland had planned to kick off in the NPSL in the Spring, but, with the pandemic raging, the season was cancelled. Soon after, Bobcats announced they’d be playing in the NISA Independent Cup in the Mid-Atlantic region. In the group was fellow Maryland product FC Baltimore Christos, along with two NISA clubs, New York Cosmos and New Amsterdam FC. While I wouldn’t pretend that Maryland was spectacular in its play, the team played well enough to win the group, adding another title to their growing 2020 collection. Of course, the success of the Bobcats in the Independent Cup buries the biggest news, that the club applied (and was eventually accepted) into the professional ranks with NISA.

As the year has progressed, the team continues to ready itself to join professional soccer next year. Part of that move was the decision to pull out of the UPSL and NPSL altogether and join the EPSL instead. For Raimist, the move was about
"practicality, development, and in line with the club’s ideals.”

Maryland Bobcats are the epitome of what we want from our local clubs. Make moves based on values, look for the chance to grow, nail every opportunity with passion. I’ll end this article with a quote from Evan from an article he did with us earlier this year. “We are an organization that wants to build something strong that will last for many years to come. We want to serve our community and continue making a great difference in the lives of the youth. We came together to make a difference, inspire others and break down bearers. We are more than just a soccer organization, we are building a platform and a place of hope.”

This club deserves to be your 2020 Club of the Year.

- Dan Vaughn