September 28, 2025 • 34 mins
Serkan Orsan discusses how Kings Hammer Soccer Club has grown from its' Cincinnati roots to serve nearly 10,000 youth players across four states, with a mission focused on developing both athletes and community members through soccer.
• Kings Hammer operates in eight regions across Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Florida
• The club offers competitive programs, recreational opportunities, and hosts about 40 events annually
• Kings Hammer provides scholarship programs to ensure financial barriers don't prevent participation
• Serkan emphasizes the importance of meaningful partnerships with local businesses rather than simple sponsorships
• The club's mission centers on inspiring, encouraging, and empowering young people
• Soccer teaches crucial life skills including teamwork, discipline, and resilience
• The organization is preparing for increased interest as the 2026 World Cup approaches
• Parents should view youth soccer as an investment in personal development beyond athletic skills
Visit www.kingshammer.com to learn more about our programs and partnership opportunities, or contact Serkan directly at 404-422-5793.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
SPEAKER_01 (00:12):
Thank you, Charlie.
Yes, I am Mike Murphy, host ofthe Good Neighbor Podcast.
We talk to local businesses, uhinfluencers, movers and shakers
in northern Kentucky.
And uh we talk to people who youyou may have heard of them, you
may have heard of their theirbusiness, um, their whatever
(00:33):
they're doing, uh, but you don'tknow a lot about them.
And I hope to change that.
So with me today is SarkanOrson, correct?
SPEAKER_02 (00:42):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (00:43):
With King's Hammer.
Um, so when we hear King'sHammer, we think soccer, but I I
do not know a lot about King'sHammer and what your mission is,
and that's why you're sittingdown with me today.
You're going to sort of educateme and you're going to educate
the community.
Many people out there know youbecause I hear your name all the
(01:04):
time, and I know a lot of soccerpeople.
I have a lot of soccer friends,but I grew up in a different
time and era where it was allabout American football.
So we're going to uh learn alittle bit more about King's
Hammer today.
So, Sarkan, welcome to the show.
And please tell me, um, tell usa little bit about yourself and
(01:24):
tell us about King's Hammer.
SPEAKER_02 (01:26):
Yeah, well, thanks for having me, Murph.
Um, I am delighted to be here,actually.
Uh, the name is obviously SarkanOrsan.
It sounds like a superhero name,but uh, you know, it does.
I don't intend to save people'slives, but you know, hopefully
we try to impact them as much aspossible.
I am here with King's HammerSoccer Club.
Um, it's a phenomenal soccerclub, it's a youth soccer club
(01:48):
uh dedicated to developing youngathletes and eventually
strengthen the local communityas well through soccer programs.
Um, I am actually Turkishoriginally, uh, but moved to the
United States 30 years ago toSan Diego, California, sunny
California.
Okay.
Got my MBA, uh, stayed here fora long time, lived in Atlanta,
lived in San Francisco,eventually lived in Nashville,
(02:11):
uh, where I actually led theKing Sammer uh down in
Nashville, uh, Middle Tennesseearea.
And then three months ago, Iactually moved to Cincinnati,
North Kentucky area, and I'mreally excited to be here.
SPEAKER_01 (02:22):
Okay.
Well, you know, you mentionedthe various different places
you've been, and you mentionedKing's Hammer down in Nashville.
So me being kind of ignorant toyou know the King's Hammer
world, I thought King's Hammerwas just a since in anything,
but that's not the case,correct?
SPEAKER_02 (02:40):
No, not at all.
Actually, um King's Hammer hasbeen around for uh probably over
20 years.
It's a combination of King'sSoccer Club with Hammer FC
merging together back in the dayuh in this region, but
eventually they've gotten uh bigin terms of uh providing these
services to a lot of soccerplayers, youth soccer players,
anywhere from age you know sevento 19 um youth soccer players.
(03:05):
Um they've eventually uhpartnered with a club called
Murphy's Boro Soccer Club inNashville area where I was the
executive director.
So um after that merger, weactually expanded the program to
uh uh Lakeland, Florida area,very close to Tampa Hub in
Florida.
We do have a region in PanamaCity.
Um we actually have a uh a clubin uh Ohio, up in Ohio,
(03:30):
Columbus, New Albany.
So we have many regions, uh upto four states now.
So we have you know aspirationsto hopefully become become
national.
SPEAKER_01 (03:40):
Okay, well, at any given moment, how many youths,
how many soccer players areinvolved with King's Hammer
program across the region?
SPEAKER_02 (03:53):
Across the regions, yeah, that's a good question.
I mean, there are a lot ofdifferent programs, obviously.
You can consider competitiveprograms that players compete at
higher level.
Uh, we have programs that'scalled grassroots or
recreational.
Uh, we're up to almost 10,000players as a whole King Sammer
uh soccer club.
(04:13):
Uh, these, you know, again, fourstates, uh eight different
regions expanding.
When you also consider certaincamps and uh clinics that we
hold, we do hold about 10,000players.
Uh, we also have event portionof our uh business that we try
to provide additionaltournaments for those teams that
(04:35):
might not be uh King Samuraiteams.
So around annually, we do haveabout 40 events that span from
anywhere to Indiana, uhtri-state area here, obviously
down to Florida, um, thenTennessee.
Uh, we do hold about 40 events.
SPEAKER_01 (04:54):
Okay.
So, what's a typical day looklike for you?
Uh, what is your role withinKing's Hammer and what do you do
day to day?
SPEAKER_02 (05:03):
So I oversee the corporate affairs and
partnerships at King's Hammer,you know, eventually supporting
all the programs and events.
Uh that gives the kids theopportunity to grow both on and
off the field.
So, my day-to-day job isactually, you know, making sure
that everybody knows aboutKing's Hammer and the
opportunities that we provide.
We obviously have players thatcan't pay to play, so we do have
(05:25):
a scholarship program that wetry to fund.
So I'm in charge of making surethat we have enough funds to be
able to promote this sport forevery player that wants to play.
So at any given day, you can seeme at the Chamber of Commerce uh
trying to rub elbows with uhpartners that would like to
support us, uh, but in returnthat we could support them as
(05:47):
well.
So, you know, when we talk aboutsponsorships, I don't want
people to think that we just youknow put their banner and call
it a day.
We do really want to partnerwith them and tell their story
too, because we really believein the partnership that any type
of uh opportunity that comesalong, we want that brand to
support us as much as we cansupport them.
(06:08):
I mean, we do have a greatnetwork of parents, uh, we have
a great uh corporation thathelps us achieve what we want to
achieve.
So whenever we talk aboutpartnerships, it's through a
collaboration.
SPEAKER_01 (06:21):
So the the local businesses, I guess the
businesses in this region thatare supporting King's Hammer,
are there any in particular thatare sort of um I guess top tier
that maybe you want to shout outand call out for their support?
SPEAKER_02 (06:38):
Um, you know, in in a way, uh I've just started
this, you know, networkingevents.
Um, you know, one of the bigones that I want to you know
shout out is we're trying to,you know, put together our own
foundation, We Grow PeopleFoundation within the King
Samur.
But you know, immediately,obviously, October, month of
(06:59):
October is Cancer AwarenessMonth.
So we actually partnered withSusan G.
Coman Foundation to make surethat we were putting together an
event in October 29th, which isa 3v3 uh tournament.
Uh, everyone can find thisopportunity on our website
pretty soon.
But we're just gonna dosomething to benefit them
immediately so that we can see,we can show actually, you know,
(07:21):
everyone that we're trying topartner with um uh businesses
out there for them to sponsorthis event, but also partnered
with a good cause that we couldsupport.
Um, you know, immediately then Ialso want to thank you know,
North Kentucky Chamber ofCommerce and Cincinnati Chamber.
Um, I've been heavily involvedwith them immediately as soon as
(07:43):
I started with King Sammer tolearn more about the region and
how everybody can support us andwe can actually support them in
return.
SPEAKER_01 (07:52):
Okay, very good.
Um, the yeah, the NorthernKentucky Chamber of Commerce,
they're uh they're uh they're abig group, they're a giving
group.
Uh everybody involved with theNorthern Kentucky Chamber of
Commerce um needs to kind oflook at uh NKY Chamber as uh
what can what's the best way toutilize and leverage all of
(08:17):
their connections and all thatthey do for people?
And so it's it's a differentexperience for for every
business.
But I find that there is so muchthat you can get out of the
chamber.
If if somebody's listening tothis and they're not a member of
the Northern Kentucky Chamber ofCommerce, uh and they're in, you
know, especially Boone Ketten,Campbell, and and and the
region, um I I encourage them touh look into becoming a chamber
(08:39):
member.
Uh there's there's a lot ofbenefit there.
So I'm sure you're getting someof that.
SPEAKER_02 (08:44):
Oh, absolutely.
I highly recommend it.
Um, Lynn Ablin and Beth Ferrerhas been a great supporter as
soon as I started with thechamber to you know give me
ideas how I could actually learnmore about the community and how
the community can support ouryou know young athletes, but
also how we can give back to thecommunity as well.
(09:05):
Uh, they have many events thatare you know pretty much free if
you want to learn about thechamber initially, and then if
you want to invest and get moreout of it, they certainly have a
lot of opportunities.
I recently you know attendedtheir um ambassador committee
meetings, several meetings.
I found it very valuable.
Um, immediately they put you inin you know, in a situation
(09:28):
where you can have a buddy thatexplains you a business,
basically, that's been throughthe ambassador committee and
through the chamber that givesus the opportunity to learn
more.
Um, they really make it veryeasy for you to become a uh not
just a member, a citizen of thecommunity.
So I really enjoy that so far,and I will definitely continue
(09:50):
to partner with them.
SPEAKER_01 (09:52):
So there's kind of our commercial for the Northern
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
This this podcast is sponsoredby Northern Kentucky Chamber of
Commerce.
Not really, but I guess it kindof is at this point.
So, what got you into soccer,you personally?
I I I'm assuming growing up inTurkey as a as a young boy,
that's uh kind of where this allbegan.
SPEAKER_02 (10:13):
Absolutely.
I grew up playing soccer.
Um, I I mean, you know, whenyou're growing up in Europe, uh
that's the main sport.
I mean, three and a half billionpeople watch the World Cup.
So um if which is a fantasticbecause 2026 World Cup is around
right around the corner, andit's gonna actually be held in
(10:34):
the US, Mexico, and Canada.
So I encourage everyone to learnmore because this is gonna be an
amazing event.
But yeah, I grew up uh playingsoccer.
I'm an avid Fenerbache fan,which is a um yellow canneries,
basically, their mascot.
Um, I grew up going to the gamesand you know, attended their
academy program for a long time.
(10:55):
Um, but you know, being a personthat grows up in Europe, your
passion takes over immediately.
So anything that you do on adaily basis is revolves around
soccer or football as they callit.
Right.
Uh, but you know, from youngages, obviously that taught me
uh teamwork, discipline, andresilience.
(11:17):
And you know, obviously thatsupported me to uh wanted to get
my coaching license as a result.
So I do have a um US SoccerFederation license, a license,
and I do have a European soccerlicense.
So I kind of use that, you know,during my time in US uh with the
soccer clubs that I've probablyum led and be was a part of.
(11:44):
And eventually Kingshammer ityou know gave me that
opportunity too.
So I kind of have my MBAbusiness background and also my
soccer knowledge that I get toimplement on a day-to-day basis
and support uh not just youngathletes on the pitch, but off
the pitch with thesepartnerships too.
So it's deeply meaningful to me.
(12:04):
You know, over the years I'vecoached many players, and now
seeing them succeed both in offthe field also reinforces that
you know I'm probably doing whatI really meant to do.
SPEAKER_01 (12:14):
So through the years, what has been your most
memorable, your most rewardingtop of the list moment in your
thus far soccer career?
SPEAKER_02 (12:27):
You know, Murph, it would be very hard to pinpoint
just one.
Um, you know, one amazing factis definitely, you know, over
the years, I taught so manysoccer players on the pitch how
to play this game, but also tounderstand, hey, you know, you
(12:48):
might not turn pro.
You know, this is also a venuefor you to be on to understand
that you could become a goodcitizen, you could understand
how to be a good sportsman, youcould understand how to be a
good teammate.
So, you know, having multipleplayers probably going to
college as a result of theireducation and also being a good
(13:12):
student athlete, uh, and youknow, seeing them succeed in the
world with the part of soccer intheir life is an immense moment
for me to think about.
There are multiple players thatI can you know go back and look
at it.
Uh, the other one is obviously,you know, one amazing moment for
(13:34):
me was um my son played soccerearlier, my son Devron played
soccer earlier when he was10-12.
But he when he turned 13, hewanted to play American
football.
And he was a great running backfor his uh youth club that he
played for, and his school thathe played for as a freshman and
(13:56):
then in high school as well.
So another great moment is forme to be able to watch him
experience and learn and alsoteach me a different sport while
executing and implementing whathe learned from his coaches and
being successful at Americanfootball as a running back was
an amazing feeling for me.
(14:17):
So I get to watch that from timeto time.
Um, he actually uh on his I wantto say his um freshman year uh
or maybe sophomore, that heactually uh had the touchdown
that took his uh high schoolteam to uh playoffs.
So that was an amazing momentthat I think he remembers.
(14:40):
I I remember framing thenewspaper uh for him for his
birthday.
So yeah, a proud of the thing.
Well those moments is probablymore, you know, those moments
that I can recall that was yeah,impactful.
SPEAKER_01 (14:52):
Well, I love your answer that you know it's it's
tied to not just growth in thesport, but growth as a person,
growth in life.
Um, I think that's that's a bigpart of sports when you get to a
certain level.
Um, you have no choice but to togrow because um you're you're
part of something bigger thanyourself, and you learn not just
(15:13):
sports lessons, but life lessonstoo.
So so um Devron, where did he umplay his high school ball at?
SPEAKER_02 (15:20):
Uh Foresight.
He was in Atlanta, NorthAtlanta, Foresight uh County.
SPEAKER_01 (15:26):
Okay, yeah, good part of the country.
SPEAKER_02 (15:28):
Oh, absolutely.
I you know, I've lived inAtlanta for 15, almost 16 years.
So um good, good, definitelygood memories there.
SPEAKER_01 (15:37):
Yeah, yeah.
The only bad thing about Atlantais the traffic.
SPEAKER_02 (15:40):
Oh, no, we don't speak, we don't speak about
traffic.
SPEAKER_01 (15:44):
All right, we're just gonna shut our mouths right
now about that.
We're not gonna we're not gonnatalk about it.
So we talked we talked aboutDevron.
Um, what does family look likefor you?
Uh, what is family to you?
SPEAKER_02 (15:55):
So my parents still live live in Turkey.
Both both my mom and dad live inTurkey.
Devron uh actually graduated andhe's a middle school teacher
now.
Um, so he's in Atlanta.
Uh my wife is currently inTurkey because uh her son Ife is
uh going to be finishing highschool this year.
So we have plans for them tojoin me later in the year, and
(16:18):
hopefully, when the immigrationpaperwork is handled, and it
takes a while, but you know, shecomes goes back and forth, and
you know, she does the the thewife duties here and then goes
back and does the mom duties,and hopefully we'll be family
you know soon together backhere.
But you know, I get to visit myparents, you know, as much as I
(16:40):
can.
Um they're they're knock onwood, healthy and and still
alive, so I get to enjoy timewith them whenever I have that
opportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (16:48):
Well, good.
So when you are not doingsoccer, um, do you have uh other
things in the community that youdo, or do you have uh community
give backs, communityconnections?
Um, what what do you do to justsort of um I guess like maybe a
nonprofit that you're tied to orjust volunteer work?
SPEAKER_02 (17:11):
Yeah, I I mean since I've just moved to Cincinnati
recently, I can go back toNashville times.
And you know, definitely uh, youknow, being in the soccer
community down there, we had alot of uh community events, some
that we supported and some thatwe actually formed ourselves.
You know, we you know uh we hada uh a player that we lost uh I
(17:33):
want to say three years ago.
He was a seven-year-old, one ofour players, uh Finnegan, little
Finnegan, uh Gobele, and and weactually started organizing a
charity event uh for we calledit Finn's Cup every year.
We started holding a coach'sgame uh to you know to remember
him because he was one of our uhfunny little dudes that was in
(17:57):
our soccer club as aseven-year-old that we lost.
Uh so we try to remember himevery year.
So we did that charity event uhduring, I want to say May,
probably mid-May, usually everyevery every May.
Um so anything that you knowsupports the community, we're
there.
You know, it could be an eventthat could be held by a chamber
(18:22):
of commerce or any any type ofuh organization that holds it
for us to be there present,whether be it's boots in the
boots on the ground or financialsupport, we try to do that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:34):
Okay, very good.
So, by the way, Finnegan, that'sa cool name.
That's a cool name.
Um, so little Finnegan.
SPEAKER_02 (18:44):
Um his sister Layla still plays at our uh club down
in Murfreesboro.
So a great family, great family.
SPEAKER_01 (18:51):
Did you live in Murfreesboro?
SPEAKER_02 (18:52):
Yes, sir.
I was there for five years, fivegreat years.
Um, I still have greatconnections down there.
I try to visit as much aspossible, and luckily King Samur
still has King SamuraMurfreesboro, and we just added
King Samur Eris, yeah, which isanother great club in the uh
vicinity.
So um, I get to have stillfriends down there, our sponsors
(19:13):
that that they renew theirsponsorship with us every year,
so I get to visit them on aconsistent basis.
SPEAKER_01 (19:19):
Yeah, beautiful part of the country.
I I love that area.
Um, I've got friends down theretied to uh blackman high school
down there.
SPEAKER_02 (19:26):
There you go.
Yep, I got players that plays inBlackman, Seagull, Oakland.
Yeah, they got greatcompetition.
Yeah, both boys and girls.
SPEAKER_01 (19:35):
Perfect.
So um are there are there eventsuh held around Kings Hammer?
Um, what what what does uh youknow when I say the word events,
what does that mean to you?
So events could be mostlytournaments, you know.
SPEAKER_02 (19:51):
Um our teams compete at different levels of
tournaments.
They either go to tournamentsthat we're not holding, that but
we want our teams to actually uhcompete at.
But then there are also thatevents that we're hosting.
For example, October 3rd and5th, we're gonna have a
Halloween havoc.
Uh, we're at you know, expectingaround 3,000 players, almost
(20:14):
about you know, 6,000attendance.
Uh following week, we have ourBlue Chip Juniors event, which
is 7,000 players, almost 15,000attendants that were you know
expecting.
And then, like I said, October29th, we're supporting Susan G.
Coleman with our hammer outcancer 3v3 tournament uh at
Warren County uh sports complexuh that would be benefiting
(20:39):
again Susan G.
Coleman Foundation.
So, you know, anywhere fromevents usually means uh
obviously tournaments, but wealso have events that's behind
the scenes that could beworkshops uh that is circled
around our teams.
It could be any type of activitythat that we're doing for them.
(21:01):
Um parent workshops, educationalworkshops, coaching workshops.
Um, if you go to our website,you know, one big thing that you
see is we we try to inspire,encourage, and empower people.
So that's our mission.
You know, we want to make sureanybody is involved with our
club, either as a volunteer orat our events or working for us
(21:24):
or playing for us.
We want to be able to impactthem as a citizen.
So any type of activity that wecan do, you know, that could
circle around workshops, thatcould circle around events.
Uh, we want to give back to themas much as possible for being
partnering with us.
SPEAKER_01 (21:42):
Well, with as many people as you have in the
organization and all the livesyou touch, it's a wonder that
you can even keep track of allthis stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (21:49):
So um, I mean, very busy, you know, good
observation, Murph, but we dohave a great team.
I I really want to acknowledgethem.
I mean, coming from Nashville, Ihad a team of a team of I won't
I want to say experts at whatthey do.
You know, some wereevent-driven, some were director
of coaches, some were justsimple mere coaches, but
(22:10):
understanding how they'reimpacting every little player
within that one an hour, one anda half hour uh training session
or during the games throughoutthe weekend.
So when you have a great team,uh, I think it becomes a you
know um habit.
So you're out there knowing thatwhat you need to do, and the end
result is you know impactingthat one little player.
(22:33):
If everybody has that samemission, that's just easy to
accomplish.
SPEAKER_01 (22:38):
I have a question for you.
Sure.
Is uh is the USA the only placein the world that still calls it
that calls it soccer?
Is it is it football everywhereelse, or is it just soccer here?
SPEAKER_02 (22:49):
What's what's the i i think australians call it
soccer.
Um I but I do believe if youknow I I cannot pinpoint this
that I might have to you knowgoogle this again, but I do
believe when it first started inEngland, it was called soccer in
England too.
Okay, and for some reason itactually, I think it was the
(23:10):
association back then, it wasthat that's why it was called
soccer, but then it started, youknow, changing the format, and
the name became football outthere.
Uh, but yeah, Americans call itsoccer.
So I I don't have any beef topick on that one.
I'm I'm used to calling itsoccer.
Uh as long as long as I am ableto impact those players and
(23:32):
they're enjoying what they doand learning as much as
possible, but understandingtheir student athletes at the
end.
SPEAKER_01 (23:38):
Yeah, yeah.
Good point.
Good point.
So, you know, I I recall, I meanI'm 62 years old.
I recall the time when um therewas just this call to uh the
kids of America to embracesoccer.
We're going to you know foldsoccer into the US way of life
because it was all you knowAmerican football, basketball,
(23:59):
baseball, you know.
And um I I remember uh you know,to me, soccer was uh Alexi
Lawless and Mia Ham.
Oh yeah.
And now their hair is about thesame color as mine, you know.
I mean so but that was all partof it.
And now, fast forward to today,when I look at my Facebook page
(24:22):
and I see my my my cousin'schildren, um, instead of uh
wearing baseball uniforms, somany of them are out there on
the pitch playing soccer.
Soccer is the big thing umamongst the youth today.
So, but it seems like it's takena while, I guess, I guess maybe
(24:43):
longer than I thought it would.
But uh, what's your perspectiveon that?
How do you feel we're doing umin terms of um you know making
America a soccer culture?
SPEAKER_02 (24:54):
Well, I I I think you know, the representation or
the initiation of MLS hasbrought uh a significant power
to the United States, you know,obviously Alexi Lala and Mia
Ham.
But then when you consider DavidBeckham stepping into LA Galaxy
back in the day, and then now umowning a franchise inter Miami
(25:17):
uh and bringing names like Messiand Suarez, and this is very,
very impactful.
So when you look at it, there isa moment that this has evolved
into something bigger thansoccer.
Obviously, branding is very,very important when you are
considering professional soccerclubs.
You know, you look at back to umEurope, you can name you know
(25:41):
top five teams very quickly inevery league that they're
playing in because theyconsistently play at higher
levels and everywhere in theworld, you know, Champions
League, and then those playersplay on World Cup.
Now, you you know, US is alsopondering with the idea of USL,
basically a second division ofMLS and you know, or the lower
(26:04):
division of MLS, whichprofessional clubs considering a
relegation promotion opportunitywithin that league as well.
So when you put all thesetogether, there are so many
opportunities for players toplay at a level that they could
possibly dream of.
You know, younger players, youlook at this younger players
(26:26):
that are playing in King Samur.
You know, we have Girls Academyprogram that they could they are
playing and competing in, and wehave MLS Next program that
they're competing in for boys.
So every club have theopportunity to promote their
players to play in thesedifferent leagues.
So from a younger age to olderage, everybody has an
(26:47):
opportunity to experience this.
You know, obviously it comes ata at a cost too, because you
know, when you consider allthese tournaments that you might
be traveling, or all thesegames, you know, you could you
can add gas money, hotel, youknow, all these additional uh
fees, that makes it hardsometimes.
And that's why I alwaysconsidered partnerships with
(27:10):
certain businesses andorganizations to lower the cost
of entry to these opportunitiesfor players, yeah.
But you know, it's with everysport.
I'm sure if I were to, you know,go into cheerleading or
volleyball, it would probably bethe same.
Obviously, I'm not privy to theexpenses of those sports, but
it's all expensive.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
Let me tell you, it's all expensive.
SPEAKER_02 (27:30):
Yeah, I am sure.
So every sport comes with that,you know, dilemma.
But for me, you know, obviouslycoming from a passionate uh part
of Europe, soccer being numberone sport, and also being able
to coach multiple levels formany, many years, I love seeing
(27:52):
that it is becoming the numberone youth sport in the United
States because that is alwayswhat was my passion.
How can I impact those playersto hopefully play this sport?
And if they can become pro,that's fantastic.
But if they can't, can they bean avid fan like I am?
Maybe they'll be a coach, ormaybe just they'll be a great
parent, providing thisopportunity to their kids one
(28:14):
day.
SPEAKER_01 (28:15):
Yeah, because the sport needs coaches uh at every
level.
Absolutely, yeah.
People who can people who canbuild uh those those young
humans into great bigger humans.
And uh so that uh you knowyou're you've been a big part of
that.
So, how do people reach you ifthey want to know more?
SPEAKER_02 (28:33):
So the easiest, you know, obviously these days is
Instagram, you know, website,the kingsammer.com.
So if you look up King Sammer,uh you will definitely find us
very quickly.
And you know, my email is veryeasy.com.
They can send an email.
Um, my phone number is404-422-5793.
(28:56):
I give it out to anyone and theycan call me to get more
information.
I'm happy to give them anythingthat I can provide them to
understand soccer is big andit's gonna become even bigger
within a year or so.
So don't be late.
SPEAKER_01 (29:15):
I've enjoyed talking with you.
Uh King's Hammer, um, yourepresent King's Hammer very
well, Orsan.
SPEAKER_02 (29:21):
So I do my best, Murph.
I do my best.
I I really believe in what wedo.
Uh, we like I said, we havegreat partners where I've came
from in Nashville.
I'm making great connectionshere, and thanks to you, this
podcast hopefully will getpeople to understand what we're
trying to achieve.
Um, I make great connections,like I said, from the chambers
(29:41):
that I've been into, themeetings.
There are some great people outthere.
When I tell them what we'retrying to do, they're really
listening and trying to figureout how they can help.
Not just because they want to bepart of it and to sponsor it,
but they understand that whatwe're trying to achieve is
something bigger than just a Asmall collaboration, you know,
(30:01):
we were trying to tell a storyand let's do it the right way.
SPEAKER_01 (30:05):
So before we go, are there any final thoughts?
Anything we haven't talked aboutthat you want to make sure
people know and understand, orum, key talking points that
we've never really got around toin our conversation?
SPEAKER_02 (30:18):
Sure.
Um, I probably would say ifyou're a parent of a soccer
player, you're doing a great jobgetting them to every activity
that they are competing in orparticipating.
It's a it's a phenomenalopportunity for them, but it's a
big burden for the familiesbecause of, you know, not just
(30:39):
financial, but the timecommitment.
And we get that.
But the return on yourinvestment is amazing.
And don't just look at it assoccer development being what's
being done on the soccer field.
I've lived this for 25 years asa coach, as an executive on the
(30:59):
sideline, sometime as a coach,sometimes as a parent.
Like I said, my son is a youknow school teacher.
He did not want to playprofessional football or he
didn't want to pursue it incollege.
He wanted to do some academics.
But the opportunity that he gotto playing running back made him
what he is.
So, parents, if your kids areparticipating in soccer, do look
(31:24):
at it as a personal development.
It's an amazing opportunity forthem to become a good citizen in
the future because they'reparticipating in this.
There will be moments they'regonna fall, there will be
moments they'll be benched,they'll, you know, but this is
part of life.
This is how they get to learnhow to pursue how to be more
(31:47):
successful.
And I think any soccer club orany sport club, sporting club
teaches them this opportunity,then I think uh you have the
most valuable um dollars in yourpocket that that you cannot
achieve in the future.
That's what I think.
SPEAKER_01 (32:08):
Well said, Orson.
So um, yeah, whenever I ask thatquestion, what else do you have
to say?
I never know what somebody'sgoing to say, but that was a
great use of the time.
SPEAKER_02 (32:18):
But hopefully, hopefully we can all do it.
You know, I I do remembermoments, you know, like I said,
you know, I've had we had somany uh little uh discussions
with my son Devron.
Uh this trying to figure outwhich sport was the hardest to
play.
Was it soccer or football?
And we never agreed on that.
(32:39):
But yeah, whatever he's donetoday, it's part of what he's
done back then.
SPEAKER_01 (32:44):
Well, I get I get exhausted watching soccer, so I
think soccer's got to be a toughsport to play, the conditioning
part of it, but uh that's whatcoaches are for.
So all right, brother.
Well, thank you for spendingtime with us today.
SPEAKER_02 (33:00):
Well, Murph, this is what this is was amazing.
Thank you for giving me theopportunity.
You know, definitely, like Isaid, if we're able to tell a
story and more people are ableto do these kind of podcasts,
uh, you guys are giving themthat opportunity.
So we really appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01 (33:17):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, one story at a time, youknow, storytelling and
education, I think, is is key uhto building anything.
So um we've we've tried to doour part today, and thank you
for being part of it.
Um if anybody wants if anyonewants to know how they can just
kind of contribute to the cause,kingshammer.com is the place to
(33:38):
start, I would imagine.
Yep.
You've you've given your phonenumber.
I'll make sure that that's um uhlisted uh wherever I post this
podcast.
People will know how to reachyou.
Yep.
So um we'll we'll get that phonering and we'll get people
visiting the website and umlearning how to raise our
younger generation to be um uhnot just soccer players in the
(34:00):
future, but uh teachers as well.
SPEAKER_02 (34:02):
And absolutely, absolutely perfect.
SPEAKER_01 (34:04):
All right, thanks for your time today.
So um we're uh we're signing offuh this uh edition of the good
neighbor podcast.
I'll say to everybody out there,uh, until we meet again,
everyone out there, please begood to your neighbor.
See you all.
Bye-bye.
SPEAKER_00 (34:21):
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast
Union to nominate your favoritelocal businesses to be featured
on the show.
Go to gnpunion.com.
That's gmpunion.com or call usat 859 651 8330.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
SPEAKER_01 (00:12):
Thank you, Charlie.
Yes, I am Mike Murphy, host ofthe Good Neighbor Podcast.
We talk to local businesses, uhinfluencers, movers and shakers
in northern Kentucky.
And uh we talk to people who youyou may have heard of them, you
may have heard of their theirbusiness, um, their whatever
(00:33):
they're doing, uh, but you don'tknow a lot about them.
And I hope to change that.
So with me today is SarkanOrson, correct?
SPEAKER_02 (00:42):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (00:43):
With King's Hammer.
Um, so when we hear King'sHammer, we think soccer, but I I
do not know a lot about King'sHammer and what your mission is,
and that's why you're sittingdown with me today.
You're going to sort of educateme and you're going to educate
the community.
Many people out there know youbecause I hear your name all the
(01:04):
time, and I know a lot of soccerpeople.
I have a lot of soccer friends,but I grew up in a different
time and era where it was allabout American football.
So we're going to uh learn alittle bit more about King's
Hammer today.
So, Sarkan, welcome to the show.
And please tell me, um, tell usa little bit about yourself and
(01:24):
tell us about King's Hammer.
SPEAKER_02 (01:26):
Yeah, well, thanks for having me, Murph.
Um, I am delighted to be here,actually.
Uh, the name is obviously SarkanOrsan.
It sounds like a superhero name,but uh, you know, it does.
I don't intend to save people'slives, but you know, hopefully
we try to impact them as much aspossible.
I am here with King's HammerSoccer Club.
Um, it's a phenomenal soccerclub, it's a youth soccer club
(01:48):
uh dedicated to developing youngathletes and eventually
strengthen the local communityas well through soccer programs.
Um, I am actually Turkishoriginally, uh, but moved to the
United States 30 years ago toSan Diego, California, sunny
California.
Okay.
Got my MBA, uh, stayed here fora long time, lived in Atlanta,
lived in San Francisco,eventually lived in Nashville,
(02:11):
uh, where I actually led theKing Sammer uh down in
Nashville, uh, Middle Tennesseearea.
And then three months ago, Iactually moved to Cincinnati,
North Kentucky area, and I'mreally excited to be here.
SPEAKER_01 (02:22):
Okay.
Well, you know, you mentionedthe various different places
you've been, and you mentionedKing's Hammer down in Nashville.
So me being kind of ignorant toyou know the King's Hammer
world, I thought King's Hammerwas just a since in anything,
but that's not the case,correct?
SPEAKER_02 (02:40):
No, not at all.
Actually, um King's Hammer hasbeen around for uh probably over
20 years.
It's a combination of King'sSoccer Club with Hammer FC
merging together back in the dayuh in this region, but
eventually they've gotten uh bigin terms of uh providing these
services to a lot of soccerplayers, youth soccer players,
anywhere from age you know sevento 19 um youth soccer players.
(03:05):
Um they've eventually uhpartnered with a club called
Murphy's Boro Soccer Club inNashville area where I was the
executive director.
So um after that merger, weactually expanded the program to
uh uh Lakeland, Florida area,very close to Tampa Hub in
Florida.
We do have a region in PanamaCity.
Um we actually have a uh a clubin uh Ohio, up in Ohio,
(03:30):
Columbus, New Albany.
So we have many regions, uh upto four states now.
So we have you know aspirationsto hopefully become become
national.
SPEAKER_01 (03:40):
Okay, well, at any given moment, how many youths,
how many soccer players areinvolved with King's Hammer
program across the region?
SPEAKER_02 (03:53):
Across the regions, yeah, that's a good question.
I mean, there are a lot ofdifferent programs, obviously.
You can consider competitiveprograms that players compete at
higher level.
Uh, we have programs that'scalled grassroots or
recreational.
Uh, we're up to almost 10,000players as a whole King Sammer
uh soccer club.
(04:13):
Uh, these, you know, again, fourstates, uh eight different
regions expanding.
When you also consider certaincamps and uh clinics that we
hold, we do hold about 10,000players.
Uh, we also have event portionof our uh business that we try
to provide additionaltournaments for those teams that
(04:35):
might not be uh King Samuraiteams.
So around annually, we do haveabout 40 events that span from
anywhere to Indiana, uhtri-state area here, obviously
down to Florida, um, thenTennessee.
Uh, we do hold about 40 events.
SPEAKER_01 (04:54):
Okay.
So, what's a typical day looklike for you?
Uh, what is your role withinKing's Hammer and what do you do
day to day?
SPEAKER_02 (05:03):
So I oversee the corporate affairs and
partnerships at King's Hammer,you know, eventually supporting
all the programs and events.
Uh that gives the kids theopportunity to grow both on and
off the field.
So, my day-to-day job isactually, you know, making sure
that everybody knows aboutKing's Hammer and the
opportunities that we provide.
We obviously have players thatcan't pay to play, so we do have
(05:25):
a scholarship program that wetry to fund.
So I'm in charge of making surethat we have enough funds to be
able to promote this sport forevery player that wants to play.
So at any given day, you can seeme at the Chamber of Commerce uh
trying to rub elbows with uhpartners that would like to
support us, uh, but in returnthat we could support them as
(05:47):
well.
So, you know, when we talk aboutsponsorships, I don't want
people to think that we just youknow put their banner and call
it a day.
We do really want to partnerwith them and tell their story
too, because we really believein the partnership that any type
of uh opportunity that comesalong, we want that brand to
support us as much as we cansupport them.
(06:08):
I mean, we do have a greatnetwork of parents, uh, we have
a great uh corporation thathelps us achieve what we want to
achieve.
So whenever we talk aboutpartnerships, it's through a
collaboration.
SPEAKER_01 (06:21):
So the the local businesses, I guess the
businesses in this region thatare supporting King's Hammer,
are there any in particular thatare sort of um I guess top tier
that maybe you want to shout outand call out for their support?
SPEAKER_02 (06:38):
Um, you know, in in a way, uh I've just started
this, you know, networkingevents.
Um, you know, one of the bigones that I want to you know
shout out is we're trying to,you know, put together our own
foundation, We Grow PeopleFoundation within the King
Samur.
But you know, immediately,obviously, October, month of
(06:59):
October is Cancer AwarenessMonth.
So we actually partnered withSusan G.
Coman Foundation to make surethat we were putting together an
event in October 29th, which isa 3v3 uh tournament.
Uh, everyone can find thisopportunity on our website
pretty soon.
But we're just gonna dosomething to benefit them
immediately so that we can see,we can show actually, you know,
(07:21):
everyone that we're trying topartner with um uh businesses
out there for them to sponsorthis event, but also partnered
with a good cause that we couldsupport.
Um, you know, immediately then Ialso want to thank you know,
North Kentucky Chamber ofCommerce and Cincinnati Chamber.
Um, I've been heavily involvedwith them immediately as soon as
(07:43):
I started with King Sammer tolearn more about the region and
how everybody can support us andwe can actually support them in
return.
SPEAKER_01 (07:52):
Okay, very good.
Um, the yeah, the NorthernKentucky Chamber of Commerce,
they're uh they're uh they're abig group, they're a giving
group.
Uh everybody involved with theNorthern Kentucky Chamber of
Commerce um needs to kind oflook at uh NKY Chamber as uh
what can what's the best way toutilize and leverage all of
(08:17):
their connections and all thatthey do for people?
And so it's it's a differentexperience for for every
business.
But I find that there is so muchthat you can get out of the
chamber.
If if somebody's listening tothis and they're not a member of
the Northern Kentucky Chamber ofCommerce, uh and they're in, you
know, especially Boone Ketten,Campbell, and and and the
region, um I I encourage them touh look into becoming a chamber
(08:39):
member.
Uh there's there's a lot ofbenefit there.
So I'm sure you're getting someof that.
SPEAKER_02 (08:44):
Oh, absolutely.
I highly recommend it.
Um, Lynn Ablin and Beth Ferrerhas been a great supporter as
soon as I started with thechamber to you know give me
ideas how I could actually learnmore about the community and how
the community can support ouryou know young athletes, but
also how we can give back to thecommunity as well.
(09:05):
Uh, they have many events thatare you know pretty much free if
you want to learn about thechamber initially, and then if
you want to invest and get moreout of it, they certainly have a
lot of opportunities.
I recently you know attendedtheir um ambassador committee
meetings, several meetings.
I found it very valuable.
Um, immediately they put you inin you know, in a situation
(09:28):
where you can have a buddy thatexplains you a business,
basically, that's been throughthe ambassador committee and
through the chamber that givesus the opportunity to learn
more.
Um, they really make it veryeasy for you to become a uh not
just a member, a citizen of thecommunity.
So I really enjoy that so far,and I will definitely continue
(09:50):
to partner with them.
SPEAKER_01 (09:52):
So there's kind of our commercial for the Northern
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
This this podcast is sponsoredby Northern Kentucky Chamber of
Commerce.
Not really, but I guess it kindof is at this point.
So, what got you into soccer,you personally?
I I I'm assuming growing up inTurkey as a as a young boy,
that's uh kind of where this allbegan.
SPEAKER_02 (10:13):
Absolutely.
I grew up playing soccer.
Um, I I mean, you know, whenyou're growing up in Europe, uh
that's the main sport.
I mean, three and a half billionpeople watch the World Cup.
So um if which is a fantasticbecause 2026 World Cup is around
right around the corner, andit's gonna actually be held in
(10:34):
the US, Mexico, and Canada.
So I encourage everyone to learnmore because this is gonna be an
amazing event.
But yeah, I grew up uh playingsoccer.
I'm an avid Fenerbache fan,which is a um yellow canneries,
basically, their mascot.
Um, I grew up going to the gamesand you know, attended their
academy program for a long time.
(10:55):
Um, but you know, being a personthat grows up in Europe, your
passion takes over immediately.
So anything that you do on adaily basis is revolves around
soccer or football as they callit.
Right.
Uh, but you know, from youngages, obviously that taught me
uh teamwork, discipline, andresilience.
(11:17):
And you know, obviously thatsupported me to uh wanted to get
my coaching license as a result.
So I do have a um US SoccerFederation license, a license,
and I do have a European soccerlicense.
So I kind of use that, you know,during my time in US uh with the
soccer clubs that I've probablyum led and be was a part of.
(11:44):
And eventually Kingshammer ityou know gave me that
opportunity too.
So I kind of have my MBAbusiness background and also my
soccer knowledge that I get toimplement on a day-to-day basis
and support uh not just youngathletes on the pitch, but off
the pitch with thesepartnerships too.
So it's deeply meaningful to me.
(12:04):
You know, over the years I'vecoached many players, and now
seeing them succeed both in offthe field also reinforces that
you know I'm probably doing whatI really meant to do.
SPEAKER_01 (12:14):
So through the years, what has been your most
memorable, your most rewardingtop of the list moment in your
thus far soccer career?
SPEAKER_02 (12:27):
You know, Murph, it would be very hard to pinpoint
just one.
Um, you know, one amazing factis definitely, you know, over
the years, I taught so manysoccer players on the pitch how
to play this game, but also tounderstand, hey, you know, you
(12:48):
might not turn pro.
You know, this is also a venuefor you to be on to understand
that you could become a goodcitizen, you could understand
how to be a good sportsman, youcould understand how to be a
good teammate.
So, you know, having multipleplayers probably going to
college as a result of theireducation and also being a good
(13:12):
student athlete, uh, and youknow, seeing them succeed in the
world with the part of soccer intheir life is an immense moment
for me to think about.
There are multiple players thatI can you know go back and look
at it.
Uh, the other one is obviously,you know, one amazing moment for
(13:34):
me was um my son played soccerearlier, my son Devron played
soccer earlier when he was10-12.
But he when he turned 13, hewanted to play American
football.
And he was a great running backfor his uh youth club that he
played for, and his school thathe played for as a freshman and
(13:56):
then in high school as well.
So another great moment is forme to be able to watch him
experience and learn and alsoteach me a different sport while
executing and implementing whathe learned from his coaches and
being successful at Americanfootball as a running back was
an amazing feeling for me.
(14:17):
So I get to watch that from timeto time.
Um, he actually uh on his I wantto say his um freshman year uh
or maybe sophomore, that heactually uh had the touchdown
that took his uh high schoolteam to uh playoffs.
So that was an amazing momentthat I think he remembers.
(14:40):
I I remember framing thenewspaper uh for him for his
birthday.
So yeah, a proud of the thing.
Well those moments is probablymore, you know, those moments
that I can recall that was yeah,impactful.
SPEAKER_01 (14:52):
Well, I love your answer that you know it's it's
tied to not just growth in thesport, but growth as a person,
growth in life.
Um, I think that's that's a bigpart of sports when you get to a
certain level.
Um, you have no choice but to togrow because um you're you're
part of something bigger thanyourself, and you learn not just
(15:13):
sports lessons, but life lessonstoo.
So so um Devron, where did he umplay his high school ball at?
SPEAKER_02 (15:20):
Uh Foresight.
He was in Atlanta, NorthAtlanta, Foresight uh County.
SPEAKER_01 (15:26):
Okay, yeah, good part of the country.
SPEAKER_02 (15:28):
Oh, absolutely.
I you know, I've lived inAtlanta for 15, almost 16 years.
So um good, good, definitelygood memories there.
SPEAKER_01 (15:37):
Yeah, yeah.
The only bad thing about Atlantais the traffic.
SPEAKER_02 (15:40):
Oh, no, we don't speak, we don't speak about
traffic.
SPEAKER_01 (15:44):
All right, we're just gonna shut our mouths right
now about that.
We're not gonna we're not gonnatalk about it.
So we talked we talked aboutDevron.
Um, what does family look likefor you?
Uh, what is family to you?
SPEAKER_02 (15:55):
So my parents still live live in Turkey.
Both both my mom and dad live inTurkey.
Devron uh actually graduated andhe's a middle school teacher
now.
Um, so he's in Atlanta.
Uh my wife is currently inTurkey because uh her son Ife is
uh going to be finishing highschool this year.
So we have plans for them tojoin me later in the year, and
(16:18):
hopefully, when the immigrationpaperwork is handled, and it
takes a while, but you know, shecomes goes back and forth, and
you know, she does the the thewife duties here and then goes
back and does the mom duties,and hopefully we'll be family
you know soon together backhere.
But you know, I get to visit myparents, you know, as much as I
(16:40):
can.
Um they're they're knock onwood, healthy and and still
alive, so I get to enjoy timewith them whenever I have that
opportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (16:48):
Well, good.
So when you are not doingsoccer, um, do you have uh other
things in the community that youdo, or do you have uh community
give backs, communityconnections?
Um, what what do you do to justsort of um I guess like maybe a
nonprofit that you're tied to orjust volunteer work?
SPEAKER_02 (17:11):
Yeah, I I mean since I've just moved to Cincinnati
recently, I can go back toNashville times.
And you know, definitely uh, youknow, being in the soccer
community down there, we had alot of uh community events, some
that we supported and some thatwe actually formed ourselves.
You know, we you know uh we hada uh a player that we lost uh I
(17:33):
want to say three years ago.
He was a seven-year-old, one ofour players, uh Finnegan, little
Finnegan, uh Gobele, and and weactually started organizing a
charity event uh for we calledit Finn's Cup every year.
We started holding a coach'sgame uh to you know to remember
him because he was one of our uhfunny little dudes that was in
(17:57):
our soccer club as aseven-year-old that we lost.
Uh so we try to remember himevery year.
So we did that charity event uhduring, I want to say May,
probably mid-May, usually everyevery every May.
Um so anything that you knowsupports the community, we're
there.
You know, it could be an eventthat could be held by a chamber
(18:22):
of commerce or any any type ofuh organization that holds it
for us to be there present,whether be it's boots in the
boots on the ground or financialsupport, we try to do that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:34):
Okay, very good.
So, by the way, Finnegan, that'sa cool name.
That's a cool name.
Um, so little Finnegan.
SPEAKER_02 (18:44):
Um his sister Layla still plays at our uh club down
in Murfreesboro.
So a great family, great family.
SPEAKER_01 (18:51):
Did you live in Murfreesboro?
SPEAKER_02 (18:52):
Yes, sir.
I was there for five years, fivegreat years.
Um, I still have greatconnections down there.
I try to visit as much aspossible, and luckily King Samur
still has King SamuraMurfreesboro, and we just added
King Samur Eris, yeah, which isanother great club in the uh
vicinity.
So um, I get to have stillfriends down there, our sponsors
(19:13):
that that they renew theirsponsorship with us every year,
so I get to visit them on aconsistent basis.
SPEAKER_01 (19:19):
Yeah, beautiful part of the country.
I I love that area.
Um, I've got friends down theretied to uh blackman high school
down there.
SPEAKER_02 (19:26):
There you go.
Yep, I got players that plays inBlackman, Seagull, Oakland.
Yeah, they got greatcompetition.
Yeah, both boys and girls.
SPEAKER_01 (19:35):
Perfect.
So um are there are there eventsuh held around Kings Hammer?
Um, what what what does uh youknow when I say the word events,
what does that mean to you?
So events could be mostlytournaments, you know.
SPEAKER_02 (19:51):
Um our teams compete at different levels of
tournaments.
They either go to tournamentsthat we're not holding, that but
we want our teams to actually uhcompete at.
But then there are also thatevents that we're hosting.
For example, October 3rd and5th, we're gonna have a
Halloween havoc.
Uh, we're at you know, expectingaround 3,000 players, almost
(20:14):
about you know, 6,000attendance.
Uh following week, we have ourBlue Chip Juniors event, which
is 7,000 players, almost 15,000attendants that were you know
expecting.
And then, like I said, October29th, we're supporting Susan G.
Coleman with our hammer outcancer 3v3 tournament uh at
Warren County uh sports complexuh that would be benefiting
(20:39):
again Susan G.
Coleman Foundation.
So, you know, anywhere fromevents usually means uh
obviously tournaments, but wealso have events that's behind
the scenes that could beworkshops uh that is circled
around our teams.
It could be any type of activitythat that we're doing for them.
(21:01):
Um parent workshops, educationalworkshops, coaching workshops.
Um, if you go to our website,you know, one big thing that you
see is we we try to inspire,encourage, and empower people.
So that's our mission.
You know, we want to make sureanybody is involved with our
club, either as a volunteer orat our events or working for us
(21:24):
or playing for us.
We want to be able to impactthem as a citizen.
So any type of activity that wecan do, you know, that could
circle around workshops, thatcould circle around events.
Uh, we want to give back to themas much as possible for being
partnering with us.
SPEAKER_01 (21:42):
Well, with as many people as you have in the
organization and all the livesyou touch, it's a wonder that
you can even keep track of allthis stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (21:49):
So um, I mean, very busy, you know, good
observation, Murph, but we dohave a great team.
I I really want to acknowledgethem.
I mean, coming from Nashville, Ihad a team of a team of I won't
I want to say experts at whatthey do.
You know, some wereevent-driven, some were director
of coaches, some were justsimple mere coaches, but
(22:10):
understanding how they'reimpacting every little player
within that one an hour, one anda half hour uh training session
or during the games throughoutthe weekend.
So when you have a great team,uh, I think it becomes a you
know um habit.
So you're out there knowing thatwhat you need to do, and the end
result is you know impactingthat one little player.
(22:33):
If everybody has that samemission, that's just easy to
accomplish.
SPEAKER_01 (22:38):
I have a question for you.
Sure.
Is uh is the USA the only placein the world that still calls it
that calls it soccer?
Is it is it football everywhereelse, or is it just soccer here?
SPEAKER_02 (22:49):
What's what's the i i think australians call it
soccer.
Um I but I do believe if youknow I I cannot pinpoint this
that I might have to you knowgoogle this again, but I do
believe when it first started inEngland, it was called soccer in
England too.
Okay, and for some reason itactually, I think it was the
(23:10):
association back then, it wasthat that's why it was called
soccer, but then it started, youknow, changing the format, and
the name became football outthere.
Uh, but yeah, Americans call itsoccer.
So I I don't have any beef topick on that one.
I'm I'm used to calling itsoccer.
Uh as long as long as I am ableto impact those players and
(23:32):
they're enjoying what they doand learning as much as
possible, but understandingtheir student athletes at the
end.
SPEAKER_01 (23:38):
Yeah, yeah.
Good point.
Good point.
So, you know, I I recall, I meanI'm 62 years old.
I recall the time when um therewas just this call to uh the
kids of America to embracesoccer.
We're going to you know foldsoccer into the US way of life
because it was all you knowAmerican football, basketball,
(23:59):
baseball, you know.
And um I I remember uh you know,to me, soccer was uh Alexi
Lawless and Mia Ham.
Oh yeah.
And now their hair is about thesame color as mine, you know.
I mean so but that was all partof it.
And now, fast forward to today,when I look at my Facebook page
(24:22):
and I see my my my cousin'schildren, um, instead of uh
wearing baseball uniforms, somany of them are out there on
the pitch playing soccer.
Soccer is the big thing umamongst the youth today.
So, but it seems like it's takena while, I guess, I guess maybe
(24:43):
longer than I thought it would.
But uh, what's your perspectiveon that?
How do you feel we're doing umin terms of um you know making
America a soccer culture?
SPEAKER_02 (24:54):
Well, I I I think you know, the representation or
the initiation of MLS hasbrought uh a significant power
to the United States, you know,obviously Alexi Lala and Mia
Ham.
But then when you consider DavidBeckham stepping into LA Galaxy
back in the day, and then now umowning a franchise inter Miami
(25:17):
uh and bringing names like Messiand Suarez, and this is very,
very impactful.
So when you look at it, there isa moment that this has evolved
into something bigger thansoccer.
Obviously, branding is very,very important when you are
considering professional soccerclubs.
You know, you look at back to umEurope, you can name you know
(25:41):
top five teams very quickly inevery league that they're
playing in because theyconsistently play at higher
levels and everywhere in theworld, you know, Champions
League, and then those playersplay on World Cup.
Now, you you know, US is alsopondering with the idea of USL,
basically a second division ofMLS and you know, or the lower
(26:04):
division of MLS, whichprofessional clubs considering a
relegation promotion opportunitywithin that league as well.
So when you put all thesetogether, there are so many
opportunities for players toplay at a level that they could
possibly dream of.
You know, younger players, youlook at this younger players
(26:26):
that are playing in King Samur.
You know, we have Girls Academyprogram that they could they are
playing and competing in, and wehave MLS Next program that
they're competing in for boys.
So every club have theopportunity to promote their
players to play in thesedifferent leagues.
So from a younger age to olderage, everybody has an
(26:47):
opportunity to experience this.
You know, obviously it comes ata at a cost too, because you
know, when you consider allthese tournaments that you might
be traveling, or all thesegames, you know, you could you
can add gas money, hotel, youknow, all these additional uh
fees, that makes it hardsometimes.
And that's why I alwaysconsidered partnerships with
(27:10):
certain businesses andorganizations to lower the cost
of entry to these opportunitiesfor players, yeah.
But you know, it's with everysport.
I'm sure if I were to, you know,go into cheerleading or
volleyball, it would probably bethe same.
Obviously, I'm not privy to theexpenses of those sports, but
it's all expensive.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
Let me tell you, it's all expensive.
SPEAKER_02 (27:30):
Yeah, I am sure.
So every sport comes with that,you know, dilemma.
But for me, you know, obviouslycoming from a passionate uh part
of Europe, soccer being numberone sport, and also being able
to coach multiple levels formany, many years, I love seeing
(27:52):
that it is becoming the numberone youth sport in the United
States because that is alwayswhat was my passion.
How can I impact those playersto hopefully play this sport?
And if they can become pro,that's fantastic.
But if they can't, can they bean avid fan like I am?
Maybe they'll be a coach, ormaybe just they'll be a great
parent, providing thisopportunity to their kids one
(28:14):
day.
SPEAKER_01 (28:15):
Yeah, because the sport needs coaches uh at every
level.
Absolutely, yeah.
People who can people who canbuild uh those those young
humans into great bigger humans.
And uh so that uh you knowyou're you've been a big part of
that.
So, how do people reach you ifthey want to know more?
SPEAKER_02 (28:33):
So the easiest, you know, obviously these days is
Instagram, you know, website,the kingsammer.com.
So if you look up King Sammer,uh you will definitely find us
very quickly.
And you know, my email is veryeasy.com.
They can send an email.
Um, my phone number is404-422-5793.
(28:56):
I give it out to anyone and theycan call me to get more
information.
I'm happy to give them anythingthat I can provide them to
understand soccer is big andit's gonna become even bigger
within a year or so.
So don't be late.
SPEAKER_01 (29:15):
I've enjoyed talking with you.
Uh King's Hammer, um, yourepresent King's Hammer very
well, Orsan.
SPEAKER_02 (29:21):
So I do my best, Murph.
I do my best.
I I really believe in what wedo.
Uh, we like I said, we havegreat partners where I've came
from in Nashville.
I'm making great connectionshere, and thanks to you, this
podcast hopefully will getpeople to understand what we're
trying to achieve.
Um, I make great connections,like I said, from the chambers
(29:41):
that I've been into, themeetings.
There are some great people outthere.
When I tell them what we'retrying to do, they're really
listening and trying to figureout how they can help.
Not just because they want to bepart of it and to sponsor it,
but they understand that whatwe're trying to achieve is
something bigger than just a Asmall collaboration, you know,
(30:01):
we were trying to tell a storyand let's do it the right way.
SPEAKER_01 (30:05):
So before we go, are there any final thoughts?
Anything we haven't talked aboutthat you want to make sure
people know and understand, orum, key talking points that
we've never really got around toin our conversation?
SPEAKER_02 (30:18):
Sure.
Um, I probably would say ifyou're a parent of a soccer
player, you're doing a great jobgetting them to every activity
that they are competing in orparticipating.
It's a it's a phenomenalopportunity for them, but it's a
big burden for the familiesbecause of, you know, not just
(30:39):
financial, but the timecommitment.
And we get that.
But the return on yourinvestment is amazing.
And don't just look at it assoccer development being what's
being done on the soccer field.
I've lived this for 25 years asa coach, as an executive on the
(30:59):
sideline, sometime as a coach,sometimes as a parent.
Like I said, my son is a youknow school teacher.
He did not want to playprofessional football or he
didn't want to pursue it incollege.
He wanted to do some academics.
But the opportunity that he gotto playing running back made him
what he is.
So, parents, if your kids areparticipating in soccer, do look
(31:24):
at it as a personal development.
It's an amazing opportunity forthem to become a good citizen in
the future because they'reparticipating in this.
There will be moments they'regonna fall, there will be
moments they'll be benched,they'll, you know, but this is
part of life.
This is how they get to learnhow to pursue how to be more
(31:47):
successful.
And I think any soccer club orany sport club, sporting club
teaches them this opportunity,then I think uh you have the
most valuable um dollars in yourpocket that that you cannot
achieve in the future.
That's what I think.
SPEAKER_01 (32:08):
Well said, Orson.
So um, yeah, whenever I ask thatquestion, what else do you have
to say?
I never know what somebody'sgoing to say, but that was a
great use of the time.
SPEAKER_02 (32:18):
But hopefully, hopefully we can all do it.
You know, I I do remembermoments, you know, like I said,
you know, I've had we had somany uh little uh discussions
with my son Devron.
Uh this trying to figure outwhich sport was the hardest to
play.
Was it soccer or football?
And we never agreed on that.
(32:39):
But yeah, whatever he's donetoday, it's part of what he's
done back then.
SPEAKER_01 (32:44):
Well, I get I get exhausted watching soccer, so I
think soccer's got to be a toughsport to play, the conditioning
part of it, but uh that's whatcoaches are for.
So all right, brother.
Well, thank you for spendingtime with us today.
SPEAKER_02 (33:00):
Well, Murph, this is what this is was amazing.
Thank you for giving me theopportunity.
You know, definitely, like Isaid, if we're able to tell a
story and more people are ableto do these kind of podcasts,
uh, you guys are giving themthat opportunity.
So we really appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01 (33:17):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, one story at a time, youknow, storytelling and
education, I think, is is key uhto building anything.
So um we've we've tried to doour part today, and thank you
for being part of it.
Um if anybody wants if anyonewants to know how they can just
kind of contribute to the cause,kingshammer.com is the place to
(33:38):
start, I would imagine.
Yep.
You've you've given your phonenumber.
I'll make sure that that's um uhlisted uh wherever I post this
podcast.
People will know how to reachyou.
Yep.
So um we'll we'll get that phonering and we'll get people
visiting the website and umlearning how to raise our
younger generation to be um uhnot just soccer players in the
(34:00):
future, but uh teachers as well.
SPEAKER_02 (34:02):
And absolutely, absolutely perfect.
SPEAKER_01 (34:04):
All right, thanks for your time today.
So um we're uh we're signing offuh this uh edition of the good
neighbor podcast.
I'll say to everybody out there,uh, until we meet again,
everyone out there, please begood to your neighbor.
See you all.
Bye-bye.
SPEAKER_00 (34:21):
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast
Union to nominate your favoritelocal businesses to be featured
on the show.
Go to gnpunion.com.
That's gmpunion.com or call usat 859 651 8330.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.