AFC Hearts of San Francisco

While all of us are waiting to see when soccer will return, we at Protagonist are still reaching out to clubs old and new to find out what makes them tick. This week we were fortunate enough to get the scoop on AFC Hearts of San Francisco of the UPSL Wild West. We appreciate the time Founder and President Maurice Johnson took to answer our questions about where his club come from and where AFC Hearts of San Francisco is headed.

Soccer in San Francisco goes way back to the 1890's - when and why were you founded, and does that soccer pedigree ever cross your path? 

We founded our club in 2017, fifty years after San Francisco’s iconic summer of love. Our goal is to be the preeminent player development club in the Bay Area. The peace sign is in our logo to symbolize San Francisco’s peace movement. The heart, widely regarded as San Francisco’s talisman, in our logo is made up of phoenix feathers which hallmark San Francisco’s resilience after the 1906 earthquake.

With as many leagues as there are to choose from, why did you go with UPSL? What benefits did you see joining that league instead of SFSFL, NPSL, or USL-L2?

Although we currently do not have a club in the San Francisco Football Soccer League (SFFSL), we have played friendlies with some of their winning teams, and we plan to have a reserve club in the SFFSL in the future. In fact, we want all soccer fans to recognize the stay home and shelter orders from Governor Newsome, and watch our matches against the SFFSL’s San Francisco Metropolitans, and San Francisco Glens SC on our YouTube channel.

Considering there is so much soccer happening, all the time, in the Bay Area, does your club play year-round? Do you set up friendlies with clubs from other leagues? 

The United Premier Soccer League is the fastest growing player development league in the United States. The league offers competitive play at the regional level that Sunday leagues don’t offer. We have a three to five-year plan to move up to a higher league, but the United Premier Soccer league current placement in the United States Soccer Pyramid is idea for our club being only two years old. In the meantime, it would be great if someone could organize a San Francisco Cup between the USL 2, NPSL, SFFSL, and UPSL. We would be in!

The 2026 World Cup is a few years away, but with Levi's Stadium on the list down in the South Bay, are you anticipating a bump in interest locally? Do you have supporters?

Yes, we have played clubs in the SFFSL, the USL 2, and we’re playing this Spring in the Liga NorCal Premier. We have played the Glens twice, and we have an open invitation to play El Farolito, and San Francisco City FC. Both El Farolito, and San Francisco City have agreed to play us, we just need to sync our calendars. We definitely want to play the Oakland Roots, or Project 510 in the future. For now, we’ve planned the last two spring seasons in the UPSL due to most of our players coming from the collegiate ranks. We will be playing this Fall for the first time in the UPSL. Creating a supporter club is one of our primary goals. If you know of people interested in joining our ranks, please have them email us at info@sfhearts.com or text us at 415.816.6358. 

Soccer is experiencing a golden age in the Bay Area. For example, London is the home for over one hundred soccer clubs. With that being said, the pie is huge for the Bay Area to have many sustainable clubs. With everyone being stuck at home, I’m hoping that San Franciscans can rediscover their local soccer clubs via YouTube and social media. For this reason, we’re rebroadcasting some of our matches on YouTube. Since most people don’t know the results of these local matches, I’m hoping these games can be a distraction to soccer fans during these challenging times. Our total viewership on our online streaming site, mycujootv/afc-sanfrancisco-hearts.com, is over 7,000 views, and we have household viewership from over sixty different countries. Our YouTube viewership is comparable to our mycujootv numbers. I’m hoping that this exposure helps us drive supporter membership.

Clubs often are able to draw young players in from a youth organization - is AFC Hearts connected to a youth funnel at all? Where do you get most of your players from?

It is our goal to have a youth program in place by the summer of 2021. The San Francisco Aztecs have provided ball service at a few of our matches and one of our players, Omar Diaz, is very active with the San Francisco Aztecs. We would like to partner with a local youth organization, and or partner with an international soccer academy. People interested in volunteering with us should contact us at info@sfhearts.com or text 415.816.6358. Currently, our players a mostly current, and former local college players. 

What is the most important part of running a club at this level? What types of things keep you up at night?

The player is the apex of our program. All of our efforts are player centric in design, and in mind. Our goal is to be the preeminent player development club in the Bay Area. To do this we must have the resources to hire the best coaching, and to secure the best facilities. During our two years in existence, we have formed an excellent relationship with City College of San Francisco. Not only has their coaching staff created a winning tradition at City College San Francisco, but they have brought this same winning tradition to the Hearts. Further, playing on a soccer only field has also provided our club with a competitive advantage over our peer clubs in San Francisco. We can say with confidence that our facilities at City College San Francisco are second to none. We are actively seeking sponsorship to pay for equipment, uniforms, and travel cost. Our audience can be an excellent conduit for companies locally, and internationally.

AFC Hearts taking on Jasa RWC – we hope to see these two UPSL Wild West sides shoot it out in the Fall (photo: AFC Hearts’ Facebook)

Santa Ana Winds FC

Southern California is stacked with talented players and have more great teams than we can shake a stick at – however, we were fortunate enough to get a reply to our request for more info from Marco Paniagua, head coach, of the UPSL’s Santa Ana Winds FC. We wanted to know the usual “when did you start” kinda stuff, but we also wanted to know what makes them tick. Winds FC, founded in 2006, started their play in the SoCal Premier League, but moved to NPSL in 2011. They’ve qualified for the US Open Cup (2018) and have even moved a player on to an international professional club (Juan Arellano). However, they left NPSL after only one year and have been in the UPSL ever since.

What is the mission of the club?

To promote, administer, develop, encourage opportunities and foster an environment for the participation of soccer players, staff and faculty to actively be involved in recreational, Social and competitive soccer whilst maintaining a community and family environment through the concept of “soccer for all”

Are you directly linked with youth teams?

Yes, but not in the USA, we are expanding the franchise internationally, we just opened our first soccer academy in Costa Rica and we have close to 100 kids between the age 4-12, additional we have the U13, U15, U17 and PRIMERA DE LINAFA. As of right now we had made the right decision and we are moving in the right direction and great results are showing. We have excellent staffing working and developing the academy.

Santa Ana Winds FC have competed in the SoCal Premier, NPSL, and now in the UPSL.

How many of those players break into the UPSL side?

As of right now, no youth players have broken into the UPSL from Winds FC, but slowly start getting a lot of this players into this league, we have to mention that UPSL has done a tremendous job in all areas and expanding nationally. This league will become one of the most important leagues for USA Soccer.

If the UPSL players don't come through the youth team, where do you draw players from?

Most of Our players come locally. Since 2017 when we became a bigger group and working with Jose Lopez- currently GM, Enrique Rosas- Assistant Head Coach, Jorge Adame,- Goalkeeper Coach, Edgar Barraza- Soccer Operation Coordinator, Leonel Lopez President and myself (Marco Paniagua) as Head Coach and Sport Manager, we changed our model, and we decided to work with young players (18-23) and put a process together for 3 year to became one of the best teams in the area. We decide to focus on an exchange development program for each player. Basically, we develop all our players to become professional, better player and a better person, of course with the option of jumping to the next level and became a professional baller.

Winds FC’s Juan Arellano was recently invited to join Club Sport Cartaginés of the Costa Rican Primera División.

Financing the team is so important for non-MLS teams; how do you do it? Do you have fans coming to the games, buying tickets and shirts, or do you mostly work with local sponsors?

We have a few sponsors that help to cover a portion of the financial situation, but the reality is that is not easy to maintain a soccer team, another portion is cover by all the partners: SCORE and DE LEON TRANSPORT INC.

Yes, we have fans and we have a great sponsor that provides all the equipment that a professional team needs to perform, as right now we don’t sell tickets and t shits but is an ongoing project for next season since we have everything to do it.

Part of the problem with player development in the US is that highly talented kids cannot afford club fees - does Winds FC do anything to reach out to underprivileged players?

Yes, we are aware of this situation, as mentioned before, our model is based on a development program to become a better person and better player and the most important part is become a professional baller, like we did with Juan Arellano back in 2018 when we transfer him to Club Sport Cartagines from COSTA RICA, at the moment they had Paulo Wanchope as Head Coach, one of the international soccer Legends. Something important to mention about our model is that we don’t charge any player and we don’t pay any player; they understand the great opportunity they have at winds FC. Part of this exchange program is that we have the relation with countries like Costa Rica, Denmark, Portugal, South Korea, USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and others.

With Women's Soccer becoming more and more important, do you have any girls’ squads and any interest in having a women's side in the future?

This a great topic and even we don’t have any woman squads yet here, we are working on getting the first girls’ team in Costa Rica. We believe that this a future project for us.

Been there, done that, Santa Ana Winds FC are earning a reputation as a winning organization.

For more information about Santa Ana Winds FC

For more information about UPSL Soccer

California Storm

The California Storm are one of the winningest teams in women’s soccer, having won the WPSL three times since they helped found the league back in 1997. Their history goes back even further than that, really, as they were themselves founded in 1995 and began play in the USL W-League when they helped found that league as well. While in the W-League, they went by the Sacramento Storm, and made their way to the National final two out of the three years in their tenure there. When they switched and contributed to the beginning of the WPSL in 1998, they switched their name to California Storm and continued their domination of women’s soccer. We wanted to know more about their past, pedigree, but also of their present, so we reached out to the organization and current owner and head coach, Jamie Howard-Levoy was considerably generous with her time and answered all of our questions.

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The California Storm have 10 Division titles and 3 WPSL League titles; Tell us more about the organization - when were you founded? Have you always been the California Storm?

The California Storm was founded in 1997 in Sacramento by Jerry Zanelli. Official name is California Storm of Sacramento. I have been with the California Storm since 2010.

Some soccer clubs exist as an adult end to the development funnel, and some squads don't have a connection to a youth program; how is your club built and what's the overriding mission? Developing elite players is the dream of most soccer programs; after the development, how should clubs help players advance their athletic and professional goals?

The great thing about thing about the California Storm is that we are not one club affiliated. We cater to every club primarily in the Sacramento region but not limited to just those clubs. We focus on growing the game of soccer for both girls and women. We do this by providing free soccer clinics and free girls soccer festivals in the community. The Storm partners with the clubs, the clubs advertise it to their players and then together we put it on.

Our mission for our team is to play at the highest level possible. If it is one of our players' goal to play in the NWSL or overseas, we will do whatever we can to help them achieve that. Our goal in the community is to be the role models for girls so they have someone to look up to and to get them excited about the game. It is also important for us to teach girls about goal setting, confidence building, healthy choices and injury prevention.

For developing elite players to play at the next level, it is important to stress to players that they have to do the work. So many players rely on their natural talent and don't completely dedicate themselves to playing to their fullest potential. As coaches, it is our job to network and develop contacts for these players. It does take time and work on our part which can be tough after a full day of being out in the hot sun. As a coach, we should be excited for them to take that next step and be thankful that we were part of their journey. This is their time, their chance, and if there is anything we can do to help them get achieve their dreams we must do it.

Now that the World Cup is over do you expect any reduction in attendance for your club? How dependent are you on funds from the turnstiles? Have any players, or even coaches, moved on from California Storm to play for NWSL or even any national teams?

The World Cup brought a lot of attention to our team which is something we needed. We have had great players play for the California Storm such as Sissi, Brandi Chastain, Alex Morgan, Leslie Obsborne, Aly Wagner and Julie Foudie to name a few. Alex Morgan played for the California Storm and is now playing in the NWSL and for the US National Team. We just had one of our goalkeepers, Abbie Faingold, sign a professional contract and is playing over in Japan.

This team has always played at a high level, but we fell behind in marketing the team on social media and in the community. I believe that our attendance will continue to grow because of we are out in the community building relationships with players. This past year, we did not charge for admission into games which was new for us. This really helped us build a fan base. Since we don't charge admission, we rely heavily on team sponsors to pay for game day expenses.

Sacramento has a lot of options for soccer fans, with The Republic, Sacramento Gold, and even a short drive to Davis - are there any cross-promotions with men's sides? Do any supporters’ groups come out to Storm matches?

This year we partnered with UC Davis Health and the Sacramento Republic FC which has been huge for us. Both of them have been so supportive of us and share our passion to better the community. We recently did a 4v4 Watch Me campaign with the Sac Republic. This event focused on building the girls game. The players competed at Papa Murphy's Park and the California Storm players warmed the players up and officiated the games. The California Storm also played the first round of the conference playoff at Papa Murphy’s Park before a Sac Republic game. The partnership with the Sacramento Republic FC has brought more awareness to the women's game and we have more fans as a result. Building our fan base is a constant focus for us.

What is the future of your organization? Will we see Storm return to the WPSL in 2020? If anybody is interested, how can they support your organization?

The California Storm will be playing in the WPSL season in 2020 and we are very excited about the upcoming season. We have grown tremendously in 2019 but have so much more to accomplish this upcoming year. If anyone is interested in supporting the team, we are looking for team sponsors and you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For more information about WPSL Soccer.

For more information about California Storm.

Or check out their Facebook.

AC Miracle Hill

What is your name and role with AC Miracle Hill?
My name is Rigoberto Escobedo, Co-founder and President. Management and Operations.

What is your background in the beautiful game?

I grew up with soccer my whole life. Starting out playing AYSO and then moved on to playing club soccer towards the end of my teenage years. As an adult, I played soccer at our local Sunday league and indoor soccer league. Also, I've been a die-hard FIFA gamer since 2001, and have not stopped playing ever since!

What inspired your name and crest?

We wanted to create club that represented our hometown, Desert Hot Springs. The name Miracle Hill was a nickname given to the city of Desert Hot Springs by Cabot Yerxa, Desert Hot Springs' first settler. My brother and I also have an admiration for Italian soccer. So with all that combined, came the name AC Miracle Hill. Growing up in the desert, all you see are the windmills. We felt the windmills was a symbol that anyone in any city in the Coachella Valley can relate to.

What has been the biggest challenges going into your first season within the UPSL?

Getting sponsors and funding. Everyone in our staff, including myself, work full-time jobs and have no time during regular work hours to meet face-to-face with potential community partners. But we're working hard making calls, writings emails, and sending DM's to reach out to our local businesses to make things happen.

In your short existence you have already managed to gather a few staff members. How have you achieved that and what tips can you give to other clubs that have yet to find volunteer help?

Transparency and the opportunity to grow.

Transparency - Everyone knows what everyone does. We all see where the money comes from and where it goes.

Growth Opportunity - We believe in our staff members and their abilities. We give them the opportunity to learn from working directly with the players, the clubs, and the community. We want all our staff members to get a real experience that will help them in their next big opportunity.

What was the process in finding head coach Brian Benjume and what is his previous soccer experience?

Brian Benjume started his career training Mexican club, Pachuca Youth Academy. He then went on to play for Arsenal FC-US Academy, San Diego Flash, Sport Club Corinthians USA-NPSL, Inland Empire FC-UPSL, and now as a Player/Coach with AC Miracle Hill. Brian Benjume is a desert local that knows soccer and we feel lucky to have him on our side. With his positive attitude and determination, we know he will make a great impact on the club, the players, and the supporters.

When will be the club’s first match?

We will be receiving more info on our league schedule early in the new year. But we know our season will start the first weekend of March.

What is the main goal of AC Miracle Hill?

Our goal is to be the best professional development program in the Coachella Valley and surrounding areas, and to have the highest amount of pro and national players to come out of one club.

What role does the lower leagues play in the U.S. Soccer landscape?

It’s a great way for players to develop their skills and mentality to prepare for higher level play.

How do you feel about the current state of soccer in our country?

It's all messed up! But we got 2 options, we can keep complaining about how awful US Soccer structure is or actually do something to change it.

Is there any additional information you would like to share?

To any viewer:

If you love soccer and your from the Coachella Valley, then you'll love AC Miracle Hill!

Follow AC Miracle Hill on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to learn more!

Buena Park FC

What is your name and role with Buena Park FC?

My name is Arturo Gutierrez and I am the founder, manager and coach of BPFC.  
What is your background in the beautiful game?

The beautiful game has been a part of my life since I was able to walk. I played all throughout my younger years up until I had an accident in 2013. Since then I took on coaching and currently run the Kennedy High School Boys' Soccer program, CDA Slammers FC - Cerritos Boys 2001 team, and Buena Park FC.

What year was BPFC founded and why are they called the Fighting Irish?

BPFC was founded in 2010 as an indoor team between some of us Kennedy alumnus in an attempt to continue playing after our high schools days. We adopted the Fighting Irish as our logo since all of our original members came from the Kennedy Soccer program.  

What are the biggest challenges facing Buena Park FC?

The biggest challenge we have at Buena Park FC is keeping up financially with what a year season demands. We are a homegrown club and with little to no support from sponsors, we all pitch in to keep the club competing in league and major tournaments.  
What is the main goal of BPFC?

Our goal at BPFC is to provide our local talent in Buena Park and its surrounding cities the opportunity to be part of an organized soccer club that competes in high level competitions such as the SoCal Premier League, State Cup and US Open Cup. 

Who are some up and coming BPFC players that lower league fans should be aware of?

We have some great talent within our club. Nate DaRosa is a known name within our league as he imposes a threat up top. Nate is our leading scorer that combines speed, power and finishing, basically everything you want in a striker. 

Justin Funes, Grant Carlson, Gerardo Sanchez, Marco Saglimbeni and Scott Locken are the core of the squad. Defensively they can withhold any attack as well as add muscle to our attacks.

What style of play/ tactics does BPFC favor?

Our style of play and tactics always vary depending on our personnel and opponent. We typically work for possession, protect the middle, and use the counter attack with power and speed. Our formation varies, but we favor the 4-5-1 with two defensive mids and occasionally work a standard 4-4-2.

BPFC just recently lost in the third round of U.S. Open Cup qualification. What does that competition mean to you, to BPFC and your players?

The US Open Cup is big time for us and most amateur clubs in the US. It gives us smaller clubs a chance to showcase ourselves in a national presence and sometimes the opportunity to challenge ourselves versus some pro clubs. Since college ball is over for most of us, this tournament gives that feeling of being part of history and something big again.  

What role do the various regional leagues/ competitions play in the U.S. Soccer landscape? 

A huge role. Without us smaller clubs, there is no growth. All of us players and coaches are fans of the beautiful game, and without fans there's no support and without support there is no US Soccer. I tend to look at it in a way on how many European clubs were 20-50 years ago competing in regional leagues and where they are now. Never know, BPFC and other local clubs could possible make up the 3rd or 4th division of US Soccer some day...

How do you feel about the current state of soccer in our country?

It's growing. I remember when only soccer players were into the sport. Now I am starting to see another generation invest their time into soccer. There are definitely more eyes following the various clubs, leagues and international competitions.  

Is there any additional information you would like to share?

We're more than a futbol club, we're a futbol community. 

Orange County Soccer Club

While digging up graves looking for the spookiest soccer badges for our recent Halloween top-10 badges post I came across the badge for what seemed like a fairly new club, Orange County Soccer Club. We ran the list, but I felt compelled to follow up with the team and Anton Faith got back to me right away; “Thanks for reaching out, it’s quite exciting as this is our first season as a club. The badge was created around a few ‘Floridian’ symbols. The outline of Florida on the badge as the club wishes to enter tournaments out of state and it is proud to represent Florida. The orange on the badge comes from Florida’s state fruit being an orange and it being a major part of Florida’s economy, this is also where the shape of the badge came from. The green on the badge and the claws are representative of the alligator, which is a very common site in this part of the world.”

I felt like we needed to know more, so I replied asking if he’d like to put his club in the Protagonist Spotlight and of course, Anton was happy to answer our questions…

Your Club seems really new; is it a re-branding or are you launching from scratch?

Orange County Soccer Club is a brand-new club founded in the summer of 2018 that is currently paying in the Central Florida Soccer League for the fall and spring seasons of 2018-19.

You've shared some of the background regarding the badge but are there any connections to, or inspirations drawn from, other clubs in the world?

A few of the founding players are from England and Scotland respectively and it was noticed that the teams they support wear green and white hoops so as a club we adopted those as our team colors.

What are the goals of the organization; does that include an ambition to grow quickly or more just see how it goes?

The club has plans to expand in the future by fielding teams in other competitive leagues such as the UPSL and NPSL as well as building a youth section of the club. We are not rushing into anything and will allow the club to grow organically.  

What's the highest level of player you hope to draw--are you targeting players outside your area or just hoping to draw the local talent in to fill out the roster?

We are aware of ex international players in our league and as we grow we would love to see them playing for Orange County Soccer Club. At this time we have a couple of players in the team who have played in the NPSL and USL

Do you see rivalry as an important part of growing the fan side or an organization, or a distraction? Do you foresee any rivalries within your area?

As a club we are new to the league so we don’t currently have many rivals but our players have played for and against many of the players and teams in the league so there is always healthy competition when the players cross the white line. We believe that team rivalries are important to the game as it brings out a little extra in players on the day.

How is the club funded? Are you self-sufficient or are you hoping to make connections in the community to gain sponsors?

Orange County Soccer Club is run in part by its members and also by sponsorships. We have to thank Sports4Fun for sponsoring our teams uniform this season and also the members for their contribution. We are currently searching for more sponsors if any are reading this.  

Is there anything important to you YOU that I missed?

The team has just made the playoffs in their first season and is very excited to be playing for a trophy.