For more than 15 years, Ryan Adams has been creating opportunities for members of the LGBTQ+ community to compete together in the Twin Cities.
After leading an adult soccer club from 2012-17, Adams saw a need not only for a place for the LGBTQ+ community to come together to play soccer, but for women to compete, and the Gray Ducks were born.
The Gray Ducks are Minnesota’s largest adult soccer club, and are competitive at a national and international level. The first women’s-only team debuted in the club in November 2018. After growing from five to nine teams in 2022, the club grew to more than 15 teams in the 2023 season.
Even though the Gray Ducks are inclusive of all genders and orientations, Adams made sure to create a space in the club for LGBTQ+ and female-identifying members of the community. With Adams at the helm, the Gray Ducks believe that competing as your most authentic self helps athletes have the greatest enjoyment and creates the best-performing teams.
When Adams started the Gray Ducks in 2017, with the help of volunteers, he pulled together a few teams with an inclusion focus. In January 2023, the Gray Ducks officially had as many men as women with active profiles in the organization, along with 20 nonbinary players. There are multiple levels of play that ranging from the most competitive of recreation players through levels where athletes may be just learning to play organized soccer.
After more than five years organizing women’s teams and 10 years organizing soccer for the LGBTQ+ community, Adams’ teams - and organization - are taking off. The active playing pool is now at 570 women. One of the Gray Ducks women’s teams took first at the Las Vegas Sin City Classic in January. Winter women’s soccer grew from 86 participants to more than 120, summer women’s soccer ballooned to 195 players – plus 115 women competing on coed teams – and pickup soccer for women and LGBTQ+ athletes was played on 38 dates across the spring, summer, and fall seasons.
Including the women’s teams, the Gray Ducks have more than 50 active teams across several divisions of soccer, and all are administered by Ryan. With his guidance, the Gray Ducks have become about more than just soccer – the teams become family. They plan dinners, celebrate milestones, and go to events together. They help people new to the community find a place to make friends and get involved, and create a welcoming environment for athletes of all ages and levels, on and off the pitch.
Adams has also served on the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association, and he helped launch the North American Gay Soccer Association. He’s led teams to Paris and Australia, all while paving the way for women of all ages and skill levels to find a team that best suits them – and welcomes them with open arms.