How long have you been a part of Prior Lake Soccer Club? What attracted you to the club?

We have been with the club for seven years. While both my boys, Harry and Dean, have been on teams throughout this time, I have been fortunate enough to coach both of their teams from Little Lakers when they were four years old, and now they're year-round travel teams. We originally joined the club because it's in our community. And as I became more familiar with the club through my kids and coaching, I found it really reminded me of the club I played for while growing up in the Chicago area. I tend to align with the club's philosophies on development as players and as human beings, and I also volunteer for the club as a board member to help create a great experience for all the players in this community.

What has been your favorite experience at Prior Lake Soccer Club?

It's really difficult to pick a favorite experience at the club. It has honestly been all positive. I guess I'll begin with the Little Lakers program, of which, you know, all I can say is what a great introduction to the game. I loved the instruction by Garth and the club staff, balanced with an opportunity to just play. Transitioning into the travel program, I can't emphasize enough how dedicated the staff is to teaching the game, the player development, and the lifelong relationships these kids are forming. 

As a coach, my favorite is seeing what we work on at practice be executed in the game, or when you just see it click, when that light bulb goes off, and they just get it. I get super excited to see it, and the look on the kids' faces when they find that success, it's honestly the most fulfilling piece as a coach. As a board member, my favorite experience has been getting to know the staff and the board members in a different way, and the opportunity to contribute to the community soccer program. I can't say enough, and really all positive experiences in the last seven years.

How has Prior Lake Club impacted your son/daughter? Share an example.

The club has impacted both of my boys in many different ways. Through soccer and the club, they're both learning how to be good teammates. They're developing relationships that will probably be lifelong and into high school and beyond that. They're learning that to find success, you have to put in the work. They're learning discipline, respect, how important it is to encourage each other and be positive, all the soft skills that I think anybody needs, now and later in life. There's just so many life lessons being taught within the sport and the club, and we're honestly very thankful to be a part of the community and the club that is, you know, really invested on development as players, but also as individuals.

What do you like about the facilities used by Prior Lake Soccer Club?

We have a lot to offer as a club when it comes to facilities. I'll begin with fields. I've said this time and time again. We have some of the best, if not the best outdoor fields in the Twin Cities. As I've gone to various away games through my kids' travel teams, I keep saying how fortunate we are to have great fields for the kids to play on. As a club, we also have access to the dome in the winter and dedicated nights to train for the various programs throughout the winter. A nice recent addition that we've had as a club is the new club office. We host board meetings there, but it's also available for teams within the community to have gatherings, team parties, and more.

Would you recommend Prior Lake Soccer Club to a friend or colleague? Why?

I, without a doubt, would recommend this club to anyone. If you wanna be a part of a community, I'm gonna tell you this is it. There's an opportunity for every player, whether you want the highest commitment or not as much commitment, whether you want to play competitive year-round or you want to play part of the year. The club really has something for everyone and what their desires are within soccer. You have a coaching staff that's committed to player development first. I know that's the easy thing to say, but I've had a front row seat to that and I can attest to it. You have access to all the resources a club can offer from fields, equipment, coaching, leadership, you name it. If you want to coach your kid playing soccer, you can do it here. If you have a desire as a player to become a referee or even as an adult, you know, a parent, you can do that here as well. Honestly, with Prior Lakes Soccer, you're getting a staff that is providing a great experience for all players and all families as well.

How long have you been a part of Prior Lake Soccer Club? What attracted you to the club?

My family has been a part of the Prior League Soccer Club for about nine years. I have four kids, and they all started out in kindergarten playing at the recreational level. Some of them moved on from soccer, but a couple transitioned into the competitive program. And, honestly, what drew us to the club in the first place was simply proximity. We live in Savage, and Prior Lake was the closest club.

What has been your favorite experience at Prior Lake Soccer Club?

My favorite experience at the club has definitely been coaching. You know, I've been coaching some of these kids since they were in kindergarten, and now they're, you know, in the U10 or U12 programs. And watching them go from stumbling over the ball, dribbling in the wrong direction to putting together combinations, dribbling around defenders has been pretty special, and it's a lot of fun. Also just watching them turn into young adults. So that part has been really rewarding for me. And also through coaching, I've gotten to know a lot of the leadership in the club, which I continue to be impressed by.

How has Prior Lake Club impacted your son/daughter? Share an example.

Prior Lake Soccer Club has been a real source of confidence for my children. I think you look at some of these coaches that have been in leadership at the program that run a lot of these winter activities, and they're very respected within the club. And, obviously, the children know who the top coaches are. And when they work with these coaches and they get some positive feedback, it could just be, you know, a high five here or a fist bump there, but you can see it on their faces. And my kids have absolutely, you know, they come home and they tell me about that when it happened. So it's really special to see that and to see it really come from the top down of the club.

What do you like about the facilities used by Prior Lake Soccer Club?

For spring and fall, the predominant facilities are Lakefront Park in Prior Lake, which is a beautiful park. Fields are nice there, and they're all kind of in the same spot. So you're not always going to a different location. It's where you practice. It's where you play your game, so it's all kind of in one spot, which is nice. For the competitive program, there's a few additional facilities that are available, but usually Shrine Memorial Park is the primary site for games and practices. And there's a lot of fields that are consolidated there in the park. There's ample parking, and it's an easy walk from the parking lot to the fields, which is nice. In the wintertime, there's the Dome space that's used for training at the Savage Community Park, and that is a beautiful facility. They just laid in the turf there, and it's a really nice winter facility. So, yeah, the facilities are definitely a plus.

Would you recommend Prior Lake Soccer Club to a friend or colleague? Why?

I would absolutely recommend Prior Lake  Soccer Club to a friend or colleague. I think when you look at the club from a holistic perspective, you see players that come out of this program that are playing at college. You look at the coaching staff, and you've got individuals that have played at a very high level. You've got educators. You've got coach educators, and they support the rest of the coaching staff and they make everybody better and elevate the coaching staff throughout the entire club. You got kids that wanna play, that are happy to be there, so that's always a good litmus test of how the program is doing, and it's growing. You look at player development, and there's a focus on physical development and technical development, obviously, but there's also developing the person. And how do we help these kids become better versions of themselves and being a better human? And I think helping them to overcome difficult situations on the field by making a choice and evaluating the impact of their decision, whether it was right or wrong, those are the kinds of things that are encouraged in this club. And I honestly, I think it's a microcosm for decisions that need to be made in the future in life, and it's gonna help these kids grow as individuals. And there's a real commitment to that at this club. 

So high ethical standards, absolute positive intent, and a focus on doing the right thing. And I think that's really special, and I would absolutely recommend Prior Lake Soccer Club. And clearly, I'm a big fan. I've been a part of the program for nine years and continue to be a part of it for more. 

How long have you been a part of Prior Lake Soccer Club? What attracted you to the club?

I believe my daughter started playing soccer when she was four, and she is now 17. We've been with Prior Lake Soccer Club since the first time she played soccer, so it's been many years. We were attracted to the Prior Lake Soccer Club because we live in Prior Lake, and that's where her friends and the people that we knew were going to be trying out soccer for the first time. So it made sense for us to go there.

What has been your favorite experience at Prior Lake Soccer Club?

It's actually really difficult to name my favorite experience at the club. I think I would have to say our most recent exciting experience was when [my daughter] Taylor's soccer team went to Colorado for the NPL Super League finals, and they won the championship game. It was just so fulfilling and exciting to watch them get on that field and have so much fun and watch all of their hard work come together and see a great success. The camaraderie they had on and off the field during the tournament just made everything we've done to this point worth it. It was awesome.

How has Prior Lake Club impacted your son/daughter? Share an example.

Being a part of this soccer club and this soccer team has impacted [my daughter] Taylor in an endless number of ways. Her coaches have always really worked to instill great character in their players, both on and off the field. And Taylor has grown immensely. Her confidence and her work ethic, and her perseverance. I could go on and on, but this club really invests in the kids more than just as soccer players, but as becoming independent and successful successful growing young kids as well.

What do you like about the facilities used by Prior Lake Soccer Club?

We are lucky in this community. We have a nice, giant park with several soccer fields for training in the summer, but then we also have access to our local dome for training in the winter. And having those facilities available to us makes all the difference, obviously, when trying to train throughout the year.

Would you recommend Prior Lake Soccer Club to a friend or colleague? Why?

I would absolutely recommend this soccer club to anybody who asks me for my thoughts or opinions on where to have their children play. This community has been very close and supportive, and fun to be with over the years that [my daughter] Taylor has been in soccer. It's just so neat to see the older players support the younger players. The younger players also support the older players. There are just so many reasons to play soccer in the community, and I feel so lucky to have been here so long. We've had other families from out of the area join our team, and they're always just so happy with being a part of the community that we have here. It's a great place to have your kids play soccer.

How long have you been a part of Prior Lake Soccer Club? What attracted you to the club?

I've been involved with Prior Lake Club, our family has since 2021. The last four years, we moved out here from Burnsville, where we lived for forty years, and my older kids had all played for numerous clubs, Bloomington, the Burnsville Fire, Dakota Rev, and then a small club called the Banshees. 

How did you hear about Prior Lake Soccer Club?

I'd heard good things about Prior Lake and their organization when we moved here, and I've been nothing but impressed ever since we got involved when my kids were first four years old. And now we're into our fourth year. It's been nothing but impressive. The people care about you. My kids have felt very welcomed. They've been getting great instruction. I've enjoyed it very much, and we're hoping to keep going for a long time.

What has been your favorite experience at Prior Lake Soccer Club?

My favorite experience with the club is probably going on right now. I have seven-year-old twin boys who are in their second year of U Wake traveling soccer. And I've seen them go from last fall being a bunch of kind of a hodgepodge of individuals to playing in really good team soccer, and that's largely because of the coaching they've been getting. They got a guy who has been able to balance teaching, encouragement, and patience and has done a fast fantastic job of bringing these guys together. They've been very successful, and I'm looking forward to the spring season. 

The Little Lakers program, I'm gonna be coaching my four-year-old daughter this summer, and I think that's gonna be a lot of fun. I've done that before, and it's fantastic seeing these kids go from just being kind of a moving scrum to actually spreading out a little bit by the end of the year. And, anyway, we'll see what happens. But, it's been a lot of fun. The kids really enjoy it, and we're looking forward to it.

How has Prior Lake Club impacted your son/daughter? Share an example.

The Prior Lake Soccer Club has impacted my kids in a very positive manner. They've learned commitment, teamwork, and most of all, they've made a lot of friends. There's a couple of kids on the UA teams that are in their school, and you know what they're doing at recess, they're out playing soccer. But they just seem to really love the game, and that's because the club has kept it fun. They found a good balance between working hard, but yet having a lot of fun. So that's the main thing.

What do you like about the facilities used by Prior Lake Soccer Club?

The Prior Lake Soccer Club facilities are very convenient. That's the number one thing. Ten minutes for us to get to any of them by car. We ride our bikes to Lakefront in Ryan. It takes about fifteen minutes. The fields are well maintained. The nets are in good shape. The indoor facilities in the wintertime, futsal at the high school and the big gyms, and then, the Savage Sports Dome. They have clinics and practices during the winter. It's all very convenient. You can't ask for more.

Would you recommend Prior Lake Soccer Club to a friend or colleague? Why?

I've been around Twin City Soccer for thirty-five-plus years as a parent, referee, and coach, and I've never seen a club as good as Prior Lake Soccer Club. Like, their administration is great. They have patient, skilled coaches. They have a variety of programs from recreation to competitive traveling. You can kinda pick how much you wanna get involved, if you wanna play all year round, or if you just wanna play by season. It's just they offer pretty much everything. They're a very inclusive club. There are kids of all backgrounds playing.

One thing I really like, they give opportunities for the older kids if they want to get involved as reps and assistant coaches, and that's a great way to learn the game. So I highly recommend Prior Lakes Soccer Club.

How long have you been a part of Prior Lake Soccer Club? What attracted you to the club?

My family has been part of Prior Lake Soccer Club for the last three years. And what attracted us to the club at first was the way the schedule fit in for our young family and how we were able to get to practices and games that were conveniently scheduled. And, also, I loved how organized everything was. You could tell from the website to our first meeting with the leadership group that everything would be clear, concise, and ran very well.

What has been your favorite experience at Prior Lake Soccer Club?

As a parent, my favorite experience at Prior Lake Soccer Club has been the youth level and the amount of buy-in that they're able to get from the kids. It starts with Coach Garth, and not only does he teach them a great set of fundamentals at a young age, but he also creates a great culture. And he learns their name, and he provides just a great smiling face to welcome them to soccer. And through that, he helps them build confidence by being part of a community and feeling like they're part of a larger group.

How has Prior Lake Club impacted your son/daughter? Share an example.

Prior League Soccer Club has had a very positive impact on my son, Theo. I think the number one impact it's had is that it's really helped him grow his resilience, whether that means learning a new physical skill or overcoming the mental objections that happen when you're trying something that you're likely to fail at for the first time. We've seen his growth not only grow on the soccer field in those respects but also in the classroom. Prior Lake Soccer Club has really helped my son, Theo, accomplish his goals and to do so in a world where failure will happen from time to time.

What do you like about the facilities used by Prior Lake Soccer Club?

Whether it be the practice fields, the game fields, or the winner training at Savage Dome, Prior Lake Soccer does a great job of ensuring that not only do the fields look good, but they also play good and they're safe for all of our players.

Would you recommend Prior Lake Soccer Club to a friend or colleague? Why?

I recommend Prior Lake Soccer Club because it's a great place for all young athletes. Whether you're just getting into soccer and you're looking for a less intensive rec program or if you're somebody who feels that your son or daughter is ready for the step up to play club, I felt prior league soccer did a great job of offering a number of different programs for all skill levels.