KICK, RUN, REF!
WEST COUNTY ’ S LOCAL S O CC E R L E AGUE OFFERS
PROGRAMS F O R K I D S A N D A D U LT S A L I K E
By Matt Larson
If you’re looking to find a program to keep your child active
and healthy, look no further than the West Contra Costa Youth
Soccer League. For more than 35 years now this organization
has been run completely by volunteers. Many of them are
former players in the league, or have children on one of the
teams.
WCCYSL coordinates about 600 players between the ages of
4 and 17, competing in about 45 separate teams countywide.
Players come from Pinole, Hercules, El Sobrante, Richmond—
all throughout West County.
Kids have two options to choose from when joining the
league: the Recreational Program, and the FCA (Football
Club Alliance) Competitive Program. The rec program is less
expensive and is only a one-season commitment; the comp
program is for an entire year.
“Anyone can play in the recreational program; nobody’s turned
away,” said WCCYSL President Tyler Darke. “All you have to do
is register and you get placed on a team.”
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For rec program players, they play for fun and they’re all
guaranteed playing time. “They usually train once or twice a
week, and are coached by parent volunteers,” Tyler explained.
“To coach in the FCA program, you need to have prior
experience playing and/or coaching soccer.”
There is a third program offered by WCCYSL, but it’s not for
kids.
“We put a lot of work into our referee program, and have an
entire mentor program for our referees,” Tyler said. “We have a
lot of referees who’ve been with us for 10 or more years.”
Some of those refs become mentors, who are paid to go and
watch other, less experienced, referees. They provide feedback,
and complete a report that gets turned in to a referee director
who then tracks all the referees’ performances season to season.
“If there’s a referee who’s starting at a very low level and doing
a great job, that allows us to make sure we’re aware of that to