It was 17 degrees and snowy, and the Maynes twins were training outside in shorts.
The training grounds at Blaine’s National Sports Center host all of Minnesota United’s teams, from the Academy to MNUFC2 to the first team, and it’s where Will and Sully Maynes found themselves trialing two years ago. Having expected indoor training in February, they did not dress for the weather.
Now, their mom jokes that it’s the reason they were invited to the Academy — because who would show up to train in shorts in Minnesota if they weren’t crazy about soccer?
245 miles south of Saint Paul, Will and Sully Maynes grew up playing soccer just outside of Des Moines, Iowa. They bounced around clubs — Sporting, FC United, VSA Rush — and were approached by another developmental academy program when they were just nine years old. Deeming that a little too soon to go all-in on professional development, the boys’ parents, Leslie and John, opted to hit pause.
Years later, when a friend reached out to recommend the MNUFC Academy program, they hit play again.
Making the Move
The twins and their parents spent that first winter and fall periodically making the four-hour drive, going up to train Wednesday through Friday and playing on Saturday before returning home.
“John and I were pretty naive on the whole experience,” Leslie said. “We were still thinking, this will just be a nice bonus to add onto their Iowa hours when we can with some additional competition.”
But after six months on trial, the Maynes were asked how they’d feel about moving to Minnesota.
Moving up the interstate would mean figuring out jobs, school, life. Leslie would need to sort out remote work, and how was a player dedicated to a pre-professional athletic career supposed to navigate high school? Fortunately, MNUFC’s Academy has an agreement with the Spring Lake Park school district that allows players to attend a hybrid of in-person and online classes. Still, the boys’ school back in Iowa was semester-based, so moving to Spring Lake Park’s trimester schedule in the middle of their freshman year would be complicated.
She and John agreed to have the boys continue as guest players throughout the fall and move during the winter to give themselves enough time to prepare. In the process, the family found ample support with the dedicated Academy counselors at the school. They had also developed connections at the club who mentored the boys both on and off the pitch and guided them through this major transition.
Because the Academy schedule runs September through early December with a break for the holidays, then returns to play in March and ends in June, the Maynes spend the bulk of their year in Minnesota now. They return to Iowa in the offseason, where John still works and lives, not an uncommon situation for out-of-state players.
“The culture’s been really good,” Sully said. “The service that we’ve had off the field with school and all that has been really good too.”
Leslie and John always said that if they were moving to Minnesota solely for soccer, they were making the wrong choice. “We’re moving here because we want to teach these boys that if they challenge themselves and get comfortable being uncomfortable, that they can prove to themselves they can do this, that will benefit them for life in a way that nothing else can,” she said.
Striking a Balance
Being a pre-professional athlete means missing out on part of the standard high school experience. The Academy’s agreement with Spring Lake Park schools tries to mitigate that gap with a combination of in-person attendance and online learning.
“We’re intentional about at least partial in-person attendance, because we really think there’s value in those kids developing relationships and dealing with people who aren’t involved in their soccer lives,” said Director of Player Wellbeing and Academy Operations Anne Moelk. “Because that’s just the real world.”
When the boys played with the U16s, they would attend three in-person classes in the morning before heading to afternoon practice and closing out the evening with two classes online. Many of the Academy players who grew up locally still attend school in their home school districts, but most of the homestay players open enroll to SLP.
For players who grew up in the area, the built-in network of childhood friends doesn’t leave. But when you’re from out of state or even out of country, you aren’t surrounded by the guys you had sleepovers with when you were 11. For the Maynes twins, going to school on campus part-time meant they interacted with kids their age outside of the Academy, but also that they had a built-in network at school of other Academy players in the same boat.
“It’s a really tight group here,” Will said.
The district provides transportation to and from the training center, which Will and Sully took advantage of in their U15 year. This year, as U18s, they have opted to go fully online.
“You have to be organized and be mature about it,” Will said. “We do go on long trips, so [it’s important to] make sure you communicate with teachers ahead of time and just stay on top of school. For the soccer side, I would say [the key is] building out a block of time to prepare for games and prepare for practice in the morning and then using the rest of the time in your day to work on school.” Sully added that knowing where and when to ask for help has been the key to success.
Having a built-in friend who shares the same experiences, both in Iowa and in Minnesota, has also been a big help.
“I think it would have been different [without Will] for sure,” Sully said. “Having a guy to reflect on practice or ask questions on school or even just hang out with after practice is definitely helpful because it can get lonely. Playing at this high of a level isn't easy, and mentally, it can be exhausting. And so having a good support system around you, especially a brother that you're with almost 24/7, is really helpful.”
Parenting the Pre-Professional Player
Leslie has also found a community with other Academy parents, sitting on the parent committee and often speaking to prospective Academy families about her own experience. She’s been impressed with Spring Lake Park’s responsiveness, usually finding answers within 24 hours and feeling confident in organizing the details of class credits for both boys. The most difficult part, she says, is accepting the new normal of an Academy lifestyle when it comes to the social aspect of high school.
“There's this dichotomy between what your player typically wants and what a parent typically wants,” she said.
The Academy boys prioritize their career as pre-professional soccer players. The reality is that they will not experience many of the social aspects parents dream about for their kids — prom, homecoming, walking across the graduation stage. They have training, games, tournaments.
“As long as your player is comfortable with that, then you just support your player. One of the things we laugh about is, were they ever gonna go to prom?” Leslie said. “They all kind of had their passions when they were little and followed those, and fun maybe looked a little bit different for them.”
To this day, when she asks her boys what their idea of fun is, they say “winning.”
She’s also found that the type of life experience the boys are gaining in their training and travels is something a traditional high school experience simply couldn’t offer. She’s watched the twins grow and gain independence under the blanket of reliable MNUFC support staff. Navigating airports, going to different cities, experiencing diverse communities unlike their predominantly white hometown of Norwalk, Iowa.
“A prayer rug at 4 a.m. in a hotel room,” she said. “We can’t give them that back home. Those are things that are going to be lessons that they’ll take with them well beyond what’s going to happen on the field.”
Will and Sully echo the sentiment and plan to make the most of their time in Minnesota, however long it may be.
Every so often, Leslie checks in: “We still having fun here?”
The answer is always yes.
