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The Walnut Creek Soccer Club (WCSC) is unique in that we provide four (4) levels of soccer for our players and families to choose from when participating in our club. We have more than 2,500 players who participate in our Division 1 and Division 3 Competitive programs, our Recreational program, and our Winter Select program. While the playing levels are different, the goal for all our players is the same. We want all our players and families to have the ability to participate at the highest level, while having a fun, memorable and educational soccer experience. We strive to provide an environment that will allow our players to over-achieve in trainings and games as they work to achieve their goals in playing the beautiful game. At all our levels, we are committed to long-term player growth. We want each of our players learning the age appropriate skill sets that they will build upon the longer they play for WCSC.
This past season we had over 550 players that made up our 38 Competitive U9-19 teams, and almost 2,000 players participating in our recreational program with teams starting at U7 and continuing to U19. Our Winter Select program had over 300 recreational players tryout to make 10 teams in the U10-U14 age groups.
We also have U7 and U10 Training Academies, which are offered in either 4 or 8-week sessions that meet one time per week for skill development. We run these academies two or three times per year. We also provide a Summer Training Academy, Gino’s Soccer Academy, for players 4-17 years of age that runs 8 one–week academy sessions.
We are introducing a Winter Soccer Academy that will be an 8-week soccer program for all who are interested. This program will be for U8 to U14 players who will meet one time per week and play games on weekends. This program will start in December and run through February.
Goalkeeper Academy. Our competitive program has a goalkeeper academy for all of our 38 teams. Each team is required to send one keeper to this academy to work with our professional training staff. The keepers will meet one time per week.
How we strive to accomplish our club philosophy of player and coaching development at each level:
Competitive:
Our philosophy is to provide the highest level of training and coaching for all our families. To accomplish this we start by putting together a staff of coaches committed to player and team development. Each Division 1 team will have their own professional coach assigned to develop age specific concepts that emphasize ideals within the four pillars of soccer: technical, tactical, physical and psychological. After teams are formed at tryouts they must start training by June 1st at the latest. Some teams will start earlier by playing Spring league soccer while others will just begin training earlier. Teams are required to train a minimum of two times per week. We encourage our Division 1 teams, especially as players get older, to train predominately three times per week throughout the season. They will work on individual skills to develop confidence with the ball at their feet with and without pressure. The will also work on team concepts to help them compete at the highest levels. Each training session should challenge the players physically and mentally and each session should build upon the next. We will continue to monitor our team development through a seasonal training plan, age group curriculum, coaches meetings, clinics and a collaboration within our training environment by coaches working with similar age groups. For more on our coaching staff please visit the coaches section of our website.
Our utmost goal for our families and players is a personal commitment to be the very best soccer player and person that they can be. This is achieved through commitment to training and games, devotion to the sport, and support of the club and team.
Division 3: In most of our age groups we have at least two teams participating in competitive soccer. In most cases this is a Division 1 and a Division 3 team. The goal we are working towards is for our two teams in this age group to work collaboratively in building a player pool. We are making strides and look to continue towards this goal in the year to come. Each team is run by a parent coach who volunteers their time and energy to providing a proper training/coaching environment. These coaches need to be experienced and licensed to apply for a position. We will be entering our third year (3) in which we have required each Division 3 team to have a professional trainer assigned to work with the players. Where there is no qualified parent coach, we will assign a professional coach to work with that team. The professional trainer is required to work two training sessions per week and attend 25% of the games. The trainer and coach are to collaborate on the training environment based upon the requirements of their age group, the needs of the players individually, the needs of the team, and what they need to work on based upon the performance from the previous games or tournament.
Competitive Overview: The Walnut Creek Soccer Club currently has many solid aspects which we will continue to build upon and expand in the years to come. The actual organization and infrastructure of the club is sound, there is an excellent group of volunteers working at administering the club, we have one of the top referee programs in the area, and good fields exist for all our programs. WCSC has an excellent group of coaches and trainers, a tremendous player pool and five tournament/jamboree’s that we offer to our teams and outside clubs. We, as a coaching staff, are creating age group philosophies of development, as well as, specific curriculum to help our coaches provide the best training environment for our players.
Recreational:
75% of our club is made up of recreational soccer players and we have one of the best programs around. Each team is run by a parent coach and most teams have more than one parent working with the players. Our U7 and U8 teams play 4v4 soccer, U9 and U10 teams play 8v8 and U11 and above play 11v 11. It is critical that we provide the proper training and coaching support for our recreational teams and players so we offer coaching clinics prior to the season beginning, age specific curriculum and Friday player clinics throughout the season. We ask that each coach working with a team to have a minimum USSF ‘F’ coaching license. Where needed we also provide a mentorship program where our high school age competitive players work with recreational parent coaches to help demonstrate skills and set up training session’s.
The recreational season begins in August and runs through the end of the year Walnut Tournament in mid-November. Some of our house teams also participate in tournaments during the season and our U16-19 house program will play against other city teams in the local area and is considered more of a traveling recreational program.
With all these players we want to make sure they have a fun, enriching soccer experience with friends and teammates alike. They are developing the necessary skills sets to have a great soccer experience at the recreational level, while also preparing themselves for the opportunity to play Winter Select, Competitive or High School soccer should they choose to move in that direction. We work with the coaches to make sure they are providing the proper training environment for the players, while also enjoying the experience themselves since they do a tremendous service to the club and community by volunteering their time and energy to coach.
Winter Select Program:
At the conclusion of the recreational soccer season, we offer players an opportunity to continue their soccer experience with the club by participating in our Winter Select Program. We have boys and girl’s teams in the U10, U12 and U14 age groups. The Winter Select program is a tryout based program where players are chosen from a pool of participants. Those selected will train and play games against other winter select teams from around the area from December through Feb/March. Each team will have a parent coach and a trainer assigned to create a positive soccer experience. For those players who do not make a Winter Select team we offer a Winter Academy. Information on this program is found under ‘Academies’ on our website.
The winter programs are an excellent place for players who had a great fall soccer experience with their recreational team and wish to extend their season. It is also a great opportunity to get exposed to higher level training for those considering the move to competitive soccer.
Club Overview:
WCSC is a club that has been around since 1971. The goal is to meet the soccer needs of all our players, coaches and families. Whether you wish to play college soccer, your goal is to be a high school soccer player, you enjoy playing multiple sports which includes soccer, or want to play with your friends. WCSC is a club that will help you meet your goal(s) in soccer.
