Meet Melissa Nelson Emily Thomas | Co-Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Nelson Emily Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa Nelson, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Our daughters brought our families together through soccer over a decade ago. As they grew and continued on their own journeys, they both had dreams of playing at a high level of soccer in college and beyond. There had been talk of a Women’s Premier Soccer League(WPSL) team being formed in the Sioux Falls region but nothing had come to fruition. We started to ask why not, what would it take and how could we make this happen. From these conversations, was born Sioux Falls City FC. As co owners along with our husbands, we applied for acceptance into the WPSL, the oldest and largest women’s soccer league in the world and were accepted December 2021. We set to work immediately with hiring coaching staff, securing a venue and building a team with the mission of empowering women through soccer.

Most people don’t associate South Dakota with top level soccer and we wanted to change that. SD has many teams of pre-professional sports for men, but nothing for women. Because of that, our daughters didn’t have role models as they grew up. We want to change that also by giving little girls the ability to dream big by seeing other women achieve at a high level.

Sioux Falls City FC (SFCFC) is a community focused amateur soccer club that strives to provide the highest level of developmental soccer opportunities for elite women in the Sioux Falls region. Through support and collaboration with community based businesses and organizations, we will uphold the values of Authenticity, Integrity and Purpose.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We are the ultimate “soccer moms”! Neither of us have played or coached soccer but our passion developed through our daughters love for the sport. We are “girl moms” who want to inspire and uplift not only our daughters, but other young women both on and off the field. We are providing the platform for our young women on the team to be true to themselves and what they believe in. Taking a stand is never easy, and as the Owner Group, we used our pillars of Authenticity, Integrity and Purpose to guide us in tough decisions, We are most proud of seeing our team of young women empowered to take a stand for what is important to them in front of their peers and the community.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The visit would include a trip to the Arc of Dreams which is downtown Sioux Falls and the major inspiration for our brand and logo. The Arc of Dreams signifies “taking the leap”. This is what we did as we created this organization and what we ask of our staff, players and community. Next stop would be Falls Park to see our city’s namesake. Our team colors are inspired by the surroundings at the park: the pink quartzite, the blue water, the black from the steel industry and the white represented by the snowy winters. With too many great restaurants in the city to name, we would head to our favorite pre/post game venue, the Roundhouse Brew Pub. Out the back door from here, we would march to Bob Young Field, our home stadium.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The other members of our organization that include: Our husbands Gabe Nelson and Eric Thomas Staff: Joe DeMay(Technical Director), Dale Weiler(Head Coach), Taylor Machacek( Assistant Coach), James Oppenheimer(Director of Player Personnel), Joel Kaskinen(SocialMedica/Communications)
Travis Gallipo(Team Photographer)

The Sioux Falls Community has always embraced local sports teams. From our beginning, this community has supported, encouraged and shown up for Sioux Falls City in many ways.

Website: siouxfallscityfc.com

Instagram: siouxfallscity

Twitter: @SiouxFallsCity

Facebook: Sioux Falls City FC

Youtube: Sioux Falls City FC

Other: TikTok – siouxfallscity

Image Credits
Travis Gallipo Photography