Skip to content

Testimonials - Don't just take our word for it!

Why do I love DBSS? I love DBSS because the club uses an age appropriate curriculum that develops the player’s skills and confidence in a positive environment. The coaching staff works incredibly hard building relationships with players which results in teams built on trust and accountability. Excellence is the goal, but coaches meet players where they are and recognize that excellence looks different for each player. This approach takes a lot of time and may not translate into immediate wins, but the end result is a well-rounded player capable of playing at a high level.

Though my kids have gained amazing soccer skills at DBSS, I’m more impressed with the “off the field” skills they’ve learned from the DBSS coaching staff. Responsibility, accountability, respect, trust, honesty, and self-sacrifice are just some of the values that the coaches have helped instill in my children. The coaches never miss an opportunity to build character. 
 
The club culture is another area that separates DBSS from other clubs and probably my absolute favorite part of being in the club. Coaches get the results they want from players by modeling the behavior they want to see and taking the time to mentor players. This has resulted in older and more skilled players taking younger players under their wings and those younger players eagerly soaking up any knowledge or skill they can. Before and after practice you’ll often see kids of all ages in a group trying to master a new skill. At games and tournaments you’ll often find players from other club teams showing up to support their club mates (both older and younger). I truly think this all stems from the coaches treating each player with dignity and respect. Each player knows they matter and they need to show up…on and off the field.

Dawn Zaki

When my 7 year old daughter, Gabby, finished up her AYSO rec season in the spring of 2021, she told me that soccer was something she wanted to do more of. More practice, more games, more everything. I reached out four local clubs to ask them questions about their youth programs, and got canned responses from 3 out of the 4 – “please look at our website for more information.” But DBSS’s youth development director sent me a long email about the club’s philosophy, history, style, and even invited us to attend one of their U9 practices so we could see what it was like for ourselves.

We attended a Tuesday practice the following week. Gabby recognized a few of the kids from her school, and jumped right in. It was organized, fast paced, and FUN. All of the coaches we’ve worked with at DBSS are positive, energetic, and great with the kids. There’s no yelling or screaming (unless they do something *brilliant*, then you’ll definitely hear some noise from the sideline). The U9 coach was up front with me and told me at that young age, they’re not specifically teaching the kids “how to win games,” they’re taught how to be individually skilled on the ball, use moves (Maradonas, scissors, chops, etc.), and be creative!
 
Gabby tried out for the team in June of 2021, played U9 for the club, and we’re now in our spring season of U10. She’s gotten opportunities to practice with the U11, and even play in a handful of games when needed. She even competed in the United States Technical Championships (USTC’s) in Indianapolis since the club is affiliated with the Meulensteen Method. Her confidence has skyrocketed, she’s improving at every practice. The most important thing to me, despite how much she practices and plays, she still LOVES THE GAME, and I have to give DBSS most of the credit for that. I couldn’t tell you how many games the girls won in Gabby’s first season, but I can tell you we saw a ton of growth. 
 
If anyone is thinking about giving travel soccer a shot, or thinking about changing clubs for the fall of 2024, I highly recommend reaching out to the club, consider coming to a practice, and seeing what they have to offer. We’re glad we did.

Justin Reynolds

We first came to DBSS in the spring session of U10. We figured it was good timing to “try out club soccer” without the full year commitment, and coming over from AYSO we needed a bit more of a challenge.  After the first few games, we were discouraged with how things were going. All the opponents looked far more cohesive and we second-guessed the decision for most of the spring season.  We did discuss our concerns with Coach Greg and he assured us that things will get better and to just hang in there. It seems like they all start that way and it does get better, they do evolve and flip a switch.  We went and watched a couple games of the girls team that was one year older than our girls and hoped we would see that level of improvement after a year.

We trusted the process and the methods, and watched as our girls went from a challenging spring U10 season, to going undefeated 8-0 in the fall of our U11 season.  They all progressed in such a magical way.  We love the group of girls, our parent group feels like a second family and trust the process of everything we face as a group. The coaching aspect does shift from U10, letting them navigate learning to just possess the ball and be more selfish, to U11 they actually get more technical on where they need to be, how to flip the field, figuring out their positions more in depth and more of a team playing dynamic. 

It is super hard to watch your kiddos struggle in the beginning and super frustrating as a parent, but I am here to say there is a reason for the madness in the beginning.  They are building that individual confidence and turning each player into one full cohesive team!

Jessica Walters

Club Sponsors

Contact Us

email: dan.bulley@bulleysoccer.com

Address: DBSS PO Box 2078 Portage, MI 49081

Phone: 269-924-8704