BRILLION (NBC 26) — The world’s most popular sport is now on the map in a small northeast Wisconsin town.
Two volunteers from Holy Family Parish in Brillion—Jared Hause and Katie Micksch — said they saw a need for more sports opportunities in the Calumet County city and teamed up to form a youth soccer club.
“In the fall there aren’t really a lot of opportunities right now in our community,” Hause said. “So we thought: what about soccer?”
“I went to Brillion High School myself and I didn’t have that opportunity,” Micksch said. "I had to go to outside communities to be able to play soccer. So when he talked about that I was super excited. I said, 'Yes! Let’s start building the foundation.'”
The Holy Family youth soccer program is now entering its second year. Last fall, the club had around 40 players and three total teams. This year, the program has expanded to more than 60 players spread over five teams: 8U coed, 10U girls, 10U boys, 12U girls and 12U boys.
The program is open to all kids from the Brillion area—not just those enrolled at Holy Family— and costs just $40 per player.
“Not everybody can afford a club team,” Micksch said. "So we want to make sure that everybody can do this. Every kid can have an opportunity.”
Both Hause and Micksch said the community feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. One parent Tabitha Janke said she is already seeing the positive effects on her son.
"Soccer has made him become more confident,” Janke said. "He has found his niche where he can run around and not get board and he gives it his all, all the time.”
And players like 10-year-old Anna Kees are already thinking big.
“I dream about my Brillion school having a team so I can play in high school and maybe college,” Kees, who is in her second year playing, said.
As of now, Brillion High School does not offer a varsity soccer program for either boys or girls.
Hause said he believes the wheels are in motion as the sport’s popularity in the area has already begun to grow.
“It is my dream to have these kids be the first ones that have Brillion, instead of Holy Family, across the chest, we want to see Brillion across the chest,” Hause said. "And when we do have one, what’s cooler than having your child be a part of that first group.”
Participation in the Brillion-area soccer program grew by almost 50 percent from year one to year two. Organizers said they hope to have more than 100 kids playing next fall.
The team practices once a week and plays games on weekends in the fall, traveling to take on nearby communities like Kiel and Plymouth.
