Friday night the Grand Rapids Football Club kicks off their fourth season and the reputation and interest in the club has never been higher.
As the Boys in Blue look to return to the playoffs in 2018, a new crop of players is sure to impress their supporters.
"That’s what the game of soccer is about, the fans have a big impact on how the games go, the energy in the stadium and we are very lucky we have a great following," says first year head coach Lewis Robinson.
For an amateur club, Grand Rapids Football Club’s fan support is almost unparalleled. Not just record attendance but crowds sometimes 4 to 5 times more than their league rivals.
"Sometimes you get up there and think wow this is real, this is real," says first year player Adam Mena, "I know it’s just a summer league but it’s amazing you almost feel like you’re professional."
Mena says that support is one reason he signed up to play for the Boys in Blue this season. The former Top 10 pick in the MLS is one of many new faces with the club, who is now gaining the reputation to attract talent from around the globe.
"We’ve brought in a recruiting director based in England who has a lot of great contacts with professional clubs and professional players," says RObinson, "so we’ve been able to bring in some players from out of town who are here full time."
With diversity in player, comes diversity in playing styles.
"We’ve all sat as coaches that this is where the hard work really starts," says Robinson, "we now have 35 guys who are all from completely different backgrounds they all play different colleges, different clubs, they have different styles so now we have to try to get them all on the same page."
The influx of talent expected to rise the overall play of everybody.
"For the senior players it's more of a challenge," says team captain Tony Deakin, "there are better players so obviously that’s pushing us because we all want to play, we all want starting spots."
So as the team takes the pitch for the first league match this week, and two friendlies in their back pocket, time to let the new talent take off.
"This might not be perfect but we’re not going to get outworked," says Mena, "I firmly believe if we do that and we don’t get outworked then everything will take care of itself."
The team kicks off the season Friday night at Houseman Field vs. Livonia FC. Scheduled start time is 7:30 PM.