A new men’s soccer club is forming in the Santa Clarita Valley, led by Valencia High boys’ soccer coach Jose Villafan.
The director of coaching for Pateadores youth teams in the SCV, Villafan will be coaching the men’s team in the United Premier Soccer League.
“You have a lot of talented kids in the area that either graduate from high school or are playing at a local college,” Villafan said in a phone interview, “and they just are looking for a pathway where they want to continue to play, and there’s really nothing like that that we offer in Santa Clarita.”
Villafan mentioned the Santa Clarita Blue Heat, a semi-pro women’s team, as a way for women to continue playing, and he wants to give that same opportunity to men.
Tryouts for the Pateadores men’s team are set to be held on Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at Valencia High School. Callbacks would be made on Sunday.
The season would run from March to June, with playoffs to follow the regular season. Games would be played in Santa Clarita, as well as, but not limited to, Inglewood, Santa Monica, San Bernardino and Pasadena.
High school soccer players are eligible to play for the men’s team, Villafan said.
“We’re just trying to create a local pathway for players to just continue to grow and hopefully just create opportunities where they could use the UPSL as a steppingstone for whatever is the next stage,” Villafan said. “I think it’s a really good mix of ages that give a real good quality of soccer, because a lot of these guys are experienced players that are just looking for the next thing.”
The UPSL was founded in 2011 in Santa Ana and “now stands as the largest and most competitive pro-development league in North America,” according to the UPSL website. It is the fourth tier in the U.S. Soccer pyramid and there are nearly 400 UPSL clubs across the nation.
“With a participant average age of 22.5 years, the UPSL fills and brings structure to the large gap that exists between the youth game and the professional game, serving thousands of aspiring players and coaches as they strive to further their aspirations and fuel their passions,” the UPSL website reads.
To sign up for the tryouts, go to tinyurl.com/bddzz4dp.
