Badger legends is a series that celebrates former men's soccer players who used their experiences at Wisconsin to blaze new trails. Each month, he celebrates one men's soccer graduate from a different age group.
This month we celebrate the career of Jim Froslide, who played for the team from 1985 to 1988 and left an indelible mark on the record books.
For Froslid and the rest of his friends and family in Minnesota, soccer was hockey's offseason training sport. This was an activity that involved some of the best and brightest in the community, including 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medalist Rob McClanahan.
“Like many kids growing up in Minnesota, my primary sport was hockey since I was 5 years old,” Jim explained.
“When I was young, I played soccer because it was considered good for athletic training for hockey. The concept of the game was similar and the conditioning was unparalleled.”
Froslide's transition to soccer, like most major changes, resulted from multiple intersecting influences in his life. The first one was from his ABC broadcast of the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. Jim was glued to the television during every game of the competition, captivated by the passion of the players representing each country and the impact this sport has on the world.
“I watched the final in a hotel during a youth soccer tournament and heard ABC presenter Jim McKay say, “One in three people on the planet will be watching the World Cup final today.'' remember”
The second reason Frothlid turned his attention to this beautiful game was because of his two youth coaches. Lou Churchich, a Yugoslavian who led Jim's North Suburbs Soccer Association U16 team to the state championship, and Stan Mirza, a former Ukrainian goalkeeper.
“We had some great coaches who had a knack for teaching, challenging and making us laugh,” Froslid explained.
“They took me under their wing and taught me a love for the game that I will never lose.”
By the time Jim was in high school, he was playing soccer as much as hockey. And as his teams continued to have success, it became difficult to turn away from sports after high school. Since the University of Minnesota did not have a varsity team, Froslid looked to neighboring states for a chance to play in Division I.
“I considered Boston University and Michigan State, but I chose Wisconsin because they were really the only ones that would recruit me.”
Dean Duast, assistant men's coach at the University of Vienna, was the first to invite Froslid to campus. Besides the general amenities and opportunities that awaited him on campus, such as the rich history, beautiful scenery, and excellent journalism program, Froslid's decision to represent varsity came after a meeting with coach Bill Redan. It was done. Serving as the first head coach in program history, Reddan quickly became a figure to be admired at Froslide for his contagious energy, wisdom and kindness in welcoming Froslide to the city.
“To this day, he's in the top 10 people I respect most that I've ever met,” Froslid says.
Jim's decision to join the team was instantly vindicated in his first college game. One of his fondest memories of playing for the Badgers was when Froslid came on as a substitute in the 80th minute of a 0-0 game against Ohio State, fired a shot into the back of the net before receiving a pass, and scored his first goal with his first touch. This is what we decided to do. .
“As I was riding the bus home, I thought, 'College soccer is easy,'” Froslid said, adding, “It took me a year to score the Badgers' next goal. It's humbling. It's not that easy.” added.
Eventually, Froslid always figured out how to find the back of the net in dramatic fashion. His senior year in 1988, he was named captain and scored 11 goals that season. Not only was this total the highest on the team, five of those goals were game-winning goals, making it the second-highest total of game-winning goals in a UW men's soccer season. One of his goals came off a bicycle kick against Milwaukee in the Panther Classic Tournament, and Jim still has that memory.
Aside from all the memorable goals he scored, some of Frothlid's fondest memories from his playing days include small moments with his team. He loved the conversations he had with his teammates while on the bus and when the team made the complicated journey of boarding the first plane in program history to San Jose, California.
Frothlid finished his senior season as the team's leading scorer, team captain and team MVP, earning him a spot on the All-Middle East Region team.
He ranks 14th on the school's all-time scoring list.
Froslid's college playing days were over, but his soccer career was just beginning. Mr. Froslid majored in journalism while attending the University of California and gained experience working at several different newspapers, including the Badger Herald, Madison The Capital Times, and the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal.
His experience in both soccer and media led him to work for the U.S. Soccer Federation, where he worked as a press officer during the 1994 Chicago World Cup. Jim continued to oversee U.S. Soccer throughout the '90s, helping to develop young U.S. Soccer stars like Landon Donovan and Damarcus Beasley, not only as a publicist but eventually as director of all national youth teams. did.
“Football has grown tremendously since I was at Wisconsin in the 1980s,” Froslide said.
“The 1990s were the biggest period of growth for our sport. In 10 years, we hosted the Men's and Women's World Cups, the Olympics, won two Women's World Cup titles, and won the Men's Copa America semi-finals, and won the Men's World Cup Finals. 16. We also launched a men's professional league that still thrives today.
After a decade in which he helped develop soccer in the United States, Frothlid returned to his home state to become president of the Minnesota Thunder of the USL-1, the precursor to the USL Championship. Jim had ties to the team, not only did he play on the team in the summer of 1990 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin, but his father was also involved in the creation of the team.
“I grew up playing soccer at the National Sports Center, which is only 10 minutes from my house,” Froslid explained.
“My father played a small role in passing Congress to build 55 consecutive fields in Blaine, and he was part of a small group that later started the USA Cup.”
Jim credits his time with the Thunder as a source of business knowledge that he later used as venue director for the 2016 Copa America.
“When you work at a grassroots level like this, it becomes clear where the most credit for football's success lies. Players, coaches and administrators at these levels play their roles largely under the radar. I am proud to have worked with many “weightlifters” at the grassroots level. ”
Froslide currently works for Block USA, adding to his extensive resume that includes securing turf for athletic facilities across the country. But all of this commitment can be traced back to his days playing football at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where the connections he made on and off the field led him to success in life.
“I am most proud of being part of the amazing network of people we call University of Wisconsin alumni. not. It opened doors and strengthened relationships. ”
“My fondest memories were made after my playing days. Young players need to realize that the friendships they form during their college years can last a lifetime. I feel very lucky to be able to stay in touch with my mates. And even more cool, I'm friends with Badger players that I've never played with – older and younger, none of you. You can't take that away from me.”