Excellence In Soccer Through Leadership
Cal South celebrates soccer every day, but once a year, the presidents and top VIPS of soccer clubs in the Southern California area gather to share their passion for the beautiful game and discover the accomplishments of their state soccer association. This year, the Cal South President’s Summit was held at the StubHub Center right before the LA Galaxy edged their three-goal thriller against FC Dallas.
Soccer News: The 2015 Cal South Presidents’ Summit was held at the StubHub Center on Sunday, September 27, 2015 and celebrated the joys of soccer. Along with the Cal South Board of Directors and office staff, youth soccer club presidents and VIPs attended this annual event and enjoyed dinner, networking and an exciting MLS match between the LA Galaxy and FC Dallas.
The President’s Summit gives Cal South members the chance to review the state association’s accomplishments and future goals. This year, Cal South’s President Derek Barraza presented the “State of the Association” which included a review of the significant increase in financial support provided to teams traveling to compete outside the area.
“I am very excited about Cal South’s accomplishments this year. As an organization, we have worked hard to respond to the needs of our members,” said Barraza. “Playing competitive soccer is expensive and Cal South has a long standing commitment to help our teams offset the high cost of soccer travel. The entire board of directors at Cal South has supported increasing financial support and last year we gave over $300,000 to teams advancing to regional and national competitions last summer.”
“We increased the financial support from last year and we are expecting to be able to increase it again next year,” said Barraza.
“We also set aside funds for Cal South adult teams to have travel subsidies,” said Barraza. “This is the first time Cal South has offered our adult members this financial support.”
TOPSoccer, which stands for The Outreach Program for Soccer, is a community-based recreational program specifically designed to help athletes with physical and mental disabilities participate in soccer. TOPSoccer has been a part of Cal South since 1991 and brings soccer to players who refuse to let their challenges stop them from playing the sport they love. The emphasis of this program is on development, training, and providing meaningful participation rather than on competition.
“Cal South’s TOPSoccer is a fabulous program,” said Barraza. “We nearly doubled the TOPSoccer budget last year and this year, we were able to increase it again. Now, with the proper financial support, Cal South is really able to deliver a great program for all the kids in Southern California.”
Dedicated to providing the best possible experience for youth soccer players, Cal South tackled another important issue this year; forfeited games. “In the past, forfeiting games was a significant issue for our members. Now, when there is a technical issue or a problem with a coach being delayed and not being on the field at the scheduled start of a game, Cal South has restructured the rules to create an opportunity for managers to temporarily step in and let the game begin. As of this season, team managers are becoming credentialed — so that they are able to manage the team temporarily until the coach arrives,” said Barraza. “We do not want soccer games to be forfeited – we want the kids to play.”
In the recap of Cal South accomplishments, Barraza also reviewed Cal South’s new partnerships with TeamRunner; a sports travel solutions for soccer teams which can help lower the cost of travel as well as streamline the time-consuming effort of managing booking the accommodations . “Cal South launched a highly successful business partnership with TeamRunner,” said Barraza. “Cal South teams travel a lot and we want to help our members always have access to the best value.”
With 162,500 youth and adult soccer players, Cal South’s teams are among the most competitive in the nation, and of course the association’s state tournament is huge. “The Cal South State Cup has become such a large event – with so many teams participating — we finally hired tournament professionals to help us run the largest State Cup competition in America,” said Barraza.
What does the future of soccer look like in Cal South? “The future of soccer in Cal South is extremely bright. The blue print for future progress is focusing on the continuing educational efforts for our coaches,” said Barraza. “Education is key for player development and out continued success on and off the field.”
“Our leaders need educational opportunities as well,” said Barraza. “One of the biggest initiatives so far has been launching the Cal South Leadership Academy.” Always asking the question, ‘Who is training our leaders,’ Barraza knows providing leadership training is essential for continued success. The Leadership Academy created an eye-opening learning environment which helps train the leaders of today and tomorrow. “Over 100 participants have attended the program so far and we look forward to holding new sessions in various locations across Southern California,” said Barraza.
Related Article: Cal South Ground Breaking Leadership Academy
Following Barraza’s “State of the Association”, Cal South CEO Johnnie Garza and Director of Coaching Steve Hoffman both presented the “USSF Soccer Initiatives” to attendees.
Related Article: Cal South on USSF Mandates
A highly popular topic, the new mandates will drastically impact the game of youth soccer. The youth soccer market has been a blaze about how to integrate these changes. Garza and Hoffman, discussed the changes and challenges and how Cal South is working to assist all of their members to ensure a successful transition for all.
Attendees also enjoyed themselves mingling with friends and Cal South sponsors and partners. A special treat for attendees was Cobi Jones who joined the festivities. A former Cal South player and a former member of the US Men’s National Team, Cobi Jones is currently the LA Galaxy Broadcast Analyst. Jones mingled with attendees, posed for pictures and signed autographs.
The summit included great raffle prizes followed by an excellent meal before attending that evening’s MLS match. An exciting way to end the day, the LA Galaxy defeated FC Dallas 3-2.
“I was delighted to take part in such a great event and seeing first hand the work that Cal South does for so many in the soccer world,” said Joel Delgadillo, EurMax Canopy.
“The Cal South President’s Summit is not only a meeting for information and guidelines for all to have the insight necessary to plan our Clubs,” said Marissa Peña, President of Strikers FC South Coast. “It is also a space to collectively shape the future of youth soccer in Southern California. You must attend and be a part of it!”
