HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — West Michigan soccer fans have an awesome reason to be excited. A new team is coming to the area. It's United West Football Club and they're just about ready to hit the pitch.
Team founder Rogelio Giron, graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School before moving to California to pursue a soccer career.
But something kept calling him back to West Michigan.
"I wanted to come back here because the scene was there, you know, it was a growing community," says Giron.
A community now yearning for a team, after the area's previous professional squad, Grand Rapids FC, folded because of the pandemic.
"GRFC did help a little bit, just to kind of show the interest in soccer," says Giron.
And now, he's taking that interest and running with it, founding his own club and giving players a second chance.
"I know that there's guys here that still want to, you know, go after it," says Giron. "And we're just here to let them know that it is possible."
The team, a wide variety of players of all ages, skill levels and backgrounds.
"It creates a lot of culture, it creates a unique team dynamic, which I think is beneficial," says Salvatore Vilardi, the team's general manager.
Giron says that's exactly what he wants to see after coaching some of the local youth.
"The young talent that I was working with at the high school level that I'm like, man, you know, it'd be nice to just kind of get them to go somewhere," says Giron.
The team will play in the United Premiere Soccer League, which features teams across the country, plus from Canada and Mexico. There are even squads that lead to Major League Soccer.
"This league has multiple MLS feeder teams," says Giron. "So the level is definitely up there."
With tryouts coming up later this month, West United hopes they'll be able to give people a chance to follow their dream.
"We're just looking for that passion and that commitment," says Vilardi. "That people really want to push themselves and see where they can go with things."
United West FC will host tryouts from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on August 26 at Soccer Zone in Jenison. Pre-registration can be found on the team's website. The season will then begin in September, with home games played at Hudsonville's Freshman Campus.
The team is sponsored by Licari's Sicilian Pizza Kitchen and Hartman Family Chiropractic.
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