What geographical area do you serve ?

We are based in San Clemente, California, primarily serving families from San Clemente and neighbouring areas (have around 90% residency) and also attract players from further north in OC and also military families from Camp Pendleton, Oceanside  further south.

What are the ages of your teams ?

We serve boys and girls ages 6-19. Our 6-7 year old teams form in the fall as part of our skills academy and participate in Surf scrimmages and in 2023 the 2017-2016 age groups will play in a rec league Saturday mornings in town with small sided format. Teams 2016-2014 play 7 vs 7, 2013-2012 play 9 vs 9 and 2011-2005 play 11 vs 11.

What do you offer for younger players ?

We have a younger skills academy for 6-9 year olds which teach the fundamentals in a fun, positive environment. The academy runs two days a week. Players can sign up at any time during the year. We also have a week long camps in July and August.

Do you provide speciality training ?

We have a former professional working the g/ks and also provide skills coaches (former college players) during our practice sessions. These services are available to players outside the club by visiting the camps and clinics section of the web-site. Through personal and small groups training we have sent numerous players to colleges such as Navy, USF, San Fran State, Cal Poly Obispo and even professional trails with clubs such as Crystal Palace, Fulham and Dundee United.

What is the traveling involved ?

Training year round is in San Clemente. Tierra Grande, Vista Hermosa Sports Park, Shorecliffs Middle School are our home fields.

Our league involves minimal travel in Orange County and when we choose tournaments, we typically play one in Orange County and another in San Diego so players and families can either stay at a hotel or drive down each day. We tend to play two tournaments in the summer and scrimmage San Diego Surf and their affiliates who provide top competition in the spring.

Older players around high school age will tend to play all over southern California reflecting their age and higher level of play in the NPL Division and top tournaments around the West Coast.

What league do you play in ?

We play in Southern California Soccer League, NPL, and our Surf Select players participate in the top tournaments in both the USA and around the World.

Why play for SC Surf ?

It’s important to note that we follow a professional soccer development model as opposed a business one. A few points which reinforce our model :

– We provide attention to detail to each team and player on the program

-We have over 80% player retention rate which is important in a community program which also reinforces the notion that if the players are developing through our program, there is no need to constantly try to replace them. Whilst we are a competitive program and add quality players to our teams each year, we also try to create a positive environment where players want to play, watch soccer, practice on their own and make an impact. We also take pride in seeing teams grow up together building character through tough times and enjoying the fulfilment success and hard work brings.

-We typically provide more than one coach at each session to provide attention to detail, we have technical coaches, g/k coaches, leadership mentors to cover all aspect of the game.

-We view training as important as games, just as a piano player prefers to play tunes, he must practice the scales daily before having the confidence to compose his own tunes, this is something we reinforce throughout the year and requires parental support

-We understand that San Clemente is family orientated so only schedule two or three tournaments during the year and give players, families time off around the major holidays

-As a grassroots program which is balanced we have sent numerous players to D1, D2 and D3 schools, several receive academic and soccer scholarships.

-We are affiliated with San Diego Surf Soccer Club in the best network of over 50 clubs in the country they provide us resources and support to enable our players the opportunity to play at the highest level possible i.e providing collegiate opportunities through the Surf network and Surf Select for our players and coaches.

How do you deal with conflicts, players playing other sports ?

We minimize conflicts by holding a parents meeting after try-outs asking parents to list their conflicts during spring then we try to set our schedule around those. We also ask for summer vacation plans early so we work our tournament and game schedule around this. We ask for the same courtesy during the fall season when we train twice a week and ask that all players attend the sessions to build momentum in the league season.

We encourage players to play other sports during our secondary season, although also provide guidance that most players must be talented athletes to play multiple sports . We also educate them that in order to be effective, when they reach the high school age or higher level teams, they must starting putting more eggs in one basket to fulfill their potential in one particular sport. We’ve had players from the program play on the PGA Golf Tour Events, receive scholarships through soccer, softball, volleyball, track and field, basketball and also academic scholarships and we encourage players to be well rounded individuals.

What is your relationship with the community ?

We have been in the community for around 20 years and thrive on it’s spirit and support. Almost all our coaches live in SC, several of our coaches help at local high schools and understand the unique experience you can have representing where you come from.

We have had a real positive impact on  high school programs, helping develop State Champions and also several college captains and scholarships at all levels all over the country

We also initiate community projects to give back to those less fortunate than ourselves, which also promotes team building and leadership as the players age. Projects such as helping at the Special Olympics, spending time at assisted living, cooking and delivering meals at homeless shelters, supporting military families are all projects organized by our players, supervised by Stephanie Gretzema and supported by our parents.

We also try and offer the opportunity to train and play for those who can’t afford it, in the form of financial sponsorship with the help of local businesses and families in the club.

How Does the Surf Program Work ?

We are an independent club in San Clemente, who run our own program on and off the field and use the Surf network to provide the best experiences and opportunities for our players as part of Surf Nation Select. This includes Surf scrimmages, monthly DOC collaboration calls, Surf College Programs and Camps and Surf Select teams in major tournaments both in USA and Europe.