Iowa Lakes soccer coming to Spencer

Daily Reporter Staff

"When" is only half the story for local soccer fans: Starting in the fall of 2009, Iowa Lakes Community College will field mens and womens soccer programs.

"Where" is a first for the college. The Lakers will play their games at the Spencer Soccer Plex, which is along 10th Avenue East near the site of the current Spencer Middle School.

"This is a little different for us because, heretofore, all of our athletic programs have been located to the Estherville campus," said Iowa Lakes Community College President Harold Prior. "So we're in a little bit of uncharted waters here."

Prior confirmed the Spencer site location during a May 20 meeting with the Clay County Board of Supervisors. The Iowa Lakes Community College Board of Trustees approved the addition of soccer at its Oct. 16 meeting.

"The facilities here for both practice and competition at Spencer are preexisting," Prior said. "It's easy for us to get up-and-running with this program."

About 20 male and 20 female athletes will receive scholarship opportunities because of the sport.

Kirby Neilsen, is president of the Northwest Iowa Youth Soccer Alliance, the group in charge of maintaining the 36-acre facility. About 28 acres are irrigated.

The south side of the drainage ditch has the potential for 5-7 full-sized adult fields and 5-7 fields on the north side. Todd Brockshus, a soccer alliance board member would like to see two "premier" fields, with lighting, constructed to accommodate the college sport.

"Lighting is going to be one of the biggest elements," Brockshus said. "We don't have any outdoor lighting. One of the difficulties with our fall recreational season has been: Once the season hits about the middle of October, parents are getting off of work at 5 and by 6 o'clock, it's already starting to get dark. So it's really hard to get practices in just because of the few hours of light you start having that time of year."

The fall season does have an upside, according to the board member.

"August, September and October, is when our complex is probably getting some of its least use. It's a really good fit," Brockshus said. "We've got a lot of infrastructure ready to go -- irrigation, which reduces player injury, mowing and maintenance equipment, painting machines, storage areas, parking and the city of Spencer has been gracious in helping fund that through the motel-hotel tax fund, through the renaissance initiative grant program, through the local option sales tax, also through the city of Spencer parks department with tree plantings."

The complex recently added fencing and gating, which makes ticket sales more controllable at the site. A newly-constructed building will be used for storage and potentially concessions, but it isn't yet hooked up to water and sewer.

Along with lighting, bleachers, a scoreboard, restroom facilities, a concession stand and field maintenance are all part of the potential discussions. The college, the Spencer School District and city of Spencer also may have resources to assist with the development of the soccer complex.

Ben MacRae, the Spencer High School boys soccer coach said college soccer will be "fantastic for the area."

"It allows high school players -- and we have a lot of high school players -- to see it at the next level," he said.

He is encouraged that some of the area's high school talent could remain in the area and still have a chance to play the sport while continuing their education.

"Having a college team in town is going to be a great feather in our hat," Brockshus said. "Some of the things that excite me the most are: Players from the college will also have the opportunity to referee for income, they'll also have the chance to coach kids' teams if they wish. They just give us a great resource of knowledgeable soccer fans, if you will."

Prior also sees cultural opportunities for the college.

"The students who go there will be playing with, learning with and living with students with many different cultural backgrounds and from many different countries," he said. "There could be some international students who are interested in our program and get recruited to play soccer here. We think it's a great way to create some opportunities for the numerous Hispanic communities and college-aged students who are in our communities in the area."

PEOPLE FOR THE PROGRAM

Iowa Lakes Community College President Harold Prior talked about the coaches and recruits who will find a place along the sidelines in Spencer:

"We're actually in the business of recruiting a head coach now, so that head coach will be on staff a year in advance, almost, of the opening of the program," Prior said. "That's critically important for the recruiting of student athletes. Many people don't realize that junior college athletics, even at Division II of the NJCAA is closer to Division I competition than it is high school. The competition for athletes is pretty intense out there. A number of other Iowa community colleges already have mens and womens soccer. We know our area has a tremendous number of growing soccer programs, and we believe it's just another way of offering additional athletic and -- more importantly -- academic opportunities to more students. It's another way to grow our enrollment at Iowa Lakes Community College."