River Light FC

Welcome everyone to another interview conducted by LowerLeagueUSA with a club around the nation. If you’re new to our website, we like to highlight clubs, players, coaches, and more when it comes to the lower leagues. Today we got an opportunity to speak with Charlie Latshaw III, the sporting director of River Light FC.

Hello Charlie, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions about your club so we can highlight things that stand out about River Light FC.

For those unfamiliar, tell us more about the Fox Valley area, and your ties to the area.

The Fox Valley is a geographical region in the western and northwestern suburbs of Chicagoland consisting of communities that sit along the Fox River. I am a native of the northern Fox Valley while the club owner Chad Swieka is a native of the Southern Fox Valley and Aurora in particular. 

What made you want to start a club in the Fox Valley?

The Fox Valley sits a considerable ways away from the professional sports teams based out of Chicago with the only local minor league sports team being The Kane County Cougars which play baseball. The southern Fox Valley has a wealth of local soccer talent and has a need and want for family-friendly entertainment. The local demographic has been vocal in regards to their demand for a professional or pre-professional soccer team based out of Aurora. Considering our familiarity with the region, having coached previously at the level locally as well as working extensively in Chicagoland over the past two decades, coupled with the community’s hunger for soccer it seemed like an ideal location for our expansion franchise. 

Have you found a home in the region yet? If so, where will you call home?

We have been in discussions with multiple venues in and around Aurora that meet minimum standards for USL2/W but have not confirmed a venue for 2024 at this point. In general our home will be the City of Aurora, IL. 

(Since conducting the interview, River Light FC has announced that they will be playing at Spartan Athletic Complex for the 2024 season)

Your club was recently announced as a USL L2 expansion, with clubs in your area that compete in multiple leagues, what stood out to you about USL League Two?

Amongst the leadership group we have experienced many levels of the adult game whether it be WPSL, MWPL, USL2, USLW as well as other local adult leagues. As a manager, I have achieved success previously in the USL ecosystem during my time leading Chicago City during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. We felt that we wanted to play at the highest level possible, using the best players available in the region. It’s our opinion that the USL offers us the opportunity to do both of these things. Additionally, we have future ambitions of a fully professional side which the USL ecosystem provides the best pathway towards. 

How do you plan on getting your club involved within the community?

From a community perspective we have already been working closely with the communities of Kane County and the Greater Fox Valley Region. We plan to have monthly community engagement events, participation in community sponsored events, as well as multiple opportunities to volunteer within the community beyond just the game. In addition to these non-soccer events, we are also planning programs which will make soccer accessible to all members of the community. These events are primarily centered around supporting the local players’ pathway beyond what their local clubs offer. These programs include community accessible mini pitch, College ID Showcases, Camps, clinics, club guest coaching events, Club neutral futures training, education seminars, and futsal tournaments. We aim to be a club that supports the overall community as well as one that supports the local players and their personal ambitions. 

One of the hardest things to do in lower league soccer is not only to get fans to the game but to keep them coming back for more. How do you intend to make a matchday atmosphere that makes the fans want to do exactly that?

Firstly the game will be an affordable safe environment to come spend your evening. We have many things planned for games such as local bands for each home game’s pre-game festivities, bounce houses and other child friendly activities, as well as participation from a vibrant local supporters group. Above all else we intend on being competitive from day one using players from the community. We are hopeful that with our support of local clubs and local community ventures we can build a fan base that is eager to support the team on the field. Through an engaging and entertaining game day experience we hope to build one of the best game day environments within the division and league as a whole. In addition to league play, we also intend to have multiple professional friendlies each summer, bringing professional teams into Chicagoland for our fans to see. 

What are some short term and long term goals you have for the club?

In the short term, on the field, the expectation is to be competitive on the national scale in both the women’s and men’s environment. Our goal is to be in the top 10% of the league for home attendance. Long term, on the field, we have [the] ambition to become fully professional. Off the field we hope to truly make an impact in the community, whether it be for the player or the community growth in general. We want to be role models for the young players in the region and give them something to aspire to become. Most importantly building something the community can be proud of for years to come.  

Are there any clubs you look at for inspiration while building your own club?

The USL ecosystem gives us plenty of clubs to provide us with inspiration. We have met with numerous successful path to pro clubs over the past months to learn from their experiences. Some of the USL P2P clubs that we admire would be; Des Moines Menace, Vermont Green, Lionbridge, Minnesota Aurora, Michigan Bucks, and Ballard FC. All of these teams have a vibrant fan culture and success on the field. Long term we look at success stories such as One Knoxville and Detroit City FC for inspiration due to their successful transition from amateur clubs to the professional level. For myself, I’ve always loved clubs such as Athletico Bilbao and Chivas Guadaljuara who have a distinct commonality using players from a certain area. This is something you will see in our rosters; a clear and strong tie to Chicagoland.

My favorite thing about interviewing is learning a lot about the differences each club has while building from the ground up. Thank you very much for your time Charlie, I learned a lot, and I hope the readers will as well. I wish you and River Light FC success in your inaugural season, and beyond. We look forward to doing another interview with you in the future.

Please make sure to follow River Light FC, USL L2, and LowerLeagueUSA on social media. You can find the links below.