Blue KC employee embraces soccer’s global event in KC
Life-long soccer enthusiast Fred Schlichting calls the World Cup being played in Kansas City, where he helped grow the sport, “a dream come true.”
“After going to World Cup games in Chicago and Detroit in 1994, I was never thinking of having that in my hometown,” said Schlichting, a Customer Success Manager at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC). “It’s a level of excitement we’ve never had with soccer in KC.”
Schlichting helped elevate KC soccer scene
Argentina, England and the Netherlands chose the Kansas City area as their World Cup Team Base Camps, with Algeria training in nearby Lawrence, Kan. Schlichting said that’s a credit to the soccer infrastructure that Kansas City built, which has led to the city being billed as the “Soccer Capital of America.” He played a role in elevating Kansas City’s soccer facilities during his 18 seasons on the men’s soccer coaching staff at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).
“Swope Park used to be our UMKC game field,” said Schlichting, the former UMKC Men’s Soccer Assistant and Associate Head Coach from 1998-2016. “To see Swope Park host England’s World Cup team is unreal. We were instrumental in developing Swope Park Soccer Village, and we parlayed that development into building a soccer-specific stadium on campus at UMKC. Those are the two biggest things we were able to accomplish, growing the game and keeping UMKC soccer on the map.”
Schlichting’s connection to KC native who played in the World Cup
Before making an impact on the Kansas City soccer scene, Schlichting enjoyed an impressive soccer upbringing in St. Louis. He would go on to play for Notre Dame, which is also where Matt Besler, former Sporting Kansas City captain and the first Kansan to play in the World Cup, competed.
“I first met Matt when he was in high school at Blue Valley West,” said Schlichting. “I coached his Olympic Development Program team. I was friends with his dad, who was our team administrator.”
Schlichting teams with Hall of Fame coach
Following his career at Notre Dame, Schlichting took part in the Jesuits Volunteer Corps, which placed him at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo. in 1996.
“I loved it! I was one of the Rockhurst soccer coaches for two years and taught English. One of the boys I coached on the team was Matt Benben. His dad, Rick, who coached the Kansas City Comets, took the head coaching job at UMKC and asked me to be an assistant on his staff. We had a blast!”
Rick Benben and Schlichting helped the men’s soccer team become the first program at UMKC to earn an NCAA Division I Tournament win. Schlichting called Rick “a fantastic mentor” and helped honor him in the UMKC Athletic Hall of Fame.
After spending time as a volunteer coach for his two daughters’ soccer teams with Leawood Parks and Rec, Schlichting now focuses on being a Kansas City soccer fan, while also appreciating how Blue KC supports the Kansas City community through partnerships with Sporting KC and the Kansas City Current.
“My commitment in working at Blue KC was, and remains to be, to improve our community”, said Schlichting. “Our Blue KC Sporting Samaritan program that honors students and teachers in the Kansas City area is one of our impactful programs. As a former educator who worked at a university, to see the recognition we give to people who work tirelessly on behalf of other people is fantastic.”
Now, the Kansas City community is part of the biggest sporting event in history, and Schlichting encourages everyone to take advantage of all that it offers.
“It’s global and huge. More than one billion people are going to be watching. Go to the Fan Fest, talk to people who are in town for the festivities and learn about the teams who are staying here. I would encourage people to be involved. It’s one month that we have and make it special.”
