Happy Anniversary to IMS – 1 Year Old

Today is the 1 year anniversary of Inside Minnesota Soccer.

A year ago I was scrambling to get the site up and running before the Minnesota State High Schools soccer tournament. I think my vision of what I wanted IMS to be has changed slightly but overall the mission is the same. To unite the many different soccer fans throughout the state of Minnesota by having a central place to go for Minnesota soccer news. And speaking of Minnesota soccer news, I’ve been amazed at the volume of soccer news in the state. So much so that I couldn’t possibly keep up with it all while I work a real job. If a guy could make a living at this there is clearly enough news surrounding soccer in our state to make a full time job out of it. I never would have thought that a year ago.

I have been amazed at all the terrific people involved with soccer that I have met this past year, both here in Minnesota and across the country. For years I’ve said my best friends seem to come from my soccer circles because they are interesting, curious and most have a very global view. This has also held true of my new soccer friends I have met. I feel very lucky to have met so many great people this past year.

There are many people to thank for all the help and encouragement along the way. Josh Whitcomb for setting up IMS and technically advising along the way. The voice of the MN Thunder, Chris Lidholm for coming up with the name of the site as well as guidance with some tips and tricks when IMS began. Bruce McGuire of duNord for encouraging me and giving me a nice big fat link on his site. Teresa Petersen who has been an extraordinary editor. It takes a lot to make the site readable with my spelling and grammar and she has put in countless hours behind the scene. Jeremy Olson for allowing me to use his terrific photography. Its been a real pleasure working with Jeremy and his keen eye. Kyle Nelson has recently contributed to the site. Kyle will be helping me cover the state tournament as well. He does a great job and I’m excited to have him helping me. And most of all to my partner Brenda who has been incredibly supportive of this mad and sick passion I have for the game and for the web site. Brenda has been a constant source of good writing ideas and her editing skills have saved the day more than once.

And a great big thank you to all the regular readers of Inside Minnesota Soccer. By reading you inspire me to continue what I’m doing.

A few quick IMS Stats for the first year: 365 days – 677 posts – 1,134 comments – 192,166 pageviews – 15 audio interviews with 1450 plays.