Manchester Youth Soccer League was conceived in 1979 by Karl Pfeiffer, Merrick Counsel, Dick Engel, and Charles (Chip) Chamberlain - MYSL's founding fathers. It was actually Dick Engel who got the proverbial ball rolling. Reason - John Engel (Pam and Dick's son) had played soccer in the Atlanta GA area
and they wanted it to continue here in Manchester VT. After Dick had gained the support of Karl, Merrick, and Chip, the group sought the help of John Werner in Arlington. John had organized the Southwestern Vermont Youth Soccer League (SWVYSL) in 1975 consisting then of just 3 towns - Arlington, Bennington, and Pownal. MYSL became the 4th participating club in the 1980 fall season. Since then, John Werner has been a mentor to MYSL by hosting annual coaching clinics; providing administrative guidance; and instilling a club philosophy focused on learning, sportsmanship, and fun. In recognition of John's hard work and devotion to SWVYSL, the league was renamed in 2011 - John Werner Youth Soccer League (JWYSL).
MYSL celebrated its 30th anniversary at Mulligan's Restaurant in November of 2008. Attending that night were Dick Engel, Karl Pfeiffer, Merrick Counsel, John Werner and Geof Chamberlain (standing in for his dad Chip) - picture above right. Also present were “old guard” MYSL alumni Bill Drunsic, Dom Penge, Brian and Errol Hill; past club presidents Steve Houseman, Tom Smith, Mark Read, and John Sullivan; 2008 MYSL coaches Todd Nebraska, Tom Grabher, Jeff Barclay, Sue Cottrell, and Jim Sullivan; and 2008 MYSL board members Karen Grabher, Les Jorgensen, Barry Brown, and Pat Zilkha.
The evening was filled with good cheer and reflection amongst the “old timers”. Special recognition was given to Fred Hansen and his wife Judy for their long time club leadership. Fred served as president for ~15 years while Judy provided secretarial and moral support. After Fred's departure, a board was formed to take on the responsibilities the Hansen's had done by themselves for so many years. MYSL’s first board included Steve Houseman (president), Keith Michl (secretary/treasurer), Ron Houser (registrar/uniforms), Dick Stillson (coaching coordinator), and Jim Klick (field supervisor). Since then, countless people have served on the board, become coaches and/or referees, and performed other duties to guarantee a quality product year after year.
Some noteworthy history discussed at the party.
In the early years MYSL was primarily made up of boys with a few brave girls sprinkled in. "Boy" have things changed since then.
In 1983 SWVTYL offered a spring season for the 7th and 8th graders. Later, Fred Hansen organized an "all-star" SWVYSL team which competed in the Vermont State Cup and other regional tournaments(eg. Buffalo NY). However, spring soccer was disbanded in the late 1990's due to the draw of other sports (eg. lacrosse, baseball) and the advent of premier soccer clubs such as Mountain and Southern Vermont Soccer (SVS).
In 1986 Chip Chamberlain formed the 1st all girls fall team - a combo 5th/6th grade (U12). Chip also coached the first 4th grade girls team in 1989.
In 1990 Paul Wheeler started a kindergarten program. Prior to that, 2nd grade was the entry level for MYSL fall soccer.
In 1991 John Clift built benches for our soccer fields to provide a more comfortable game experience for the travel teams.
By 1992 the SWVYSL had grown to to 11 participating clubs: MYSL, West River, Arlington, NorShaft, Bennington, Pownal, and Wilmington in Vermont; Salem, Cambridge, Hoosick Falls, and Berlin in New York State. Later, Pownal was merged with the Bennington club; Wilmington left the leauge; and West River temporarily left but returned a few years later under the guidance of Craig Henson.
In 1995 Steve Houseman formed the first official MYSL board and became the club's 3rd president (Chip Chamberlain 1st/Fred Hansen 2nd). After a couple of years, Steve was succeeded by Tom Smith then Mark Read, Doug Colson, and John Sullivan. In 2008 Steve began his second stint as president.
In 1999 MYSL separated the 3rd grade girls and boys and later did likewise with the second graders. Today, only the kindergarten and 1st graders play coed.
In 2008 MYSL set up a website to communicate better with parents and be a soccer learning center for its players.
Dates Non-Specific
Manchester Raiders was the original name for our travel teams. Chip Chamberlain later changed it to Manchester United to reflect our multiple town participation (Manchester, Dorset, Danby, Rupert, etc.) plus it tied the club symbolically to the world's most renowned professional team.
Field Usage - In the first 2-3 years (1980-1982) MES was home to MYSL. The 2 large fields besides and in front of the school were used for practices and games. As our club grew, MYSL claimed 2 unused areas at the Manchester Rec. - a field near the Catholic Church (later called the "Knapp Field" in 
honor of Eric Knapp) and an area inside the horse track (next to the now defunct adult softball diamond). By the mid 1980's, additional space was developed in front of the swimming pool running perpendicular to the Knapp field. This "Pool Field" was also called the "Short Field" or the "Rock Garden" (Bill Drunsic spent hours picking up stones to insure safe play). By the late 1980's, 2nd and 3rd graders had joined our program so an additional area (beside the Lion's Barn) was developed for their practices. In the mid 1990's, the SWVYSL decided to change the travel team format (grades 4-6) to 7 vs. 7 play. MYSL had to quickly add 2 more small fields in addition to the 2 Lion's Barn fields. These were placed inside the horse track replacing the full sized field. The travel teams now played on these 4 small fields while abandoning play on the Knapp, Pool, and MES/MEMS fields. When construction of Applejack field wiped out the 2 horse track fields, our club was allowed to create two small fields at MEMS - one inside the large field next to the school bus garage and the other in an empty space behind the school adjacent to the playground. Finally, MYSL had to vacate these MEMS fields due to its overuse by both the school and our club. As a result, 2 fields were laid out inside the senior league baseball diamond at the Manchester Rec.
Field Maintenance - In the 1980's and early 1990's, fields were lined with lime (sometimes mixed with 
Roundup for a once per season treatment) but Fred Hansen changed to paint to be more "green" conscious. Many of the soccer goals were built at Stanley Tools in Shaftsbury VT - Fred Hansen was the plant manager. Coaches were responsible for setting up goals/nets and laying out/lining fields. Currently, the MPR sets up and takes down the goals/nets while MYSL still does the field layout and lining.
Equipment Storage - In the early years, Fred Hansen's barn on Route 7A was the storage facility for balls, cones, pinnies, etc. The bags of lime and lining equipment were stored in a small shed at the MPR between the tennis and basketball courts. In the 1990's, Tom Smith renovated a space underneath the MPR grandstand to become our new storage facility for everything. However, with the advent of Applejack field, the equipment was moved to Doug Colson's barn in Dorset VT. Doug was president of MYSL at that time. Since 2008 our equipment has been stored in the basement of GateHouse Financial Advisors LLP.
6th Grade SWVYSL Tournament - A Saturday round robin tournament has been held as an annual finale to the 6th grade fall season. This tradition began in the early 1980's, dicontinued for a period of time (late 80's - early 90's), but was reincarnated sometime in the mid/late 1990's. Again this jamboree was put on hold when MEMS fields were no longer an option and AppleJack dsplaced our 2 fields inside the old horse track. However, with the construction of Eckhardt and McClellan fields in 2016, a 6th girls jamboree was reinstituted.
Uniforms - In the 1980's, travel teams wore navy blue tee shirts and "anything goes" shorts and socks. Sometime during the 1990's we went to royal blue and white uniforms but in 2004 switched to green and white uniforms to be more "BBA-like". In 2009 Karen Grabher (board member) changed the color to the current navy with red and white trim (America's team with a British name).
2nd and 3rd graders gained a week night session in addition to their traditional Saturday morning practice. Now just the kindergarten and first grade kids play on Saturdays only.
Outdoor accessible bathrooms at the MPR became available with a renovation of the pool house. This replaced kids going into town or into the bushes.
MYSL is now in its 4th decade serving the greater Manchester area. Since our 30th anniversary party, some noteworthy accomplishments and events are:
- In 2009 Steve Houseman collaborated with Peter Mull and Dan Deforest to establish the BBA
Mentor Program which allows high school players to give back to the MYSL some of the volunteerism they received during their K-6 years. Program details can be found under "BBA Mentor Program" - right margin.
- In 2011 the MYSL Obstacle Course and MYSL Juggling Club were set up to work on ball control skills for all age groups. Again, details can be found in the right margin of this website.
- In 2016 three major events took place. First, an area north of AppleJack field (the old horse track/grandstand) was developed with irrigation and sod into two full length (125 X 75 yards) fields. Each full size field has two cross fields for usage by MYSL. These fields were named in honor of John G. Eckhardt and Joseph McClellan - two great teachers/coaches at BBA. Second, John S. Werner started a TOPSoccer program in southern Vermont (Arlington) servicing the JWYSL area. TOPSoccer is a program for youth athletes with disabilities. Steve Houseman was the contact person and certified coach from MYSL. Third, Cambridge NY club decided to drop out of the JWYSL and join CDYSL (Capital District in Albany NY). However, Wilmington VT had rejoined the JWYSL in 2015 to keep the league at 9 teams. Note, Cambridge NY decided to rejoin the JWYSL in 2017.
- March 2, 2018 - John A. Werner, founder of the SWVYSL (later renamed the JWYSL) died at age 68. He will be missed by administrators, coaches, parents, players, and everyone else who knew this wonderful person.
- May 15, 2019 - Steve Houseman elected president of the JWYSL
- August 2019 - 3rd grade girls became the first travel team in the JWYSL at their age. The following year (2020), 3rd grade boys would become part of the travel program.
- September 2020 - the 1st and 2nd grades were combined by gender. Emphasis was put on 4v4 small-sided play with a jamboree including participating clubs in the JWYSL.
- September 2021 - all grades except kindergarten are grouped by gender and combo grades. U8 is 1st/2nd grade - U10 is 3rd/4th grade - U12 is 5th/6th grade. This was done to increase the number of players per team considering the declining school population.
In Summary
MYSL is and always has been an independent non-profit organization. Its success has been attributed to a symbiotic relationship with the Manchester Rec. and area schools plus a healthy dose of non-stop volunteerism. All in all, it has produced a 30+ year "home run" for the entire community.
Pictures - All pictures on this webpage can be enlarged by clicking on the pic. Also, additional pics can be found in the club photo album found in the right margin.
Author - After the 30th anniversary celebration, I felt it necessary to get our club history documented. Since I didn't join MYSL until 1989, I needed (and received) a lot of help from Chip Chamberlain and Fred Hansen to fill in the "early years" (1979-1988) and refresh my memory thereafter. However, there's a lot of stuff unintentionally left out. Please email me with your recollections and any pictures to add to our historical album.
Thanks,
Steve Houseman
