Local Irish Soccer Club to Host Tryouts

ALTON/GODFREY - The Irish Soccer Club will host tryouts next week.

This soccer club invites kids in kindergarten through high school to develop their skills and play advanced soccer. Robert Stephan, the club’s founder, expressed his excitement to start another season with his teams.

“I think the best part is seeing kids enjoy it and develop and improve over time,” he said. “Since 2015, that’s why we’re doing it. I think we have a structure that allows them to enjoy it and get better at the same time.”

Girls will try out May 19 and 21, 2026, with tryouts for high school girls being after the IHSA season concludes.

Boys will try out May 18 and 20. Players are placed according to their birthday using the August 1 to July 31 format. The exact times for each age are on the website, where you can also find an online tool to help determine your child’s age bracket.

All tryouts are at Glazebrook Park in Godfrey, and players must register online. Tryouts are free. Stephan noted the Irish fee structure.

“For the vast majority of club soccer players nationally, there is little long-term return on paying dramatically higher club fees. Fewer than 2% of club players will ultimately play Division 1 college soccer. Pretty much every weekend we play teams who charge double, sometimes triple, what we do, and we often win those matches,” Stephan said. “To us, that reinforces that stronger player development does not have to come with an elite price tag.

“There is a broader pay-to-play issue nationally in youth sports, and we are very mindful of that. We are fortunate to have the support of local sponsors, like Dr. Adam Snyder, who has supported the Club from the beginning.”

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The season starts in the fall and runs through spring 2027.

“It is a commitment, for sure, but we are trying to balance the time it takes to develop skills and still take intentional time off and allow time for other sports,” Stephan said. “The focus is on development over time. Our players go two nights a week, with more as needed or desired by the individual player. The format is intentional to balance player development with long-term sustainability. The goal is to keep that player playing when they reach high school age.”

Many Irish Soccer Club teams do travel, but most of their games are within the Greater St. Louis area. Stephan acknowledged that traveling is “part of the experience,” but often limits the travel to once or twice in the fall and again in the spring. He wants families to have all the benefits of a club soccer team without the stress or cost of traveling unnecessarily.

“More and more clubs are realizing too much travel is a significant barrier to keeping kids playing over time,” he said. “We are trying to strike the right balance. It’s fun to go to Nashville, but there’s some great soccer right here in St. Louis, too.”

The model is working.

“We’ve had a lot of teams through the years who have started at the bottom and been promoted to the top divisions, won tournaments all over the Midwest, and competed well against some very good teams,” he said.

But for Stephan and the Irish coaches, the best part is watching the kids grow as players and people. They work with kids starting at a young age, and many of them go all the way through their high school careers playing for the Irish Soccer Club.

“Seeing somebody when they were 6 all the way up until they’re 18 and the progress that they’ve made along the way — we have players this year who are graduating from high school, who started with us when they were in kindergarten,” he shared. “They’ve been with us the entire time, and many are very good soccer players. Some of them are among the better players in the region. Many who want to play at the next level are getting those opportunities. It’s fun to watch them develop.”

For more information about the Irish Soccer Club, including how to register for tryouts, visit their official website or their official Facebook page.

This Featured Article is sponsored by the Irish Soccer Club. To get your business or organization featured on www.Riverbender.com, contact us at sales@riverbender.com.

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