Emily Genrich

Volunteer Coordinator & Gameday Liaison

My love for soccer began at the age of 9, when my brother convinced me that watching from the sidelines was not nearly as much fun as competing on the field. Memories from those early days of soccer are of playing with my brother and other childhood friends (hello, Bree!), sporting jean shorts as part of my “uniform” (yes, seriously, I wore jean shorts to play), and eating orange slices at halftime. Fast forward a few years … my love for the game had certainly grown, as did my knowledge of proper attire as I ditched the jean shorts for proper Umbros, and I joined DePere club soccer after being convinced by my friends that this was a new and improved level of commitment to the game. Memories from those years include shin guard tan lines and sun-burnt knees, weekend tournaments with road trips and hotel shenanigans, and yet more time with new friends.  Throughout my tenure at Notre Dame High School, being one of the “soccer girls” became my most prized identity and my love of the game somehow grew year after year, no doubt because of the relationships that came from it. I continued my soccer career for one more year at Marquette University before making the difficult decision to step away. And although I stepped away “formally,” I never really could step away for good. Years of co-ed indoor and outdoor soccer followed until I moved back to Green Bay and found the most amazing community back at one of my original stomping grounds, good ol’ Sports Emporium (which, back in my day, opened as Kicks). It was here that I reconnected with so many of those childhood and high school friends in the same way that our relationship began - on the field. And once again, I found myself making new friends that quickly became forever friends. 

My playing time continued both in indoor leagues and outdoor, thanks to those “soccer girl” friends, and expanded into coaching, as my son Henry then began playing and created yet another connection for me to the sport I love. Watching his love of the game grow and seeing him begin to form some of his own forever friends, it is clear how beneficial and important the soccer community is in Green Bay.

So when Kerry told me that she “bought a soccer team” and needed some help, I didn’t hesitate to say, “Count me in!” because Green Bay Glory is the epitome of what girls/women’s soccer should be - a place to form relationships and forever friends, make lives brighter, and celebrate a soccer community that welcomes all.  This is so obviously clear when you go to a Glory game, where you see people like my daughter Amelia, a die-hard dance lover, and my son Henry and husband Eric, die-hard Green Bay sports lovers, volunteering, attending games, and sporting the Glory gear because the environment is electrifying and contagious. It is an honor to be a part of the Glory team!