World Footy News

Tyler Kamerman no doubt has the American frontier spirit, but at the same time he upholds that great Aussie desire just to have a kick of the footy. His return to his home state left him without a footy outlet, so he started his own. While he is not the first member of the mobile American nation to take the Aussie Rules seed and transplant it to new fertile, virgin ground, he is the first to do so in his home state of Iowa.

The Des Moines Roosters first materialized last year when the US Nationals divisions were announced, and those of us not so familiar with US geography had to check out where exactly Des Moines was. It turns out it is a geographical hub of a semicircle that is ringed by other USFooty cities Minnesota, Milwaukee, Chicago, St Louis and Kansas City.

To find out more about the USFooty new kids on the block, we spoke with Tyler this week.

Tell us about your introduction to Aussie Rules football and where you first played?

I was introduced by Steve Cliff, a native Australian who was living in Los Angeles. A good friend of mine, Colter Allison, went out and watched the Orange County Bombers play the San Diego Lions and we were hooked. Colter jumped in that season and I ended up waiting a couple of seasons because of a non-football related injury.

What caused you to move to Iowa?

My wife and I had always planned to move back to Iowa, since that was home. My dad was diagnosed with a very rare, very aggressive neurological disease called Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease. So we moved back home when we did, because we wanted to get back closer to family.

Tell us a bit about Des Moines (climate, population, sporting history etc.) and life there in general? And how it sits in relation to other footy clubs geographically?

Des Moines, IA is very close to the center of the US both East to West and North to South. We get all 4 seasons here - bitterly cold winters with lots of snow and hot and humid summers. The population with all the suburbs is getting close to 500,000. In regards to sporting teams, we've got the Iowa Cubs - (Triple A, minor league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs), the Iowa Energy (NBA Developmental league), the Iowa Barnstormers (Arena League Football), and the Des Moines Buccanneers (USHL). To my knowledge those are the only professional teams we've had here in Des Moines. Personally, I love it here in Des Moines, I grew up in a town of about 5000 people, so LA was way too big. Des Moines has an up and coming music scene, a revamped downtown with great bars, the East Village is a very artistic area and West Des Moines is more of the typical "yuppie" suburbia.

The great thing about Des Moines location is that we have the Minnesota Freeze, Milwaukee Bombers, Chicago United, St. Louis and Kanasas City Power all within driving distance. I think it would be a great place to have the US Nationals someday because we're right in the center of the country.

What made you think that Des Moines was a good city for Aussie Rules Football and how did you form the club?

I don't know that I thought Des Moines was a good city for footy, but my brother and I both knew we wanted to play so decided to make it happen. I got word from my coach in LA that an Aussie he'd met out there had moved back to Des Moines as well. I was confident in my abillity to "lead" a team as president, but wasn't confident enough in my skills as a player to coach a team. But when Paul Fradd said he'd be interested in coaching, that's when the ball really started rolling. We got some press in some local publications and hung flyers around town and eventually we started building the club. We've really just encouraged the guys who are enjoying it to tell their friends and the really outgoing fellas will just throw it out there to guys at the gym or the bar. The thing we've found with footy in the US, is most of the guys who come out are individuals...they're looking for something a little different than the norm. If we could find the "place" where those guys hang out, we'd grow our numbers exponentially. We're up to about 15 guys now, so we still have a ways to go before our first full game, July 17th against Minnesota.

Tell us about the Roosters' trip to the Nationals last year?

Last year at Nationals we teamed up with the Orange County Bombers reserves team and played in Div4. We ended up battling for the Championship and came away runners up. It was a great experience and really solidified that fact that we were going to make this team work. It was a second Nationals experience for my brother Wes and I but a first for the other guys and it really just sucked them in. Getting to play 4 games of football in 2 days and watching the higher levels compete gives you something to strive for. I'm really pushing all of our new players to save the money to make it to Louisville this year, because I know anyone that experiences Nationals will be hooked.

What are you facilities in terms of training grounds and where you will play your home games?

We train in a big open field in Water Works Park in Des Moines. Its not as flat as I'd like but it works for now. Home games are still a bit in the air. We've located several fields that would work but have yet to designate anything as our home field. We're hoping that after getting our non-profit status that we might be able to get a corporate sponsor or get the parks and rec department to work with us in developing a field.

Who are the key position holders at the club (Coach, President etc.)?

President - Tyler Kamerman
Vice President - Oliver Powell
Secretary - Sean Chicoine
Treasurer - Wes Kamerman
Coach - Paul Fradd
Captain - Jared Hayes

What is the breakdown of local guys/Aussie expats/other internationals? Any guys that have played at other clubs?

We've got one Aussie, myself and my brother played for Orange County and everyone else is local and new to the game. Actually, we have a friend from the OC club that lives in Western Illinois, and one guy from the Portland club that will play most games with us.

Have you received any local support in terms of sponsorship?

It's been minimal as of yet because we don't have our non-profit status. The Royal Mile (English pub in Des Moines) is the pub that we're working with for sponsorship. They'll be doing drink and food specials for us and allowing us to have the upstairs to ourselves after games and for events like the Grand final and Australia Day.

What support have you received from USFooty?

US Footy has been quite supportive in answering questions and helping us get on our feet. Last year they sent us 3 free footballs to help us get started and website has a lot of great information. In addition, Amie Kennedy is very helpful when it comes to the business/administrative side of the club.

Tell us about your season opener in KC and then what is your schedule for 2010 and what would you like your club to achieve for the year?

We opened the season last weekend with a pre-season 9-a-side tournament in Kansas City. We went 0-3 but it was awesome to see the 5 guys that had never played a game start coming into their own. Seeing the way the game moves that understanding how the drills that we're doing in practice apply to the game. Its going to be an uphill battle this year and for a couple of years as we just have one Aussie and the majority of our team is new to the sport within the last year. But the improvement that I saw just in 3 games last Saturday is very encouraging.

May 22nd we're at home with Minnesota and Milwaukee visiting...depending on numbers we'll likely play one game as combined sides. Before this event we'll be inviting new recruits to come out and we'll work on kicking and handpassing and then everyone that attends will be invited to play in the game.

June 12th is an "all-comers" game at home - again we'll be encouraging new recruits to come out for a kick. We'll split up everyone that shows up and play a full game.

July 17th we head to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Freeze. This will be our first actual match and hopefully our first 18-a-side game as the Roosters.

August 14th we're on the road again taking on the Milwaukee Bombers.

September 18th is our final game of the season as the Kansas City Power come to Des Moines.

Then October 9-10 we'll be in Louisville for the US Nationals.

One major goal is to be able to play 18-a-side games against Minnesota, Milwaukee and Kansas City. I want us to continue to recruit new players with our focus on building the future of the Roosters. On the field, our major goal for the season is to get back into the Div 4 championship and this time bring home the cup.

World Footy News thanks Tyler for giving us the story of the Roosters genesis and wishes them all the best for the seasons ahead. May the frontier spirit continue to drive footy in the US (and the world).