The news hit social media late last week, Evan Raimist, the popular Vice President of Maryland Bobcats, would be exiting his position with the NISA club and join Men in Blazers as a Marketing Coordinator. Evan’s reputation has grown in tandem with the growth of the Maryland club he helped pilot through the move from amateur to pro. It’s hard to find a negative comment about the 26 year-old former goalkeeper anywhere online. Universally loved, he’s the perfect candidate for an exit interview as he prepares for the next chapter of his career.

So the big news has broken, what's the next step for you?

The next step is making sure that the club can pick up right where I left off and then some. We've done a great job of slowly but surely growing the club and there's people involved that I know will do an even better job than I did. There's people that love the club and have been behind the scenes for a while that will get to show their talents and effort a bit more now. The club is in great hands and I know they'll continue the growth and hard work we've done over the last 2 (and 10) years.

For me, I'll be taking on a Marketing Coordinator role with Men in Blazers. I am so excited to jump in and help them grow, evolve, and continue to be the hub for soccer coverage and #1 football brand in this country. However, it's important to emphasize that this next chapter is owed to everything before, and that is mostly due to the work I've done, people I met, and opportunities I had at the Bobcats.

You started with WCP (World Class Premier, the original name of Maryland Bobcats) as a goalkeeper, what was it like, building this thing from the ground up?

Incredible. Unbelievable. Rewarding. Tiring. Too many words and descriptions to list. I didn't join thinking we'd go pro. I didn't join thinking I'd help run the club. I joined because 1) I love playing and the game and 2) our owner happened to be the first person to send me an email! To see players get their pro debut in their home state in front of friends and family, to see the community start to get behind the club, and to see a team I joined to play 1 day a week explode into what it is today is the biggest sense of pride I have. There are now FANS (plural) that support the Bobcats each week, home or away. They supported us in year one as a pro club, but year two went better than I could have hoped. Getting to meet, talk to, and laugh with so many different fans at home games was the biggest rush. People not only were coming out to the games (up over 100% attendance this year) but were excited to tell me how much fun they were having, how much they enjoyed the game, and how they like what we are doing. To have our vision and project enjoyed and shared by so many outside of the club is the biggest validation we could get and to go from goalkeeper, like you said, to where I and the club are today is something out of a movie.

Any thoughts on Bobcats’ ownership and the role they played in your development?

I owe everything to them and their faith in me. After almost four years with the club, including two plus years of “front office” work (basically working two jobs), our owners made the decision to give me the position I have now (there’s been a few title changes, but it’s all the same work) prior to kicking off in NISA. I think the owners put a lot of faith in a 25-year-old kid that had not run a pro sports team prior to this and every day I tried to work as hard as I can to repay them for the opportunity. They could have picked anyone to run the first iteration of the club as a professional organization and I’ll forever be grateful that they allowed me to take on this role. It was the job of a lifetime to launch a new professional club in my home state, and I hope I was able to work up to their standards and then some. Jay in particular allowed me to try things, give suggestions, and do things others might think are crazy. I’m thankful you they allowed me to play a small role in this project.

You've become the face of the Bobcats as you've grown in NISA. Looking back, what lessons can you take from your time building this program?

The biggest lesson would have to be that the work is the best part. It's not easy in the lower leagues here in the US. You have to be patient, willing to work, and open minded. Not every decision will be perfect, and that's ok, but you have to be willing to learn, grow, and adapt. Being at this level is a grind. A grind for the players, coaching staff, and even front office members. Finding great, like minded people isn't easy, but it makes it much easier especially with the small staffs that are prevalent at this level. Learning what works for your club and not trying to copy step-by-step what other clubs or groups have done is key. There are of course themes, ideas, and concepts that can work in multiple places, but you have to know your community, know the fan base, and know your players and how to best connect with them, both on and away from the pitch. Possibly the biggest thing I've learned is to enjoy the process because, in reality, it never ends. If you enjoy the small things and the work that comes with it, it makes everything else so much better. There's a lot that isn't glamorous, sexy, or "fun" in lower league soccer, but building something in your community, giving players and coaches opportunities, and seeing a gameday happen makes it all worth it.

This season we saw Maryland Bobcats really begin to grow in fans (especially at the matches), how did that happen and what can the club continue to do to grow?

I think the fans in the stands was my biggest win from 2022. It still blows my mind that people spend their hard-earned money and valuable time on the club and is something I’ve never taken for granted. In 2021, we averaged a hair under 400 fans per game. This year, 2022, we more than doubled that number, averaging more than 800 fans per game, including two matches where more than 1,000 fans (our new record is 1,091) “packed the ‘Plex” to cheer on the boys. We have fans who genuinely care about the club and come out to every match, no matter what. They’ve become the backbone of our supporters’ culture and helped to define what being an MBFC fan means. I think we can say that the Old Bae Brigade was a big part of bringing a true atmosphere to the stands where people want to join in and be a part of it. They - fully independent of the club - have formed and been the noisy neighbors to our opposition's bench. That, the fact that the team took some steps forward on the field, the fact we still have a very heavy local player and staff presence, the support of partners in True Respite Brewing Company, Jimmy's Seafood, and Steeze burgers, plus our continued commitment to our actual community I think all worked together this year to make going to a Bobcats match a true event. The flags, jerseys, drums, and club colors amazed me at every home game. We owe it to our fans for making the Maryland SoccerPlex a fun place to watch a game, and for motivating us to a 7-match unbeaten streak at the SoccerPlex to end the year.

Any word on who will take over your role?

We are working hard to make sure that the club continues pushing on just as good (if not better) than it has been. There will be some familiar faces taking bigger roles within the club (that I'm excited to see kill it), some people that have been involved with the club but behind the scenes take on some more responsibility, and maybe a new face or two. The thing about the club is there are so many great people involved who step up when needed. It will be a combination of people taking some different roles, but I'm excited to see the evolution of the club. I'm staying on to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible and with the help of our staff and owners, we'll hit 2023 running. The fact that we're heading into the offseason makes it a little bit easier as the stresses of matchdays, travel, and all that comes with it isn't as big of an issue. It will take some time, but we're working hard to make sure the club continues to get better and better.

You're no longer in NISA, I'd love to know your take on the league, the pros the cons, where you see it going?

This probably deserves a much longer writeup, but I'm still high on NISA. Like any startup (plus a global pandemic) there will be (and have been) bumps in the road. That being said, there are some really smart, passionate, driven people in and around the league that have some great ideas on how to continue to improve it - both on and off the field. It is most definitely still a work in progress and it won't be what we all know it can be overnight. That being said, I do think that there are some very specific areas the league can improve on that will have a big impact on the perception of the league and the players in it. I think one thing this season showed was how much the level of play in NISA has improved in the last two years. There are some fantastic players, coaches, and staff and games were exciting and close all across the board. Leaning into what makes NISA unique while tightening up some of the things that we all see get picked up on Twitter will push the league forward quickly. The other thing that the league needs to continue to do is welcome in new clubs with good, realistic expectations of what a NISA season looks like. We all know running a team at this level isn't easy, but being upfront about that and finding how to best prepare clubs (like Savannah is doing) is key to bringing in the right clubs at the right time.

What is your best memory with the Maryland Bobcats?

There's really 3 main things that will stick in my mind forever as "best memories" with the Bobcats. First is our first home match with fans as a pro club (and around 800 fans in attendance). When the match kicked off, it was an "oh shit" moment where it all kind of hit me that we had brought pro soccer to Maryland and, more importantly, given a bunch of our players and staff a platform to do what they love and to do it in front of their family and friends. Being able to elevate our community like that, and the sounds and emotions of that first match, will stick with me forever.

Second is our attendance record (both times, but specifically the season finale this year). Both times we had over 1,000 people at the SoccerPlex cheering, having beers, banging drums, and cheering on the boys. To see that number of people getting behind the club at once and to compare it to where we came from - both as a Sunday league team and from last year - was insane. I look back on some of the photos from those nights and it just makes me really happy and proud of what we've been able to do in our community.

Finally, seeing all our Youth players on the field at once this past year for our MBFC Youth Night. To see we are not only impacting our First Team and their lives and careers, but the lives of 100+ kids from age 7 to 17 and their families shows what we are really all about. The kids - whether it will be the first of many times on our stadium field or their last - were treated the exact same as our professional players, got cheered by the MBFC faithful, and heard their teams called over the PA system. It's the culture, the "why", and the culmination of everything we've said we've been about playing out right in front of us.

Worst moment?

It's hard to actually think of a "worst". moment. All the losses hurt and the season ending losses hurt a bit more. One thing I've done - and have talked about - is to enjoy the whole process including the good, the bad, and the ugly. Do I wish we won more games? Of course. Do I wish we could have done some things operationally better? Absolutely. But there isn't something I look back on and say "that was horrible" or "let's forget that ever happened". Everything that's happened with the club has helped us continue to grow and do better. There's of course some "not great" moments for the club (on the field and off) but all of it we've used as a chance to learn and do better for our players, staff, and fans.

Any closing thoughts as you exit lower league soccer?

This is not a goodbye in any way, shape, or form. I am still going to be a huge (vocal) advocate for MBFC, NISA, and lower league soccer in general. I owe so much of what's happened to me to MBFC and our owners and that won't go away any time soon. I think there needs to be some realistic thinking about what soccer at the lower levels look like, how they're organized, and what people think is realistically possible. The people who are involved know the trials and tribulations, but I think there needs to be more of an emphasis on information sharing and helping fellow clubs, not hiding information. If clubs can help each other, it makes everyone better and with that, raises the profile of soccer in this country for players, coaches, clubs, and individuals. Some of the best things I've learned have been through conversations with people at other clubs and the more open and transparent people can be (to a point), the better for all of us in the lower leagues.

- Dan Vaughn