Interview with Morris Lupenac, director of coaching, and Sharon Tylenda, publicity coordinator.

Location: Southeastern Michigan (players come from throughout the state).

History: Started in 1983 by Richard and Lynn Sawicky, who sought to create a highly competitive club employing licensed, professional coaches/trainers rather than players’ parents.

Origin of club name: Named after elite Yugoslavian professional soccer organization [Macedonian club Vardar Skopje], which was named after a European river.

Championships: 3 national, 14 USYSA Region II, 66 state championships.

Most famous players: Jeff Cassar (Miami Fusion), Ali Curtis (Tampa Bay Mutiny), Brian Maisonneuve and Mike Clark (Columbus Crew).

Number of teams: 16 boys (U-8 to U-19); 10 girls (U-9 to U-17).

Number of players: 245 boys, 150 girls.

Number of coaches: 14.

Coaching salaries: $600 per player per year.

Cost to play: $1,000-$2,000, depending on age level; travel expenses extra.

Facilities Outdoor: Pebble Creek Park, Southfield and Borden Park, Rochester; indoor training at various facilities.

Club philosophy: “Commitment to excellence. We pair highly dedicated youth soccer players with highly qualified, licensed coaches.”

Why no parent coaches: “We want to avoid politics.”

Recruiting philosophy: “We seek players who demonstrate the highest degree of desire and dedication. We believe in open tryouts to select any Michigan youth soccer player with those attributes. Some players travel as far as two hours.”

Club’s biggest strengths: “The best staff in Michigan, bar none – better than ODP. We have an excellent reputation for building highly skilled teams, while respecting sportsmanship. We are well-organized and established in the soccer world.”

Club’s greatest challenge: “Finding centralized practice facilities. We have no good soccer complex, and fields around here are pretty scarce.”

Club’s most recent issue: “Growth, particularly handling the demands of players who want to play with us, especially on the girls’ side where we had no teams five years ago. With growth comes the need to find qualified coaches.”

Soccer in Michigan: “It’s getting better and better. We’ve got a new generation of coaches who played the game.”

Biggest Rivals: Michigan Hawks, Michigan Wolves.

Sponsor: Fila.

Fundraising: Done at the team level.

Unusual fact: The past several Michigan High School Mr. Soccer Award winners have been Vardar players.

Contact information: www.vardarsoccer.org.

Interview by Soccer America Youth Soccer Letter executive editor Dan Woog