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The late 1960s and early ’70s were a time of
significant change for Springfield, as its institutions of higher education
— Sangamon State University, Lincoln Land Community College, and the
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine — took shape. The
universities helped make the capital city a more diverse and international
community. It was during this time, in 1968, that a couple of
Turks, Yavuz Gonulsen and Aydin Gonulsen; a Greek, Harold Christofilakos;
and an Englishman, John Watts, led the effort to create the first YMCA
soccer team. The founders were a motley group of European expatriates
— Greeks, Turks, and South Americans plus a few other nationalities,
including three Americans. This group went to Walter Brantley, the YMCA
youth liaison, and asked the YMCA to provide a field for the fledging team.
Brantley told the group that if they wanted a field they would have to
coach youth soccer.
The first year or so, they played on a field, cut with
a hand mower and lined by team members, where the Route 66 Drive-In used to
be.
The initial group included such individuals as Yavuz
Gonulsen, called the grandfather of Springfield soccer; Aydin Gonulsen, the
YMCA coordinator after Brantley’s death and subsequently the coach of
the Sangamon State soccer team; Watts, who went on to referee high-school
games throughout central Illinois; and Christofilakos, who put up the
goalposts for the 12 fields at Sangamon State. (Christofilakos’ son
Peter subsequently became a standout in both football and soccer at Griffin
High School and then a place-kicker for the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.)
The first YMCA program had about 360 youths, with
coaches and referees selected from the YMCA men’s soccer team. In
1968 this men’s team not only coached and refereed the YMCA teams but
also played competitively against Eastern Illinois, McMurray College,
Lincoln College, and other Midwestern schools. Although over age and mostly
ranging from the late twenties through the early forties, the team
performed well against the youthful college teams because of their soccer
experience gained in their native countries. A tight-knit group formed, and
when Walter Reed, a
Scottish bricklayer, died of a heart attack, the players, many of whom were
talented bricklayers and carpenters, came together and helped build a house
for Reed’s widow and children. Development of the YMCA program continued during the
1970s — by 1976 the program had grown to field more than 1,200
players on 58 teams, and in 1978 it expanded to 117 teams, 18 divisions,
and 3,000 or more players — but the Gonulsens, Watts, and others were
not satisfied with the growth of the YMCA soccer program and believed that
soccer should become a local high-school sport. In May 1976, the
Springfield YMCA Soccer Club proposed to District 186 that it establish a
soccer program in the three high schools. After some initial resistance,
$3,000 was raised by the YMCA Soccer Club to help to defray the costs of
starting the program. Concerns included a lack of coaches, referees, and
fields. After the high schools agreed to supply the fields and the YMCA
Soccer Club promised referees and coaches, the program was accepted by the
high schools.
The YMCA, in conjunction with Sangamon State
University, developed the fields next to Sangamon State, and Aydin Gonulsen
became the coach for that school’s team, winning numerous trophies
and awards for the university. David Hicks became the YMCA coordinator and
remained in this position for more than 20 years as the initial program
grew and competitive divisions and leagues were founded. In 1975 and 1976
the men’s team played the University of Illinois, ISU, Blackburn
College, Peoria, Carl Sandburg College, Lincoln College, Bradley
University, Palmer College, the University of Iowa, and Illinois State
University. The fall record was 10-0-1. This team, with players from all
the world’s continents except Australia and Antarctica, was coached
by Yavuz Gonulsen and captained by Aydin Gonulsen. High school soccer in Sangamon County, as well as the
programs at Sangamon State, Lincoln Land, and Springfield College, can all
trace their start to the YMCA team. Only mentioning a few of the many that
helped to develop the program were Yavuz Gonulsen, the grandfather of this
program, Aydin Gonulsen, subsequently the coach at SSU and now Blackburn,
Christofilakos, who later started in the late 1980s indoor soccer at Soccer
World, Watts, who coached and refereed high school teams until his death,
and David Hicks, the long-term liaison with the YMCA.
But for the foresight of these individuals and their
determination, the support of the YMCA in organizing the program, and
Sangamon State’s agreeing to supply fields, Springfield would not
have the soccer programs that it now has. High schools in the Springfield
area are all now fielding competitive teams as good as any those at any
high school in the state. These programs have over the years provided a
sport for more than 40,000 boys and girls.
Ed Cunningham is an attorney at Brown, Hay &
Stephens. He played soccer at the University of Chicago while attending law
school and coached and refereed here for about 20 years. He also served as
vice president of the YMCA Soccer Club.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2007.
