Alessandra Haraguchi

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Surge Soccer is pleased to announce that Alessandra Haraguchi will be the first of the new wave of Surge Advisory Board members. At the age of 27 she has already earned a double major at Huntington University (where Sammy Surge first met her) in Intercultural Studies and International Development along with an ESL Certificate and recently her MBA. She played soccer at Huntington University and was a grad assistant for the team for 2 years.  She still coaches high school girls soccer at Lakewood Park Christian School. She founded Luz Creative to inspire others to create more light in this world. She is a content creator, creative storyteller and vlogger. She believes that we can create more light by illuminating the Good News within communities through social media. She loves Jesus, business, and soccer.  Fun facts: She cannot stand wet socks, loves popcorn of all types, and has traveled to more than 20 countries. You can follow her @createmoreluz

Nathan Brewer

Founder / Author / Church Planter / Business Coach

Vienna, Austria

The year was 2007, and although he didn’t know what adventures awaited him, Nathan stepped out in faith to be one of the first two soccer missionaries sent over to pioneer Surge’s soccer ministry base in Vienna in 2007. Born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, Nathan ventured out to San Diego, California for a B.A. in Business and Entrepreneurship before moving to Vienna in 2007. Since setting foot in Austria, Nathan has been living on mission first on the soccer fields, parks, and coffee shops, and now in the marketplace and in churches all over Europe.

True to his entrepreneurial calling, he founded Kyrios Ministries, a non-profit missions organisation to empower Christian leaders to live out their unique kingdom calling; planted Reimagine Church, a house church network; founded Fivefold Training to train teams & churches in fivefold ministry using the book he published The Pulse of Christ: A Fivefold Training Manual, and now also trains business teams using a model called The 6 Types of Working Genius.

He is married, has two boys, and in his free time he enjoys discovering new coffee shops and hiking to waterfalls. Discover more at Working Genius for Business Teams and Fivefold Ministry Training.

John Strauch

Media Professional, Life Long Learner, Humble Servant.

Salem, Oregon

John Strauch has been working in the field of multimedia production since before there was ‘multimedia’. At the age of 16 he started his first photography business and hasn’t stopped developing since. With beginnings in photography, then in videography, and then graphic design, John Strauch has worked in a unique and diverse marketplace, as well as having an equally diverse skillset that has gotten him real work with, and around, some very impressive clients, customers and consumers. Now, as owner and president of Mid-Valley Media, Inc., John serves his clients in production, sales, service, and training so that anyone who wants to use the newest and most advanced ways of communicating their message to a global audience… they can. John has been working in the Surge Soccer community for as many years as they have existed. He started by producing and directing all of the Surge Soccer home games for television in the U.S., both locally and nationally. Having once served on the board of directors, now serves on the advisory board, wanting to help where he can, as he can, because he can.

The Reverend John Prim

(MLS Cup Champions in 2009; Prim on right in Photo)

Tucson, Arizona

John was born and grew up in San Diego, California. He fell in love with soccer in high school under the influence of his best friend who was from England. John played in high school and later in college for UCSD (72-75). He played on the first Athletes-in-Action soccer team; helped start Sports Life in its infancy and subsequently played on the first Seahorse soccer team for Missionary Athletes International. While a missionary to the country of Uruguay in the early 90s, John played two years for Club Atlético Juventud de Colonia (then in the First Division of the Interior of Uruguay) as a goalkeeper. John is also a writer, having finished his first book, Righters Block, in 2009 with Crossbooks Publishing.He currently is the Pastor of Education and Worship at the Southeast Baptist Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. With almost 30 years of pastoral ministry experience, he also serves as the chaplain for Real Salt Lake (2009 MLS Cup Champions). John continues to play regularly at his advanced age (56) and his love for soccer is only superseded by his love for Christ and for his wife and children. You can read excerpts and purchase his book Righter’s Block: The Challenge of Doing Right Even When It Hurts In his new role as a hospice chaplain in Tucson, Arizona – John was voted National Chaplain of the Year for CURO Health Services!

The Reverend John K. Buyers

Director of SCORE, Chaplaincy Program

Manchester, United Kingdom

“Why should a football club have a chaplain? What would a chaplain do?” asked Watford and future England manager Graham Taylor to John Boyers. Through a series of “God ordained” circumstances John became the Chaplain for Graham Taylor and the Watford Football Club where he provided spiritual and pastoral advice and support to the players and staff during their amazing rise to the top league in England in the period 1977 onwards. He was asked to move up to Manchester in September 1992, to be Chaplain to Manchester United. John had stepped forward in faith to begin SCORE in 1990/1991 (a UK based Sports Chaplaincy program) which now works across the UK and seeks to resource over 200 ministers who serve local sports clubs as chaplains.He now has a more international role with SCORE but still serves as the Chaplain for the Manchester United Football Club.John has traveled extensively as a “Sports Chaplain,” including to the Vancouver Olympics. He has written a fascinating perspective on life and the world of football in “Beyond the Final Whistle”. He currently lives in Manchester with his wife Anne, whom he met at the Christian Union during his college days. They have two grown sons: Andrew and Jonathan. John recently retired as Manchester United’s Chaplain.You can find out more about John’s past and current travels as a “Sports Chaplain” and learn more about John and his work at: http://www.sportschaplaincy.org.uk