As summer turns to fall, a familiar face coordinates the action at Anoka Ramsey Community College\u2019s Coon Rapids campus, home to the latest Rams men\u2019s soccer practice.<\/p>\n
Marcus Anthony is a man with deep connections to every corner of the Robbinsdale School District, part of a rare group that can call both Armstrong and Cooper high schools. Now, he calls college sports his home.<\/p>\n
Speaking with the Sun Post following a recent trial and practice day at Anoka Ramsey Community College, Anthony spoke on the way his journey prepared him for his latest post.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe foundation I had in high school was the easiest thing to take here into this job,\u201d Anthony said. \u201cMy vision was always to come into the collegiate level, so, the system is the same. So, we do the two-a-day practices just like I used to do at Armstrong. My vision was always to show kids, if you\u2019re planning to go to college we should show you what the collegiate experience would look like. Stuff like two-a-day\u2019s, even if it makes you tired, is a part of that. It teaches you time management, recovery, nutrition. \u2026 In a way, high school also is the foundation of how we view recruitment. It taught me how to see who I have available and find the strengths they can bring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anthony\u2019s journey<\/p>\n
Anthony, who was born in New York City but grew up in the Caribbean country of Antigua and Barbuda, is a Robbinsdale Cooper alum, playing high school soccer for the Hawks for several years, before committing to play NAIA college soccer at Graceland University.<\/p>\n
An injury changed Anthony\u2019s direction toward coaching, a path that led him to a return to the district. He took up the post as head coach for Robbinsdale Armstrong from 2020 to 2024, amid a decade of time working with Park Valley United and Fusion Soccer Club.<\/p>\n
The Falcons were solid in 2021, going 7-9, but rose even further with a 12-4-1 season in 2022. The team went 6-7-4 the following year, before Anthony departed prior to the fall of 2024.<\/p>\n
The Cooper-alum has since started a new chapter as a college soccer coach, taking up the head coaching position at Anoka Ramsey.<\/p>\n
The Anoka Ramsey Rams are among the top junior-college men\u2019s soccer teams in Minnesota and one of 19 members in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference, all but one of whom are located in-state. Anthony has faced some tough opposition in his two years as head coach thus far. He went 3-2-1 in conference and 6-6-2 overall in 2024, before earning a 2-2-1 in-conference and 2-7-1 record in 2025.<\/p>\n
Anthony views his score role as one of teaching and sharing, noting that he knows he has lessons to share for the present and the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, it\u2019s just about shared experience. My experience is what I can share with these guys,\u201d Anthony continued. \u201cWhether it clicks for them then and there, or clicks somewhere later in their life, that\u2019s just life and I look at it as positive either way. But, that\u2019s also why it is important to have my returning players that come back each year, because they bridge that gap for me and they can talk to the guys and show them what the lessons are all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anthony is also happy to move players on to bigger opportunities when the stars align, something that has become a more-and-more celebrated part of junior college (JUCO) opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell my guys all the time, if you have aspirations to go further up the ladder, I\u2019ll help you,\u201d he explained. \u201cNo problem. Even if it\u2019s after one year, I\u2019ll still help you make connections, because I want this experience to go the way you want it to. I use the same tools we have as high school coaches to see what coaches at higher levels are looking for and when something lines up we try to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Economic factors<\/p>\n
Anoka Ramsey is a distinct level of college sports to work in, something Anthony has learned to embrace and make the most of.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re JUCO DIII, so we don\u2019t offer scholarships,\u201d he observed. \u201cMore kids are going to take the deal at a JUCO DII school where you can get a scholarship. But for me, the way through that is just character. If you want to be here, you\u2019re open-minded, and you\u2019re intentional about being a good teammate and student, we will work with you. \u2026 At the end of the day, we pick the best group of players. As much as I want wins, this is all very much about the academic side as well. The goal is to mold young men as they step into adulthood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite challenges when competing with other opportunities and schools, Anthony remains proud to help facilitate playing opportunities for players who need a more affordable option.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go to a four-year school, you might end up paying $80,000, maybe more. And that is what it is, but for some people that just won\u2019t work,\u201d Anthony continued. \u201cI tell kids all the time that if I had known what schools like this really offered, I might\u2019ve started at JUCO. \u2026 Here, depending on what exactly you\u2019re doing, it can be like $4,800 for a year. \u2026 It\u2019s a way to get your fundamentals, as a student too, and then if something bigger comes down the road later, that\u2019s great. But, in the meantime, you can save some money, stay close to your family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As summer turns to fall, a familiar face coordinates the action at Anoka Ramsey Community College\u2019s Coon Rapids…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[119880,98,100,99,119877,9,24,63,119879,119878,400],"class_list":["post-317793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-anoka-ramsey-community-college","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-marcus-anthony","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-robbinsdale-armstrong","tag-robbinsdale-cooper","tag-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}