OSC announces Men's and Women's Adult soccer Programs - February 10, 2021
Oakland Soccer Club is pleased to announce the addition of men’s and women’s adult soccer programs, adopting a community philosophy that offers opportunities for play regardless of age in a club that members can belong to for life. “Adding adult soccer reflects our commitment to serve our community long after they’ve graduated from our traditional youth program,” OSC co-presidents Edward Stephen and Illiana Rivera Ramos said in a statement. “We have countless thousands of alumni who still play and enjoy the game, and we see the addition of adult teams as a way to keep our community engaged and active within the OSC family. Adult teams offer significant benefits to our membership, providing our community with elite-level adult soccer as well as recreational play for older players who want to continue to enjoy the game and give back to the community. We look forward to bringing adult players into our club as we continue to push forward toward new and higher goals and aspirations for 2021 and beyond.”
On the men’s side, OSC will add first and reserve teams, providing the club’s youth players with a competitive North Star to aspire to. The teams will integrate long-standing club affiliate Oakland Leopards, operated for eight years by OSC co-president Edward Stephen, which has provided several hundred young adults in Oakland a place to remain positively engaged in soccer while working toward life and career goals. The program has helped OSC alumni bridge the gap between youth and college soccer, preparing them for higher levels of play and offering them a place to belong and an opportunity to continue playing the sport they love. The team, which currently plays in the SFSFL (the oldest adult league in the United States), will continue in that league while also participating in US Open Cup qualifying and organizing friendly matches against regional and national amateur and semi-pro opposition. The Leopards will adopt the OSC club name while paying homage to their history through representation on the club’s kits to be revealed later in 2021. Over time OSC will also add a developmental squad, enabling up to 60 adult players to participate in the program. Older OSC youth players will also benefit from training with the program to push their level of play to a higher level as they prepare for college soccer.
On the women’s side, OSC will build its first adult team from scratch and use the launch of the squad as a force for expanding the club’s girls’ youth program. The team will begin in 2021 in a local league such as the Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League (GGWSL) and play high-level exhibition games against other Bay Area women’s programs at the amateur, collegiate, and semi-pro levels. Given the lack of playing opportunities for female players as they progress out of youth and college soccer, the club sees the launch of its women’s team as an integral part of its commitment to gender inclusion and equitable representation in the Bay Area sports community. Over time, reserve and development teams will also be added, bridging the gap between youth and adult soccer for older girls in our community and providing girls with real role models and mentors as they progress in life both on and off the field.
Rounding out the men’s and women’s first-team programs will be over-30, -40 and -50 teams for local “senior” players looking to continue to play recreationally while committing to join the OSC family as a way to give back to the sport that has given them a lifetime of enjoyment. The club will recruit adult players and teams who can serve as club volunteers, coaches, donors, and sponsors of OSC’s youth players and teams, leveraging the common love of soccer as a vehicle to drive social engagement and purpose-driven investment in Oakland. The teams will wear the OSC crest and will participate in local leagues such as the East Bay Senior Soccer League (EBSSL), Bay Area Adult Soccer League (BAASL), and Bladium Sports Club in Alameda. The program will not be exclusive to any one team, with the possibility for multiple teams in each age category representing the club with pride.
In a statement OSC Technical Director Benno Nagel shared his thoughts on the launch of the programs and the impact they will have on OSC and the community. “The development of these teams and their integration into OSC is a vital piece of our strategy to leverage the power of soccer and use it as a vehicle for driving positive social change in our town. We see a program of up to 300 men’s and women’s adult players, all committed to the mission of the club and its underlying purpose of supporting Oakland youth through soccer and sport. We welcome a broad range of adult athletes and are excited for the opportunities these players and teams will provide the club. There is certainly no shortage of opportunities in US soccer, and the sky is truly the limit for the level of play our men’s and women’s first teams can aspire to. The addition of our older-age teams at the 30/40/50+ levels will ensure we have a full-service club with committed members who join our OSC family with the intention of giving back to the community. This is a big moment for our club and I’m excited to welcome these athletes as we move forward.
About Oakland Soccer Club: Since 1974 Oakland Soccer Club has provided affordable, high-quality opportunities for underserved youth in Oakland to develop skills for soccer, school, and life. Our goal is to remove the pay-to-play barriers restricting the youth of Oakland from participation in soccer and developing to their highest level.
Check out our website at www.oaklandsoccer.org and give us a follow on social media to see more club announcements including ways you can get involved as a player, coach, or volunteer.
On the men’s side, OSC will add first and reserve teams, providing the club’s youth players with a competitive North Star to aspire to. The teams will integrate long-standing club affiliate Oakland Leopards, operated for eight years by OSC co-president Edward Stephen, which has provided several hundred young adults in Oakland a place to remain positively engaged in soccer while working toward life and career goals. The program has helped OSC alumni bridge the gap between youth and college soccer, preparing them for higher levels of play and offering them a place to belong and an opportunity to continue playing the sport they love. The team, which currently plays in the SFSFL (the oldest adult league in the United States), will continue in that league while also participating in US Open Cup qualifying and organizing friendly matches against regional and national amateur and semi-pro opposition. The Leopards will adopt the OSC club name while paying homage to their history through representation on the club’s kits to be revealed later in 2021. Over time OSC will also add a developmental squad, enabling up to 60 adult players to participate in the program. Older OSC youth players will also benefit from training with the program to push their level of play to a higher level as they prepare for college soccer.
On the women’s side, OSC will build its first adult team from scratch and use the launch of the squad as a force for expanding the club’s girls’ youth program. The team will begin in 2021 in a local league such as the Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League (GGWSL) and play high-level exhibition games against other Bay Area women’s programs at the amateur, collegiate, and semi-pro levels. Given the lack of playing opportunities for female players as they progress out of youth and college soccer, the club sees the launch of its women’s team as an integral part of its commitment to gender inclusion and equitable representation in the Bay Area sports community. Over time, reserve and development teams will also be added, bridging the gap between youth and adult soccer for older girls in our community and providing girls with real role models and mentors as they progress in life both on and off the field.
Rounding out the men’s and women’s first-team programs will be over-30, -40 and -50 teams for local “senior” players looking to continue to play recreationally while committing to join the OSC family as a way to give back to the sport that has given them a lifetime of enjoyment. The club will recruit adult players and teams who can serve as club volunteers, coaches, donors, and sponsors of OSC’s youth players and teams, leveraging the common love of soccer as a vehicle to drive social engagement and purpose-driven investment in Oakland. The teams will wear the OSC crest and will participate in local leagues such as the East Bay Senior Soccer League (EBSSL), Bay Area Adult Soccer League (BAASL), and Bladium Sports Club in Alameda. The program will not be exclusive to any one team, with the possibility for multiple teams in each age category representing the club with pride.
In a statement OSC Technical Director Benno Nagel shared his thoughts on the launch of the programs and the impact they will have on OSC and the community. “The development of these teams and their integration into OSC is a vital piece of our strategy to leverage the power of soccer and use it as a vehicle for driving positive social change in our town. We see a program of up to 300 men’s and women’s adult players, all committed to the mission of the club and its underlying purpose of supporting Oakland youth through soccer and sport. We welcome a broad range of adult athletes and are excited for the opportunities these players and teams will provide the club. There is certainly no shortage of opportunities in US soccer, and the sky is truly the limit for the level of play our men’s and women’s first teams can aspire to. The addition of our older-age teams at the 30/40/50+ levels will ensure we have a full-service club with committed members who join our OSC family with the intention of giving back to the community. This is a big moment for our club and I’m excited to welcome these athletes as we move forward.
About Oakland Soccer Club: Since 1974 Oakland Soccer Club has provided affordable, high-quality opportunities for underserved youth in Oakland to develop skills for soccer, school, and life. Our goal is to remove the pay-to-play barriers restricting the youth of Oakland from participation in soccer and developing to their highest level.
Check out our website at www.oaklandsoccer.org and give us a follow on social media to see more club announcements including ways you can get involved as a player, coach, or volunteer.
