Lansing Ignite logo explainer. Credit: Lansing Ignite

It is now official. Lansing will be a founding member of USL League One — the artist formerly known as USL D3. The possibility was first reported by Soc Takes via Twitter.

Is @USL_D3 coming to Lansing, Michigan?There are reasons to argue yes&no.

Yes: An ad (sent to @SocTakes by a source a few days ago) was posted suggesting Lansing is hiring front office personnel for a pro ⚽️ team.

Yes: @LansingUnited has previously discussed desire to go pro. pic.twitter.com/4PyLRhe8X7

— Nipun Chopra, PhD (@NipunChopra7) August 16, 2018

Lansing Ignite FC will be the ninth member of USL League One for the 2019 season and 11th including 2020-participants Penn FC and the Rochester Rhinos. We spoke with Ignite general manager Jeremy Sampson ahead of today’s announcement:

Jeremy Sampson: It was the natural step and the reason that we made the move to the PDL last season.  It gave us an opportunity to learn about the league and vice versa as we continued to investigate bringing professional soccer to Lansing.

1. Can you briefly explain how this new team came to be?

JS: I met with 4 people in Lansing each month to work on telling our story and building our pitch to investors.  Those people came from the Chamber of Commerce, a local economic group and the sports arm of the convention and visitor’s bureau.  We quickly determined that Tom Dickson would be a perfect partner.  I connected with his President Nick Grueser and found out that they were looking at the USL as well, so we decided to work together to bring professional soccer to Lansing.

1. What can you tell us about Lansing-League One’s ownership? Why are they interested in investing in Lansing soccer?

JS: Tom Dickson has been one of the preeminent entrepreneurs in the business of sports for the last two decades, launching his first professional sports team in 1996 – the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts – and spearheading the development and construction of the team’s home stadium, Cooley Law School Stadium, which will serve as Ignite FC’s home venue.  A former Entrepreneur of the Year in Michigan, Dickson has additionally been responsible for the development of more than $150 million worth of new minor league ballparks in Dayton and Eastlake, Ohio, Joliet, Illinois, and Gary, Indiana, and serves as the Chair of Minor League Baseball Enterprises and is on the Board of Directors for Minor League Baseball. Since 2005, Dickson has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Professional Sports Catering, the fastest growing concessionaire in baseball, operating at over 30 ballparks around the country.

1. What is your role within the organization? Will you have an ownership stake?

JS: Tom has hired me to be the Vice President/General Manager and my role is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the club.  Tom Dickson can speak to the makeup of the ownership group.

1. Fans of Lansing United have been vocal on social media about their unhappiness with how things have unfolded. Is it your goal to get them back, and if yes, how do you plan on doing that?

JS: For me that situation has been the most disappointing part of this transition.  “The Ransom” have been great supporters of Lansing United.  I have been very transparent with them going back to the end of our 2017 season where I met with them and explained that I was moving to the PDL and I was making that move to get to the USL in the future.  They have always asked me for more games and the ability to have beer and other amenities that I couldn’t offer.  I have delivered all of those.  I met with them as a group a few weeks ago and it was clear that some in the group didn’t agree with this move for various reasons.  I told the group that this was not some form of a hostile takeover, this is what I wanted.  We would love for them to all be a part of what we are doing with Lansing Ignite and we welcome them to join what we are doing but at the end of the day, you are asking about 4-5 guys who are being most vocal on social media.

JS: Looking at the requirements set forth by the US Soccer Federation Lansing’s DMA size falls perfectly into what D3 is looking for.  I am also excited to be a founding member of a brand-new league.  I have had the opportunity to meet with someone from every organization.  There are so many good people involved with each organization.  I am looking forward to being one piece of what we are all building together.

1. How will Lansing’s team be unique from the other League One teams?

JS: We will play our home games in Cooley Law School Stadium, playing in a baseball stadium will make us unique for sure.  We have some other plans but can’t release those details at this point.  I believe our ticket prices will be very reasonable, our game day experience will be fun, and we are working with a new supporter’s group for Lansing Ignite.

1. What are the next steps for the team? Have you started your search for a head coach?

JS: The next steps are to continue hiring for our front office and to hire a head coach.  We’ve conducted a National search and feel very good about the candidates that we have interviewed.  My goal is to have a coach in the next couple of weeks, so we can continue to evaluate talent and begin to build our roster.

Follow Nipun on Twitter: @NipunChopra7.

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Photo credit: Robbie Mehling/Soc Takes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When Louisville City FC and the Indy Eleven met in Indianapolis earlier this season, it was quite the snooze-fest. Neither club truly found its rhythm before an Ayoze penalty conversion finally gave Indy a 1-0 win in the May 5 battle of attrition.

The two teams more than made up for it during a wild affair Sunday evening at Louisville Slugger Field. Three goals and a missed penalty occurred — and that was just in the first 20 minutes. When the smoke cleared, points were shared in the Derby City with the scoreboard reading 2-2.

“We want to win every game, but we don’t want to to lose,” said Louisville City FC player-coach George Davis IV. “So, it’s nice to show some resilience and come back and get the draw. But at the end of the day, we’re going to go back to the drawing board and see what we could’ve done better and how we could’ve come out of that game with three points.”

LouCity earned a penalty just six minutes into the match, but Indy goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams denied Brian Ownby’s ensuing attempt. Later, Greg Ranjitsingh returned the favor with a penalty save of his own for the hosts, parrying away Eugene Starikov’s spot kick.

In the 16th minute, forward Jack McInerney opened the scoring for the visitors with a header off a Kevin Venegas service that a defender couldn’t quite clear. But just a minute later, Louisville City equalized through Ilija Ilic on a pass from Magnus Rasmussen.

• Related: Gallery: Indy Eleven, Louisville City FC draw in LIPAFC showdown

Shortly thereafter, McInerney made it a brace in the 21st minute, assisted by captain Matt Watson. Originally, the goal was ruled an own goal by defender Sean Totsch but was later awarded to Jack Mac.

The hosts again leveled in the 59th on a ripped volley from outside the box by Davis IV, with Ilic providing the assist. Both teams mustered several other opportunities in the second half, including Starikov’s chance to win it from the spot, but the final whistle sounded at 2-2. For the 8,437 supporters in attendance, it felt like 4-4.

“The way the game went we felt like we should’ve won the game,” Eleven head coach Martin Rennie confessed. “Obviously, the way that we ended the second half — we were on top and had two or three great chances, including the penalty. So, we feel like we probably did enough to win the game, but it is a hard place to come and they are a good team so we can be happy with our performance and build on it.”

LouCity announced the hiring of a new head coach earlier this week in former Philadelphia Union manager John Hackworth. But Hackworth has some coaching commitments to wrap up with the U17 U.S. men’s national team before taking the reins, so Louisville City will continue using its player-coach triumvirate of Davis IV, Luke Spencer and Paolo DelPiccolo in the meantime.

Four goals, two missed penalties, physical play, a golazo, impressive goalkeeping and sharp midfield play — yep, this one pretty much had it all — solidified Sunday’s high-flying match as the complete antithesis of the May meeting between the clubs.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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Image credit: NISA

The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) announced Thursday morning that co-founder and top official Peter Wilt has resigned from his position with the league. NISA, its teams and Club 9 Sports, its consultant, will now take up the joint task of finding Wilt’s replacement.

Wilt, who helped get notable clubs like the Chicago Fire, Chicago Red Stars and Indy Eleven off the ground, had hoped to launch NISA at the Division III level and eventually branch out into two leagues with promotion and relegation between them. According to Thursday’s press release, those ideals still remain the league’s stated goals in Wilt’s absence.

“I wish the NISA teams and new leadership well,” Wilt said in the release announcing the formation of a committee to seek new leadership. “I am proud of the strong vision we developed and now others will need to carry it forward. I am hopeful that my stepping away will allow the disparate open system groups to unify around a shared vision.”

Wilt’s next endeavor will be heading up Madison Pro Soccer, where he’ll serve as Big Top Events’ managing director, per the release. His new project will be bringing a USL/USL D3 club to Madison, Wis.

And here’s the bigger news –

Peter Wilt will help bring in Madison’s TBA @USL team:

RIP soccer Twitter.https://t.co/3bEUPPoP9g

— Nipun Chopra (@NipunChopra7) May 17, 2018

“We have compiled a list of candidates with Peter’s help and will quickly narrow it to a short list before identifying the new leadership of the League,” Club 9 Sports managing partner John Prutch said in the release.

Whether NISA can survive the loss of its most prominent ambassador remains to be seen, but it’s obviously cause for concern, especially given the abrupt timing of Wilt’s departure. Today’s announcement might spell the beginning of the end for NISA.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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Photo credit: Oleg Bkhambri (Creative Commons license)

Video review has made its way to the 2018 World Cup and brought with it the same sort of controversy we’ve seen in league play. The system is still only used for four key events: goals, penalty kicks, red cards and mistaken identity.

We often hear the defining criteria of “clear and obvious error” used to describe the instances where VAR is even allowed to be applied. From there, the referee is allowed three possible options:

1. Change the call based on video evidence 2. Review the video on the sideline

3. Keep the original call

We’ve had debates over whether VAR impacts games, and on how it might affect the pace of play.

Instead, let’s look at that third option for the referee and think about whether the referee is part of the game itself. By game, I mean both the sport of soccer as a whole as well as the individual match.

When VAR was first discussed, there was a debate between giving power to the video booth and leaving power with the center official. We’ve ended up with a compromise that, to me at least, is the worst of both worlds. The key issues are the requirement of a “clear and obvious error” and the option for the referee to keep the original call.

The primary benefit of video replay is that it allows difficult, too-close-to-call decisions to be made easily and relatively quickly. In baseball and rugby, events that happen far too quickly for humans to accurately make decisions can be made in under a minute with the advantage of slow-motion playback. Yes, it does require a stoppage in play, but those happen anytime there’s a contested situation already. And instead of watching a player and/or coach squabble with an official, we can turn to tangible proof, figure out the correct decision and apply it. Problem solved.

Requiring VAR to be used in only those “clear and obvious error” situations means that center officials still control the game. But should this be the case? I honestly don’t know. This keeps a human element in the form of the four on-field officials which interfere with the outcome of a game. Decisions on yellow cards or free kicks are made with some amount of subjectivity. We, as spectators, have come to accept this as perfectly normal. But is it really normal?

Onto the focal point of this rant: the VAR procedure.

When a situation worthy of video review occurs — one of those “clear and obvious errors” — either the referee requests a review or the video booth decides it’s worth investigating anyway. This is all fine to me. If they don’t find anything on the replay, that’s it, they don’t need to signal the referee, and play continues. Still perfectly reasonable. But if there is an error, we get to those three possible decisions listed earlier up. Now, at this point, we know there must have been a “clear and obvious error” by the crew on the field in order to trigger this process, meaning that one of the on-field crew members has either gotten something wrong or missed something. Why, then, is there an option for the referee to overrule the decision from the video booth? They have access to all the footage and camera angles, so they have the best possible chance of making the correct decision, and they’re only investigating because there was an incorrect call already made.

Giving the referee that option essentially nullifies the entire purpose of video assistance. In fact, I don’t think they have the procedures right at all. To me, I would prefer that either the video booth gets to override the call on the field and the ensuing decision is automatically revealed in the stadium like tennis’ Hawk-Eye system, or the video booth makes the final call and passes it along to the ref, who merely relays it. One of those two should be the official policy. It shouldn’t be the referee’s decision. Currently, VAR technically only determines when a review is needed, and it’s wholly in the head referee’s hands from there.

The idea behind VAR was a fairer #WorldCup and fewer errors. 95% of the match-changing decisions taken by the referees in the Group Stage were correct.

↗️ Thanks to the support from VAR the accuracy has increased to 99,3%. @fifamedia summary: https://t.co/L846ZzKtAe pic.twitter.com/YoHxJpLuoB

— The IFAB (@TheIFAB) July 4, 2018

But again, this is my opinion and I honestly don’t know if it’s the right one. I keep thinking about this issue, and I need more data.

Finally, a small gripe comparatively, but one I think might actually be the most irritating. The video assistant referee is only allowed to use slow-motion playback for contact offenses — handballs, tackles and the like. Why can’t they use slow-motion playback for everything?

I’ll get to the point.

To me, the purpose of a team sport is to see how two teams of players do against each other. It should be down to their actions on the field and the decisions of their coach. The referee’s opinion shouldn’t be part of the sport itself. It’s not interfering with the game to me, it’s preserving it. It’s ensuring that the rule book is correctly and fairly enforced every single time.

I imagine that just about everyone reading this has some negative opinion of a particular referee. We all know a ref who made some ridiculous call or completely missed a penalty kick or something. This is the exact problem I’d like to see VAR address. Instead, it’s basically rendered useless by the FIFA/IFAB implementation.

Imagine the following scenario:

Team A is hosting Team B in a stadium with goal-line technology. Team A takes a shot on goal that slips through the ‘keeper’s hands, and a Team B defender attempts to clear the ball off the line. According to the goal-line technology, the ball fully crossed the goal line and the referee gets the signal to award a goal. But instead, the center referee decides that, despite what his technology tells him, the ball really was cleared off the line and it’s not a goal.

This is how VAR looks to me. I just don’t know if I’m right.

Follow John on Twitter: @JohnMLTX.

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“Armchair Analyst” Matt Doyle, a senior writer for MLSsoccer.com, returns to the program to cover a great many things. Topics include D.C. United, FC Dallas, MLS’ new Youth Transfer Fund (YTF) mechanism and the USMNT. Doyle also recalls a complimentary letter he once received during his days as a playwright from the late Kurt Vonnegut.

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Photo credit: Kevin Johnston/Soc Takes

WESTFIELD, Ind. — As far as owner Chris McGrath knew, there was nothing else around like it. And with local resources available like sports performance outfit IFAST and Jon Busch’s High Performance Goalkeeping (HPG), his idea made total sense.

McGrath brought everything together to open Sogility, a brand-new indoor soccer training facility located just a short drive from Indianapolis at 16462 Southpark Drive Suite A in Westfield. Sogility’s grand opening is set for Nov. 4 from 1-4 p.m. and is open to the public.

“We provide soccer-specific athlete development,” McGrath explained. “We have a partnership with IFAST, who has done soccer athlete development specifically around the Indianapolis area for years.”

Photo credit: Kevin Johnston/Soc Takes

The main ingredient that separates Sogility from other soccer-focused centers in the area is the use of TOCA trainers and balls. TOCA machines focus on improving footballers’ touch and technical ability, and are also quite beneficial for goalkeepers. The units deliver size-two soccer balls at a variety of speeds and angles.

“Our niche is to provide the TOCA trainers, which can deliver somewhere between 250-500 balls an hour accurately,” McGrath said.

The concept behind the idea is that a size-two ball has a smaller “sweet spot” than an official size-five ball. Therefore, it takes more impeccable timing and technique to strike the ball well or control it. TOCA was founded by former U.S. men’s national team player Eddie Lewis.

Image credit: Sogility

McGrath, who’s also the owner of Indy Saints FC, foresees several other uses for Sogility beyond taking reps from the TOCA trainers — thanks to its partners and spaciousness. IFAST will offer its soccer-specific strength and conditioning, while HPG will bring its goalkeeping expertise. The facility can also support up to six-v-six play.

“We’re super excited that Jon Busch has decided to call this his official home for his goalkeeper training,” McGrath added. “We can even get rid of (the movable nets) and play end to end, so we can have two small-sided games going at the same time.”

The facility also boasts an upstairs lounge area for coaches, parents or other observers to overlook the action without interfering with training.

Photo credit: Kevin Johnston/Soc Takes

Teams or individual players hoping to take advantage of Sogility’s services can book appointments for the TOCA trainers, IFAST and HPG directly through its website at Sogility.net. Interested parties are encouraged to attend the Nov. 4 open house to tour the facility and find out more information.

“Soon to be a place where you can get better,” McGrath said. “You can get stronger and quicker, and improve your touch. And put all of those elements together in game play all under one roof, and close to Grand Park.”

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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Former U.S. men’s national team midfielder and longtime MLS veteran Justin Mapp joins the panel to reminisce on his playing career, analyze the current state of MLS, discuss his soccer-specific personal training endeavor and much more.

Thumbnail photo credit: H. Abdallah

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Current WPSL associate commissioner for the central region and former Des Moines Menace general manager Matt Homonoff guests on the podcast to touch on the WPSL, PDL, FC Edmonton and MLS SuperDraft.

Homonoff also spent several years working in D.C. United and FC Edmonton’s front offices. In 2015, he was named PDL Executive of the Year while with the Menace. Listen:

Thumbnail image credit: WPSL

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Image credit: NISA 

Per an embargoed press release provided to Soc Takes, NISA applied for divisional sanctioning from the USSF on Friday, Aug. 31. The press release reads:

“On Friday, August 31 the National Independent Soccer Association (“NISA”) formally petitioned the United States Soccer Federation for admission as a Men’s Division III Professional Soccer League.  By submitting this paperwork, NISA has asked the U.S. Soccer Federation to approve the league for play in 2019.

The U.S. Soccer Federation has strict requirements for professional soccer leagues seeking to play in the United States.  These Professional League Standards require that American leagues meet certain requirements relating to financial stability, stadium size, geographic distribution and number of teams.

NISA’s application meets or exceeds all Federation standards. There are currently no sanctioned Division III League in American soccer.

NISA expects to begin play in August 2019, with professional teams throughout the country bringing an exciting new brand of soccer to the American landscape.”

Soc Takes reached out to U.S. Soccer to confirm if NISA’s application was received.

This is a key moment for the fledlgling league which has dealt with multiple issues including the death of one founder, the defection of another, and a constantly changing group of primary teams.

As Soc Takes revealed earlier, NISA was allowed a delayed submission as the league plans on launching in the fall.

Teams

In terms of identity of teams, the league is believed to have a geographically diffuse set of teams, including teams on the East and West Coast, as well as teams in the South. However, Soc Takes understand that California United will not be a part of NISA going forward.

At least one of the teams in the South is believed to be Atlanta.

* * * Other rumored teams are: two teams in California, teams in Philadelphia and New England, as well as a team in Charlotte. (Soc Takes would like to reiterate that this is not a definitive list of teams) * * *

(UPDATE, Sept. 4, 3:30 p.m.: Two sources inform Soc Takes that “at least one” New England team will play in Southeastern Connecticut, close to or in Norwich. The ownership group is expected to involve ex-Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson. Also informed that Dallas is unlikely to be a part of the initial eight teams.)

The league is believed to have applied for one waiver, which has to do with field width. The team applying for the waiver will play at a baseball stadium.

The league — once believed to be advised by Eric Wynalda — is no longer employing the ex-USMNT international.

A NISA source informs Soc Takes that the league application was close to 900 pages, which includes business plans, financial models and background checks.

Follow Nipun on Twitter: NipunChopra7.

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