Lucas Meek started his soccer career at MIFC, playing recreational soccer and later winning spots on the MIHS Boys Varsity Soccer team, EastsideFC and the Sounders Academy. He dreamed of one day playing college soccer.

As reported in a Nov 30 Seattle Times article, Meek joined the UW Men's soccer team as a redshirt midfielder in 2017. What he lost in playing time his first year, he gained in notoriety as the self-described "hype-man" of the team, radiating positivity to his teammates. In 2018, he logged only 3 minutes of game time, making use of his bench time by providing running commentary for game film. In 2019, his dedication and spirit paid off. He started in the season opener, scoring the winning goal in the 1-0 victory. Time and again during a deep 2020 season, Meek came up with a game-winning goal or assist, with a season tally of 6 goals and 7 assists. His coach, Jamie Clark, describes him as "a special human being . . . different from pretty much any player we have ever had before." Meek was instrumental in the team's deep run in the NCAA tournament, ultimately falling to Georgetown.

Lucas offers the following advice for MIFC players who want to play advanced level soccer. "You might be one of the best players on your team now, but when the competition gets stiffer, you will have to work hard and prove you can play at the next level. If it's your dream to play college soccer, go for it. You don't want to wake up one day and realize you wish you were playing college soccer, but you didn't put in that little bit of extra time to communicate with the coach about who you are and how you can help the team."

Justin Bross coaches the BU10 Outlaws. He is enthusiastic and beloved by his team, so we asked him to comment on his experience coaching for MIFC. Here is what he had to say:

Volunteering as a coach is a great way to give back to the sport I grew up playing and to Mercer Island. I enjoy playing with the kids and am proud of their improvement in decision making, communication and teamwork skills. It’s great to see my players gain confidence through soccer, though not everyone is successful right away. For some, it doesn’t come together in one season. Seeing kids take risks and persevere through the learning process is a lesson I get from them as well.

What I find most challenging as a coach is the sense of responsibility to the families and players to be “perfect” with the team. If a practice doesn’t work out the way I plannes, or I didn’t communicate to a player the right way for them to receive a message, it can feel like I’m failing. Thankfully, MIFC and USA Soccer have great resources to help develop coaches and build on continuous improvement.

I first volunteered to coach with some hesitation, hearing horror stories from others about bad parents, bad kids and disorganized clubs. My experience after many seasons in MIFC has been 100% the opposite. MIFC families have been so encouraging of the players, kids have built lasting friendships and everyone across the club supports building positive outcomes for the sport and our community.  We ask our kids to participate and take the risk in joining a soccer program, I’d encourage all the parents to do the same. Find ways to be involved with MIFC and the growth of the players.