The U.P. is known for its wide variety of winter sports, and of course there always has been dedication to traditional school football and basketball teams.
But why not bring a little of the UK to the U.P.? Local children are learning that soccer is the perfect sport to enjoy year-round, and they are lucky enough to be learning from one of the best.
Norman Power, born in Dublin (Ireland), has soccer in his blood, and is more than willing to pass on his knowledge and love for the game with his local school. Power Soccer started in 2001, and in a given year works with 200 to 300 kids. Power travels all over the U.P. to work with students of all ages and help them improve their technique.
Here in Marquette, sixty players from the high school benefit from this training. The academy’s focus is on team improvement instead of a tournament schedule. There is a strong emphasis on skill acquisition rather than competition.
Students at Power Soccer also play at different times of the year, allowing full-time access to the sport and freeing them from seasonal dependence. Power has four teams of eleven- to eighteen-year-olds and a junior academy for kids ten and younger.
It’s the junior academy training Power feels really makes the difference.
“At that age group, they can absorb information quickly,” he said. “If you stimulate their minds, they really come back with a passion. The younger players are catching up technically. When I get to work with a kid who is nine or ten, it’s a lot easier to get good habits rather than starting at fourteen and having to retrain them.”
It’s also great to start with the younger children and watch them grow to become talented athletes over the years. But, of course, it’s hard work, requiring dedication from the coaches and families as well as the kids themselves.
“For us, it’s a positive because it hadn’t been developed here yet,” Power said. “People were so enthusiastic to start and help out. There’s a high level of expertise building, local knowledge and great volunteers. I have a strong background as a player and a coach, and I’m looking to build a club, not just coach for one kid and quit.”
Power Soccer had a few road blocks in the beginning, but Norman is working hard to change people’s perceptions. He notes that, as with all things, there’s a fee component.
“There’s been a challenge getting people to think of a soccer coach the way they would a piano teacher or math teacher or tennis pro,” he said. “They’ve been spoiled with wonderful volunteers for so long that the idea of paying a coach was alien. But once people took the leap of faith, they could see that we are there to enhance the local teams.”
Along with learning new skills and improving their game, being a part of the soccer league gives kids a chance to connect with other areas in the U.P. Teams make day trips to play in Houghton, Iron Mountain or Sault Ste Marie, networking players, parents and coaches in all areas.
Power appreciates all the teamwork needed to bring this together.
“Especially at the younger levels, you don’t want to drag the family down to Appleton for a game,” he said. “We start kids as young as four years old. Parents have to be present, and we introduce them to the basic skills, as well as finding parents to be future coaches. It prepares all the parents to go into our rec league and coach their kids.”
It’s these connections that will ensure a healthy future for soccer in the area.
When traveling to other towns, teams get together for pot luck dinners, have picnics and grill out, and just hang out together to have fun. It gives the kids an opportunity to make new friends and allows area businesses to show their support.
Jennifer Power, Norman’s wife, helps with the business and she’s amazed at the progress they’ve made in such a short amount of time.
“It’s only been five years, but our success stories are really in public relations,” she said. “Wonderful parents support us, and Norman has a fan club of kids. He’s a great mentor.”
And that mentoring is paying off with the success of his students.
“Two captains from our senior academy went on to captain the high school team and they both made all-conference,” Power said. “They are both excellent students.”
It’s safe to say the Power School is really making its mark on local teams.
“Locally, nineteen of the twenty-five varsity players came through the academy,” Power said.
But even if they don’t go on to play in the varsity leagues, Norman is proud of the progress in all his students.
“It’s great to watch the kids get more confidence and build their skill levels up,” he said.
One key ingredient in training is to keep the sport fun.
“Our whole philosophy is simple,” he said. “It’s not competitive until it’s competitive. We think you have to give the kids an environment where they are not afraid to try things. What you work on in practice, you get a chance to demonstrate. We allow them to problem solve, so when they work really hard in practice, we give back the power during the games.”
Once the season is over, the learning can continue with summer camps all over the U.P. Power holds several sessions each year with the help of local coaching volunteers. Having great assistants allows him a more advisory role.
“I’m really the director of coaching,” he said. “I’ll be on the field as the technical coach during the training sessions, but I’m also recruiting coaches and certifying them through the United States Soccer Federation. I’m trying to encourage local coaches who have a passion for (Irish) football.”
One problem with volunteer coaches is the turnaround. Most stay only long enough to coach their own son or daughter, and then lose interest.
Power points out that it’s important to stay on and help other kids improve as well.
“Sure, you can coach your own kid as part of their overall development, but I don’t think it’s healthy to put a coach in and then he’s gone in a year or two,” he said. “Enjoy and cherish the year you coach your own child, but don’t quit after that. That way we get coaches who are really committed to teaching kids and building teams.
“In the past three years, I’ve certified over 100 coaches in the U.P.”
Power said he is working hard to keep qualified, consistent coaches on the field. He is a soccer instructor through the Michigan State Soccer Association, and now that the U.P. is its own district, he will become the regional development director. That will lead to more focus on coach education and outreach around the U.P. This change came about largely because of Power’s incredible work.
“It was nice to be asked to do that,” he said. “There are 100,000 soccer players in Michigan, and there are 10,000 soccer coaches. Six oversee the 10,000, and there is one director to oversee those six.”
If that job wasn’t large enough, Norman also helps with the state-run Olympic development for soccer.
“This year is the first year ever that we’ll have representative teams for the U.P.: A U-12 girls’ team and a U-12 boys’ team,” he said.” They’ll get the chance to play for a spot on the state team.”
It’s nice to see all that hard work paying off, and Power sees it as just one of many steps in the right direction.
“It’s so exciting, because this is where the networks we built are coming to fruition,” he said. “It’s going to mean so much for soccer in the area because there is no reason we can’t have a player on the state team. There’s talent here. Then why not get someone on the National team?”
So Power’s work continues, as he gains more skilled athletes and enthusiastic coaches.
“We really need to combine our efforts and work to build strength,” he said. “We’re working toward the goal of having ten teams.”
With ten teams and a spot on the nationals in his sights, it is clear the U.P. is lucky to have inherited Norman Power and Power Soccer, and students are lucky to benefit from his dedication.
—Jamie Lafreniere

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