GO Indoor

NIC Enters 8th Season with or many years indoor soccer was used simply as a stopgap between the outdoor seasons. A nice way to work on some fundamentals until it was time to play 'real' soccer again. All that has changed in 9 years ago with the birth of the National Indoor Soccer Championship. As Director of Marketing for All American Indoor Sports in Kansas City, Andy Barney has seen first hand the need for a Championship of Indoor Soccer. The indoor facilities needed something to motivate teams to take indoor soccer seriously. Francisco Marcos had started the Mitre National, but this was only for boys and only for U12, U14, U16, U19 and Men's Open divisions. When Andy left All American in 1992 to start the Kansas City Legends Soccer Club he began to see this same need from the perspective of a coach. He needed something to motivate the player to come to practice and to work on their skills at home. Without a big goal to achieve, why should anyone take indoor soccer seriously? In 1994 Andy formed the National Indoor Soccer Council all photos courtesy (NISC). The of JandC Imaging purpose of NISC was to promote and grow the game of indoor soccer. As he spoke to facilities around the country he found that they shared his desire for a National Indoor Championship. The facility managers and owners realized that with a National Championship to prepare for, team would take more practice time, play in extra leagues and participate in a greater number of tournaments to ensure that they would be ready for the Finals. Thus, today, the NISC does the marketing and the facility handles the operations for the National Indoor Championship. This relationship benefits both organizations. The facilities are provided with personalized indoor soccer materials including poster, flyers and a full color brochure. NISC takes care of all of the mailing, phone calls and team signups. This is a huge task and one that an indoor facility, in the middle of its busiest F 28 • Oct.-Nov. 2002 • G O A L In d o o r time, could not manage. The facilities are responsible for scheduling and running the tournament on the weekend. Over 800 teams played in the National Indoor Championship in 1994/95. Now in its eighth year, over 2,000 teams compete annually in the Regionals and the National Finals. Teams seldom have to travel far to find a Regional. More than 50 sites are situated in large metropolitan areas through out the United States, Canada and Mexico. The National Finals are hosted by the finest indoor facilities in the Nation: Sports City – MO, Soccer First – OH, Free State Indoor and Du Burns – MD, Southland Sports – IL, Soccer Sportsplex – OH and Total Soccer – MI. Many traditional powerhouse clubs compete each year in the Championship. This includes clubs that have previously won a National Indoor or Outdoor Soccer Championship. These include Vardar SC – MI, Michigan Wolves and Hawks – MI, Kansas City Legends – KS, Syracuse Blitz – NY, Soccer Club of Baltimore – MD, KC Dynamos – KS, Busch SC – MO, Colorado Rush – CO, Potomac Cougars – MD, Premier Adidas – OH, FC Delco – PA, Beadling SC – PA and many other great quality programs. There is also DII for teams that are not competing at this level. The National Championship is only one of the many things the National Indoor Soccer Council does to assist in the growth of the indoor game. NISC is a widely used resource for information on building and marketing indoor facilities. Many facilities use the rules structure of the National Indoor Soccer Championship for their leagues and tournaments. Staff members hold seats on several committees within the United States Indoor Soccer Association. NIC President, Tom Mura, chaired a round table discussion on running tournaments at this year's Facility Operators Conference September 13-15 in Erie, PA. For more information on the National Indoor Soccer Council or the National Indoor Soccer Championship, including a list of regional and national tournament dates, visit their website at

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