Manitou F.C.

My daughter Lauren played with Manitou FC for 5 seasons, 5.5. What attracted us to the club was just the style of play that she saw when she was a U13 player, U14, yeah, U12, and we had to switch up because of the age change to U14.

It was a great opportunity. She was lucky enough to be selected for that team, and that team went on to have a lot of success, not just with winning games. Which was great. Winning is a huge part of it, but it was all about development. And the number of girls that went on to play college soccer is a testimony to that style of coaching and understanding that development's more important than winning at U14, U15, and U16. So, very, very thrilled for that opportunity for Lauren.

I watched Edi coach his team from White Bear Lake that nobody really heard of back then and was very excited about the opportunity to join the team at U14 simply because they played soccer. It wasn't about get the ball to the best athletes or play fast. It was actually, they were playing soccer. My daughter was a center back, so learning how to play out of the back and understanding how you run a defensive line, how you communicate with your six. It was the first time she was exposed to actual soccer, not just the way it was played with get the ball to the best athletes and try to win. It was actually about development. Which was what really attracted my daughter Lauren and myself to explore joining Manitou FC White Bear at the time.