Marco Chang, 22 and an already well traveled and experienced soccer player, is part of the team now at Battle Born Futbol Club setting up a new MLS Go youth program locally for ages three to 12, with sign ups taking place now for an inaugural 2024 Spring season.
Chang, in addition to being a Battle Born men’s first team player now at the Nisa level in the NN Pacific division, is also the club’s MLS Go director, a youth coach and private coach.
“The whole idea behind the MLS Go approach is to basically have a grassroots program that helps kids obviously utilize soccer to grow as soccer players, but … go out the door as well. In the U.S. you have all these clubs, but there's no linkage with the higher level,” he explained.
Players get to have MLS club-branded uniforms, with a pathway to playing at the highest level in this county as MLS Go leagues are partnered with Major League Soccer.
Players within the existing Battle Born club teams get to be coached in clinics by Battle Born players, both men and women, and are encouraged to go to their games. The women’s Battle Born team competes in the Women’s Premier Soccer League.
“We have kids all the time, you know, asking for signatures of kids wanting to be our ball boys, kids waiting to walk out with the players,” Chang said of existing Battle Born youth soccer players going to the men’s and women’s home games.
“So that really inspires and that really motivates the kids within our club to not only want to pursue soccer, but to know that, hey, they do have a future within soccer, whether that may be for the best to become professionals or at least get scouted as they progress by schools, junior colleges and Division 1 or Division II universities,” Chang said.
To go pro in the United States, a player can be drafted after an impressive collegiate career or can go through the MLS system, starting with MLS Go, then making it into the MLS Next league which has nearly 150 clubs and over 600 teams in different age groups, then MLS Next Pro and then if all clicks the MLS.
As the kids age through the MLS Go and Battle Born system, they can also play on the club’s youth travel teams and compete against other elite U.S. youth teams. Players at this level can also get help in terms of scholarships from a fund the club has for travel or gear, as the emphasis is not exclude anybody who might be from a less affluent background if they have the talent and desire to compete.
Interested parents can find more information here: https://battlebornfc.com/mls-go-operated-by-battlebornfc-reno-sparks/
Chang, a Toronto native who arrived in Reno in August is well traveled, having played at three stateside schools over four years during his collegiate career, and having lived in six states in the past five years, with a stint at the USL 2 level in Florida prior to Battle Born. This has allowed him to compare different American soccer cultures and coaching techniques.
“The biggest thing with our model is creating a safe, respectful and fun environment for players to enjoy the sport itself, and creating a pathway for the kids and their soccer future,” he said. “Our aspirations are to get as many kids as we can and let's go teach them the right fundamentals, help them grow.”
“I don't think any words can really describe it, because I think for me, my actions and my decisions towards the sport add up,” he said when asked to describe his love and devotion to soccer. It hasn’t been without setbacks though, a testament to his own resilience.
“You know, at the age of 18 I got basically tossed aside for the academy that I was playing with. And, you know, at that point I really wanted to give up. But from there, you know, I kept grinding and I ended up finding myself at a Division II school in West Virginia.”
He’s had repeated injuries, and went to different schools at different levels looking for the right situation for himself before and after the pandemic. The grind he went through has made him a better player, he says, and leader for the next generation of players.
“The sacrifices I've had to make shows how much I love the sport and how much dedication I have towards it,” he said.
A challenge for the Battle Born club has been getting access to fields in northern Nevada, while competing with other more established leagues and clubs.
Its website indicates it will have access to Golden Eagle, Wooster High School, Marce Herz Middle School, and Sage Ridge School for its upcoming MLS Go season, while it works to build its own multi field turf facility near Parr Blvd. for future use.
The 2024 Spring MLS Go league is scheduled to start March 16th with early registration ending on February 17th. Game days will be Saturdays and Sundays, with one or two practices per week.