Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington are separated by the massive Columbia River, which serves as the state line, but the two have a shared history and shared love of soccer. Founded in 2014, just before entering into the regional soccer league EPLWA, Vancouver Victory have built up a fanatical base of support and even won their league in just their first five years of existence. The club is housed at the Harmony Sports Complex, where they play their games and share training facilities with the Washington Timbers youth academy. Sean Janson, Executive Director of the Washington Timbers, also serves as General Manager of the Victory and was gracious enough to answer my questions about who they are and where they’re headed.

Starting from the start; when, why, and by whom was the Vancouver Victory founded?

Vancouver Victory FC were Founded in 2014 by Barrett Goddard. To provide Vancouver, Washington our own team to root for.

What League do you play in? Do you have a rival or a club you really look forward to playing against? Are there club's outside of your league who you'd like to play a friendly with?

We play in the Evergreen Premier League Washington. Don't really have a rival club but always look forward to playing FC Mulhouse (NPSL. Portland, Oregon) and Lane United (USL League 2. Eugene, Oregon) in friendlies.

The Victory pose before an EPLWA League Match (Photo: Courtesy Vancouver Victory)

Running a soccer club can be turbulent, in the best of times, how do you continue to operate in this market with big clubs like the Timbers and Sounders? How important are matchdays and merchandise to the operational budget?

Matchdays are very important to the budget but most importantly is our partnership with Muchas Gracias Mexican Food. Their sponsorship is really what allows us to provide this team to our community. We feel like Timbers and Sounders increase interest in the sport and therefore the Victory benefits from their presence.

Are you connected to a youth program? A women’s program? Are there funnels for young boys and girls to go from youth sides into the first teams?

Yes, the Washington Timbers FC now owns and runs the Vancouver Victory. Our interest in the team is primarily to provide our alumni who are off playing in college somewhere a place to play when they come for the summer. We certainly enjoy providing our community a quality team to follow but that's not the primary reason we're doing it. We also have a women's team, the Washington Timbers Women's 1st team, who play in the NW Premier League. Both teams serve as teams for our youth to aspire to.

The VNC are The Victory’s true-blue Supporter’s Group (Photo Courtesy Vancouver Victory)

A big part of soccer culture in the Pacific Northwest is Supporters Groups; you do have one, how important are they to the matchday experience? Do they travel with the team from time-to-time?

Yes, VNC are great supporters of the team. I initially met these guys when they started supporting Clark College. They do make the occasional away game and their presence at home games really makes for a great atmosphere.

The Vancouver/Portland soccer market is huge, are there any aspirations to take the Victory up a notch, to a NPSL, UPSL or NISA level of play? What would it take to accomplish that?

There's always talk of taking that next step but as GM of the team and Executive Director of the youth club I'm very hesitant at this time. We are fulfilling our mission of providing opportunities to athletes, I would need to see how a change in league would further fulfill that mission to warrant the extra cost and work. We are planning a major upgrade to our home, Harmony Sports Complex over the next couple years which will completely transform the parking area and the entrance and exit of the facility. Once this is done, we will start to look at other improvements that may better position us to make a leap of this sort. In the mean time we will try and win as many EPLWA trophies as possible.

What does it all mean? The Vancouver Victory provide a badge primer.

For more information about the Vancouver Victory FC, check them out here: http://vancouvervictoryfc.com/
If you’re interested in volunteering or joining their supporters group, contact them here: https://www.facebook.com/VNC-264042637093828/

The Western Washington Premier League is headed into their second season in 2019. With this comes expansion and one of the teams joining the league is BeSea FC out of Bellevue, Washington. I had the chance to talk to the man who will be running the club, Eduardo Millán. As the head coach for both Highline High School and Bellevue College, Millán is already pulling double duty, but he is still excited for this new adventure. Check out my interview with him below!

Who’s idea was it to start the club?

Everything started with an email I received from the league a few months ago. The league was looking for teams to join their league and after giving it some thought, and discussing with my coaching staff and my family, I’ve decided to move forward with this idea.

What does BeSea mean?
The idea for BeSea FC came about after much thought, and many other names in between. I wanted a name that people could identify with, a name with personality and strength. What better than combining two of the biggest cities in the Northwest – Bellevue and Seattle? BeSea means to be powerful and fearless like the sea. To me it represents growth, evolution, dreams, competitiveness, all anchored down with deep rooted values and the highest standards possible.

When / How will you look for players?

The soccer community in the Northwest is well connected, and somehow we all know of each other. Our goal is to find collegiate players, alumni players, high school graduates, and anyone who is open to learn from one another and become a better soccer player and a better person. We are going to ask coaches to invite their players to our tryouts, we are going dive into social media (Facebook, and Twitter) looking for players, and obviously asking players to bring a friend or two to join the team – hopefully.

What made the club decide to join the WWPL?

The league seems to be very competitive and it has a good a vision of where it wants to go. In order to push our players and coaches to the next level, we need to compete with the best.

What will the club mean to the Bellevue community?

With time, we hope to be a well-known team in the area, not just because of the game itself, but also because of what we do off the field for our communities, for the youth and businesses in the area.

Do you guys plan to work with the community to help charities?

Absolutely! Our goal is to help and assist others whenever possible.

What is the best way for fans to get involved and/or following the club?

We are still working on the details for this. We need volunteers and people that want to see this project grow. We have many open opportunities for those great minds to come on board. We also hope to build strong partnerships with local businesses and companies that can help the project reach higher places.

What is BeSea FC’s main goal?

The goal is to provide players the opportunity to play soccer in a supportive and rewarding environment that emphasizes player development in a competitive way. We are an elite team looking for many talented players out there that go unseen, some may need a second opportunity; we want to expose as many of these players to colleges in the area or professional opportunities.

Do you already have an idea of how you guys want to play tactically?
We want to outnumber our opponent in key areas of the field, be able to move the ball with fluidity, and be efficient in the attack. All of these while giving the opposition the least amount of opportunities to score.

- Aarik Long