Area Soccer Club Goes Extra Mile for Games

Soccer athletes will soon be on the road again, traveling to cities like Kalamazoo, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Madison, just some of the locations that local soccer players on the Cary Defenders team have played at.

“We travel inside the state and throughout the mid -west region,” Defenders coach Brad Wellmen said.”  It’s a great opportunity for these guys to learn and build team camaraderie.”

Lucas Baker, who’s is a midfielder/forward for the Defenders, agrees with his coach on the positives of traveling to these tournaments

“These trips are a chance for the team to bond, hangout and have a good time,” Baker, who has scored nine goals on the season including one at the Cincinnati College Showcase, said. “And every time we travel, we seem to play well.”

The Cary Defenders (10-1-1) is a club travel soccer program that began in 1976 and continues to be an opportunity for area high school players to participate in soccer outside of school.  Some of the current players on the under-17 team attend Cary-Grove, Jacobs and Huntley High Schools’. 

The players that attend these schools have made a commitment to a bit of more travel.

Aleks Rys, who’s a defenseman for the Defenders, is just one of the players willing to put in the extra miles.

Rys, who helps out fellow teammate Baker by picking him up, treks an additional hour a day for practices that are held in Cary, but views the additional travel time as beneficial.

“It doesn’t take that much (to attend practice) but it is worth it when you are out here playing,” Rys said. “Usually (Baker and I) will use the time to focus on what went on in practice or a game.”

Nathan Smith, a defenseman on the team, is also willing to put in the extra miles. Smith said that the level of competition that the team has played provides a perfect chance for colleges.

“When we travel, we are able to play teams with different skills and levels of competition,” Smith said.

The extra commuting the team members are willing to put in has paid off with a stellar start to the season, but as important provides opportunities for college scouts to view the players year round.

“This is about student-athletes and the student part comes first,” said Wellmen of the College Showcases that the team travels to.  “This gives these athletes a chance to play at some nice college fields when they travel.”

But the Defenders aren’t the only ones willing to do the traveling for the sport they love, as recently they played in a friendly-match against a high school from England, in which Cary battled to a 2-0 victory.

Wellmen, who began his football playing in England, has done some extensive travel himself as he has built an extensive soccer resume that spans two continents and across the U.S. 

He has coached the Defenders since 2003 and is currently coaching the Chicago Fire (Cary U23s), which is joint venture between the Cary Defenders and the Chicago Fire.

For more information on try-outs and the Cary Defenders schedule, visit the Cary Defenders website.