Lessons learned: Launching Old Bhoys in UPSL

Image credit: USAi Old Bhoys

INDIANAPOLIS — I’m a soccer nerd. I love the sport; the passion of supporters; the euro-snobbery; the effort by anyone to grow the game to greater heights in the U.S.; coaching youth and amateur soccer; all of it. I also never intended to become a sports team “owner.” The past 10 months have seen me expand my soccer experience by adding “general manager of a UPSL team” and in doing so, “team owner” to the list.

The initial adaptation of the “Old Bhoys,” now dubbed Old Bhoys Soccer Club, was an idea borne from the desire to fully integrate a youth club from ages four to 40 (and above), to create a wholly true soccer club (for all). It was also an idea that morphed a bit as it developed. A chance email inquiry with the former Premier League of America (PLA, which has now effectively become the Midwest Conference in the United Premier Soccer League) led to several conversations about bringing an Indy-based team to light. This initial dialogue took place in late-2015. Over the balance of 2016 and into 2017 a lot of research into what local clubs were doing in the PLA, NPSL, UPSL, PDL, as well as other amateur sides that were either just getting their start or competing in more regional or state leagues. A few of the clubs that immediately caught our eye for doing it the right way, for having the willingness to be open and communicative with the hows and whys, were Mpls City SC, Oakland County FC, Providence City FC and Kingston-Stockade FC. There are countless other excellent examples as to what to do, but this group was very active on social media and were open to pulling back the curtain on how they performed, and what to expect. In fact, Dan Hoedeman’s first-year review on FiftyFive.One helped shape my budget development and revenue expectations. It’s a great read, worth the time to nerd-out further. While I could completely “get” the fact this would be hard work, I was not fully prepared for the grind — nor the reward — of building a team from scratch and attempting to compete in the ever-changing U.S. Soccer landscape.

In just under two-and-a-half years after my first conversation with Ben Rode (Oakland County FC), the UPSL announced our league expansion effort. The excitement of receiving our first call from the league to announce the Old Bhoys joining the UPSL was almost immediately met with the juxtaposition of a “what-have-I-just-done” moment. As in, this is real. And kickoff is in less than six months. Good luck. Just like that, Old Bhoys was started — November 2017.

Using some of what Hoedeman had shared through FiftyFive.One as a broad foundation of a budget, determining where costs were going to go and what this effort was going to cost became almost as much of a focus as it was to get our head around building an actual squad that will play in the summer of 2018 (more on cost below). By early December, I was fortunate enough to have brought on Steve Bushre as head coach, work with the super-talented Nick Budrewicz to design an Old Bhoys-specific logo and begin the conversation with kit suppliers. Steve and I coordinated, scheduled, held and managed three tryouts over December and January, and completed our initial round of signings — the first dozen-plus players — all but one of whom had a local Indiana tie. When we launched, it was done so under the umbrella of a local youth club to provide that “next step” to connect the youth and adult soccer efforts. Unsure of when to start, how long it would take to build some momentum in building a roster and how we create camaraderie with essentially new-to-us players, we were able to build an initial roster through the tryout process and started indoor training immediately. Our first unofficial training session was the middle part of January. We transitioned outdoors through a partnership with a local high school the first full week of March. By this time our schedule was taking shape, and both Steve and I were working to add friendlies to our 10-game regular season. In a parallel path, our league (the UPSL) was also taking shape with the Midwest Conference. Prior to finalizing the league schedule, the Midwest Conference, in its maiden UPSL season, fielded 23 clubs. Division alignment was the next step for the league/conference.

As for the Old Bhoys, we continued training, initiated relationships with local universities and colleges for squad development, and began our friendly season. Taking a page from Dan Hoedeman and Dennis Crowley, the implicit goal of roster development was to focus on primarily local players — those who grew up in the Indy area or played collegiately in the vicinity. We were relatively successful in year one with this endeavor, with those outside of the area bringing some key insight and leadership to helping grow this club the way we all believe it can, albeit with some additional outside support. By March 5, the Old Bhoys had put together the following schedule:

Friendly matches in italics

We did everything in our power to avoid Indy Eleven match days — at the very least avoid similar kickoff times. They are Indy’s team; we don’t compete with them in that space or that regard. However, we welcome the opportunity to provide a supplement to the soccer in this town, and aim to do so in what’s typically been a short spring/summer season. This was my core focus in schedule development.

For now, I’ll skip on the match recaps — they are available at our existing website: usaioldbhoys.com. There is work underway to update and rebrand the website — we hope to partner with Soc Takes, among others, to share that announcement when fully ready.

With our schedule in front of us, and kit supplier identified (hello, Stimulus — great kit design home and away!), the front office’s attention turned to costs. Below is our beginning-of-the-year budget. This is what we started with to operate:

I expected to lose money with this project, but was not prepared for the actual results. In the “good” column, we were very close with our cost/expenses forecast! In the “bad” column, we lost way more…insert frown-face emoji right here (☹ there…). See the 2018 results below:

I threw up a bit, to be honest, when putting this together. At first it was a little bit in my mouth…then more. And I have to acknowledge how much my wife rocks. In all seriousness, there were some assumptions made based on conversations and discussions prior to kickoff that led to the optimistic budget plan for the original budget. Once decisions were made and real costs began to crystallize, there are areas that allow us to focus on improvements in cost management and (hopefully) revenue growth in 2019. The biggest area of weakness identified was the lack of sponsors. With a late start, this was admittedly weak. Additionally, better merchandise management will be a focus, as will managing costs associated with team equipment and facilities costs. In summary, this is what bringing UPSL soccer to Indy cost me. Was it worth it? Yes. Is it sustainable? Not a chance.

Now, it’s time to look forward. Look forward to grow the front office (i.e. volunteer!) staff to develop a greater sounding board. We are reaching out in different directions to grow relationships for those that are like-minded, and want to provide a platform for local Indy soccer players. We established an independent soccer club. We are now Old Bhoys Soccer Club. While not a nonprofit organization by the letter of the law, we are a for-purpose organization whose front office will not take payment. Any and all revenue we earn or intend to earn will roll right back into the club to continue to make this something that outlasts me. It has to; it has to become part of the Indy community and we (I) have to do a better job of improving our part in the community.

Looking back on the past year, I’m grateful for the opportunity to meet many wonderful soccer folks in Indianapolis and the broader Midwest region. There is much work yet to be done, in the office and on the pitch. But I think we have the ingredients here to grow our community, act with great integrity in how we build this soccer club, and treat those that support us and help us with the utmost respect. Interested in growing soccer? Me too! Let’s get together and do it in the Circle City.

Some key highlights:

• First Regular Season Point: June 23^rd, 2018, hosting Ann Arbor FC. Our CB scored the game-tying goal in the 90+3’…wow! And thanks to Greg Rakestraw’s team, you can watch it here.
• Every home game live stream via MyCujoo was in the top 5 nationally in views on that platform…proud to say my oldest kid had a big hand in that production.
• Total season attendance was 574…or an average of 81 for each of our 7 games at Cardinal Ritter — pretty amazing when the only person running any marketing for this was (is?) me.
• Jon Busch’s first match as an analyst was our home finale on June 23. That was fun; again, see above for where to watch if you missed it!
• Mike Carney working the PA for four of our home games, and my oldest kid doing the fifth. They both did an awesome job. Looking forward to Mike’s work at Bishop Chatard this season on the pitch as their head coach!

If you’re interested in joining the crusade I call Old Bhoys Soccer Club, or know some folks who want to lend a hand to grow this, let me know. Contact me at either of the following channels:

• Email: andyhayes1980@gmail.com
• Twitter: @Andy_H_1980

More to come! Follow us on Twitter (@OldBhoysSC) and stay tuned for club updates and news — we’re hoping to make a lot for 2019!

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