Conveniently located between Annapolis, Baltimore and Washington D.C. sits Fort George G. Meade – a United States Army installation in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Aside from being home to numerous security and defense agencies, Fort Meade has also become home to grassroots soccer.

In 2015 Bernie Koelsch, newly retired Army Colonel [July 2019], started a men’s soccer club – Meade United F.C. Koelsch played military soccer his entire career and not only manages the new club but also serves as Head Coach. Koelsch will complete his National C-License with U.S. Soccer this November and coaches for the All-Army and Armed Forces Men’s Soccer teams as well. Koelsch’s principal goal for starting Meade United F.C. was to prepare his players for their Military Service teams and this is still his goal today. The club’s roster consists of a mixture of players – predominantly between the ages of 20-26 years old, from all branches of military who are stationed at Fort Meade along with government civilians and contractors who are employed on base.

Over the years, Koelsch has had dozens of players nominated to their All-Service trial camps who have made the All-Army, All-Navy, All Marines and All-Air Force teams. Two players have gone on to play collegiate-level soccer in their transition from enlisted service to officers. Koelsch currently has seven All-Service players on the team.

Koelsch has increasingly showed his dedication to his players and making sure he is providing an opportunity of growth both on the field and in their services. With the desire to resolve the travel complications within their original league as well as provide a more competitive match environment for player development, the decision to join the Maryland Major Soccer League (MMSL) in Spring of 2019 was an easy one.

Although a more impressive decision Koelsch made a couple years prior sticks out even more.

In 2017, Koelsch did the unthinkable in a men’s league by making a player selection to his roster that still sets his club apart from his opponents with the addition of their first female player– AyCee Nash, a navy wife who works as a civilian at Fort Meade.

He didn’t stop there, in spring of 2018, Koelsch added another female player – Senior Airman Julia Wright. A solid left back with a natural left foot who has caught the eye of her opponents around the league since. Koelsch recalled being approached by three other coaches in the MMSL whom all have complemented Wright on her smart play and consistent defending.

In Koelsch’s experience, he explains female players understand and pursue the team aspects of the game more readily and quickly. “They work together to solve problems in the run of play,” Koelsch said. “Combined with the same competitive spirit and athleticism of their male colleagues, they create a high-achieving environment.”

Wright, originally from Michigan, has been at Fort Meade for just over a year and a half and has been in the U.S. Air Force for approximately two and half years. Wright has played soccer since she was six years old and upon arriving to Fort Meade, she was looking for a competitive team who played outdoors.

“Being in a new place, at the time I wasn’t familiar with the area, so I wanted [a team] close by and Meade United had everything I was looking for checked off.” Wright said. “I also saw that a Navy wife was playing with them, so I knew the coach wasn’t afraid to put girls on the team.”

As you can imagine, tryouts are held a bit differently than your traditional clubs. Due to the high turnover rate for military assigned to Fort Meade, Koelsch is constantly bringing on new players and losing players to changes in their stations. As a result, Koelsch holds rolling tryouts for any players who want to come out.

In Wright’s case, this actively rotating roster could be viewed as a disadvantage to her and the other female players. “With being a military team and having a lot of turnover with new players joining, at first they are surprised to see girls on the team”, Wright said. “But once they see us play, they become more accepting of the idea and will laugh and joke around with me and treat me like the other guys which I’m thankful for.”

Wright was aware that going into her first practice and game with the team would “basically be a test round.” She knew she wanted to play but was unsure if she’d even be able to keep up and help the team or if she’d actually become a hindrance. This wasn’t the case at all in Koelsch’s eyes.

“Julia has a high work ethic and is dedicated to being the best player possible”, Koelsch said. “She works hard and supports her teammates very well on and off the pitch.”

Wright has earned the confidence of her teammates by working extremely hard over the spring and summer earning her a starting position.

Aside from the player turnover rate you can expect balancing military duties with playing on a soccer club to be a difficult task to hand for Koelsch’s players – something Wright quickly experienced. With the military, your schedule can change at any time. Since being at Fort Meade, Wright has experienced several shifts that caused her to adjust her playing scheduled for Meade United. “At first I was on shift work so I could only go to one practice or I would have to miss a game because I had to work”, Wright said. “When I was working nights, I couldn’t make any practices or games if they were scheduled in the middle of the day because I would be sleeping.”

Wright now works a day schedule, Monday through Friday, which has helped tremendously as she is now able to make almost every practice and game. Being able to continue the sport she loves while fulfilling her military duties is an opportunity Wright is very thankful for. “I love that I can play soccer and still get a really good workout in when it comes to the cardio portion of keeping my fitness level up for the military”, Wright said.

The culture may be close knit within the Meade United locker room but how are the other teams in the league taking to going up against a club with female players? “As far as I know, we are the only team with female players”, Koelsch said.

For Wright, there is a huge advantage to playing against men’s teams as their opponents typically underestimate her and will often leave her unmarked. This allows her to play into free space while providing support for her teammates as the open player. There are occasions where opponents end up playing the complete opposite and over-mark Wright or play predominately on her side leaving her teammates with open space to attack.

“For me personally, I find playing in a men’s league as an advantage because I am pushing myself and learning every single time I play with them – even at practices “, Wright said. “Nine times out of ten, the guys will always be faster and taller than me, so I have to play smarter to avoid getting beat, especially in my position.”

Koelsch has opened the door for more female players to join his team and could potentially see a complete women’s side to Meade United should they attain enough players. “My goal has always been to have a women’s team at Meade, either in the local community league, Capitol Military League or MMSL”, Koelsch said. “We have fallen short of a full roster in the last several years but with great performances by Julia and others, we hope to recruit enough to begin that side.”

Likewise, Wright is in favor of having more female join the club and even a women’s side.

“It would be pretty to have a women’s and men’s side to Meade United’, Wright said. “We could play and practice with each other in friendly scrimmages creating a healthy rivalry that benefits both sides.”

Wright, however, loves playing with the men’s team as it’s a different ball game than with a women’s side. Having more female players on the team would be beneficial, in her view, to help relate with the challenges encountered and to bond amongst the guys but stresses she would miss playing with team if she were no longer on the team. Wright hopes those who learn her story and discover Meade United never settle for the easy route.

“Don’t let anything stop you from doing what you love and know that challenging yourself is always good and can be very rewarding”, Wright said.

- Nichole Singleton