Twice a week for two hours, members of the Kosiers Futebol Club gather at Karst Farm Park to practice together. This 50-member Korean club soccer team, which began at IU in 2004, recently took home a win at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Korean Soccer Tournament.
While the club is open to any member of the Bloomington community, all are IU students. Many are older, delayed in graduating because Korean males are required to return to South Korea for two years to serve in the military.
The club includes three coaches, a president and vice president, an accountant and several managers. Head Coach Keychul Chung, 26, joined in 2008. Assistant coaches Mingyu Lee, 27, and Yonsung Kim, 25, have been with the club for three years.
“It (was) our first time participating in the UIUC tournament and the first time winning it,” club President Yongseok Ro said.
He said half of the competing teams in the tournament are from UIUC, so “they always win.”
“Since the number of (UIUC) teams decreased, they invited other teams like Indiana, Washington, Purdue and Northwestern, and they didn’t really expect (them) to win,” Ro said.
Chung said the team focuses on playing defensively and “putting pressure” on opponents. He has borrowed strategies from the IU soccer program and adapted them to his own tactics.
At the UIUC tournament, the Kosiers gave up four goals and scored 12 goals in six games.
“That’s our tactic — pressure,” Ro said. “We don’t have as many star players as UIUC did,” Ro said.
But the Kosiers also have Alex Gang, who played professionally for the Korean National Team at age 17. Gang was the team’s top scorer during the tournament with more than five goals. Less experienced players respect him because he helps them further develop their skills, Ro said.
Suyeen Oh, one of the managers, said respect is a central part of the team dynamic, as is responsibility and dedication.
Senior Jay Yun, who joined the Kosiers this semester, said “this is definitely a serious team, not an after-school team.”
The Kosiers play against other IU club teams on the weekends, and right now they’re preparing to host a spring tournament in April, which will take place in Columbus, Ind.
Yun said the high level of competition among players contributes to everyone’s improvement.
Chung said his players’ mixed levels of experience can be difficult to work with. He wants to “produce a good performance” and win tournaments while making the experience enjoyable for each player.
“Some people are really good ... some of my players just started to play ... it’s a difficult thing for me to keep the balance between two kinds of players,” Chung said.
With such a large team, not all players see consistent game time. Some players have to spend time on the bench.
“I have to convince them that we need to win the games so we can be the champion,” Chung said.
At the same time, Ro said creating friendships among players and building a tight-knit team are important to the coaches.
In order to cement the players’ relationships with one another, Ro said the team has taken a cabin retreat and shares dinners “to get people more close.”
Ro said he thinks the efforts to bring the boys together have helped them bring home wins. They are able to rely on each one another when under physical or mental pressure — both on the field and off.
It isn’t about who scores the first goal, Yun said.
“We encourage each other.”
