BEMIDJI 鈥� Every 45 minutes on a typical warm, sunny Saturday in late May, the echoes of an air horn can be heard through the air near Bemidji High 歪歪漫画.
It鈥檚 time for eight more games to commence.
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Bemidji Youth Soccer has hosted its six-on-six tournament, the Bemidji 6V6, for over a decade. On its surface, it鈥檚 a laid-back, family-friendly youth sporting event at a low cost with lower stakes. While that鈥檚 by the design of program directors Jeff Mitchell and Rick Toward, it鈥檚 helped infuse a culture that鈥檚 carrying over generations as former program players now guide their kids through their past footsteps.
鈥淭he club has given us the flexibility that not every sport gets to have,鈥� Toward said. 鈥淥ur 19s team, our oldest team, will essentially be our varsity team. It鈥檚 not going to exclusively be that, but a lot of those kids get to play together all summer. That鈥檚 an advantage we have over a lot of (Twin Cities) teams, where kids all break up and play for their own clubs.鈥�
Toward, who will enter his 31st season as head coach of the BHS boys soccer team, with Mitchell by his side as a valued assistant, sees the benefit in the continuity Bemidji provides in its coaching.
Players are taught the fundamentals and systems that are used at the boys and girls varsity levels. Toward is using his 鈥渟ame message, different voice鈥� approach to find his leg up on programs that have more players to pull from.
鈥淥ur guys get to play together all year long, and there鈥檚 an advantage to that,鈥� he added. 鈥淭hose teams have a depth of talent we will never reach, and that鈥檚 their advantage. We have to make do with what we have.
鈥淲hat grows our program is we are seamless between club soccer and high school soccer. The voice you get in the season is the voice you鈥檙e getting in high school. 鈥� The success you see in the high school programs and the club鈥檚 growth are correlated. It鈥檚 a strategy we use in how we approach kids and their development.鈥�
What Bemidji Youth Soccer has is consistency.
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Every summer, parents can pencil in four tournaments and the Bemidji 6V6 held at the end of May. Regardless of age, Bemidji teams travel the same places on the same weekends.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 split up our tournaments,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淚f you have a kid who鈥檚 8 and another who鈥檚 16, they play at the same tournaments. You don鈥檛 have to choose which parent goes with which kid, and that鈥檚 important for a lot of families. You鈥檙e all in one place.鈥�
BYS plays in tournaments around the state, from Grand Forks down to the metro area. So Saturdays like the Bemidji 6V6 give the locals a chance to stay local.
Forty-one teams competed in the Bemidji 6V6, with over 400 players in levels U9 to U19. Each block includes 45 minutes. All games start and end at the same time with the help of an air horn.
The Bemidji 6V6 features Lumberjacks of the past and future, and then some. It is not a requirement that a player needs to be signed up for organized soccer to compete, paving the way for BHS athletes in other sports to lace up their cleats.
It also gives recently graduated Lumberjacks one more chance to play at home. Kids in club soccer can play until they turn 20, meaning the newly-minted alumni can compete the summer after they graduate.
The Bemidji 6V6 ultimately serves as a fundraising effort for BYS. Each road tournament can cost anywhere from $8,000 to $9,000 for the traveling 15-16 Bemidji teams. The Bemidji 6V6 helps fortify the BYS sum, while also going toward funding soccer for underprivileged players.
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鈥淭he first money that comes out of the pot goes to players who can鈥檛 afford the full registration,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淭his covers that cost and the cost for scholarships. 鈥� I鈥檇 say about $3,000 of that will go toward scholarships for players and jerseys for players who can鈥檛 afford them, and so on.鈥�
Ultimately, BYS is a cyclical program. Once players reach the varsity level, they begin serving as coaches for the youngest age groups BYS offers.
Toward attributes the cycle to the culture of soccer at all ages in Bemidji.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big part of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 stuff like this. It鈥檚 also stuff like our rec program on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where we have 250 kids, 4-8 years old, over at the complex. The vast majority of the coaches are high school kids. Harper (Toward) used to play rec as a kid, then coached rec in high school and now is a coach in the club.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing that second generation come through, and that鈥檚 part of the environment Jeff and I worked hard to create. We鈥檙e a family-friendly organization.鈥�
While it鈥檚 too late to register for the BYS program for the summer of 2025, registration opens in late July for 2026. For more information, visit
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