This invitational tournament has selected our Gunners BU13A to compete this year!  The waiting list was long and the qualification to be considered was high. The club, coach and parents are very proud to have this team represent ISC as the first Surf Cup participant. With the Gunners program only in its 3rd year this invitation is a great success story and proof that hard work and determination pays off.

Best of luck to the boys in August at Surf Cup!

Erin Vaughan will return for her second season with Issaquah Soccer Club’s WPSL team this year. Her recent victory with her club team, Aston Villa, surely will inspire her as well as her teammates to have another successful WPSL season.  Read more about her and her success story on GoalWA.net

ISSAQUAH, WA (May 1, 2013)- Issaquah Soccer Club is proud to announce it has hired Gwynne Williams, who will assume the role of Executive Director, a role the Board has been looking to fill for some time. Williams comes from the Alabama Youth Soccer Association, (AYSA) where he currently serves as the Director of Coaching and Player Development. In his role he directs and manages all soccer programs within the state organization, from recreation soccer to state competitive leagues. Additionally, he administrates and coordinates their Olympic Development Program, (ODP) and has restructured their program to be more functional, yielding positive results since his appointment.

Prior to his time with AYSA, Williams was the assistant coach of the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer from 2007 – 2010. During his tenure with the Revolution, the club saw its most successful period in franchise history to date. He has been involved with the US Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) as a Staff Coach for ODP since 1994, and has been an Instructional Staff Coach with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) from 1998 to date.

From 1980 to 1994, Williams was a National Team Staff Coach for the Bermuda Football Association, where he saw his team through key victories against a 1992 USA team, as well as games against several English Premier League Club teams such as Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Benfica among others.

Williams has enjoyed a successful career wearing many hats in a variety of roles, including serving as Education Director for Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, Business Development Specialist for USA Table Tennis, and was the Assistant Parks and Recreation Director at the Village of Wellington in Palm Beach, FL for eight years. He was also a consultant to the Canadian Soccer Association’s Men’s National Teams from 1983-1993.

With his wealth of experience in all areas of club management, Williams is a precise fit for the job, and will step into his role eagerly anticipating opportunities to take an already thriving and successful club in ISC to the next level.  ”I’m very excited to jump on board,” says Williams. “Issaquah Soccer Club is already an established, well run and successful club and I look forward to building on that success.”

ISC President Bret Knutson praises Williams and looks forward to what his experience will bring.  ”We are very excited for Gwynne and his family to be joining us,” said Knutson.  “As the Club has expanded over the past few years, the Board has been looking to fill this role within the organization.  His depth of knowledge and experience is exactly what we have been searching for in an Executive lead.”

Williams, his wife Paula, and five year old son, Toby, will relocate to Washington State prior to his official start date with the club, which is set for June 1. He also has a son named Oliver (22), and a daughter (Michelle, 28). He loves to read and is partial to biographies, and enjoys rock music from the Led Zeppelin – Pink Floyd era. He lists his mother as the most influential figure in his life.

As you are all aware, the Issaquah Soccer Club (founded 1980), is a Non Profit dedicated to promoting the love of youth soccer and sportsmanship in the greater Issaquah and Sammamish area.  ISC is unique in that we are the only Club in Washington offering a complete range of soccer through Micro, Futsal, Recreation, Select and Premier teams.  In addition, we have our Women’s Premier Soccer League team.  ISC is a complete Soccer Club that provides a full range soccer options for everyone in our families and community.

You have may have received an email from the Eastside Youth Soccer Association (EYSA) which questions alleged confusion regarding the overlapping tryout dates among the various Clubs which are EYSA members.

What is not explained in the EYSA email is the following:

• ISC has asked EYSA and Eastside FC to stop sending their marketing emails to our membership.  EYSA and Eastside FC continue to ignore our request.
• ISC’s Gunners (Premier) program is affiliated with US Club Soccer, and our teams have had great success in top Premier soccer leagues. Our Girls U13 Gunners will be playing in a National Championship tournament this summer.
• EYSA recently denied ISC’s request to have some Gunners teams play in the same Premier league as Eastside FC, and the stated reason was to continue Eastside FC’s monopoly to play in that league.
• EYSA has sided with Eastside FC to prevent kids in the other EYSA clubs from competing in the same leagues as Eastside FC.
• Eastside FC only allows players a short window (a day or two) to accept an offered position before the offer is rescinded.  This is done to prevent players from trying out at other Clubs, eliminating player choice.
• Eastside FC wants the other local Clubs to send their best players to Eastside FC, but Eastside FC has, historically, not worked with the other Clubs to support those Clubs in their Recreational and Select programs.
• Eastside FC recently added 4 to 5 younger age teams that have nothing to do with Premier soccer but do assist with increasing revenue.
• EYSA has a financial interest in the Preston soccer fields used exclusively by Eastside FC and thereby a vested financial interest in Eastside FC.

At ISC, we believe that every player should have the opportunity to play soccer at a level that they choose and we continue to drive to allow the broadest player choice.  ISC offers programs which introduce players to the game at a very young age (U5) and provides development programs to support every player in reaching the highest levels.  ISC has an incredible team of highly experienced and qualified professional and volunteer coaches who share a passion for the game and the desire and enthusiasm to educate young players.  The Club looks forward to continuing to support your families in The Beautiful Game.

Coach Alex Silva is in Brasil with the Gunners boys training with the Fluminese club. Pictured with him is the BU16 cousin to Marcelo Vieira, Real Madrid’s defender. Marcelo himself began his youth soccer for Fluminese at the age of 13.

You can follow them through their trip on http://tagboard.com/gunnersbrasil

This is a great accomplishment for Sam as well as the Gunners program. Last year Sam was invited by Crossfire Premier to guest play as their goalie during the state cup. The team eventually went on to win the tournament.

Great job Sam we are all proud of you.

To read the full press release click here.

With their success in Scottsdale their team ranking moved up to #1 in WA, #15 in the region and #25 in the nation.

http://home.gotsoccer.com/rankings/results.aspx?Page=1&Level=State&Gender=Boys&Age=12&Region=4&State=WA