Interview With . . . Archives

by NISA Network Staff November 14, 2023

Community, Responsibility, Unity: Josh Prutch’s Experiences at the Akshardham Temple

By Sebastian Johnson One of the four core beliefs of Hinduism is “dharma,” a word that translates roughly to duty or responsibility. A large part of dharma is one’s duty to their own community - and cooperation between community members. This core belief of Hinduism colored NISA Executive Vice President of Expansion Josh Prutch’s recent trip to the magnificent BAPS Shri Swaninarayan Akshardham Temple in Robbinsville, NJ. “During the final phases of ...

by NISA Network Staff June 20, 2023

Chattanooga FC , EDI , Featured , Interview Series , Interview With . . . , Latest News

A Storied Career: Juan Hernandez and The Next Step

By: Sebastian Johnson Juan Hernandez has accomplished things few men have. Over his 126 games played for Chattanooga FC (CFC), the second most ever played for the club, he became their sixth-leading scorer of all-time and their all-time leader in assists. Now, as Hernandez looks to the future, he prepares to take the next step in his storied career – and it’s a step he’s been preparing for since he was ...

by NISA Network Staff May 24, 2023

EDI , Featured , Interview Series , Interview With . . . , Latest News , Savannah Clovers FC

Club, Community, Culture – Clovers

Interview by Sebastian Johnson In the summer of 2006, a bored Brian Sykes was looking for something to watch on TV when he came across the world’s most popular event - the FIFA World Cup. He didn’t expect it to be much more than something to have on in the background, but to his own surprise he was immediately taken with the fluidity and pace of the sport. “Call it a stroke ...

by NISA Network Staff October 19, 2022

EDI , Featured , Flower City Union , Interview Series , Interview With . . . , Latest News

Giancarlo Canas-Jarquin: Flying High with Flower City Union

By S.T. Weller It is a quintessential Los Angeles day sometime around 2004. Sunshine rains down from the sky. Even the ubiquitous L.A. basin smog has abated, making the sky a resplendent blue. The scene: Whittier Park in Whittier, Calif., 12 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and spectators young and old, gather along the sidelines of the soccer field. The CASSAL youth soccer league (“Los ...

by NISA Network Staff September 20, 2022

ALBION San Diego , EDI , Featured , Interview Series , Interview With . . . , Latest News

Alioune Diakhate: A Banner Season with ALBION San Diego

By Sam Weller Photo by David Frerker 6229 miles is a long way to travel to pursue a dream. But the distance from the west coast of Africa to sunny San Diego, Calif., is all part of the journey that began for Alioune Diakhate when he was a little boy. Sometime between the ages of five and seven years of age, Diakhate, who was born and raised in Dakar, the capital of ...

by NISA Network Staff June 4, 2022

AC Syracuse , EDI , Featured , Interview Series , Interview With . . . , Latest News

Alexander Satrustegui: A Long Way From Home

By Sebastian Johnson When Alexander Satrustegui was three years old, his family uprooted their lives in his birthplace of San Sebastian, Spain, and moved to his father’s hometown of Pamplona - a city 80 kilometers inland from the port town. It was an important moment in Satrustegui’s life, for Pamplona was the place where he truly fell in love with the sport of soccer. “I started playing soccer [in Pamplona] at a ...

by NISA Network Staff October 19, 2021

California United Strikers FC , EDI , Featured , Interview Series , Interview With . . . , Latest News

Family, Community, Soccer

by Sebastian Johnson It’s hard to imagine the work that goes into running a professional sports team. It’s a tall task to be sure - one that could leave even the most die-hard of fans feeling that they bit off more than they could chew. Suffice it to say, running a sports team is not a job for the faint of heart, and few know that better than Bronwyn Capriotti. Capriotti was ...

by NISA Network Staff September 16, 2021

Photo Credit: Dan Bartel/ Chicago House AC

Chicago House AC , EDI , Featured , Interview Series , Interview With . . . , Latest News

Sociology, Criminology, Soccer

by Sebastian Johnson | Photo Credit: Dan Bartel / Chicago House AC Chicago House forward AR Smith remembers the shock he felt the first few weeks attending Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind.. “I went to Butler, which is a PWI,” he says. “That is, a ‘primarily white institution.’ I was one of a handful of black people even attending the school, to begin with...I was often the only black student in many ...

by NISA Network Staff September 9, 2021

Featured , Interview Series , Interview With . . . , Latest News

We Are NISA Nation: An Interview with Pioneer Premier League Commissioner Desmond Armstrong

By Alexa Doebler Last week, the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) proudly announced an amateur league affiliation with the new Tennessee-based Pioneer Premier League (PPL). The Pioneer Premier League is owned and led by Desmond Armstrong and his business partner. Desmond himself is a pioneer in the American game as the first Black player born in the United States to start for the USA at a FIFA World Cup (Italia '90), ...

by NISA Network Staff September 3, 2021

EDI , Featured , Interview Series , Interview With . . . , Latest News , Stumptown AC

Kevin Gonzalez Is The Perfect Man For The Job

By Sebastian Johnson It takes a special type of person to be a goalkeeper. A goalkeeper isn’t just another element of a team’s defense - far from it, in fact. The goalkeeper is the final defensive measure a team has, tasked with possibly the most crucial job on the pitch. Professional soccer players can send a ball towards the goal at speeds up to 80 miles per hour. It takes a unique ...