Keeping Community Close To The Heart, San Marcos Choses To Join City SC
The landscape of youth soccer is always shifting and this week there have been several new announcements. Here is the latest news on the San Marcos Revolution joining City SC.
“San Marcos Revolution‘s players have passion,” says San Marcos’ Director of Coaching Nick Perera, a professional player who is also a passionate leader on and off the soccer field. The captain of the US Men’s Beach Soccer Team, and the player-coach of the professional indoor soccer team, the Tacoma Stars, Perera is also a member of the United States Soccer Federation’s Athlete Council.*
“Our San Marcos youth soccer players will go to great lengths to improve, says Perera. “One of my goals is to make sure they always continue to love the sport of soccer and become lifelong fans. Our local community club in San Marcos needed to provide a better pathway for our players U13 and older — and we wanted to still remain true to our community focus, and joining City SC lets us do both.”
“Becoming City SC San Marcos Completes Our Ladder — Our Player Pathway.”
Nick Perera, City SC – San Marcos Director of Coaching
“Our board wanted to join the City SC program because we share similar values and coaching philosophies,” says Perera who is proud that his club’s player registration fees are not increasing. “Our staff is highly committed to our players and their families, and we are a proud part of our community. We care about all of our players, not just the top players on the field.”
With Perera’s impressive professional career, his experience and knowledge of the game, as well as player development, had a significant impact on his reasons for wanting to become part of City SC.
San Marcos Revolution’s 2,000 youth soccer players will wear the City SC logo when they compete this fall season. City SC San Marcos players will have the opportunity to participate, based upon ability, in player pathways that include the new MLS youth program and the new Girls Academy League.
“City SC is not just about the elite 1%, it is about igniting a passion in every player — We want soccer to be enjoyable,” says Steve Cowell, Technical Director City SC.
Our brand is more than a logo on a jersey. We are part of a community.
Steve Cowell, Technical Director City SC
“We are creating the next generation of soccer fans. It is about leaving a legacy,” says Cowell. “We are building from the bottom up and not from the top down. This is a culture focused on building the pyramid by being successful with what we are doing at the base, and not just at the top, and that is what our partnership model is about. There are so many similarities between San Marcos and our club.”
“This is about creating a shared pathway.”
Steve Cowell, Technical DirectorCity SC
“I have watched Nick Perera grow up. Nick coached at my club first, and that was more than a decade ago,” says Micheal Duggan, Operations Director City SC. “It a pleasure to welcome him back with his club. It is very exciting to have Nick be part of our structure. Our coaching philosophies are very similar. Nick is a great coach and an amazing professional player — and, a great leader.
Nick Perera is the new breed of coach with fresh ideas and willing to listen and adapt to how the game is changing on and off the field.
Micheal Duggan, Operations Director City SC
“Soccer is about bringing communities together,” says Duggan. “Not everyone is going to become a collegiate or professional soccer player. In fact, 99% of players will not become college players and our job, at the end of the day, is to leave behind a legacy of passion for the game.”
“Soccer is still young in America and our sport is growing tremendously. A coach’s responsibility is to ignite a lifetime passion for the love of the game no matter what the level of the player is,” says Duggan who worked to help build the Girls Academy League (GA), the new elite league formed after the closure of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA).
“The coach’s first and foremost responsibility is to ignite passion.”
Micheal Duggan, Operations Director City SC
Michael Duggan and Steve Cowell, along with Carl Higham and Glenn Malone are the directors of City SC, which is the rebrand of LA Galaxy San Diego after the MLS team closed its affiliate program. Duggan and Cowell both share a commitment to the community and their club has been the recipient of U.S. Soccer Development Academy‘s prestigious Community Award for two consecutive years, 2019 and 2018. Duggan has been running a youth soccer club in Carlsbad, California for over 20 years and Cowell for more than 10 years. San Marcos Revolution is their second affiliate club, City SC launched an affiliate in Temecula earlier this year.
Read: CITY SC RISES FROM LA GALAXY SAN DIEGO
Read: USA BEATS BONAIRE 14-1 AT CONCACAF 2019 BEACH CHAMPIONSHIP
The Athlete Council is part of the governance of U.S. Soccer, making recommendations on issues affecting professional players. Elected six years ago by his peers to be a representative, Perera has a vote in U.S. Soccer elections.
