Leelanau Soccer Club Adapts To Let Kids Play, Brings The County Together Along The Way

The future looks bright for Leelanau Soccer Club (LSC), after the cancellation of the 2020 spring season due to COVID-19, its modified comeback last summer and fall, and coaches rallying on projects critical to serving families in the county.

The nonprofit club, in existence in some incarnation since the 1980s, is growing, offering Leelanau county kids ages 4-12 a recreational league with fields in Maple City, Leland, Northport, Suttons Bay, and — now for the first time this spring — Elmwood Township.

Another first: “We’re really excited we have parity between the boys and girls travel team programs,” says LSC coach Len Mankowski. The club sends traveling LSC United select teams to compete in tournaments throughout the state. “Last spring was the first time we had full United teams from under 9 all the way up to under 13 for both boys and girls.”

Then COVID hit, extinguishing any hopes to play, but Mankowski says they expect to fill those rosters again this spring. He explains being able to offer passionate players an affordable but competitive soccer opportunity is a point of pride for LSC volunteer coaches, who in the past recognized that those more serious about the game and could afford to leave the county were doing so to seek out more competitive play.

The club is now open for spring 2021 registration, with the season likely to begin the second week in April. Says LSC parent, coach, and board member Andy Mills, “We’re excited to announce the addition of programming in Elmwood Township at Cherry Bend Park, responding to requests by residents in the area.”

Another bold move: launching new recreational uniforms that emphasize unity within the county through common club colors, removing the colors affiliated with certain school districts. The United travel teams will get new colors too.

Says Mills, “Historically, the program has been aligned by local village and team colors reflected by the public school. The move this spring reflects the fact that we have families all over the county in many different school situations, many not tied to these colors.’’

This shift to countywide unity is also a story of dedication and innovation by parents, coaches and volunteers, in the time of COVID-19. Says Mills, “Soccer is a foundational sport, often the first organized sport county kids are exposed to. With the impact of the pandemic, LSC knew that safe programming was essential for the physical and mental health of kids in Leelanau County.”

So, along with parents with a mix of clinical and coaching backgrounds, Mills rolled up his sleeves to create a COVID response team last April.

Mills and LSC board member and parent Dee Zuidersma — who has a Master of Public Health degree — worked directly with Michelle Klein, director of personal health at Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department (BLDHD) to figure out a safe way forward for the LSC kids. Jaime Meyer, a physician assistant and LSC parent, was also a clinical resource. Says Mankowski, “Andy recognized back in April this was something bigger and would last longer than what we were hearing. Andy, Dee, and all the coaches and volunteers worked their tails off so that when restrictions were lifted in late June, we were ready.”

The result was a return-to-play guide using resources from US Soccer, Michigan State Youth Soccer Association (MSYSA), and the BLDHD. After a long absence, the club brought the select United travel program teams back to the field in late June for socially distanced training. 

“All the coaches did a fantastic job building creative competitions when player to player contact was not permitted,” says Mills.

Here’s where that unity emerged: For the first time, the club established training pods for Leelanau kids without specific village labels. Once game play was cleared by MSYSA, those pods participated in games both as United teams and recreational teams, says Mills says, “going head-to-head against travel programs from outside the county, with good results.”

Says Mankowski, “It is difficult in any year to manage varied roster sizes, so why not come together — not as a Comet or a Norsemen or a Laker — but as a county. It works both from an efficiency standpoint and as a player-centered approach.”

The top priority was that families felt comfortable with safety protocols and that kids were able to have fun during this challenging time.

And fun they had, say LSC parents. Emily LaDrig of Suttons Bay tells the Leelanau Ticker, “It was the only normal school-related activity that [8-year-old] Avery was able to do for almost a year. She loved being able to go to soccer twice a week and we as parents loved hearing them all talk and laugh together, even at a distance. She could be a kid!”

Lindsay Loznak, of Cedar, concurs, “It looked a lot different this year, but coaches were so creative in making the skills feel like games or mini competitions while respecting the safety and distance of all of the participants.”

Mills says keeping costs low and providing scholarships is important to LSC, and business partnerships and donations help keep all county kids who wish to play active in the program. Mankowski adds they work to keep even the travel affordable: “When we go to the tournament in Petoskey, we camp at the State Park and swim in the lake after the games.”

Follow LSC’s activities this spring through Facebook or Instagram.