GREAT FALLS — The Montana Rush Soccer Club spent their Sunday cleaning their facilities for the upcoming season, but they are going to need an assist from the public if they want to hit their goal early April.
Jeremiah Kirschman wants to prioritize youth soccer in the Electric City.
Kirschman said, “We have about a thousand players in our program who just want to play soccer.”
As the technical director for the Montana Rush, he organized a community clean-up day to prepare for the upcoming season openers.
Kirschman said, “Montana Youth Soccer Association sends a lot of teams to us early on in April because we can open our fields earlier than the other cities around Montana.
However, trash is not the only concern on Kirschman’s mind.
Kirschman said, “We need referees in order to be able to host home matches.”
Ideally, each game needs three referees, so the Rush need the community’s help.
Kirschman said, “Hopefully we can find 20 to 30 more refs at least.”
Michael Nagel is a coach and referee for the Rush Montana Club.
Nagel said, “I saw that there was a big need for referees in the local area. In Montana as well. And, since I used to play, it was a win-win for the club and for myself.”
Nagel says refereeing is a great way to get involved in the sport in a unique way.
Nagel said, “You can give back to the community, give back to the sport’s clubs, and make soccer grow in America.”
And he loves to give back to something that means so much to him.
Nagel said, “It's been a great thing for my family, for myself, for my son. And there's been growth in all of us.”
Kirschman said, “We want to keep kids interested in soccer. If there's too many barriers for them to be able to play. Like driving three hours every single weekend for eight weekends straight, kids get burnt out.”
On March 30th there is an in-person class in Great Falls to learn how to referee, but if you cannot make it there are also online courses available.
Learn more by clicking here.
Keep up to date with the Montana Rush here.
