Glen Lake girls bring the world’s sport home

By Nadine Gilmer
Sun contributor

Sports fans worldwide adore the game of soccer (football, by its true name), but in northern Michigan, you won’t find people skipping summer grill parties to watch the World Cup. Has the world’s sport passed us by? Not so fast. Girl’s soccer at Glen Lake school is on the rise — both in terms of popularity and intensity.

This year’s Lady Laker soccer team is the best, and largest, Glen Lake has fielded since the sport was introduced in 2004. The squad of 20 has posted a record of 15-3 (entering District-play) this season, and generated quite a buzz in the process. It’s about time.

According to coach Meaghan Murphy’s experience, northern Michigan came late to the wave of soccer enthusiasm spreading across the country. “In Ohio, soccer was outrageous, but at Glen Lake it was all about (American) football,” she explains. “The southeast side of the state has always been farther along than northern Michigan soccer.” But thanks to the popularity and success of these Lady Lakers, soccer has earned a spot on the main stage.

This new-found interest in girls’ soccer has much to do with Title IX, an education amendment enacted by Congress in 1972. Title IX states that, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” The law resulted in the creation and steady growth of women in sports — even though the original statute made no explicit reference to athletics.

According to the American Association of University Women, between the 1971-1972 school year and 2001-2002, female participation in NCAA collegiate sports increased by 403 percent compared to only 23 percent for men.

Murphy says that (at Glen Lake), she “didn’t think there were enough opportunities (for girl’s soccer). In Cincinnati everyone had (Junior Varsity squads).” Before this year, Glen Lake’s girls soccer program didn’t have enough players to merit two teams, but Murphy believes that next year the local public school may field Varsity and JV squads.

Glen Lake’s boys’ soccer team also tasted success last fall, tallying 16 wins and reaching the district finals. And local talent is emerging from a larger pool. Regional commissioner of the Leelanau Youth Soccer Organization, Carol Tondreau, reports that the program is growing. Last spring, a dozen teams in the under age-six group fed Glen Lake.

About Glen Lake, Tondreau says that, “the girls soccer team has really stuck out there — they really have a good drive for it. They love to play, when they go out there they have a good time, and they love to play their hearts out.” She predicts that the school’s popularity and success will continue, on account of blooming classes of seventh and eight graders. The current team boasts 10 freshmen, five of which are starters.

Sharp competition among local high school teams has contributed to the sport’s rising popularity. Glen Lake’s girls defeated highly-touted Suttons Bay for the first time this year — in fact, the Lakers did so twice. “When we beat them the first time, I think it was the most emotional game I’ve ever seen,” says Murphy. “Never in Glen Lake history has that happened.”

Junior captain Cassie Lee attributes the team’s success not only to talent but to a competitive fire. “The team has become much more intercompetitive because of the amount of skill we have. Girls are competing for playing time, and this high level of competition is training us to become stronger.” Seven girls on the team now play soccer year-round, through programs such as NorthStar — Northern Michigan’s premier girls’ soccer club.

Coach Meagan Murphy is a hit too. Before taking the head-coaching reigns this year, 26-year-old Murphy served as assistant coach at Glen Lake in the spring of 2008 and head coach for NorthStar 96 last fall. She played high school soccer in Cincinnati and later for Miami University in Ohio. For her day job, Murphy does marketing for FAST physical therapy and FAST fitness in Traverse City. Though she’s lived here for only four years, her ties to the area are deep. She and her family would summer in Glen Arbor. The Glen Lake girl’s soccer program has benefited from her decision to brave the winters and become a permanent resident.

Murphy won’t take credit for the girls’ success: “Even in the beginning (of this season) I knew we were going to have great potential. We had talent, we had speed, and they were passionate about the game. There is also a lot of athleticism on the team.” This season’s success has validated her predictions. “I’m so impressed with these girls — with their attitude, with their work ethic. We have a lot of fun.”

Captain Cassie Lee attests that Murphy “brings a lot of enthusiasm to the sidelines and is always positive and upbeat. She relates to all of the girls very well and knows all of our strengths and weaknesses. She used to play soccer, so she knows all about girls as athletes.”

Murphy also stresses the importance of team building. Earlier this year, the squad participated in a scavenger hunt in downtown Glen Arbor and have held frequent pasta parties since then. “I really don’t do anything special,” says Murphy, “but I believe that I am here to mentor these young adults and give them the tools and resources to become better soccer players. Really, this is about helping these girls become successful, passionate, caring young adults on and off the soccer field.”

Each year, Glen Lake girls’ soccer has grown in talent and garnered more success —this year bring home the crowned jewel. In Murphy’s words, “people are finally realizing that soccer is pretty cool, although it’s unfortunate that it’s taken so long.”