Under the Lights: Bateaux FC (Wisconsin Soccer League)

Cup winning side Bateaux FC, out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, doesn’t get a chance to sit on their haunches and enjoy their newly-earned silverware. They have three friendlies coming up, starting with Simba United of the MRSL, then on the road at Barron Soccer Team on October 11th, and at home again versus Granite City… but you can catch your breath as we introduce you to their club.

Everyone likes an origin story; when were you founded and what was the mission?
We were founded as Eau Claire Heat FC in April 2019. In February 2020, we re-branded as Bateaux FC (the name “Heat” doesn’t exactly describe Eau Claire). We chose the name “Bateaux” because it pays homage to Eau Claire’s rich logging history. Bateaux (French for “boats”) were unmanned vessels used to transport timber downstream on the Chippewa River. The foundation of the club was built in the city’s parks and rec summer league and through open play. Our captains David Ripplinger and Larry Mboga are the organizers of open play and lead individual teams in the rec league.

Our mission is to provide kids in the city an avenue to continue playing the game past the youth level. The city boasts a wonderful youth soccer club – Eau Claire United – that allows boys and girls the opportunity to play in WYSA and MYSA sanctioned leagues from U8-U18. We’re working on securing an official affiliation with ECU. Our squad this past season boasted 12 (of 23) locally-trained players. That number meets any homegrown quota!

Eau Claire looks like an absolutely lovely place to live - closer to Minneapolis than to Milwaukee. Does that affect your club culture? Do you play teams from Minnesota for friendlies? Do you draw players from that side of the border?
Eau Claire is a great place to live for people of any age! Everyone says this about their city, but there’s truly something here for everyone: four craft breweries and great farm-to-table style restaurants, many miles of paved trails winding through and around the city, and multiple facilities dedicated to a variety of sports (soccer included).

Being close to the Cities is a great asset, but it doesn’t have too much of an influence on our club culture. We committed to doing things the “Eau Claire way” from the start. I can’t exactly describe what that means because it’s something you experience when you come to town. Eau Claire has a fun and familial energy to it, and folks who come here find it difficult to leave.

We do play Minnesota teams in friendlies. Two upcoming friendlies will see us play Simba United, a rec team from the Cities, and Granite City, a UPSL side from Central Minnesota. Duluth FC’s academy team is slated to play in WPASL starting in 2021.

Our leading scorer from last season, Josh Balsiger, played for D3 Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona. Because of COVID, he ended up in Eau Claire following his graduation. Outside of him, we haven’t typically drawn players from west of the St. Croix River, but we may have to cast a net out that way.

Soccer in the lower leagues can be a struggle to finance - do you ask players to pitch in? Do you sell your kits and other swag? Are you fortunate to have sponsors?
We have all our players pay a nominal annual fee. This fee helps us pay for referees and covers the cost of kits. We had two sponsors in 2020 and are hoping to find some more for the 2021 season, but we’re definitely very grateful for Par-Loc and Chilson Subaru for helping us out financially. As of now, we only have stickers for sale but we’re working with various vendors to establish lines for kits and other merchandise!

At this level any support is good support - do you have a group of fans who show up to the games? Are there any clubs in your league who seem to have more supporters than the others?
COVID prevented us from really having fan support at our one actual home match this season (the other four were played outside Eau Claire County in accordance with local health guidelines). A few fans would turn out for those other nine fixtures, and even more yet tuned into our live stream. That one home match (against eventual runner-up Lobos FC) had a turnout of around 100 fans, maybe more. That was so exciting for us for two reasons: it showed people within the community were interested in what we’re doing and we won it with one of the last kicks of the match. For 2021, we’re trying to build a movement here that sees a much higher home attendance. Of course, if the pandemic is still raging, that may be difficult to achieve again.

Each team in the league seems to have some local support but that doesn’t really extend to away days. I’d say the most vivacious support is found in Barron; their local community truly rallies around their two teams.

SFC FC take on local rivals SF Glens in USL League 2 competition.

Congrats on winning your first WPSL Championship; what was the experience like? Did you have to travel far to get to the match? Were any friends and family allowed to watch? We see that the score was 3-1, who are a few players who stood out?
Thank you! It’s a huge honor to bring this back to the community, and with some more work it might convert some observers into supporters. That last match was a nervy one. Like the first time we played Hayward this summer, we went down 1-0 near the end of the first half. Unlike that first match, we fought back knowing only a win would do. Once we had the second goal in the net, the task became simpler. A third goal came in stoppage time to seal the result and our place at the top!

We had to travel far for the entire season. One match was played in Eau Claire all season. Four were played in Barron (three home, one away), three in Hayward (two away, one home), Merrill, and Lindstrom, MN. Collectively, we travelled over 1,500 miles this season. Fans were allowed to attend the finale, but being two hours north, most people opted to watch our live stream. Several players stood out to me. Josh (Balsiger), David (Ripplinger), and Chacha Nacius were massive with the goals, and defenders Yarshun Jayakumar and Chris Beckfield were instrumental in their shape which allowed Chacha to push further forward. As usual, Eddie Nelson was a brick wall in goal. That first goal was conceded in the midfield, so I can’t hold him accountable for that. All told, our whole team fought like hell to bring this championship back to Eau Claire. Some of our standout players left for college or dropped out due to COVID concerns before the last match, but their contributions won’t be forgotten.

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“We were founded as Eau Claire Heat FC in April 2019. In February 2020, we re-branded as Bateaux FC (the name “Heat” doesn’t exactly describe Eau Claire)”