Columbus Eagles: Player-Designed

November 01, 2019 by Dan Vaughn

Soccer shirts are a really unique confluence where design and function collide – sometimes its catastrophic and sometimes, in this case, the results are downright soccer-couture. Columbus Eagles are a WPSL side, founded in 2014, who came out of the gates wearing Adidas and showing a fun eagle logo which, nobody would bat an eye at. Who knew that just four years later it would be redesigned, and that it would come out even better! Columbus rocked brand new kits in 2019 as well, and we wanted to get the lowdown on their design and the motivation behind the soaring rebrand. Mark Wise, Owner & CEO, was happy to answer a few questions and he was kind enough to put us in touch with graphic designer Larissa Najjar, as well as Chief Operating Officer Grant Burkhardt – I hope you love good content, because this episode of Uniformity is chock-full.

Your new club crest designed by Larrissa Najjar is strong and simple - what inspired the rebrand and how important is it to you to give your players non-soccer professional experience, whenever possible?

The rebrand was entirely Larissa and Grant Burkhardt's idea. Larissa being a graphic artist and Grant is my brand manager (among many other roles). They wanted something that was fresh and in line with our target audience. We love to bring our players into the back office whenever they want to. They come from various business fields and their experience along with their soccer IQ is great for any club.

Not only has Najjar nailed the new crest, but she was also tasked with custom designing your 2019 kits - what led the club to pursuing a custom kit and how popular has it been? Have there been enough sales to help with operational costs?

Again, Larissa and Grant proposed the custom kits. I think the idea was if we want to grow into a professional club, we need to look and act like a professional club. The custom kits were an instant hit. Many positive comments and a large increase of sales over the previous year of jerseys. The volume is still not enough to help offset operational costs, but we will see how that goes this year.

In the US, there are a handful of apparel providers who work with grassroots clubs, but I've never seen anybody work with Diadora. Why them? Would you recommend them to other clubs?

Diadora was (they have been replaced this year with Erris) our uniform and equipment supplier for a couple of years. They gave us a good discount and a link from their web-page. When we wanted to do a custom jersey, they quoted a price that we could not afford. So, we went with another label for the custom jerseys. We kept our Diadora sponsorship by adding the Diadora logo on the jersey tops, but the design was all ours and the production was sub-contracted.

Some clubs offer new kits every year, some go every-other year; how long will these beauties grace the pitch and are there already new designs in the pipeline?

Right now we have plans to re-use the design for 2020. After that, who knows? Custom designs are much more difficult to deal with, but very much appreciated. We will have to see how much our fan-base grows in the next year.

Thanks for making a men's cut of this gem, I bought one! But what made you think to do so? Was there already a demand and has it sold well enough that you'll continue to have quantities available to “kitnerds” like myself?

The kits were designed to be comfortable for our players (after all they were designed by a player). However, you don't want to limit your potential customer base to just women, right? I think there should always be both options.

Do you feel any effects of marketing apparel and merchandise in an MLS market? Have you carved out your niche? Or are Columbus soccer fans generally supportive of both clubs and maybe it's actually beneficial? What do we have to look forward to in 2020?

I think Columbus soccer fans support soccer in general. We are much too small a footprint to be any competition to the MLS market. We definitely are working on a membership campaign for 2020. I want to double our average attendance from last year (paid seats, not free tickets). Kit's will have slight alterations to the design. Custom kits will need to be pre-ordered this year so expect that push early in 2020. Other than that, you will have to wait and see! Creative ideas are always flowing here!

Former player, Larrissa Najjar, professionally a graphic designer, not only redesigned the club’s crest, but also designed 2019’s gorgeous Columbus Eagles kits

We had a few extra questions for the Ohio Statue University grad, Larissa Najjarr, who earned her Master of Landscape Architecture and lent a huge hand in the designs of both the rebrand of Columbus Eagles, as well as the beautiful kits they rocked in 2019.

What other projects, soccer or otherwise, have you worked on? Is your work for Columbus a one-off or do you hope to leverage that into more opportunities?

The Columbus Eagles project is the first soccer-specific design project I have worked on. It was so much fun because I have played soccer for my entire life. Grant and I worked closely on the project and found we share the same design sensibilities and passion for bringing communities together with design and soccer. We both believe that women's soccer can be an amazing gathering point for building community and effecting change, so we are working together to build a company of our own that will hopefully provide great designs to the women's soccer community and also empower teams to give back to other communities.

Other than these projects, I work in illustration and design. I love the opportunity to work on any sort of creative project, built environment or digital.

How important is it to have clubs, like Columbus, around for women to extend their soccer careers or even get a foot in the door for non-athletic opportunities? What's next for you?

I have found that when a player from the Columbus Eagles must move away from the Columbus area (for work or school) and therefore can no longer play for the club, they always say they will miss three things: their friends, their family, the Eagles. I think having teams like the Eagles is so important for communities and the women playing. The Eagles in particular is really cool because we encourage players to take an active role in building the business using their professional skills. I am a good example of this. I played for the Eagles for several years but had to retire from soccer because of ankle injuries. After I retired, I started working on rebranding the club almost right away. It certainly helped the transition to not playing much easier.

What's next? The project I mentioned above that Grant and I are launching is next! We also hope to release a new design for the Eagles before next season. As I said, soccer is a really important piece of my life, so I hope we get many more opportunities to rebrand clubs to empower their players and get communities excited about their teams.

- Joshua Duder

For more information about the Columbus Eagles: https://www.columbuseaglesfc.com/wp/

To pick up one of these beautiful shirts: https://www.columbuseaglesfc.com/wp/shop-home/

Hialeah City FC: Going Smaller to Go Big

June 28, 2019 by Dan Vaughn

In a time where major jersey suppliers seem to only have a handful of base designs for top tier clubs in a cookie cutter fashion, lower league clubs like Hialeah City FC have looked to lesser known suppliers such as Spyro for unique designs in order to represent their team and community. Smaller manufacturers are willing to go above and beyond in ways that larger ones are not, as they are looking for growth opportunities. Hialeah City FC found a brilliant partner to give the a design that stands out in a crowded market.

Hialeah FC is located just northwest of Miami between the Everglades and Biscayne Bay in Hialeah, FL which is one of the largest Spanish speaking communities in the United States. Founded in 2017, the "Blue Fury" competes in one of the UPSL's most competitive divisions, the Florida Dade / Broward Division in the Southeast Conference, playing their home games at Kendall Soccer Park.

Though only two years old, the club has established youth teams from U-12 to U-19 and according to their website wants to give their players the opportunity to become professional or collegiate players as well as eventually looking to join the USL 2. Their kits already reflect this level of professionalism in their look. They are certainly professional grade.

Their emblem has a blue eagle whose wings spread in front of a soccer ball with their logo sitting above it on a shield-shaped crest. Their main color is a light blue that's as tropical as their South Florida home and is the base color of their home jerseys. While most teams have their stripes either vertical or horizontal, Hialeah FC chose for their darker blue stripes to run diagonal wrapping around the shirt which take after the tropical storms and hurricanes common to the South Florida area.

Their away jersey is mostly black with the left side of the shirt fading into blue diagonal stripes which resemble the wings of the eagle on their club crest with a similar design on each leg of the shorts. The goalies’ primary jersey mimics the outfield players’ home jerseys except in shades of Florida Orange while their goalies’ second jersey is black and purple with a Pollock-esque splatter design running diagonal through the shirt.

Looking to become a more professional club and building a brand requires professional looking jerseys and crests and Hialeah FC seem to have already nailed that aspect of the business. They say that to make yourself successful, you should dress for the job you want to have. Hialeah City already has the look of a big-time soccer club, regardless of their short history. Expect big things from the club in the future as they look to progress off of two successful first years within a great community.

- Paul Kowalczyk

If you love this kit as much as I do, here’s the link to Hialeah City FC’s Store.

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Club Toledo: Far From "Regional"

June 01, 2019 by Dan Vaughn

When you think soccer in Ohio, you’d travel several layers down before you’d find Club Toledo, who play in the Northwest Ohio Champions League. That doesn’t mean they haven’t made waves in their level however. Jacob Mercer, club owner is quick to point that out. “We are back-to-back league champions and are looking to expand our operations and compete on a more regional level. For example, later this summer, we are hoping to take a squad down to Fort Wayne, IN to play in the USASA Region 2 Tournament of Champions. We've also kept a close eye on the Amateur Cup this year, and hope to be able to participate in 2020.”

However, playing at that level in a state which has exploded in soccer clubs (and even leagues!) in the last couple of years can leave Club Toledo being overlooked by casual fans. With catching more eyes in mind, Mercer partnered with Icarus FC to produce some spectacular new kits. “I have been following Icarus over the past year and they consistently put out great custom jerseys. When I contacted Robby, he was really responsive and was willing to work with any ideas that I had.”

Prior to working Icarus, Mercer had allowed financial factors to be the primary driver in his choice of kits. “The past two years, I had tried to find the most affordable jersey that matched our colors.” Any operator in the lower leagues understands this quandary - money is tight, you’ve got to make every cent stretch as far as possible. But that desire to save cash was resulting in complaints from players. “I've had these jerseys for two years, and the guys have complained that they aren't the best material in terms of breathability. This is particularly important because most of our season is mid-day on Sunday's from June-September.“

One of the best parts of working with Robby is his constant desire to create functional kits, designed in line with the hometown of the club (yes, Icarus sponsors this column, but look over his work, we’re not lying). ”I think he and I shared the desire to make sure the jerseys had some sort of connection back to our community as well. Our team colors are white, black, and red. The white represents the Glass City, the black is for the Black Swamp area, and red is for the state of Ohio.” Some of the Toledo-specific details are not obvious to the casual onlooker. “One last nod to the City of Toledo, we included the "Laborare est Orare" from the seal of the City as our jocktag underneath the neckline on the back of the jersey. We have that in our crest, and thought it was fitting. The phrase loosely translates, "To work is to pray", which I think does a great job highlighting the working spirit of the City of Toledo.”

Mercer is just as thrilled with the primary design component on the front of the kit - the sash. “I love jerseys with this design feature, with iconic teams such as Peru's national team, River Plate, Vasco da Gama, etc jumping to mind. People unfamiliar with NW Ohio, will not know that the Maumee River cuts through the area in the same direction, so I thought it was fitting to represent that on our jerseys.”

These kits are a great reminder that having a great design for a kit doesn’t mean you have to be some big-money operation. The cost of design, with the right designer, doesn’t have to dictate the quality of the result. Club Toledo is a club in a regional league, playing well in their level, and now have a kit that reflects a higher standard than a stock kit that so many regional clubs settle for.

Boise Cutthroats FC: Making a Name for Yourself

May 24, 2019 by Dan Vaughn

Boise Cutthroats FC have been one of the premier teams in the UPSL’s Mountain Conference for the last few seasons now. They’ve got a fantastic team on the field for just about every match and a high class kit to go with them.

They left behind the Modelo sponsored kits from last year and went with the team name in the spot that the Mexican beer’s logo used to be for one big reason. “We've played teams at home where our fans would ask who the other team was and where they're from,” says Boise’s Brian Buckingham, “Hopefully by putting our name front and center, it eliminates that question when we're on the road.”

The outfield players have either a black or white kit with maroon and “Las Vegas gold” stripes across the shoulders and down the legs of the shorts. The number on the back is gold with a maroon outline.

Their other kit is a bold maroon color with the same “Las Vegas gold” stripe across the shoulders and legs, this time accompanied with black. The numbers use the same colors as the stripes, a black number with a gold outline.

The goalkeepers kits have the same designs, but are long sleeves. One version is gold with navy and maroon stripes, while the other is black with maroon and gold stripes.

The kits were designed and manufactured by Admiral Sportswear based on the ideas of Boise’s Brian Buckingham and owner Hector Palacios. One aspect of the jersey that is pretty uncommon among modern kits is a collar that the Cutthroats added to the outfield players kits. “It's difficult to design a jersey that looks good with a collar,” says Buckingham, but honestly the collar works on these kits.

The team also has a really unique sponsorship package. On the back, above the numbers, features the name of Cancun Mexican Restaurant, an establishment in Boise. The really interesting part is the sponsorship package they give to their sponsors. “The different levels of support determine what spot we are able to offer,” says Buckingham, “Our packages include more than just a jersey spot, we add in things like field banners, social media posts, etc. In addition, we are willing to work with a potential sponsor. If there is something specific they are looking for, we will do our best to make it happen for them.”

Kits and accessories for the team are available here. Go show the club some love and get some beautiful kits in the process!

Chattanooga FC: Going Professional

May 10, 2019 by Dan Vaughn

Last week, Chattanooga FC released their new kits ahead of their 2019 season, which will conclude with the Founder’s Cup as the team goes professional. At first glance, the three kits are not exactly as creative as you would expect to see from Chattanooga, but once you begin to look at some of the smaller details, they are quite incredible.

Designed by Chattanooga FC’s own Paul Rustand and his team at Widgets & Stones, the kits feature the Volkswagen logo across the chest, as kits have for the many years now. The club’s badge sits on top of the wearer’s heart, with the Inaria logo on the other side of the chest. The right sleeve features the name of another sponsor, power and telecommunications provider EPB, while the back features CHI Memorial and The Center for Sports Medicine and Orthopedics.

The away kits are a beautiful baby blue with white stripes. The home kits are navy blue with lighter blue arrows, while the keeper’s kit is orange with a small diamond design all over. They are all reminiscent of kits of old, but still have a modern and simple twist on them. That was Rustand’s goal, as he said “The inspiration was of course our decade long history of kits and core brand elements that we sought to honor. But at the same time we are seeking to expand the palette of styles.”

Easily one of my favorite parts of the kits are the small “X” made in the design on all three kits. It sits right on top of the crest and it a beautiful, but subtle design choice. According to Rustand, it is a nod to VFL Wolfsburg’s 2018-19 green home kit. But that is not the only underlying meaning to the symbol, as Rustand continued by saying, "more importantly the Roman numeral for 10 – since we are celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2019.”

All in all, the kits represent Chattanooga FC wonderfully. They appear somewhat simple when you just glance at them, but once you actually start to look at the smaller details, it becomes more and more complex and more and more beautiful. That’s the way I personally like uniforms. Flashy kits are nice and all, but the classic kit with subtle details are some of the best works of art you will see on a soccer kit. Chattanooga FC captures that with a kit that is fit for a top level club.

- Aarik Long

Kit images courtesy of Inaria Soccer social media.

New Look Same Club

May 03, 2019 by Dan Vaughn

The identity of a club is often overlooked, but often it plays an essential role on how we feel about a club. A fan should embrace the identity, but a player must live with it and become an ambassador for that said identity. That is why the crest of a soccer kit lays over our hearts. A brands identity is one with the fan, the player and the community.

“The new uniform will give us a breath of fresh air.”

— Anthony Perez

In this week’s Uniformity we travel to Perris, CA to check out the new brand refresh for City Legends FC. City Legends FC is a sophomore club within the UPSL. In its first year the club went undefeated in the Championship and were promoted to the Pro Premier. The club’s identity wasn’t bad. It had a well done crest and a color palette that sticks out in the soccer world: maroon and gold. But 2019 was meant to be a bigger year for the club, and a bigger year meant an even better presentation. “ Once we jumped up to the Pro Premier, we didn't start off that great,” said Anthony Perez about the new year and new identity. He added “ I thought a refresher, the new logo and new uniforms, would spark us up again.”

The Crest

The original crest had a unique shape and was drenched in maroon, the clubs primary color. It was a bold crest fit for the desert city of Perris, CA. The bandit became the icon for the club, equipped with his western style cowboy hat. The crest itself gave the team an identity, but just because something works doesn’t mean that it can't get any better. Because it did.

The new crest is sleek and designed in a minimal fashion. Every adjustment has made this crest more appealing. The shape is more defined and offers a stronger frame. The maroon acts as an accented color, rather than dominating the space. The use of negative space helps the badge breathe. The font variances help create symmetry and balance within the piece. And the bandit still makes his appearance, but he is bolder and more experienced because he has that undefeated season under him.

“We wanted to keep the base of our logo, so we just freshened it up a little. We made look cleaner. We made it look sleeker.”

— Anthony Perez

The Uniform

In soccer a new season often means a new uniform. Most pro clubs will often trot out different color variants to the same template, but in grassroots soccer you often see an explosion of creativity. That was how Uniformity was born.

The new City Legends uniforms look great. The design is sleek and matches the new identity that the club is creating. The alternate colored stripes give a classic feel to the kit, but the fade at the bottom gives a cool modern twist to the outfit. One element that stands out is the diagonal hoop. It’s just another element that slightly changes the jersey traditions of old.

My favorite is the white, mostly with how well the badge fits in and how the maroon accents just give another strong element to look at. Those two extra elements provide a balance to the overall kit that the black can’t match.

The new design helps to usher in a new era for the City Legends. An era that has attracted a jersey sponsor in Lascom IT, who believe in the project that this club is creating for its community. A new uniform isn’t always about style, but about growth. City Legends Football Club is stepping away from being a soccer team and stepping into the identity of a soccer program. A soccer program that has the potential to truly develop a soccer community.

Bugeaters FC: The Simple Things

April 25, 2019 by Dan Vaughn

One of the best secondary things about the return of soccer across this country is the debut of all the kit rebrands and releases going on all over the country. Of course, we track those as they happen and so far we’ve seen some strong contenders out of the box. Last week we saw another redesign from an up and coming brand (one that we’ve written about in this very column) and we were thrilled to be able to head back to the great state of Nebraska to double dip with Bugeaters FC.

We usually begin out Uni-Formity pieces by talking about the brand and what’s going on with the club, but because we’ve written about them already, we can skim that subject just a little. Bugeaters have had some big announcements in the last 6 months. The biggest of those announcements was their exit from the UPSL, after a single season of competition, and their decision to join the brand new expansion division of Gulf Coast Premier League, the Great Plains Premier League. While Bugeaters had only played a single season in the UPSL, they have a larger footprint in the national conversation due to their creative approach to marketing, advertising and strategic partnerships. So their exit from one league and eventual (GPPL plans to kick off in 2020) entry into another league made a big splash, even with the most passive of lower league followers. Paired with their league transition, Bugeaters announced they would be playing a season of friendlies, rather than participating in league play in 2019.

Then three weeks ago, Bugeaters announced a partnership with Creighton University to play in Morrison Stadium for their home 2019 matches. The drive to find a place to play matches had been a tough one for Bugeaters FC owner Jonathan Collura. But having a home in Omaha had more benefits than just a field to play on. “We are excited to be playing at Morrison Stadium. This venue has all of the amenities that we have needed. We expect it to be multi-season, but we need to focus on being good tenants. Omaha has two top division one programs and we are excited to have ties to both of them.” Playing matches in a college field is sure to attract some potential players to the eye-catching Bugeaters brand.

And that brand was taken up a notch last week with a kit reveal that had social media buzzing.

Jonathan Collura always thinks about the details when it comes to his branding and these kits are no different. The black home kit features a black background with a zig zag pattern in a barely seen gray. All the elements of the kit are white, with piping on the neck and sleeves. Over the shoulder, there’s two parallel lines, almost football (American) in style. Those really stand out on this all black kit, giving definition and shape to the shoulder area. Those lines can also be be spotted in the red away kit, which is a red kit with three white stripes. That white extends to piping on the collar, sleeves, and shorts. The badges, unlike many kits at this level, are actually woven versus sublimated, it’s a classy touch, particularly at this price point. But in the end, both designs are simple, through and through. And that approach by Collura, who partnered with CustomFC on this kit, is on purpose.

“I have been collecting kits since the mid-90’s and my style is based on what I have found to have wide appeal. Unique simplicity is what I think does well. Last season’s kits did well and we used simple elements with solid kits. This season, we again use simple elements but in a unique way. I like unique designs and as you have seen, we have had bespoke kits both last season and now this season. There are simple things that can be done to enhance the look. We put the shape of the state on the back neckline as an example. We are not tied to an academy and required to use stock kits. This allows us to have the flexibility to do what we want.”

Danny Whitehall sprints up the field for Bugeaters FC. Image courtesy of John Peterson.

With such a buzz around the release of the kits, the Bugeaters owner could have jacked his prices a bit, but he broke the mold on this subject as well. “I believe in giving fans a sub-$50 kit. Let’s face it, no club makes much money on kits (at this level anyway), so why not do what you can to get them in to the hands of the fans?” Why not indeed.

With the kit release announced and the preorders rolling in, Collura’s vision is turned to what’s next. “We have an amazing season lined up. We’ve had one ‘tune up’ match which went well and we fully expect this season to be a step up to last. The team will boast a squad with all Nebraska connections. My new coach, Scott Robertson, buys in to the philosophy of building a community based club. The next couple of weeks will be a big challenge. We have both Little Rock Rangers and Chattanooga FC back-to-back weekends. I’m excited and confident that we can complete against such top sides.”

If not on the field, certainly in the way they are dressed.

- Dan Vaughn

In the Shadow of the Mountains

April 12, 2019 by Lola Vaughn

“Every natural object is a conductor of divinity and only by coming into contact with them... may we be filled with the Holy Ghost.”

— John Muir, 19th century naturalist

We cannot shake the effects of the beauty of nature that surrounds us. While humanity is old, some 200,000 years old, the rocks, the hills, the mountains that surround us and shape our environment are much older. The Rocky Mountains, that divide and shape the Western portion of the United States, were pushed from the ground by the movement of plates during the Laramide orogeny, a geological event 80 million years ago. There were no humans to see the mountains rise towards the sky and no one human could have, as the movement took millions of years. It would have taken generation after generation, each passing along the story of the movement of the land, without a break in the sequence, without a single generation disconnecting or moving on.

As technology and hubris has developed within our species, we assume an ability to control nature around us. With our machines and engines, we push and tug at the land, we strip back the trees and dirt, we drain lakes and shift rivers, but the land continues to shape us as much as we shape it. We pretend to be god, but there is a limit to our power. Our effects will fade as quickly as they are made, as the Earth will continue to exist - long after humanity has burnt itself out. We will leave scars but the elemental movers of the world - wind, rain, the movement of the plates - will eventually smooth those into oblivion.

But in the moment, we can look up to the mountains that stand above us and acknowledge their seeming eternal nature - that uncounted generations have each looked above themselves, into the points that pierce the sky and cut the clouds, and felt their own smallness. And while that feeling may be intimidating for some, it also inspires the soul to create - something lasting, like the mountains above.

The southern New Mexico town of Las Cruces is dominated by their own mountain range, less famous than the Rockies and slightly younger by 20 million years (but who’s counting) - The Organ Mountains. The range was originally named “Sierra de los Organos” by the Spanish explorers that came through the Southwest hundreds of years ago. Los Organos because the peaks resembled the pipes emerging from the church organs in the cathedrals of Europe. While the town of Las Cruces, NM wasn’t founded until the 1840’s, the area has been inhabited for hundreds of years earlier, first by native people, then by the Spanish. But the town has never been that large, dominated by the popular cities in the northern parts of the state and by El Paso, 45 minutes down I-10 in Texas.

The Organ Mountains above Las Cruces (Image from Wikipedia)

When Alexis Ruiz decided to start his soccer team in Las Cruces, he was aware of the downfalls that come about in such a small market, but when he talks about it, he always starts with the positives. “ We do get a lot of support from our local soccer community. Soccer is very popular in Las Cruces. You'll catch a lot of people out here wearing their team jerseys or team uniforms. We have a good amount of people come out to our games as well. We average 200 to 300 fans per game which is huge for a small city club like us. Cons would be that our talent is limited. Many athletes stop playing after high school due to the lack of opportunity in the area. There are very few of us that get the chance to play college ball due to either finances or lack of being scouted. Many of the most talented players in Las Cruces stopped playing years ago.”

“I say this day in and day out but if the best players in Las Cruces were to play with us then we would win the league. That I am confident in.”

— Alexis Ruiz

His optimism and drive are rare in someone his age and when he speaks about his club and his city, he inspires the people around him. Ruiz is the product of that same small town, but the vision for his club has always been epic. In 2018, in the UPSL Fall season, FC Grande kicked off their inaugural season, drawing talent from the town they love. While the city of Las Cruces has around 100,000, the club was able to put together a strong side that finished second in their conference, behind only Sporting AZ FC. It was a successful season and in the off season, Alexis decided he wanted a more personalized kit for the club. “I had wanted to find a way of representing Las Cruces, New Mexico. Something that when someone from Las Cruces saw it, they would know exactly what it is and what it represents. I came up with the idea of incorporating our beautiful Organ Mountains being how popular they are here in town. Everyone and any one from Las Cruces knows the Organs. It's a huge part of our culture. If you take a cruise down Las Cruces, I almost guarantee you that you'll find something related to the Organs.”

So Alexis began hunting for the perfect idea, first working with Icarus on the idea before transitioning to the club’s kit provider, Admiral. What emerged was a beautiful sublimated kit that shows the outline of the mountains with the light of a rising sun emerging over the edge. The design is original, creative, and entirely representative of the city of Las Cruces and its mountains.

It would be a mistake to discuss this jersey without mentioning the crest, one of the best in the UPSL. Designed by Robert Boyd at Custom FC and Alexis swears by his work. “I must say the he did a great job on it. He's made many world class crest. Any clubs looking to redesign their crest need to contact him!”

Much like the Organ Mountains making an appearance on FC Grande’s kits, the crest was also a Las Cruces inspired work. “What had influenced our crest was the Rio Grande and the Zia Symbol. Robert had a came up with a bunch of designs and we started breaking the design down one by one. When he had sent me the design of the Rio Grande running through the center of the crest, I knew that was the one. He had added the Zia Symbol on top of it and from there we decided the colors.” For those unfamiliar with the Zia Symbol, it is an ancient symbol used by the Zia Pueblo people, an ancient civilization that lived around modern day Albuquerque. The number four was a sacred number for the tribe and the four crisscrossing lines represented, among other things, the fours seasons. The image is often referred to as “the Zia Sun Sign” due to its shape. It is on the New Mexico flag and ties the state to its native roots. Those roots are vital to Alexis and FC Grande and he has made an effort to tie his club to them.

One more item of interest for existing fans of the club’s original kits. The baby blue kits of their first season aren’t being discarded, but will be the home option for club. The grey kit will become the club’s alternative.

Pablo Rodriguez brings the ball up the pitch, wearing the home kit from 2018.

FC Grande has set lofty goals for their upcoming UPSL season. “Our goals for 2019 spring season are to build a bigger fan base, win the Southwest Conference and qualify for the US Open. Last year we were almost there but fell short to a strong Sporting AZ FC side. We've been training since December and feel we have a strong group. We have some returning players and some new players. Overall the men have been working hard on and off the pitch.” With a schedule that features multiple back-to-back matches, having a strong, fit squad will be important if they hope to achieve their goals.

FC Grande’s new mountain kit does everything that Alexis wants for his club. It ties the club to the city he loves, in a way that is unmistakeable and obvious. As he strains to build something lasting in his hometown, his club will wear the eternal geography that has shaped the city and state he loves.

- Dan Vaughn

If you’re interested in more information:

FC Grande - Twitter

Custom FC - Twitter

Ordering FC Grande’s kit - Admiral

The Joke that Backfired, Beautifully

April 04, 2019 by Lola Vaughn

It started as a joke, a riff on the big MLS announcements in south Florida. A month ago, David Beckham and his business partners standing in the shell of Lockhart Stadium: “The vast history of soccer in South Florida has deep roots in Fort Lauderdale dating back to the original Strikers of the 70’s and 80’s, the Miami Fusion of the 90’s and early 2000’s as well as the recent clubs that have called Lockhart Stadium their home.” The announcement was meant to give their plan for the Stadium a little umph in the face of local opposition. But it didn’t ring true for fans of soccer who had lived through those eras of soccer in Florida.

For Derek Reese, President of Himmarshee Football Club, it was a clear sign that “MLS still, 20 years after the Fusion, not really understanding the nuances/realities of the south Florida market and that Fort Lauderdale is not part of Miami.” Fort Lauderdale is indeed not part of Miami, no matter how hard InterMiami (or whatever that club is called after they are sued by InterMilan) wishes it is for the purpose of solving their real estate issues. In fact, it is 40 miles north and a complete different culture from Miami.

So with April 1st on the calendar and so many clubs posting social media jokes, Derek decided to do their own for Himmarshee, but riffing off the idea of Fort Lauderdale being distinct from Miami - “that's where the genesis of the idea came from.” So Reese, who does the kit design for his club decided to throw together a fake kit with the idea of tossing a jab at the Miami MLS people.

Rather than being too obvious in the inspiration for the kit, Himmarshee claimed on their site that the kit design was to “promote geography education issues.” Of course, the kit had a dual purpose - “In the event of a GPS outage or poor cellular service, the HFC Map Kit can help you find your way home the old fashioned way, whether you’re just around the corner or heading as far as Key West or Gainesville.”

But the joke wasn’t received the way Derek had expected. In fact, it was “almost immediately. Within a few minutes of posting it we already had comments from people wishing it was real and wanting to buy one.” Almost universally, the kit was applauded and appreciated. Everyone wanted one. So the club saw a way to capitalize on the interest and decided to manufacture the kit.

“It’ll be wild to see these shirts in real life. This is exactly the kind of quirky thing that makes us who we are and why the lower levels can often be more fun than the big professional guys at the top.”

— Derek Reese

The jerseys will be sold for the same price as the club’s regular jerseys ($50), with a portion of the proceeds donated to the You Can Play Project. Himmarshee has done this with all of their jersey sales so far, with the logo of the organization on the front of their kits. You Can Play Project mission is “ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation and/or gender identity.” It’s a cause near the heart of the Fort Lauderdale community and for the club, it just made sense to support them.

Himmarshee Football Club was formed by a group of Fort Lauderdale Strikers’ supporters with the intent to accomplish a host of things, but most importantly “supporting our highest level local club, the historic Fort Lauderdale Strikers, through supporters group Flight 19, operating our own competitive adult amateur team and recreational sides, organizing casual pick up games and other events to bring the soccer community together, and supporting and organizing local charitable efforts – both relating to soccer and general community causes.” The club is owned by its members and is one of the most progressive and idealistic clubs to ever come to south Florida soccer.

If you’re interested in supporting Himmarshee FC by becoming a member, the cost is only $25. Of course, you can also support the club by purchasing one of these April Fool’s joke kits (called “The Map Kit” by the club), they are now available for preorder on the Himmarshee website. Besides supporting a great club and important community work, you’ll also never confuse Miami with Fort Lauderdale.

- Dan Vaughn

Ranking the Kits of Founders Cup Clubs

March 15, 2019 by Lola Vaughn

Founders Cup is right around the corner, and boy is everyone excited. Sure the NPSL professional division doesn’t have the D3 sanctioning like some other leagues, but NPSL has the heart of a true soccer league. That heart and ethos is something that the entire soccer community is craving. So, for this week’s Uniformity I take a kit from each club and rank them making my top eleven.

11. Oakland Roots Sports Club

This was an easy last place, because let’s be fair, the Roots don’t have a kit yet. Now I can imagine that if I were to revisit this segment during the season, the Roots would be challenging the top clubs. Branding and Oakland Roots SC have had a unique relationship that continues to evolve, and if you haven’t already check out my piece I wrote a few weeks back: Organic and Raw.

10. CAL FOOTBALL CLUB

While Cal FC will be a force on the field, the club’s kits lack any sort of fashionable elements. Clubs from Southern California should strive to have some of the best merchandise, because so much fashion and personality comes from the region. Every grassroot club may not have the ambition to grow its brand with fashion, but if Cal FC does intend to create a customized kit it will most likely reflect the very fashionable state that the club represents.

9. ALBION SOCCER CLUB SAN DIEGO

ASC San Diego has fielded a variety of jerseys, but the one that I like most is the blue and white hoops. A very traditional design that pops, because of the bright hue of the blue. I believe the this kit is an older variant, but it definitely sticks out, especially with the hoops on the socks.

8. MILWAUKEE TORRENT

Half baby blue and half grey, this kit is one of the more unique fashion statements in grassroots soccer. Two elements that fit very well on the jersey is the all white logo, that takes up the entire stomach and the alternate sleeve colors.

7. FOOTBALL CLUB ARIZONA

Yellow on a jersey is meant to be bold and stand out, a fitting style for FC Arizona. The chest is covered in a yellow block, that slowly cascades into smaller and smaller hoops, eventually becoming navy blue. The FC Arizona style of play will fascinate the audience and it will always be easy to stop the players on the pitch.

6. DETROIT CITY FOOTBALL CLUB

DCFC’s rouge color palette mixed with the gold accents, make one luxurious kit. Alternating red stripes gives the perfect canvas to showcase the jersey sponsor, club crest and kit manufacturer, but it is really those accents that just create an overall piece that locks into the clubs branding. Detroit City also carries a few alternates, like the all white with a maroon polo collar.

5. NAPA VALLEY 1839 FOOTBALL CLUB

I love a green kit and this one uses a monochromatic color scheme that just looks slick. Napa Valley’s crest has always been highly rated by those within Protagonist and this one jersey does not disappoint. The abstract design that uses the bright green and forest green steers away from a traditional stripes, like in the Detroit City jersey. The unique style makes the 1839 kit the best in the West.

4. CHATTANOOGA FOOTBALL CLUB

The people’s club offers a perfect design that makes the thousands of fans and owners look good. The navy blue base is trimmed with baby blue to make a clean look that can fit any outfit. But what makes this kit stand out is the soccer ball outline, comprised of thick hash marks, that is located in the club’s crest. Even the round Volkswagen logo just fits perfectly on the front of the jersey.

3. NEW YORK COSMOS

Another club that is known for its iconic green jersey, but that is not the kit that gets them ranked in third place. One of the cleanest looking kits in the Founders Cup is the all navy blue base with the cascading green stippling down the chest. On top of that sweet color combination is the sharpest sleeve trim I have ever seen on a jersey. The trim is made up of the three iconic colors in the Cosmos crest: baby blue, yellow and green.

2. MIAMI UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

The Miami United kit is one of my favorite pieces in grassroot soccer. My first ever Uniformity article was about Miami United FC. What stands out about this piece is how many unique elements lie within the kit. There are multicolored hoops, various hoop sizes, gold accents and a strong black background that helps each element pop off of the kit. The club could wear these kits for a decade and the look would never get old.

1. MIAMI FOOTBALL CLUB

Ranking in the top spot is Miami FC. The bright Miami color palette just stands out among any jersey in existence and while the club has multiple stylish jerseys, the best looking one is the pastel light blue polo with the orange sleeve. First a polo collar is the best look you can get on a jersey, it's what separates a soccer kit from all of the other sloppy sports jerseys. Second, the color combination is vibrant and reflects the community that it comes from. It is a perfect example of the art and fashion background of Miami.

Image courtesy of footballshirtculture.com.

As we get closer and closer to the kickoff of Founders Cup, I expect clubs to create new kits for their players and fans to wear. And by that time I hope that the West Region can produce more artistic kits that really show off the powerful brands they represent. But until that day, the East Region’s brands will reign supreme.

- Steven Ramirez