Q&A with DeKalb County United president John Hall
As DeKalb, Ill.-based DeKalb County United prepares for 2020, their third season in competition, we caught up with club president John Hall to find out what’s new with the “Green & Black.”
Kevin Johnston: How did 2019 turn out for DeKalb County United on the pitch and what was the highlight of the season?
John Hall: This past season was good for us. We moved from a fifth-place finish in our division in 2018 to second place in 2019 (although the teams changed from one year to the next). It seemed that we found our feet a bit with our roster and brought a lot of guys back. So with a year of experience together and at this level there was good progress. We not only identified a few key players through our open tryouts, but we saw some local guys make huge strides and get some solid minutes in our second season. There wasn’t really a big highlight moment on the field but a lot of small victories throughout the season. From the “front office” perspective we were very happy with the progress we made in year two.
KJ: How would you describe your club’s overall experience in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL)?
JH: When we were looking to start the club in 2017, our ambition was to join the Premier League of America (PLA) and be in a regional situation. Shortly after we launched publicly, the clubs of the PLA voted to all join the UPSL as the new Midwest Conference. We didn’t really have an option, but the UPSL seemed to be a reasonable situation and it worked out fine. I think there’s a lot of great things happening with the UPSL and certainly the strength in numbers alone gives them a lot of influence with sponsors and business partners. But for us, some of the decisions the league made didn’t make sense and had direct impacts on our club’s business. The reality is we didn’t know what to expect two years ago. We didn’t know the questions to ask and we didn’t know what our own priorities were. (We don’t know today what we will know in a few years either… we’re always learning!) But now that we’ve got a better feel for things we understand that the biggest challenge to any club at this level is long-term sustainability. Our focus within the club top to bottom is finding solutions to ensure our own existence as a club. That means every decision we make is evaluated on its ability to drive us to that eventual goal, including league affiliation.
KJ: What factors led to DeKalb County choosing to join the Midwest Premier League (MWPL)?
JH: I was a part of discussions before last season with other clubs that were unhappy with their/our current situation. But through some conversations we all decided to give the UPSL an opportunity to get a foothold in the Midwest and see how things played out because it wasn’t fair to judge the league after just one season. As it turned out, the appeal of a more regional league makes more sense and after the conclusion of this past season, the talks got more serious. As mentioned, we wanted a regional league to begin with. For me, and our club, the priority is long-term sustainability, community impact and involvement, and providing our players with strong opponents in a semi-professional environment. As one of the first clubs into the MWPL, we’re literally creating the rule book from scratch. We’re taking ideas that work in other local and regional leagues throughout the country and putting a Midwest twist on them. The basic fact is that we have control, as a group, to make our own minimum standards and hold each other accountable. Equally important from a league perspective is the fact that we will have an open-book policy on costs, fees, playoff structure, expansion and all with a goal I refer to as “no club left behind” so that everyone has their best chance for success long term. If a club can no longer exist for financial or other reasons, then that’s a loss for us all. Our interaction throughout the year will help us all learn from each other, share best practices and grow the game in our region. Those are the reasons why we decided to join the MWPL.
KJ: What is the geographical footprint of the MWPL and how is the league structured?
JH: The MWPL is currently made up of just four teams in Iowa and Illinois. We’ve had interest from clubs in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and a few others I believe so we’re planning to grow a bit more before 2020. The geography will be limited only as new clubs need to have a reasonable travel schedule through participation. If travel (and costs) get extreme then we’ve put that one club at risk for failure out of the gate. We’d rather keep it small and manageable to increase the chance of success. We aren’t concerned with how many teams, but the quality of those that join us. Currently, we have voted Cliff Conrad as the league’s president and I expect we’ll fill a few more positions on a board or leadership group of some kind in the coming months. Right now the four of us clubs are talking almost every day which has been very productive.
KJ: As far as franchise fees and operating costs, what are some of the
differences between the UPSL and MWPL?
JH: The UPSL offers one of the lowest fees in the country, especially for a national league. That’s what makes it so appealing to so many new clubs and they really are providing a great platform for teams to start up and I think for some the UPSL is perfect.
MWPL fees have not been set yet, as I said we’re literally walking through every detail of rules, fees, as we speak. But with an open book, we can identify our own costs of managing the league and break it down between member clubs. Everyone will know where their fees are going, how the money is spent, and how reserve funds may be allocated. There won’t be hidden travel fund costs, registration costs or any extras. We’ll build all of that into one fee, or at least that’s our intent. We don’t have a projection yet as to what the fees will be, but none of us chose a new adventure planning to pay more for league fees. Plus, with a schedule that makes sense to the climate of the Midwest and playoff structure that will maximize meaningful games for our clubs, there is reduced “dead time” at the end of the year due to a long playoff structure. We also won’t have significant costs associated with winning… what I mean is if you do well, you may have to travel for one game for a final. But you won’t be at risk for a cross-country trip that most clubs can’t afford anyway. We don’t have all the answers yet but we’re working together and that keeps things moving in a positive direction.
It should also be noted that our separation from the UPSL was as professional as it could be. We notified the league in writing of our decision not to return. Our decision had to do with our own internal priorities and nothing more. We wish the UPSL and all of the Midwest clubs the best in 2020. We will probably still play some friendlies with them from time to time.
KJ: How did the club do financially in 2019 and what is the budget looking like for 2020?
JH: DKCU is a nonprofit club and we’re managed by volunteers. Everyone at the club understands that we represent a community and we owe them our best. One reason for that is because our club exists because of the community. All of our operational expenses come from ticket sales, merchandise sales, sponsorships from businesses and youth camps/tournaments we host throughout the year. So while I’d like to tell you that we’re doing great, there’s still much work to do to raise the funds necessary to continue. We are in a great spot, don’t get me wrong, and I think many clubs would be thrilled to be where we are on the financial side of it. But we don’t take things for granted and we don’t get excessive with our planning. We don’t have the luxury of an owner with deep pockets willing to throw money in if we run short… there’s no safety net.
But 2020 looks good so far as a number of our sponsors are committing already. We’re looking at some new ideas for ticket packages and gameday events to make that experience even better for our supporters. We can’t wait to get the lads back on the field!
KJ: What do you think the future holds, both short and long term, for DeKalb County United?
JH: Obviously we’re looking forward to our third season, and first with the Midwest Premier League. We are hoping to have a good portion of our roster back to keep building on the field and hopefully with a high-profile friendly or two we can get the guys some exposure to bigger clubs as well. Short term, we are focused on meeting the challenges in front of us. We launched a men’s U23 squad this past summer and we’re adding a women’s U23 in 2020 so we’re thrilled about that opportunity. With it comes some more coordination and work on the back end, but we’ve got awesome people in place to handle those tasks. We are continuing to connect with new people because as big time as we think we are, there are many in our backyard who’ve never heard of us much less understand who/what we are. Long term, our goals are much more ambitious. We’d love to develop our own facility with lighted turf fields, club house, locker rooms, storage, offices, meeting rooms, indoor training space, etc. But that’d take a bit more investment than where we are currently. My personal goal is to have this club in a position where it can go on without relying on one or two individuals, and fortunately we’re on our way to that. So many organizations fizzle out when key personnel depart, so developing a stronger structure that can carry through eventual change in leadership is important.
And DeKalb County United will continue to offer advice to potential club starters across the country. So many great people answered the phone/emails for me when we were starting out and I’m happy to pay it forward and share what I can with others as well. “United Through Soccer.”
Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.
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