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The game of soccer is planned for a professional-level team in Muskegon starting in the spring of 2015. The new franchise is named the Muskegon Risers.

(MLive.com file)

MUSKEGON, MI – Another professional sports team is on the horizon in Muskegon.

This time, it’s men’s soccer.

A franchise called the Muskegon Risers is in the works to debut in May 2015, it was announced Friday.

Matt Schmitt

Over the next year, the franchise owned by Reeths-Puffer graduate Matt Schmitt, who played college soccer at the University of Michigan, has plans to hire a coach, establish a roster, find a location for games and finalize a schedule of about 12-15 games.

Schmitt, 26, and his former high school coach Ben Ritsema, the Risers’ head of soccer operations, are the point people for the organization. Ritsema said he will continue in his role as the men’s soccer coach at Muskegon Community College.

Schmitt, a local businessman and entrepreneur who moved back to Muskegon last year, envisions the franchise as a way to promote the city and the sport. The team name Risers was his idea to incorporate the unique sculpture that towers in the heart of downtown.

“The purpose of this team is not to compete with any other youth clubs, but to collaborate and enhance the game of soccer and the community,” Schmitt said. “The majority of the team will be NCAA Division I athletes. We want to bring 20-25 kids into the Muskegon area for five months and make sure they are heavily involved in the area.

Ben Ritsema

“It will be cool raising the level of soccer, but the true purpose is to help revitalize and recruit people to come here. This goes well outside the lines of a soccer field. The spirit and revitalization, not that Muskegon isn’t already on the way, but this is something that will bring a lot of excitement to the area.”

The Risers would join a growing number of franchises in various sports: the Muskegon Lumberjacks in junior hockey, the Muskegon Mustangs football team, the West Michigan Lake Hawks in basketball and the Muskegon Clippers for college-aged baseball that opens in May.

“No one has tried soccer yet and soccer has become bigger and bigger,” said Ritsema, who hopes to tap into and give back to the thousands involved in youth and adult programs in West Michigan. “As a soccer fan, I’m really excited about it. To be on the staff, it’s a dream job. The GM of a soccer team, I’m glad to do it in the town I was born. … I’ve seen some teams that have failed. The Muskegon Thunder, the Mayhem. I used to go to those games. I don’t know why they failed. Maybe it wasn’t the right time. Maybe it needs to be an outdoor sport.”

Ritsema said the Risers almost started this spring, but decided to wait to get everything in place for 2015.

Tryouts for the team are scheduled for July 12 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Reeths-Puffer Youth Soccer Complex and July 19 from noon to 3 p.m. at Grand Haven. Additional tryouts are planned before next year.

Ritsema said the team has had discussions about joining the National Premier Soccer League, which has a Great Lakes division, or the Premier Development League, which has a team in Detroit for players under the age of 23. He said those leagues are below Major League Soccer, the North American Soccer League and USL Pro in the pecking order of soccer in the U.S.

The Risers also could be an independent team not affiliated with a league.

The plan is to attract players from the Midwest, many from Division I programs that could play in between their college season from mid-May to mid-August.

If college players are on the roster, they can be provided with housing expenses only and still maintain NCAA eligibility. Host families like the Lumberjacks use also could be developed. Non-college players could be paid.

Ritsema said a high school field could be used by the Risers, but it hasn’t been ruled out to build their own facility.

Schmitt has been involved in coaching soccer after his playing days ended at U-M, but he didn’t rule out playing again. His soccer career started as a 5-year-old in the Laketon youth soccer program, but he said this is about others and the community as a whole.

“The real purpose is getting people excited about soccer in the Muskegon area,” Schmitt said. “I want to make this more about the community, from Muskegon and Whitehall to Grand Haven, and less about me.”

The more information, go to muskegonrisers.com



Mark Opfermann covers sports for MLive Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at mopferma@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.