It's hard to believe that the 2023 soccer season is just a few months away. As the weather turns and spring starts to arrive, we can't wait to get back on the field for some outdoor soccer. I'm thrilled to provide you with some exciting updates on what the DeKalb County United soccer club has been working on for the upcoming season.
Community involvement remains at the forefront of our planning. We are dedicated to supporting local businesses and nonprofits and being active in the areas we represent. This offseason, we continued our efforts by supporting school functions with raffle baskets, volunteering with Feed my Starving Children, and our staff will soon be doing monthly deliveries for Meals on Wheels. At DKCU, we believe that caring for our community is an essential part of our mission, and we hope that our community will care for us in return.
We've also placed a strong emphasis on building a diverse and talented staff this offseason. By bringing fresh faces to the Board of Directors, Andy Hayes and Dave Smith, and promoting Ramneek Chitkara to Vice President, we're better equipped than ever to provide you with the best experience possible.
Our Advisory Board continues to push new ideas to make a DeKalb County United match day the ultimate fan experience in the Midwest Premier League. We value your support and regularly meet to ensure that we are putting you, the supporters, first in everything we do.
We are excited to introduce a new mobile app through FanBase (download here) that will provide you with news, schedules, tickets, and information more conveniently and faster. As the first club in the United States to launch this app, we're proud to push the boundaries of what local clubs can achieve. Hats off to our partners at Fanbase and our own Nik Myles for working out the technical details.
We are also thrilled to partner with Byers Brewing Company in DeKalb, the only local brewer in DeKalb County, to bring you our new "Sideline Seltzers" and other DKCU-branded beverages. Please show your support for this local business and try out our new drinks!
Last fall, we opened up DKCU HQ at Realize Athletics in Sycamore, which serves as our new "home office." We now have a place to host meetings and sell merchandise. Please feel free to swing by and visit us (office hours vary).
Our men's and women's teams are starting to take shape. As of now, the men's staff has signed 27 players, with almost 40% of the roster made up of DeKalb County-based players. Meanwhile, the women's team is also starting to come together and is looking to repeat as Illinois State Cup Champions and bring back the IWSL championship. We'll be releasing the schedules for both teams through the app as soon as they become available, so stay tuned!
We're excited that our brand new DKCU Academy will link over 250 youth players to the club, inspiring young people to love the game of soccer. We hope that by bringing them out to see our men's and women's teams, they'll find some local heroes to look up to. We believe that soccer teaches valuable life lessons such as hard work, community pride, service, and passion for the game.
We're always looking for members of the community to get involved with us. If you're interested in volunteering or partnering with us, please get in touch. This is your club, and we value your contributions.
As we approach the 5th season of DKCU soccer, we hope that you'll join us for a match this summer. We're optimistic that 2023 will be our best season yet, and we can't wait to see you!