BY DAN STICKRADT
Communications Specialist | Web And Content Editor | Director of News |
Social Media Director | Interns and Freelance Coordinator
PH: (248) 884-1051
TW: @LocalSportsFans @MiSoccerNetwork
TROY, Mich. – Is there really strength in numbers and unity? Two Troy-based amateur soccer clubs believe so.
Troy United FC and Troy City WFC will be joining forces this season in a variety of ways to help bring attention to amateur soccer inside Troy – which is still one of the largest soccer-crazed areas in Michigan dating back several decades.
Both sides will play most of their home games at the Troy High School athletics stadium, although a couple of games for Troy City WFC’s contests will be played at nearby Evolution Sportsplex in nearby Auburn Hills. The two clubs are in the midst of scheduling at least four double-headers together this spring and summer – all at Troy High – with a growing list of opportunities for the players, coaches and front offices to unite for other purposes such as volunteer work and charitable endeavors as well as striving to build fan support for each other.
The partnership and synergy will be much more than using the same site for games or sharing the concessions and ticket booths for a few nights. The two clubs plan on being “brother and sister” clubs with numerous off-the-field community events and opportunities to come in 2024.
“When we first sat down and talked about this I knew of the great opportunities for (the two clubs) to work together,” said John Arndt, Founder and President of the Troy City WFC and owner of John Arndt Training, a soccer-only training group highly-respected throughout the metropolitan Detroit region. “Why not work together? For a long time Troy was considered Soccer City (in Michigan) and (soccer) is still really big in Troy. We want to find ways to keep eyes on both teams in the city and having us do some community events together and having us play at the same site are many of the ways we can accomplish this. Having some men’s/women’s double-headers will help with that and we plan on doing a lot more this year.”
Joey Verhelle, co-Vice President for Troy United FC, an amateur men’s soccer side entering its third year of competition, is a current English teacher at Troy High. Verhelle grew up in Oakland County, attending Clarkston High School and played for a variety of clubs and amateur teams during his playing days. He understands the popularity of soccer in the area and the endless possibilities of working together with Troy City WFC. The collaboration of events will also spin a positive light on both franchises and soccer as a whole in the area.
“We really want to be visible in the community and more than just playing games here in Troy,” said Verhelle. “We want the players to come together for volunteer work at events and to give back to the community.”
The Troy United FC men’s program competes in the 37-member Midwest Premier League and inside the Great Lakes Conference-East Division in the league alongside nine other Michigan-based franchises. Troy United FC competed its first two seasons in 2022 and 2023 in the Michigan Premier Soccer League and will now enter the growing Midwest Premier League, which draws teams from six different midwestern states – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin.
The new Troy City WFC women’s team will compete in the United Women’s Soccer, a national amateur league of 36 teams. Troy City is an expansion team to the league, which draws from 15 states from both sides of the continental U.S. and one team from Canada. Troy City is has been placed in the 15-team UWS-West Conference that includes 10 teams from Michigan, three from Illinois and one each from Ohio and Indiana.
Although both franchises will operate independently in terms of front office and personal, they are willing to combine some on-field and off-field events and activities as a way to unite soccer in the community of Troy and beyond.
Louis Osowski, President of Troy United FC, said in a press release that the partnership between the two clubs will definitely strengthen the soccer community in Troy.
“I am delighted to announce our partnership with Troy City WFC,” said Osowski. “This partnership symbolizes our commitment to community, unity, and the development of soccer in Troy. Together, we will foster a new era of sporting excellence, enriching our community and assisting our athletes. We look forward to the positive impact this collaboration will have on all who call Troy home.”
Both franchises are busy signing players and finalizing the rosters for the upcoming 2024 season, although most of these players are college-age players, upper classmen in high school or graduating from high school, or recent college grads who are still all looking for a highly-competitive atmosphere from May through July. All high school and college players must retain their amateur status.
While Troy United FC’s roster is nearly set – most of those players played high school, club or MLS Next Academy in the Detroit area and will be on college rosters in the fall of 2024 – the Troy City WFC is still actively recruiting players for the upcoming campaign. While some of the players on both teams will come from Troy and neighboring communities like Royal Oak and Rochester Hills, others will come from as far as Romeo and parts of northern Macomb County.
“We are bringing in a lot of college players, but also we have some kids that will be coming out of high school soon or have one more year of high school that will join us this summer,” said Arndt, whose team will operate under the catchphrase, ‘The Stars of Tomorrow Play Here Today.’
“A lot of the college players have already reached the next level, but some high school girls who will be graduating (in June) will be very hungry and will definitely push the older girls,” added Arndt.
TROY UNITED FC:
Troy United FC is a 501(c)3 organization made up of volunteers and founded by Louis Oswowski (President), Joey Verhelle (Vice President), Steven Guipe (Vice President) and Nick West (Treasurer). Troy United is coached by Kahner James with Tony Boos, Steve Ferguson and Devin Mendez serving as the assistants. The franchise will play in the Midwest Premier League in 2024.
CONTACT: troyunitedfc@outlook.com
TROY CITY WFC:
Troy City WFC is a new franchise and a 501(c)3 organization made up of volunteers. The club is founded by John Arndt (President) and numerous other unnamed soccer personnel. The coaching staff is being finalized and player signings will be announced in the upcoming weeks. The franchise will compete in the United Women’s Soccer in its inaugural campaign, a national league from teams from over 15 states.
CONTACT: John Arndt, jarndt4@gmail.com
TEAMS IN THE MIDWEST PREMIER LEAGUE (MEN’S SOCCER)
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE-WEST DIVISION
1927 SC (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Holland Rovers (Holland, Mich.)
Indy Boyz FC (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Lansing Common FC (Lansing, Mich.)
Northern Indiana FC (South Bend, Ind.)
Tulip City United SC (Holland, Mich.)
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE-EAST DIVISION
Cedars FC (Dearborn, Mich.)
Futsal Factory Academy (Dexter, Mich.)
Inter Detroit, Detroit, Mich.)
Jaguars FC (Novi, Mich.)
Liquid Football (Detroit, Mich.)
Livonia FC (Livonia, Mich.)
Michigan Stars FC (Washington Twp., Mich.)
Thundercats FC (Ira Twp, Mich.)
Troy United FC (Troy, Mich.)
Ypsi Yetis FC (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
HEARTLAND CONFERENCE
DIVISION 1
Bavarian United (Milwaukee, Wisc.)
Chicago House AC (Chicago, Ill.)
Czarni Jaslo (Chicago, Ill.)
Dekalb United (Dekalb, Ill.)
RWB Adria (Chicago, Ill.)
Steel City FC (Joliet, Ill.)
DIVISION 2
AFC Roscoe (Chicago, Ill.)
Berber City FC (Chicago, Ill.)
Chicago Ghost FC (Chicago, Ill.)
Edgewater Castle FC (Chicago, Ill.)
Green Bay Glory (Green Bay, Wisc.)
Rockford FC (Rockford, Ill.)
Strikers Fox Valley SC (St. Charles, Ill.)
GATEWAY CONFERENCE
AFC Columbia (Columbia, Mo.)
Ajax St. Louis (St. Louis, Mo.)
Cedar Rapids Inferno (Cedar Springs, Iowa)
Club Athletico St. Louis (St. Louis, Mo.)
Junction Football Club (Decatur, Ill.)
Pearl City Soccer Club (Muscatine, Iowa)
Southeast Soccer Academy, Iowa)
St. Louis Stars SC, St. Louis, Mo.
TEAMS IN THE UNITED WOMEN’S SOCCER
UWS-EAST CONFERENCE
Worchester Fuel FC (Worchester, Mass.)
Back Mountain Torrent (Dallas, Pa.)
Steel City FC (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
FC Berlin (Buffalo, N.Y.)
FC Buffalo (Buffalo, N.Y.)
Erie Commodores FC (Erie, Pa.)
Flowers City 1872 (Rochester, N.Y.)
Coppermine United (Baltimore, Md.)
Steel United (Lower Merion, Pa.)
Hudson Valley Crusaders (Cairo, N.Y.)
Connecticut Rush (Guilford, Ct.)
Albany Rush (Albany, N.Y.)
Sporting CT (Middletown, Ct.)
Maine Footy (Portland, Maine)
New Jersey Copa FC (Hillsborough, N.J.)
New England Mutiny (Ludlow, Mass.)
USW-WEST CONFERENCE
Michigan Hawks (Novi, Mich.)
Nationals SC (Shelby Twp., Mich.)
Michigan Jaguars (Novi, Mich.)
Troy City WFC (Troy, Mich.)
Cap City Athletic (Lansing, Mich.)
Elite 14 SC (Arlington Heights, Ill.)
Chicago Rush (Chicago, Ill.)
Cincinnati Sirens (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Edgewater Castle (Chicago, Ill.)
Michigan Stars (Washington Twp., Mich.)
Futsal Factory (Canton, Mich.)
Michigan Burn (New Baltimore, Mich.)
Pass FC (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Michigan Legends (Brighton, Mich.)
Indiana Union (Bloomington, Ind.)
UWS WEST CONFERENCE
Foothills WFC (Calgary, Alb., Can.)
Santa Clarita Blue Heat (Santa Clarita, Calif.)
FC Arizona (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Los Angeles SC (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Players SC (Las Vegas, Nev.)
UWS2-WEST CONFERENCE
Reno Vikings (Reno, Nev.)
Sac United (Sacramento, Calif.))
Racing Sacramento (Sacramento, Calif.)
Primero De Mayo (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Epic FC (Albuquerque, N.M)
UWS2-EAST CONFERENCE
Maine Footy (Portland, Maine)
New England Mutiny II (Ludlow, Mass.)
Ole FC (Ansonia, Ct.)
Sporting II (Wilmington, Del.
HV Crusdaers II (Cairo, N.Y.)
Steel United HV (Bridgewater, N.J.)
Albany Rush II (Albany, N.Y.)
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer of teams or players with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com, or call 248-884-1051. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com.)
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