The Salmon from Snohomish have been up and running for a few years - however, they are operating under a new director and have undergone a slight facelift. We thought we would like to hear more about what’s going on there and give our readers, many of whom were not with us when we last heard from the club, a fresh chance to hear about the fish.

What's your name, what is your role with the club, and how long have you been involved?
My name is Dorian Lair and I am the President & Chairman of Snohomish County Football Club. Also an active goalkeeper :) I have been involved in the club since 2022 starting as just a player, then Assistant GM, GM then ultimately taking over all club responsibilities and operations. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorianlair/)

There have been a handful of slight changes at Snohomish County FC, including a new logo! What inspired the visual change and did that come with any changes in programming or mission?
Yeah, lots of changes! Yes, one of the first changes was to update our brand, starting with our logo. We are looking to ultimately expand this club into the professional space long term. In the short term, focusing on our brand and make it appealing to the larger Snohomish County community, drive brand awareness, and focus on organic marketing efforts to make this club a community club. Second, another big change was to structure our business as a 501(c)(3) public non-profit and focus on serving the community. You can find a bit more on our mission statement here --> https://snocofc.com/about-us/. Third, we are developing a series of programs to help continue the massive growth the club has seen since I took over. Expanding from 1 team to 4 semi-pro teams, including our women's program, and recreational program headed up by Andrew Escalante (Co-founder, Director of Recreational Football, and Assistant Men's Indoor Coach). Other key programs that are still in development are to provide support to the community. To build a fan base, we have to provide something to the community FIRST. Over time, that work will pay dividends in support at matches and other events. So we are really focused on investing in our community! those programs include free weekly camp to the residents of Snohomish County in partnership with the City of Lynnwood and an advanced program for youth athletes to train with our first team. Just that in and of itself is the work I talk about in engaging with our community to ultimately build our fan base

What league do you play in and how often does the organization re-evaluate if that is the right level or place for the squad?
Men's Outdoor: Cascadia Premier League (CPL) - Planning on developing the business foundation and raising capital to support a USL2 or NPSL launch

o Men's Indoor: Western Indoor Soccer League (WISL)

o Women's Outdoor: Cascadia Premier League (CPL) - Planning on developing the business foundation and raising capital to support a USLW or WPSL launch

o Women's Indoor: Northwest Premier League Indoor (NWPLi)

o Steelheads Rec: Adult Tournaments All over the country. Planning on attending the Icarus Cup in Philadelphia, PA summer 23, and Soccer in the Sand Tournament Summer 23 in Seaside, OR

It looks like the fish have kicked off in their indoor season - is there a lot of crossover for players? Do you see these athletes transition to outdoors in the spring or is this mostly a different group?
Yes, we see a lot of cross-over with players. Probably around 30%, however, the game is very different, more like a hockey style of play so you will see players that are not outdoor players do very well in indoor. but the goal is to have our program have great experienced indoor coaching to teach the game to those who may be new to the indoor game.

Snohoco found themselves at Interbay to play Ballard FC

Off the pitch, does the club do anything to connect with the community? If you could do even more, what would the club pursue and how can our readers help you accomplish that?
As I mentioned before, our focus is community-driven events, volunteering, and programming. Here is a list of articles about some programming and events we have/ are planning on doing:

https://snocofc.com/steelheads-support-soccer-post-grand-opening/
https://snocofc.com/snohomish-chamber-of-commerce-welcomes-the-steelheads/
https://snocofc.com/steelheads-hold-state-of-the-union-gala-announce-new-club-branding/
https://snocofc.com/steelheads-partner-with-foundation-for-edmonds-school-district/
Other Programs: Steelheads Training Academy, Volunteer & Internship Program
I think how your readers could help us is really just to engage with us! We are striving for community engagement, all else will fall into place once our fan base grows. Of course, donating is HUGE because we are a small but mighty club trying to do big things. So every donation, ticket sale, jersey purchase, like, share, and retweet helps get our word out there about how we are serving our mission to the community. Another big thing is sponsorship, local sponsors and companies really make this all possible, and would love for people to spread the word about our mission to get support in that area: https://snocofc.com/partnership-program/
As i mentioned, we are striving for big things in the coming years and plan on working with the Snohomish School District, the City of Snohomish, and several other potential partners to raise funds and start a community petition to develop a field/small stadium in Snohomish FOR THE COMMUNITY in the long term, in hopes to accommodate 1,000-3,000 fans to bring pro soccer to Snohomish, a city with a deep history. All the work we are doing is to build our club FOR the community.

How did the outdoor squads (men's and women's) finish in 2022 and what are you most looking forward to in 2023?
Last year's results

Men's outdoor: 4-2-3 Finishing 3rd place in the CPL
Women's outdoor: 4-2-0 Finishing 3rd place in the CPLw
Men's Indoor: 3-7-0 Finishing 5th place in the WISL
Women's Indoor: 7-1-1 Finishing as Champions in NWPLi Inaugural Season - https://snocofc.com/steelheads-women-are-2022-nwpl-indoor-champions/
In 2023 I'm most excited for our indoor programs given that they are new to our club in the last 2 years, especially looking to have the Ladies' indoor squad go back to back as champions. Secondly, I'm looking forward to all the new programs that we have launched and engaging with the community. We can't survive without the community so I'm very excited to connect with people, businesses, and government officials to talk about our vision in helping serve the community.

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