The Marion Soccer Club came to life when a couple of people, sitting around a kitchen table, came together to solve a problem.  Their problem, the cost of sending their children to a local soccer club was just too expensive. Their decision, form their own club.

 Questions asked, answers given and in the end the Marion Soccer Club was born. The objective was to start small with four teams and expand yearly. The only trouble was more people were interested in competitive soccer with the same concern of cost. Well, four teams grew into ten in the first six months!

 When the fall competitive season arrived the teams had a choice of Illowa or Iowa Premier Soccer League (IPSL). Two chose IPSL and four Illowa. The others decided on just tournaments for the fall.  The results were far better than expected.

The fall season in the Illowa league was a great experience for the Marion Soccer Club Bombers. The U11 boy’s team, in league play, had 4 wins, a tie and one loss. In tournament play they saw a second place at the Burlington Sizzling Sixes Tournament in August 2004, a second place at the ISA Chevy Cup Tournament also in August 2004, and first place at the Ankeny Recreational Tournament in October 2004. With the fall season under their belts the Bombers are ready for some stiffer competition.  They will be moving to the IPSL league in the spring in hopes of finding it. The MSC Bombers are coached by Brian Peck and Dan Talley.
 

 The Marion Soccer Club Firecrackers a U11 girl’s team enjoyed a silver medal at the Heartland tournament in September. They played well in the Johnston tournament and came away with the knowledge that soccer can be fun even when you don’t win them all. The Illowa League fall play saw them finish with 5 wins and a tie. The MSC Firecrackers are coached by Amer Fathallaha.
 

The MSC Drillers U12 Boys and U14 Girls are the two founding teams of the Marion Soccer Club. These two teams have been together for four years and in the past have played only tournaments. The forming of the Marion Soccer Club has given them the opportunity to play competitively in a league.

 
The U12 boys over the past four years have seen many player changes as some players departed to play in the local clubs instead of just tournaments. These players wanted competitive league play. By all accounts the departed players have done well with their new clubs and we continue to wish them well. The MSC Drillers began the fall season with a tournament in Des Moines. The new players, although shining lights on their recreational teams, found the pace of competitive tournament soccer a real step up. The team played well and although they did not win any games they played even with the more established club teams they faced. The IPSL season saw the addition of two new players and the team finished with a winning record of five wins, three loses and a tie. The Drillers understand that soccer is team sport and are looking forward to the spring season and some tournaments with the newer players that now understand that competitive soccer is tough but is also fun. It’s not about winning but competing and seeing oneself get better with each game. The U11 Drillers are coached by Paul West and Earl Tessmer.

The U14 girls’ year began very similarly to the boys with players leaving to join other clubs for more soccer than just tournaments.  Again, these changes worked out best for all involved. With new players on board the girls began the fall tournament season in Des Moines playing well, just missing the medals. Then the fall IPSL league began and, as this was their first year together in a competitive league, many unknowns were looking them in the face. How would they play under the stricter rules of competitive soccer compared to the recreational soccer they had all played in years past? 
The first game came and went and a victory was in the books, then another and another.  It became easy to see as a coach that as these young ladies played each game they became closer as a team. By the end of the fall season the girls had finished with a 10 and 0 record! Some games were very close, some challenged their will and some they just out played the competition. The girls came to clearly understand that if they played as a team in every situation then they played well.   One game in particular showed this more than any other. Near the end of the first half the Drillers lost their keeper. On a short bench this was not good. They were down to 10 players on the field. The options the girls faced were to either step up to the challenge or just lay back and play defense; again, having to play short was new to these young ladies. To the surprise of the coaches, the parents and especially the other team, the girls hit the field ready to play. From the opening whistle of the second half they took the play to the other team catching them on their heels. The play moved quickly up and down the field. As the girls tired they traded positions looking for the opportunity to get a quick rest and second wind. They stayed focused with the desire to play as a team. From the sideline you could see that everything an individual player did they did with the team in mind. Players talked, directed, and helped each other in every situation thrown at them. On the sideline we could sense that the players didn’t want to win for themselves they wanted the team to win. As coaches, we stood and watched with the knowledge that the game was truly in the hands of the players on the field. Some of the unselfish plays we saw proved to us that it was all about the team not the individual. The players drifted and shifted as one. In all my years of coaching I have never been more proud of individuals on a team than I was that day. As a coach you can only hope you teach your players how to handle a situation like that. They handled it like a team; the way it should have been handled, together.  The game was scoreless with less than two minutes to play when a shot was played that the opposing goalie couldn’t handle. The final 1-0 Drillers; the girls were exhausted, but the team had won!  More importantly they had proven to themselves that “teams” win Soccer matches, not individuals.

The U14 Drillers are coached by Paul West and Todd Mitchell.

 Our Mission: To help our youth develop an understanding of leadership, teamwork, responsibility, self-discipline, and respect for others through the sport of soccer.

 As the Director of Coaching I look back on 2004 and see our mission as being fulfilled. I believe this to be true in the way our players, parents, and coaches approach the game. Winning may be the ultimate goal but it can only be achieved through team work and respect for others.  --Paul West, Director of Coaching 

For information regarding membership, fees, event dates etc. please direct them to one of the following:

Club President Earl Tessmer Email the President

Club Registrar Sue West Email the Registrar

For information on teams and player tryouts please contact the Director of Coaching.:

Director of Coaching Paul West Email the DOC