Brian Irizarry, center, the founder of Houghton FC, leads a practice June 9 at the club’s soccer complex in Hurontown. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)
HOUGHTON — Brian Irizarry loves soccer.
In the Copper Country, where hockey reigns supreme, he is not alone.
The 38-year-old high school Spanish and math teacher at Baraga High School is midway through his third season of leading organized soccer as the founder of Houghton Futbol Club.
“The outpouring of interest in year-round soccer here in the Copper Country has far exceeded my expectations,” said Irizarry, father of three boys.
For the first time ever, the area had its first spring-soccer season. More than 100 kids ages 4-18 signed up to practice and compete at Houghton FC’s nine-acre North Coast Soccer Complex in Hurontown.
Last Saturday, the soccer club hosted tryouts for kids ages 10-14 who want to take their game a step further and play select soccer as opposed to recreational games. Irizarry said he and his coaches had around 40 youngsters try out.
“It was a good showing,” he told the Daily Mining Gazette. “We are laying a soccer foundation here in the area.”
Among those evaluating players was Finlandia University’s head women’s soccer coach, Thomas Goodman and who serves as Houghton FC’s director of coaching.
“Houghton FC is creating a select program to build on the development of athletes in the area,” he said, “building a foundation of players in the U12 age groups that soccer will be their main focus and in turn find the area soccer producing more college bound and professional soccer athletes.”
Houghton FC is a non-profit complete with a board of directors and is part of the Michigan State Youth Soccer Association, the governing body for youth soccer in Michigan.
“They are underneath US youth soccer nationally at the state level,” Irizarry said.
As a member of the MSYSA, Houghton FC joins a handful of other Upper Peninsula communities with club soccer teams such as Marquette, Iron Mountain and Escanaba.
“We are just aligning ourselves with the rest of Michigan with the creation of Houghton FC,” Irizarry said. “By having a soccer club with both recreational and select teams as well as owning our own fields we are now able to host tournaments and clinics. Now, Marquette and Escanaba can come to us and play a weekend filled with games as they do in the rest of Michigan.”
Related to the formation on local club soccer is the creation of sanctioned high school soccer by the state of Michigan. As it is now, there is no high school boys’ or girls’ soccer recognized by Michigan High School Athletic Association in the Upper Peninsula. High school soccer in Michigan is a downstate sport.
“High school soccer is a big goal, that is one of our missions,” said Irizarry. “We want kids to be able to play soccer for their high schools. We have a men’s college team and two women’s college teams here in our area but no high school teams. That needs to change. So, by creating our club teams that play in the spring, summer and fall you create a cycle which builds a soccer culture that’s based locally and across the UP.”
Irizarry said he is not alone in his vision. Since the creation of Houghton FC, he has heard from numerous parents who feel the same way and are grateful that a more competitive soccer future is underfoot in the area.
One of those parents is Ian Repp whose two pre-teen boys were trying out on Saturday morning.
“I played soccer most of my life growing up in Indianapolis and came up here seven years ago and was shocked to not find real competitive soccer,” he said. “So, we’ve done the rec league but can see by the numbers and the skill level that there is a desire for something more.”
Standing next to Repp on the sidelines was Alexander Labovsky. He echoed a similar sentiment as he watched his nine-year-old son Matthew dribble the soccer ball through the cones.
“We’ve been waiting for this in this area,” he said. “I grew up playing soccer and we need a program where who want to take their game to the next level can do so.”
Every Saturday from mid-May through late October there will be soccer games a buzz on the numerous fields of the North Coast Soccer Complex. It is a dream come true for Irizarry who just wants to share the love of the game he grew up playing.
“Among other things, Houghton FC allows players who want to to go to tournaments to do so and it gives them the chance to better their game for six months of the year,” he said. “That wasn’t always the case, but now it is.”
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