By: Maddy Johnson

When you walk onto the recreational fields on Tuesday night you will find Louis Tanguy, senior at the University of Oregon, and the rest of the club soccer team putting on cleats, pulling goals onto the field, and starting to warm up. The bright lights, cold crisp air, and the sound of 17 men yelling and cheering sets the mood for practice in the late evening. Louis, President and Assistant Coach, says, “we are more than just a team, I have been surrounded by these men for my entire college career, they are like family.” What keeps this team so close is the bonding on and off the field and the dedication these players have to the sport.

Louis has been playing soccer his whole life. He started at age six and continued playing competitively throughout high school and college. His commitment and determination came at a price when he was forced into retirement because of too many concussions during his sophomore year. Louis woke up the morning after the doctor gave him the devastating news of his career ending concussion, and knew he had to find a different way to stay involved with the sport. After meeting with the head coach first thing Monday morning, Louis became the President and assistant coach of the University of Oregon men’s club soccer team. “I wasn’t ready to give up the sport I loved, being the assistant coach and President was the perfect way to stay involved,” says Louis. He is now in charge of scheduling practices and games, making travel itineraries, and dealing with finances for the team. In previous years, the men’s soccer team received $4,000 from the school. This money was used to cover uniforms, travel expenses, fields and referee fees, and tournament prices. Every year, Louis meets with the University and discusses next year’s budget. After the meeting last month, the men’s soccer team discovered that they will be losing a major portion of funding from the school. Louis is meeting with the school again next month to see if the budget can be renegotiated. Without funding, it would be very difficult to play in tournament that the team has participated in during past years.

Louis hopes to see funding for club sports improve in the future. “We represent the school just as much as any other team here. We are respectful young adults and always display the University of Oregon positively when we travel,” Louis explains. He plans to stay involved by overseeing the program and continuing to meet with the school to negotiate funding. Louis believes that overtime, the school will understand the importance of funding the university club soccer team.