johnm@lakecountrysoccer.org

John grew up in Kansas City and played soccer through High School and College.  He has over 40  years of experience coaching soccer at all levels, competitive and recreational.  John and his  wife, Debbie raised their 4 kids in Birmingham, AL where John was involved in club soccer from the moment they arrived in Alabama.  John helped grow the American Soccer Club form 650 players to 1500 players, having served as Club President & Director of Coaching.  Through a merger with the 2nd largest club in Birmingham, Birmingham United was formed  with a roster of 2500+ players.  John served as the Competitive Director of Coaching for the newly formed club.  John and Debbie's 4 children all played competitive soccer at the highest levels and 3 of the 4 went on to play in college.  John, jr. is currently Head Women's Coach at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL, a NCAA DII school. John has served as the Executive Director at Lake Country Soccer in Springfield since 2013. 

thaylan@swmorush.org

Thaylan is from Springfield, MO and has been involved with soccer here in Springfield since he was 4 years old. He played on several club teams in Springfield during the infancy of Lake Country Soccer. Around the age of fourteen, Thaylan and his family made the decision to make a weekly commute to St. Louis, MO so he could play for Busch Soccer Club. Busch Soccer Club won the Missouri State Cup several times.

 Thaylan was a four year member of the soccer team at Greenwood High School in Springfield, MO. Greenwood won the district title all four years of his High School career. They fell just short of victory in the state championship game in 1995, 1996 and 1997. He was a first team all-district and first team all-state selection as a sophomore, junior and senior.

 He then earned a soccer scholarship to Missouri State University. Thaylan was a member of the 1999 Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament championship team. The 1999 Bears were undefeated through the regular season and conference tournament. In 2000, Missouri State climbed as high as number three in the NCAA division one national rankings.

 Once his playing days were over, he coached for several clubs throughout the city. He took a break from coaching before joining the Magic Soccer family in 2012. Thaylan resides in Springfield, MO with his wife Adrian and their sons Tristan and Tobias.

alfb@lakecountrysoccer.org

Director of Coaching and Player Development U9-U14

Tyler Bennett

tylerb@swmorush.org

Born and raised in Springfield, MO, Tyler began playing soccer when he was 8 years old. He played for various teams until his 6th grade year when he decided to start playing competitively with a traveling team called the Fire Hawks. He later then joined Springfield Soccer Club under the direction of Jeremy Alumbaugh playing in state, regional, and national events.

 In 2007, during his sophomore year of high school, the team at Springfield Soccer Club won 1st in the Premier MRL Division and also became the first team from not only Springfield, MO to win a Missouri State Cup Championship, but the first team to win it that was not from Kansas City or St. Louis. That year they also went on to become semi-finalists in the Regional tournament, made up of all 13 state cup champions from throughout the Midwest. During his junior year, they competed in the most prestigious top level tournaments in the United States including Disney Wide World of Sports Tournament, Dallas Cup, Adidas Final Four Tournament, and TSC Tournament. For the 2008 club campaign, his team won the Missouri State Cup Tournament for the second year in a row, 1st in the Premier Division for MRL, and Semi Finalist in the Regional Tournament. In 2009, Tyler’s senior year, his club team was ranked #1 in the Nation. 

Tyler also played all four years on his high school’s soccer team, at Kickapoo High School, where his team still holds the record for finishing 3rd in State. During his Junior year, he earned the following honors, 2nd Team All District, 2nd Team All-Conference. His senior year he was 1st Team All District, 1st Team All-Conference. After high school he was recruited to play NCAA Division III College soccer at Oglethorpe University from 2009-2012,

After graduating from Missouri State University Tyler began his coaching career in 2013. In 2016 he started coaching with Demize, where he has experienced winning multiple league and tournament championships. In 2018 he became the Boys Director of Coaching helping develop players and teams at multiple levels and age groups across the club. He continued his career through SWMO Rush representing the club at state, regional, and national events.

 “ I will continue to develop an elite soccer environment for kids that want to play at the next level. As the Director of Coaching and Development, I will continue to instill the pillars of what allowed for my growth as a player and my success as a youth, high school and collegiate player from Southwest Missouri across the program. Commitment, hard work on and off the field, dedication to your team, teammates, and accountability.”

SWMO Rush Advisory Committee

Aaron Rickard, Chair

arickard14@gmail.com

Melissa Bade

Stephanie Hart

Rachel Hurst

Thaylan Johnson, Technical Director

Billy McQueary

Joe Passanise

Claire Potter