I am a not a homer. I rep things that are from my city but I am not a homer, by any means. As a journalist, I’ve learned it’s very hard to be an impartial fan of something, so if I cover it, I tend to not really be a superfan of it. With all that said, I love what Detroit City FC has done for the city of Detroit, and to a degree the state of Michigan in raising the profile of the sport around people who live here, and giving them a hometown team that everyone can recognize. But there were still a few issues that made me feel a little weird about them.
It was really the lack of black faces around and within a club that was based in one of the blackest cities in the country. It bothered me, and continued to do so…until this year, thanks to massively big chess moves by the club and partners like the Black Star Initiative.
The Black Star Initiative, launched by For Soccer Ventures, is the first national youth soccer and coaching program for the Black Community, which is HUGE, especially for a big city like Detroit that really doesn’t have the roots in the black community with the sport, yet.
Partnering with a club like Detroit City FC is makes this even more perfect, as the club is making a big push to connect more with the surrounding black and brown communities. I do not want to sound like I’m in a panic when I say this, but Detroit NEEDS this. If the sport is supposed to grow organically and become the power that it can be, and has been around the world, it needs to be allowed to be played by everyone, not just those who can afford it. If we can’t have the dream of going from non-league to a top level team in this country, we at least need to have clubs full of local kids, like Detroit City has with Roddy Green and Cyrus Saydee.
Green in particular is an interesting case, starting as a fan of the club during his final years of high school and eventually joining them during their NPSL days. “Honestly, I got lucky,” said Green. “I got lucky that when I was playing lined up exactly with the club. I always wanted to play for them, and I was lucky enough to be invited by Ben Pirmann (former coach), and made the transition with (current coach) Trevor (James)” One thing the Black Star Initiative sought to eliminate was kids with low income having to travel far and wide to expensive suburban clubs, which is a big struggle for many players who live in cities with limited transport. “Soccer is still growing in Detroit,” Green continued, “Kids don’t really have the option to play it growing up. The hope with Black Soccer Initiative is that kids here can grow up, and not only have to choose between baseball, or football, or basketball, that they’ll have a chance to choose soccer. Hopefully they get a chance to love the sport through it, and eventually through clubs like City.”
Cyrus Saydee, the midfield magician for Le Rouge, shares similar thoughts about the impact BSI could have, specifically for the kids in the city. “I think it’s very important to have heroes. I think its very important to see people who look like you doing good things,” Saydee said, “(BSI) could be big as long as they stay on top of it with positive role models.” Comparing the impact of something like BSI to the impact Detroit City, Saydee spoke with a tone of hopefulness, “The sport is still growing in the city, but its great to have kids here see players like me, (DCFC forward) Yazeed (Matthews), Roddy and players who look like them on the field, to let them know they could do this too.” Saydee, who has been around since the club’s beginning, has been the main consistent point for DCFC. “I was with Sporting KC for a little bit, but soon after I got back, and was told about the team and decided to play while I finished school. Being with a community club this has been amazing. Playing close to home to where my family has been able to watch me play has been very positive.”
Soccer is still growing in Detroit…Kids don’t really have the option to play it growing up. The hope with Black Star Initiative is that kids here can grow up, and not only have to choose between baseball, or football, or basketball, that they’ll have a chance to choose soccer.
Roddy Green, DCFC Player and Detroit Native
DCFC’s Chief of Partnerships TJ Winfrey spoke on BSI and the impact it could have “The goal for BSI is to amplify the game of soccer in the black community, and also build and grow upon whats already happening at the local level.” Statements like that should cause excitement among everyone in the city with whom the sport means something to.
Detroit is a soccer city full of diamonds in the rough, just tons of talented kids who picked the sport up a year or so late, or just need a quality coach to unlock potential, and these kids tend to fall through the cracks, as a result. I know this personally, as I have done some spot coaching when I could help here or there, and seen these near brilliant kids who if they could have found a club with consistent coaching, could have maybe gone to school to play this sport.
Truly, I believe that BSI can be the missing link to help find these kids, and elevate them to the next step in their development stage, or at the bare minimum, give them a fighting chance to compete for that next step. After all this time waiting, that’s the least we can hope for.
