Club Information

HERITAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jim Dick

President, Permits

Larry Hall

Vice President

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Jim McDonnell

Treasurer, Secretary

Ellen Lawrence

Club Registrar

Rosana Gastello

Financial Aid

Steve Smith

Referee Coordinator

Daniel Moncayo

Webmaster, Equipment

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Julio Borge

Coaching Director

WELCOME TO THE HERITAGE SOCCER CLUB!

ABOUT HERITAGE SOCCER CLUB

Founded in 2002, Heritage Soccer Club is a Pleasant Hill/Martinez based, non-profit organization that provides a competitive soccer program (also known as "Club") that is open to those children 8 to 18 years of age that have the skills, desire, and commitment to play soccer at a higher level and who want to receive training from experienced coaches. This training provides our members with the skills to play for their high school soccer teams, and in some cases, play collegiately.

HERITAGE BYLAWS

WHAT HERITAGE OFFERS

Heritage offers a fun, safe, and solid foundation for your children to learn soccer, and at the same time, make lifelong friends. With over 30 coaches and trainers, the depth of soccer knowledge at Heritage is tremendous. We hire the best coaches and trainers in the area that hold National licenses, coach high school soccer, played collegiate soccer, and/or played professionally. All of the coaches in our younger age groups emphasize teaching ball skills and technical aspects of the game in order to lay the foundation for whatever level your child wants to achieve—be it to play for their high school team, or even collegiately. Many of our coaches have tremendous collegiate contacts, which has paid dividends for some of our members.

In order to ensure Heritage teams play at the highest competitive level they can, Heritage keeps up our yearly affiliations with California Youth Soccer Association-North (CYSA) and US Club Soccer, which allows our teams to play in these organizations’ respective playing leagues and tournaments. Affiliation notwithstanding, Heritage Board members and other Heritage parent volunteers are very active in these organizations, providing Heritage with the stability needed to continue offering a solid soccer program. These are very important attributes when looking at any soccer organization.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

To provide a highly competitive soccer program for our players and parents in Pleasant Hill, Martinez and surrounding areas through our program of player development under the guidance of experienced and successful coaches and Club training staff committed to excellence and continued challenge for our kids to be their best.

Our Training Goal

Develop continually successful teams so that players have a positive soccer experience while challenging players to play at the highest level they can in a healthy and safe environment.

Specific Objectives

Our efforts and energies are directed to the following objectives:

We strive to develop players at all levels of play by building and improving their skills, confidence, fitness, and a sense of teamwork while maintaining a safe and positive environment.

We are committed to developing coaches to the highest level through a quality instructional program.

We encourage and promote ethical and moral behavior, good sportsmanship, community involvement and good citizenship.

Heritage Soccer Club is looking to aggressively expand soccer opportunities to areas that have traditionally been underserved. This is achieved through the efforts of community outreach programs, company sponsorships/promoting, and volunteers. Join us and be a part of an experience that shapes our communities youth.

MEMBERSHIP: Many of the kids that make up Heritage’s 24 teams are your neighbors, with nearly 200 living within the Mt Diablo Unified School District boundaries and 70 living within the Martinez Unified School District. We also have kids who, seeing the value that Heritage provides, travel from surrounding communities to try out and play in the organization. This diversity provides all within Heritage a chance to create friendships with those kids outside their normal, everyday surroundings.

Heritage 2009 Membership

City
Martinez/Pacheco        102
Pleasant Hill                86
Concord/Clayton        50
Lamorinda                   36
Antioch                       29
Walnut Creek              27
Pittsburg                      22
Bay Point                    21
Other                               8

School Districts
Mount Diablo             198
Martinez                      69
Acalanes                      48
Antioch                       29
Pittsburg                      29
Other                               8

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Our all volunteer board is also made up of your neighbors, and includes teachers and business leaders from Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Concord and Lafayette. All are also active in their business community, churches and/or schools.

TRYOUTS: Every year, Heritage conducts open tryouts to either create new teams or add players to existing Heritage teams. Tryouts for the teams are conducted mid February (U9-U14) and the first of April (U15-U19) with practices starting in April or May. During the summer, teams participate in tournaments playing other Club teams in the state in order to hone their skills for the fall league season that runs from September through November. In late winter, our teams participate in state-wide tournaments.

FIELDS: Nearly all Heritage practices and home games are scheduled on Pleasant Hill and Martinez fields, including College Park and Alhambra HS all-weather fields. Heritage and its members were instrumental in providing financial backing for the all-weather field at College Park High School and thus has priority use of the field, except for when the school or District have activities at the field.

Club soccer does entail a nearly year round commitment from both the players and the parents; however, there are down times throughout the season to ensure players are rested. For those players with the abilities and commitment, Heritage soccer is a very rewarding experience. If you have any questions regarding Heritage Soccer Club, please contact any one of our Board members or coaching staff.

Larry Hall, Vice President

Larry’s involvement with youth soccer dates back to 1983 when he started coaching at AYSO/PHMSA. In 1992, he became involved with Diablo Valley Soccer Club, coaching both boys and girls teams. In 2004, Larry moved over to Heritage where he started coaching the Heritage Strikers. His Club teams have reached CYSA State Cup quarter finals three times, semi-finals two times and finals two times along with winning multiple tournament championships.

Larry’s High School coaching career started in 1993 where he coached Alhambra HS varsity girls. In 1995 he moved over to coach College Park JV Boys, and in 1996, he started coaching the College Park HS girl’s varsity team, a position he will retire from this season.

This season is Larry’s last for coaching Club and High School soccer, and over the years has coached over 1700 games, a mark that not too many coaches have approached.

Larry’s second favorite pastime is music. His band, Cover2Cover, has been a Pleasant Hill/Martinez fixture for years. If you ever want to talk about Blues music and musicians, talk to Larry. Larry and his wife, Michelle, live in Martinez along with Michelle’s daughter, Kory Lamet, who is a junior at Carondelet HS and is a soccer standout. One of Michelle’s daughters, Ryann Brooks, coaches at Heritage.

Steve Smith, Referee Coordinator & Match Scheduler

Like many, Steve was coerced into coaching an AYSO house team in 1998, "if we don't get a coach, we won't have a team". Coaching or assisting with dozens of teams since, the rest as they say is history….
In addition to coaching the U14/U15G Heritage Savage the past two years, Steve has also assisted the Frosh/Soph at CPHS and this year assisted the Alhambra Varsity Girls.
One of 11 kids, Steve played organized baseball, basketball and soccer growing up in nearby Concord and brings many youth athletic experiences to the Heritage Board. Steve has previously enjoyed stints as a CYO Basketball Director for St. Catherine in Martinez as well as girls basketball coach at at Martinez Junior High.
He joined the Heritage Board as the Coaching Coordinator in 2006 transferring to his current position as Referee Coordinator & Match Scheduler in 2009. Steve has been involved with Heritage since 2003 and has been refereeing soccer since 2001.
In 1988 Steve was on the ground floor (employee #1) in the start up of a advanced composite materials company. He has held many positions over the years and is currently the Lead Technical Specialist and Process Engineer for the company which specializes in supplying materials to the Aerospace and Satellite industries.
Steve's wife of 22 years, Jane, is a 1st grade teacher in Bay Point. His daughter, Nicole (Heritage SC and Alhambra HS Alum), just completed her Freshman year playing soccer at San Francisco State. His younger daughter, Natalie (Heritage Magic), plays for Alhambra High School when she's not hitting the books.

Ellen Lawrence, Registrar & Team Manager Coordinator

Ellen’s involvement in youth soccer started at AYSO/PHMSA, Select, MDSL and then HSC. She started as volunteering as team manager for her son’s U9 Heritage team. She has also been involved with coordinating Heritage’s tryouts, and last year, became the Club’s registrar and team manager coordinator.

“Retired” from her paying job as an Information Technology System’s Analyst in 2001, she has kept busy volunteering for Valley View, College Park, Girl Scouts, Every 15 Minutes and HSC. Ellen also keeps busy working out with the family Labrador, Indy, reading books, and lounging in their backyard hot-tub with a glass of wine. Ellen lives in Martinez with her husband Matt and kids Madelyn and David.

Rosana Gastello, Contracts & Scholarships

Rosana has been with the Club going on 4 years and on the board the last two, starting in merchandising and now handling contracts. She came to Heritage Soccer Club after her son wanted more than AYSO and Select at which time he was introduced to HSC.

She has worked full time with Athens Administrators, a third party administrator in Concord for the past 21 years handling workers’ compensation claim for different clients throughout California.

Rosana lives in Pleasant Hill with her two children Sophia & Angelo. Sophia’s a junior at Carondelet High School and participates in Hula/Tahitian dance in Walnut Creek with Na Mamo No’eau Company away from the soccer field. Angelo’s a 7th grader at Christ the King School and just finished playing for the Boys U13 / 1 as a defender with Coach Pablo Gayton.

Besides volunteering with Heritage, Rosana is on the parent’s board at Carondelet High School Father/Daughter Liturgy – Brunch, and very involved at Christ the King with their scrip program.

Jim Dick, President and Field Procurement

Jim has been involved with youth soccer since 1999 when he coached his daughters at AYSO/PHMSA. After Heritage was formed in 2002, he continued coaching for a couple years and eventually saw a better fit for himself in the administrative ranks of Heritage. Jim was Heritage’s District 4 and GSSL representative from 2003 until 2006. In 2007, he was elected to Heritage’s Board of Directors, taking on the role of President. Jim currently holds a CYSA E coaching license and a USSF Grade 8 referee license.

Jim’s professional career spans over 25 years with Charles Pankow Builders, Ltd, a company he started with after graduating from Purdue University in 1983. Jim is currently the Chief Estimator and Preconstruction Manager for Pankow’s Northern California division.

Jim, his wife Kim, and two daughters, Kaitlin and Allison, have made Pleasant Hill their home since 1994. Kaitlin and Allison both attend Berean Christian High School, where Kaitlin is a senior and Allison is a freshman. Both have been on Heritage teams since they were U10’s. Kim was a founding board member of Heritage back in 2002.

Along with Jim’s volunteer duties at Heritage, he has been a volunteer softball coach for PHBA, was the lead Laborer/Carpenter/Manager for the Pleasant Hill Dolfin’s snack shack at Pleasant Hill Middle School, helped with the design and construction effort for the College Park Scoreboard project, and is involved with yearly youth trips to Mexico through Hillside Covenant Church.

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22 Old Rodgers Ranch Court, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523