Cameron Kunz joined Blackhills at six years old as part of the U8 Jr Academy. He continued to play at the Club each year until his high school graduation in 2023. He is starting at Saint Martin's University in the fall of 2023 where he will play for their Men's Soccer Team.

What are some of your earliest memories of playing at Blackhills?

I remember my first year with the Club and going through that tryout process. I joined at U8 and spent two years at that age group because I joined when I was six or seven years old. It was back when we were doing it off of grade year instead of birth year. I remember I was really nervous. I had only played rec and I didn't know what to expect. I ended up making the 3rd Team in that first year. It was with Coach Brandon and I chose to play defense in that year. I really liked playing at the Club; I liked how it was able to push me and get out of my comfort zone. I'd never done a tryout before and this was my first experience.

You’ve been part of our Club for over a decade – what have you enjoyed about your experience that brought you back each year?

I just enjoyed playing soccer. Soccer is what I love doing. I chose to play soccer year-round because that's what I loved doing. Just being able to play at a higher level and being pushed outside of my comfort zone.

I liked how the coaches were challenging me and allowed me new opportunities. For example [Coach] James, when I was around 11, allowed me to practice with his U18 Boys. I asked James if I could come out and get some extra work in and he allowed me to come practice with his older team. Not a lot of Clubs would allow you to do that. I was able to do that at Blackhills and it gave me a sense of community - which is great.

At the time, training with those older boys, it was frustrating and it wasn't always going to go my way. One thing my dad always told me was "It might not be going your way now, but doing it now is going to help you in the future." James letting me play with those older kids helped me deal with harder pressure and gave me an early exposure to how he, Kurt, Caleb and all those coaches worked with older players. It taught me what was expected of me to become a better player.

What was the journey like for you as you evolved as a player at the Club?

I started on the 3^rd Team in the first year and eventually was playing for the Red Team. It was my goal to make Black Team. Each year when I didn’t make the team, I thought of it as “Yeah, making the Black Team would be cool, but it’s not the end of the world. I’m still going to work my hardest to meet those expectations to get selected for Black Team.”

I played on Red Team until my 8^th Grade year and those years when I wouldn’t get the call that I made Black Team, I’d think “it didn’t go my way.” And I’d be frustrated at the moment, because it was my goal to make the Black Team. My parents would support me by saying “Now you know what it takes to play at that level. You get a whole year to work at it and prepare yourself for next year’s tryout.” I took it as a chance to work as hard as possible to get better as a player.

I had opportunities to play with the Black Team throughout those years. I played in some games and tournaments with the Black Team. It’s not like the opportunity is never going to be there. Working to get a little bit better every day – the coaches will notice that and when you show you’re ready to help the team there’s going to be an opportunity to get that Black Team experience. The other players, too, will start to realize that you’re getting better.

You mentioned how your parents supported you.

My parents were everything. I don’t know where I would be without my parents. They came to every single game. They drove me to every single practice. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for them. After a bad game, they would build me up. After a great game, they would be happy for me. They were always there to support me and my decisions. And that was a really big thing; they allowed me to make my own decisions. It was up to me to come back [to Blackhills each year] and they would always say “we support you either way.” They made sure that they were always there to see me play and make me the best person I could be.

What role has soccer played for you in your life?

Soccer has always been my escape route – my way of getting away from things. There are always days at work, or at school when I was younger - just life in general - where I’ve relied on soccer to be my escape and calming matter for me. It gives me that escape from rough times to be playing with friends and enjoying joking around with the guys and working hard with my teammates. We crack jokes and we practice hard. Having a nice hard practice after a long day at school has always been a calming factor with me.

What was important to you at practice to help you become a better player?

Practice has never been like “Oh, that was a bad practice for me.” Every practice to me has always been an opportunity to work as hard as possible. When things don’t go well, then there’s another practice to work and make things better. After a practice where I felt I made a lot of mistakes, I always tried to make that next practice my best one.

Putting forth my effort and attitude – that’s what I’ve based my perspective off of. Maybe I had a missed touch or a missed shot; everybody misses a shot. The only things I can control are my attitude and my effort, so as long as I put my best effort and attitude into practice, it was a good practice for me.

Some things in soccer you can practice and see improvement really quickly. Other things take a longer time to really develop and can take patience to keep working at. What is an example of something that took a long time for you to improve on in your soccer?

Dealing with pressure. I’ve noticed when I was younger, some players don’t deal with pressure and that was me. When I had a player or two players running at me, I was frantic and I wouldn’t know what to do with the ball. The years kept going by and by and I started noticing that I was getting a little bit better.

Practicing with the U18 guys helped a lot with that because with [Coach] James he’s all about the pressure – he wants to put immediate pressure on you. So when I would receive the ball, they were already close to me and that’s why I appreciated being allowed to train with that group so much; it helped me learn how to handle the pressure and get better.

How did you develop your positive attitude towards improving and learning?

My parents did a lot when I was younger to teach me on how I should be – have good manners, get good grades, be a good person. Those are things that they’ve consistently taught me. They would tell me, “The only things you can control are your effort and attitude. You can’t control anything else.”

What has been your highlight of playing at Blackhills?

My senior season. Being with the team and getting the opportunity to make new friends but also Josh Seamons and I have been playing together since our U8 days. I knew we had a good team and that we could go far. We had our serious moments but we also had our funny moments with joking around and it was just really, really fun.

What was important to you when looking for a college program?

There was a lot. James told me this and I’ll never forget it: “The school should be what you choose and the soccer is just the cherry on top.” There were a lot of things that mattered, but choosing a school that was what I wanted and offered me the major I was interested in was the really big one. Of course, the playing style, the coaching staff, the teammates all mattered but the majority for me was the school and what it had to offer me in academics. That way I could know that if soccer didn’t go beyond college, then I would have a path that I was happy with outside of soccer.

What are you looking forward to about going to college and playing soccer?

This is a new experience for me so I’m excited. In college soccer, everyone wants to be there and compete. I know some former Blackhills players who are playing at Saint Martin’s right now so I will get to play with new teammates and get to play with people I already know as well. And I’m just really excited to get to play the sport that I love at the next level.

What advice do you have for current Blackhills players?

Enjoy the moment. It can get frustrating at times, but enjoy the moment because you only get to be at this Club once. You only get to be at that practice once. Try to make the most of it. You can only control yourself and if every player on the team is focused on controlling their own attitude and efforts, you’ll make a great team. The skills – those things will come in time. When you hear that final whistle of your senior year, it’s over. So make the most of what you have now. For me, when I was in those final minutes of my last game at the Club I got emotional. This is a great Club. There’s no other Club that I would want to spent my time at. You get to be in a great community. Just give it your best and enjoy it.