2012 Welcome Message

By Umit Gokce

Club Founder, Director and Coaching Coordinator

The Highlands Soccer Club is a weekend tradition that has become increasingly familiar with residents in and around the Issaquah Highlands community. With the 2012 season marking our 8th year, it is the largest organized weekly program in the Highlands and has been run continuously as a volunteer based organization.

The Highlands Soccer Club is unique on a number of levels. In addition to being volunteer based, it is entirely co-ed, recreational (less competitive), runs during both the Spring and Fall, and offered to children as young as 3 up through 12 years old. We also manage all our costs very carefully so that in the end, parents pay only $95 (plus a team uniform fee) to register for the entire Spring and Fall season.

Perhaps most importantly, the club’s approach favors skill building and individual development. Some clubs may apply only a few sessions to these areas and then immerse players exclusively in games for the remainder of the time. This method does not do very much to correctly introduce new techniques or help sort out issues.

Our philosophy places an emphasis on player enjoyment and positive feedback as well as team play. I suppose that is one distinct advantage of a program provided by community-based volunteers — they have a vested interest in the happiness and well-being of the kids participating in the program.

We have had very good response and results with our soccer club so far. However, our continued success will be shaped in large part by new and returning volunteers. I would like to ask people living in and around the Highlands to help by volunteering in ways that are familiar or maybe represent new challenges.