NASL Jacksonville

The real version will exist here... I will however be playing nice with this group over on a bigger blog... 
http://www.iwantabuzz.com/wdblog/sports/pro-soccer-in-jacksonville-launches-town-hall-meetings/

Tuesday night, the big three of the Sunshine Soccer Group held their first “Town Hall Supporters” forum for the new, North America Soccer League expansion team coming to the First Coast in 2015.

NASL team owner Mark Firsch, Sunshine Soccer Group President Dario Sala and Jacksonville NASL expansion club President Steve Livingstone were asked questions ranging from where they will play to how much tickets will cost.

“We will play like Barcelona –tiki-taka style, 70% possession” they said.

It’s interesting that the team without a name, a coach, a field or any players at all already has a style.

It is extremely evident that these three are a passionate core chosen to spearhead the effort to grow the game here in Jacksonville but there are some alarming signs that point towards a less than permanent existence here.

Sound the alarms...

Football v Futbol?

Despite it being a global game soccer is still foreign to many here in Jacksonville.

It is hard to market something that doesn’t have a logo, name, colors or any brand identity yet; and there are only two people on the ground leading the charge of developing a fan base in the heart of college football country.

In the largest city by area in the United States how far can so few people reach?

Yes, the game is growing organically and with the World Cup right around the corner a new audience will be exposed to the soccer’s largest and most passionate event this summer.

Combine that with the current state of American football facing significant challenges with concussions, legal issues and massive amounts of player safety concerns at every level, there is probably no better time to promote soccer.

This NASL team will need a few more boots on the ground taking part in forums like this in addition to starting new ones regarding Jacksonville’s home team.

NASL- didn’t that die in the 80s?

In the game of soccer, like life, you will make mistakes but it is important that to let them guide you, not define you.

The original NASL was the first stateside soccer exposure for many fans. It certainly sparked the flame for soccer here and opened eyes to the game.

Livingstone was correct in dubbing the organization as “the new kids on the block.” One of the main reasons the MLS is succeeding can be credited to the people that did the research and found out why the NASL 1 failed.

Jacksonville has had soccer teams before like the Cyclones, Destroyers and Tea Men. But why are all they all dead?

There is still a group of people in the community that were involved in NASL 1 as well as the other failed soccer organizations. However, they are still here hoping to help the game be more successful this time around.

Adapt or die.

Youth Soccer in Jax 

Perhaps the most important aspect the SSG/NASL group is overlooking is how to engage the current soccer community.  

Imagine the activation if the team had ONE match where all youth players in the area wear their respective club’s jersey, get in free and are given a shirt/scarf or some sort of fan gear.

You would think that these would be the groups that a professional team would approach first. From a ticket sales standpoint these are the most valuable customers for a number of reasons. Youth players love the game already as they are currently participating at the club level. Athletes at young ages are easily converted to life-long supporters with a singular positive experience. Most obviously, the youth player cannot attend a game by themselves so that’s at least one more ticket sold.

Professional teams are at the top of the developmental pyramid in any soccer community. The process that works worldwide is for those pro teams to provide a direct player path to the first team by connecting with local youth organizations.

Livingstone paints a wildly inaccurate picture of the youth soccer landscape here in Jacksonville. He blindly stated, “The clubs here in Jacksonville do a terrific job- better organizations than some in Europe.”

From every angle Jacksonville soccer is at least a decade behind the rest of the country. Player development is consistently strangled by a select few that are more interested in website hits and winning trophies at young ages than collaborating to create a better environment for the players in our community and move the game forward.

Parents, who just don’t know any better yet, are more concerned with getting their player on the top U10 team in the state rather than placing them in the appropriate atmosphere to develop a relationship with the game.

In the 1990s Florida traditionally had the most creative, technical and athletic players in the country roaming this state. Now, particularly north Florida, is viewed as a ‘backwards’ place unable to develop players on any scale despite an insanely deep talent pool that exists in a near perfect climate to train players 10 months out of the year.

What the Sunshine Soccer Group has yet to realize is this is an opportunity to truly put soccer in north Florida back on the map.

If they want to do something great for the Jacksonville soccer community they should put their arms around clubs in the area providing  the players an opportunity come together and compete at regional and national events wearing their NASL team’s jersey.

That  is a model any true professional organization would salivate over.

Despite the most recent addition to the team, iconic Barcelona doesn’t win by buying players; they do it by developing their youth players. In a 2012 match against Levante all 11 Barcelona players on the pitch were products of their youth system.

This NASL team will not be able to play like Barcelona without having that type of vision.

My vote for a team name suggests a bigger picture and a different process than those employed by the past organizations: First Coast Fusion.

For Jacksonville’s sake, I hope that this team’s players see the full field.