Like much of the history of indoor soccer, the American Indoor Soccer League was born out of the ashes, and has gone through its share of growing pains. However, as the old saying goes, “out of chaos comes order”.

Coming into it’s fourth season, the AISL is looking to become a player on the American indoor soccer scene. Not, the big time mind you, but something more like “off-Broadway”. The AISL wants to be a place for the American player to show off their skills, and to be a “launching pad” for the future players in the top flight of American indoor soccer.

The AISL story starts back in 1998. After the USL folded their indoor operations, Paul Lapointe, the owner of the then-Western Massachusetts Twisters realized that the dream of a “regional” indoor soccer league was a sound one. Three years later, the Twisters, along with five other indoor soccer clubs based in the northeast, formed the American Indoor Soccer League. The competition was tight, but when it was all said and done, the Massachusetts Aztecs defeated Connecticut Academica to win the first AISL championship.

However, after that 2002-03 campaign, the AISL went through something akin to a divorce, when both the Aztecs and Academica broke ranks, joining the Premier Arena Soccer League, a smaller regional operation. Soon after, two of the other remaining three clubs, Team Canada and the New Hampshire Storm, decided to withdraw from the league.

Realizing that time was not on his side, Lapointe decided to put the AISL on hiatus for the 2003-04 season, as he would look to revamp the league.

In the summer of 2004, the Cincinnati Excite joined the league, with the New Mexico Storm soon to follow, bringing the AISL to three members. Then in late September, the Detroit/Windsor Border Stars made the league’s dance card complete for 2004-05.

The 2004-05 campaign was, for all intents and purposes, a dogfight all the way to the end of the season. The Border Stars went “wire to wire”, as their club, a mix of former young Canadian players mixed with several NPSL veterans, surprised everyone, taking the regular season title. However, the identity of the Stars’ opponent in the championship game would go down to the final game of the regular season, as the Excite would defeat the Storm in Albuquerque to punch their ticket to the final. Unfortunately for the Excite, however, the Border Stars would not be denied the title, taking a 4-1 decision in Windsor.

The 2005-06 season, like many of it’s predecessors, had it’s share of ups and downs. Before the season began, ownership issues with the New Mexico Storm and the Detroit/Windsor Border Stars forced the league to sever it’s ties with the second year teams. However, just when things looked darkest, a group from Rockford, IL led by former MISL and NPSL standout Oscar Albuquerque agreed to join the AISL, playing a series of exhibition games to test interest in both Rockford and Chicago. Then in early December, the league added a new club in Memphis, who played one game against the Excite.

On the field, the Cincinnati Excite, denied the league championship in 2004-05, made it clear that they would not be denied in their sophomore year. Coach Terry Nicholl’s club dominated the league, winning their first five games in a row. Their chance for an unbeaten season was ruined on March 4th, when they dropped a heartbreaking overtime decision to the Rockford Thunder. However, they would take home a “W” in their final game in Massachusetts, finishing the season with a 6-1 record, tying the 2004-05 Border Stars and 2002-03 Massachusetts Aztecs for most wins in a season.

While the 2005-06 season was not what the AISL expected, it proved that the league could survive, and it gave “the little league that could” a solid base for the future.

As the 2006-07 season reaches the starting line the AISL is poised for growth in the upcoming years. In the past several months, the league office has been in conversations with several cities for expansion in the near future. In addition, the AISL has begun marketing partnerships with Sells Goalkeeping Products and Dubes Custom Soccer Uniforms, and it’s member teams have set up local partnerships with Dick’s Sporting Goods, Red Bull Energy Drink, Donato’s Pizza, and more.

The American Indoor Soccer League is committed to quality growth, and is dedicated to the idea that sometimes it’s “better to be the tortoise than the hare.” We believe that there is a place for indoor soccer in this country, and perhaps the future of our sport is at the grass roots level, in the mid-level markets where an AISL indoor soccer game would be “the place to be”.