Pitch to Pro
Pitch to Pro is the official podcast of Ozark United FC. This will be our platform to tell our story about the club and the special place that we call home, Northwest Arkansas. This is a journey. We want to bring you along for the ride. We'll share what's going on behind the curtain, help educate the community at large about soccer, Our league, and give updates on the progress of the club along the way.
Together, we'll explore and unpack our journey to professional soccer, the magic that is NWA, our community, and talk all things soccer from on the pitch to behind the scenes, telling the story of our club.
Pitch to Pro
Stoppage Time Special: How a Jersey Told the Marshall Islands’ Story
Our latest Stoppage Time episode reveals the extraordinary efforts of a volunteer team spanning three continents who are determined to ensure the Marshall Islands' place in football history.
The urgency is palpable as Woody Watson explains why this initiative matters: "A nation that possibly might not exist in some capacity in 10 years is able to get their first matches played, is able to have something out there that says, yes, we got this done in time." These islands, barely feet above sea level, represent ground zero for climate change impacts.
We dive into the story behind the award-winning "No Home Kit" – a brilliant white uniform with portions that appear to have dissolved away, symbolizing the gradual erosion of the Marshall Islands' landmass. This powerful visual metaphor recently earned international recognition in Spain, bringing critical exposure to the Marshall Islands' plight and generating donations for sustainability efforts.
Perhaps most remarkable is that this entire initiative runs on passion alone. A team of 20-25 dedicated volunteers across multiple time zones has created something truly impactful without any compensation. From broadcasting specialists donating camera equipment to coaches with international experience, these individuals overcome significant logistical challenges to work together toward a common goal.
What starts as a sports development story transforms into something much more profound, a testament to human resilience, global collaboration, and the power of football to shine a light on our planet's most urgent crises. Listen now to discover how the beautiful game is becoming a lifeline for a nation on the brink of disappearing.
Welcome to the Stoppage Time edition of the Pitch to Pro podcast. This is a highlight reel of some of the best moments from the show so far, and every other week we will be bringing you a special five to seven minute segment featuring the best stories, tales and moments of the podcast.
Speaker 2:A lot of these atolls and islands out in the South Pacific. They're not more than a few feet above sea level at their highest point. So a big reason that we're really really accelerating this program is to make sure that a nation that possibly might not exist in some capacity in 10 years is able to get their first ratchet's plate, is able to have something out there that says, yes, we got this started time. Um, and that goes twofold because this brings so much exposure to what is going on as well. Um, there's donations that fly in, uh, all the time to make sure that, you know, we're giving back and making sure that the sustainability and especially, um, the awareness that people have around the world that this is happening, these are, you know, real scenarios, real situations. So those are, those are really the high level things. We can get into any one of those if we want to, but that's what we're working on right now, outside of some of the smaller events we have.
Speaker 3:No, that's great. I want to keep going on the sustainability piece. Talk a little bit about the no home kit and what you guys did there.
Speaker 2:um, talk a little bit about the no home kit and, uh, what you guys did there, and you guys actually talked about the awards you just won and and uh, you know, yeah, way out there in spain, hopefully we can get a plug-in to uh or a link to the actual no home kit, uh and show people about what it is. But essentially it's uh kits, um, are white secondary uniform that has some pieces that have dissolved off of it, showing that slowly the nation, metaphorically, is being eroded. And that goes right along with what I was just mentioning before this initiative and the program and what everybody on the team in the UK did about this. It was actually giving an award. Lloyd Overs actually got to fly out to Spain and collect this award and I've got a nice little picture of him holding a plant on the stage. I keep that saved on my phone. I really hope that he hears this. But yeah, I keep that on my phone because I thought it was hilarious.
Speaker 2:But yeah, the initiative won an award and each time that that happens, that's not just one of us spreading a link or talking about this or doing a podcast, but these were actual things that people at an international level were recognizing for a lot of the work that had gone in. That's not just face level, that's the level down deeper that. Hey, what does this really mean? We see what you're doing, but what is is the back-end effects that this is going to have, and so, especially if people are recognizing the awards that are given out, sure, that's something that comes of it, but the exposure, again, is the number one thing we're going after.
Speaker 3:All of which are just, I think, incredible. Remind everybody, you guys are all volunteers at this point right.
Speaker 2:We are Myself and Matt Webb joked about that Different story about one of the people that we'll interact with next week. But, yes, we are all volunteers. This is a completely grassroots program. All volunteers, this is a completely grassroots program. Everything that we have done so far comes from the effort that each of the people on our team has done, completely outside of any payroll or work or anything. This is just something we're passionate about.
Speaker 2:I didn't know that I would be this involved when I first signed on. I thought it was going to be. You know, hey, I can help out and give some connections while you're in the area, maybe set up a few meetings, um right, but but it really turned into things that we can be proud of, that are physical, tangible, um uh, pieces there that we had to work on and show our our actual results for and I don't like to think of it in that way, essentially but we've got a group of probably 20, 25 people that are behind the scenes working on all this. Probably half of them are coming in for the event that we're going to have in the next couple of weeks, but we've got people that are doing that, are referees, that are broadcasting and have donated camera supplies straight out to speedio for that.
Speaker 2:Um, people that have a lot of analytical background, know football really well, that have studied the game for years, people that are have international experience with coaching uh, myself I I don't really have, you know, uh, professional soccer experience, but you know, I've known the area for a little while now and I can help set up, uh some some things to throw a good soccer event, and I know what people would like and and so we all have really worked really well as a team, even though I think it's 12 hours difference out to the South Pacific and then it's six hours time difference the other way over to the UK. So we're kind of all working on different schedules, but but the chat between us all is is very consistent on what we have to work together for. So I'm saying that this is a team effort more than anything, because we could have not done it with one, two, three, five tech people. It's taken a lot over the last two years.
Speaker 3:No, I mean, these things are hard, all these projects, whether they're national teams or local clubs, like it's. It's hard and takes dedication and I just applaud you guys and the entire team and anybody who's pitching in to you know, lean in and be a part of the journey. That's good. So you know, kudos and hats off to you guys.
Speaker 1:Thank. So you know, kudos and hats off to you guys.