Photo by Shawn Lanzillo – UltiPhotos.com
MAY 23, 2025
By Kyle Turnbaugh
No one is a better example of the goals and developmental methods of the DC Breeze more than Jacques Nissen.
It may seem like everyone knew that the 24-year-old hybrid would be a talented player for years. However, in 2019, the Breeze took a chance on the then-17-year-old, fresh off a high school championship with Jackson-Reed (then Woodrow Wilson High School). He was rostered before he was even allowed to play in the UFA.
Twelve days after his 18th birthday, he suited up and made his debut, throwing four assists and scoring a goal against the New York Empire.
Historically, DC has stood out from the crowd as leaders in developing local talent. Routinely, their roster has been full of home-grown DMV players, giving chances to young talents discovered through strong connections with local club and collegiate teams. Over 60% of the Breeze’s roster either went to high school or college in the greater DMV region.
Other franchises haven’t been as fortunate.
Some teams pull players from across the country, while others have to totally rely on local players. Having both allows DC to build a strong foundation, keeping them competitive year after year.
The trust DC built with Nissen years ago and through two coaching staffs, has paid off, as Nissen is entering year six with the Breeze and has been named a captain for the 2025 season, earning high plaudits from team legend Rowan McDonnell.
“He's fully committed to the team aspect of the sport and ever since I met him has always prioritized making the team better, never himself,” McDonnell said.
The Breeze roster being flush with talent from the area makes Nissen an obvious choice for captain. A star player who’s from the area and knows what it's like to work his way up the ranks of the team sets the perfect standard for players who are coming from a similar situation. Nissen stands out as a perfect model of the Breeze plan; a player who was coached by Breeze players and has coached some of the incoming rookies.
“Growing up, it was easy to idolize players like Rowan McDonnell and Tyler Monroe because they coached me at different points in my youth career,” Nissen said. “Now I am at the point where there are some younger players who I have coached, such as Micah Wagner or Marcus Lee, who are joining the team and that feels equally special.”
Much has been written about Nissen already, and of course, his stats alone speak to his talent. With 95 assists and 51 goals over only 48 career games - including playoffs, he’s easily one of the most productive players in Breeze history. However, when you look beyond the stats, Nissen is much more than just a star player for the Breeze, he is an example for young players throughout the DMV.
(Pictured left to right: Miles Grovic, Coby Loveranes, Jace Dean, Ben Greenberg, Theo Shapinsky – Photo by Kevin Leclaire, UltiPhotos.com)
He's someone that the Breeze hope to replicate by providing a pathway to young players, rather than importing players from across the country. Young players like Jace Dean, Isaac Lee, and Miles Grovic, who are local to the DMV, were given the opportunity to step up over the past couple seasons and made a huge difference in the Breeze’s playoff run in 2024. Rostered for a few seasons already, last year saw each of these young stars make a huge breakthrough on a division-winning team. All three were extremely prevalent on the D-line, with Lee’s handling, Dean’s cutting, and Grovic’s physicality and athleticism giving DC’s defense a boost.
With another class of rookies entirely from the DMV, many of whom have been coached by Breeze players at some point, DC continues its commitment to building a team from the ground up. Marcus Lee, Graham Turner, Theo Shapinsky, Ben Greenberg, Coby Loveranes, and Micah Wagner join the Breeze hoping to follow in Nissen’s footsteps. With Marcus Lee also graduating from Nissen’s alma mater, and Greenberg, Loveranes, Turner, and Wagner playing for local club teams Truck Stop, Oak Grove Boys, Rally and YCC Foggy Bottom Boys respectively, the connection between the Breeze and grassroots DMV Ultimate is only made stronger.
Connections like these allow DC to be a perennial contender in the East. When you have a reliable stream of players, and give them the resources they need to thrive, you infrequently have to worry about “rebuilds.”
It’s not just Nissen, either, with mainstays like AJ Merriman, Andrew Roy, and Christian Boxley proving that if you invest in your community, you get dividends in the form of committed players in the long run. When players are made in DC, they tend to stay in DC.
As long as the Breeze’s commitment to the Jacques Nissen model continues, and the occasional Cole Jurek or Thomas Edmonds are brought in, DC will have a strong core for years to come.
