Goodrich- Harry Flotemersch is obsessed with land. He thinks of it in terms of acreage, elevation, location and price. He needs a vast area of flat, dry, healthy land.
Flotemersch needs a soccer complex.
Goodrich Soccer Club is one of the only clubs in the surrounding area not to have a centralized soccer complex.
‘We’re behind the times in terms of our soccer program,? said Flotemersch, soccer club president.
The Goodrich Soccer Club consists of 300 players in various age groups, playing on either recreational or travel leagues. There are a dozen fields on seven different locations, including the Goodrich Middle School, Oaktree Elementary, Atlas Baptist Church, Crossroads Community Church, Reid Elementary, and Victory Outreach Church.
‘Churches are very interested in supplying us with land,? said Flotemersch. ‘We mow their fields and get them up to soccer standards while bringing traffic to the church.?
Despite the number of locations, the club owns none of the land it uses.
‘We put money into the fields we play on, spend time caring for them, but we don’t own any of them. We could be kicked off at any time,? said Flotemersch.
The club has been raising money in order to buy 30-40 acres of land. During the Buick Open, the soccer club manned The Buick Experience, a shuttle service.
‘We shuttled thousands of fans to and from the course. Buick makes a charitable donation based on our efforts,? said Chad Toms, organizer of the club’s event.
The soccer club has worked the Buick Experience for three years and accumulated thousands of dollars.
Money is not the problem.
The problem is, no suitable amount of land has become available.
‘If I could rub a magic lantern and have a wish, I’d want a farmer to lease a portion of land for $1 a year for 20 years,? said Rick Kerkechian, Goodrich Soccer Club field manager.
‘We would even name the complex after him,? he said with a laugh.