SoCal Academy, San Gabriel Valley Surf, and Soltilo FC join Together to Create LA Surf.
The youth soccer world is highly competitive. Not just for youth soccer players seeking to become professionals or play collegiate soccer, but also for youth soccer clubs.
Today, youth soccer clubs must deliver on a commitment to provide the best possible environment for players to develop and excel — with well-maintained facilities and excellent coaching staff. Plus, it is a club’s responsibility to challenge their players by providing access to highly competitive leagues and top tournaments.
While nothing surpasses great coaching, as the youth landscape continues to evolves, it is important for clubs and players to have access to additional resources that can only be provided by organizations that are working together and sharing expertise.
LA Surf is the latest and perhaps one of the most significant landmark changes — it is the union of three strong youth soccer clubs in the Los Angeles area: SoCal Academy, San Gabriel Valley Surf, and Soltilo FC — all coming together to provide more for their players.
Emerging as a powerhouse youth soccer club, LA Surf kicks off with a significant stable of highly competitive teams.
“Partnering with SoCal Academy, SGV and Soltilo immediately creates a hub for elite players and makes LA Surf the strongest club in the Los Angeles market,” said Brian Waltrip, LA Surf’s President. “Surf has some of the best teams in the country as well as two elite U.S. Soccer DA clubs in San Diego and Orange County. Combine that with their ability to organize and draw top teams from around the globe to their tournaments and you have a perfect environment to develop players.”
From excellence in event management to its rich history of giving back with a hallmark $7 Million in charitable contributions, Surf is one of the founding organizations in American youth soccer. On the player development side, Surf has developed World Cup and Olympic — as well as countless professional, collegiate and youth national team players plus over 16 national championship youth teams.
“Our goal is to have LA Surf offer the best possible player development environment in the Los Angeles area,” said Waltrip.
“Surf’s extensive network gives us all the ingredients necessary to create the best opportunities and experiences for our players,” said Waltrip.
“The launch of LA Surf is the natural expansion of our Surf brand and our commitment to developing great youth soccer players,” said Jeremy McDonald, President of Surf. “More than 15,000 talented youth soccer players coast to coast proudly wear the Surf logo on their soccer jerseys. Surf has been committed to providing an excellent experience for youth soccer players for decades and we are dedicated to helping all players develop and increase their love for the game of soccer.”
For SoCal Academy, the decision came after considering the best way to develop their players and coaches.
“After our older team won the girls U19 USSF DA bracket in Surf Cup this past summer, along with a number of key league and tournament wins in 2018 across multiple age groups, we started receiving a lot of attention, as you can imagine,” explained Esteban Chavez, SoCal Academy’s Director of Coaching and one of its founders. “We always looked at opportunities through the lens of how does this help our players develop and compete at the highest level.”
“We’ve never felt the need to grow for growth’s sake,” said Esteban.
“Over the years, Surf has always represented the best in competitive youth soccer in Southern California,” said Kevin McCloskey, President of SoCal Academy. “The benefits of creating LA Surf are far-reaching, and were the main driver in forming this partnership.”
“At SGV Surf, our purpose has always been empowering youth to achieve success in soccer and in life, through the love of the game,” said Matt Bradbury, SGV Surf Director, and founder.
“Our families benefit from being a part of the Surf family,” said Bradbury. “Surf has done a fabulous job creating the brand. Doing the best for kids is embedded in the DNA of Surf and the brand is recognized across the country.”
“Youth soccer should be about helping all players develop and increase their love the game of soccer,” said Bradbury.
SGV Surf joined the Surf Affiliate program in 2017 and has exemplified the best of the Surf philosophy in the LA area for the past two years.
“Surf is a nationally known and respected brand. To give our families the chance to partner with Surf provides a lot of opportunities to our players,” said Daniel Fox, Director of Coaching of Soltilo.
“The merging of our organizations will take our programs to the next level and truly make LA Surf elite,” said Fox.
Putting egos aside for the betterment of their combined organization, the leaders SoCal Academy, San Gabriel Valley Surf and Soltilo are eager to work together. “Our invitation to be part of the creation of LA Surf is a tangible measurement of us living our purpose. This is a huge milestone and we could not be more proud of our achievements,” said Bradbury.
“It’s very exciting to see the evolution of the Surf brand across the USA and to have LA Surf launch in Southern California’s marketplace,” said Chris Adams, Business Development Director, Surf Cup Sports. “Surf’s focus is creating quality partnerships which benefit everyone involved, especially the players on the field. Combining the high quality of SoCal Academy, San Gabriel Valley Surf and Soltilo, LA Surf ensures a bright future for the players in the area.”
LA Surf Soccer Tryout info:
Updated 1/31/19 – 3:26 PM
