Kerry Geocaris

Co-Founder & Executive Director

I’m Geo. I play many roles in my life…mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, business owner, life & business coach, TV personality, speaker, soccer coach, and soccer player. I spent the majority of my childhood and early adult life only knowing myself as one thing – a soccer player. My dream as a child was to play high-level soccer both collegiately and professionally. That dream was shattered after suffering two devastating injuries as a teenager.

The injuries resulted in a complete identity loss and led me down a path of self-discovery that included years of questioning who I was. As I look back, this was a blessing in disguise as it led to my self-realization and launching of my own life coaching business where I now use my experience to help others including athletes, business owners, and entrepreneurs.

In Spring of 2018, I succeeded in my childhood dream to play premier soccer with the Milwaukee Torrent at the age of 39. While I am proud of my personal accomplishments and learned much from the experience, I felt unsettled and that my work isn’t finished.

After returning to play nearly twenty years later, I realized very little has changed since my glory days. Young girls like myself are sacrificing for the sport they love only to be met with dead ends and broken dreams.  I witnessed many struggles these women face while balancing everyday life with the intense pressure to train, practice, and compete.

Here are some:

  • Little Opportunity: Like myself, these athletes focus on dedicating their lives to competing and after high school there are few options for them to do so. Even if they play in college, there are zero opportunities for elite female soccer players in our community. If the girls want to play at a high level they need to travel or move away from their hometown. What is exciting about Green Bay is that there is a lot of female talent. Green Bay has two high school state champion teams, a massive pool of players in the Midwest Regional League, and schools like UWGB, St. Norbert’s, Lawrence University, Oshkosh, and Fox Valley Tech from which to draw.
  • Loss of self & purpose: I experienced first hand the detriment an athlete experiences when their sport is no longer a part of their life. It is a devastating loss that can greatly affect the rest of their life.  Many of the athletes I work with in my performance coaching business suffer anxiety, depression, lack of self worth, and struggle to find their place in their world just like I did.
  • Lack life direction or guidance: Many of these girls have sacrificed and dedicated their lives to playing a sport and have learned to define themselves as “soccer players”. They have received little direction on how to take their skills as an athlete and apply them in life. They are strong and confident on the field but when they step off, it often is a different story.
  • Inequity: Despite the improvements in gender equality in sports, female athletes still face obstacles and are overlooked. The formation of women’s teams and programs usually are an afterthought even in the world of soccer despite the US Women’s team being the most successful team in international soccer.

My mission is to enhance the soccer culture in the Green Bay area by providing a platform for elite female players throughout Wisconsin. I want to provide an opportunity to compete at a high level yet provide an environment where they can reconnect with the joy that often gets lost along the way. I have a vision for a program that will combine the challenge of premier soccer with the support of mentors, giving female athletes the opportunity to continue to play at a high level while guiding them through the struggles inherent with what it takes to do so. I plan to create a program that focuses on using sport as a path to self-discovery instead of sacrifice so athletes can use their skills both on and off the field while creating glorious moments and bringing our community together.