SDSC Surf to play newly branded SoCal (SCDSL) league

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SDSC Surf is excited to announce that our club is one of the initial clubs from San Diego to announce our intent to transition our teams to the Southern California Developmental Soccer League (SCDSL) that has rebranded as SoCal. This will mean that not only are we leaving the Presidio soccer league to play in the SoCal league but that we will also be moving from Cal South and the US Youth Soccer Association to the US Club Soccer platform.

For many years now, clubs in Southern California have been asking for improvements and changes from Cal South, with limited results. SoCal (previously SCDSL) therefore decided to expand its youth soccer platform in Southern California.  We are excited about the opportunities this new platform will bring to our players. 

SoCal is an organization that is led by the Directors of Coaching of the clubs that make up its membership.  SDSC has been a part of the prior SCDSL (now SoCal) with our top level teams for 8 years and have been very happy with the leadership structure in which coaches, who are the ones working with the kids on a daily basis, actively participate in determining the direction and priorities of the league.

In the fall of 2021, our teams (not including our ECNL, ECRL, GA, DPL and NPL teams) will be part of the San Diego chapter of SoCal. At this approximately 20 clubs from San Diego have committed to playing in SoCal and there are more to come. We are confident the SD chapter will provide strong competition for our teams at all levels so teams will continue to stay local for their gaming.  

One of the new innovations within SoCal is the newly formatted Discovery Division. The Discovery Division is suited for our SDDA Flight 1 level teams, and some Flight 2 teams. All Discovery Division games will be played at a single site venue, either the SoCal complex in Oceanside or the Surf Sportspark in Del Mar, ensuring access to top quality fields for these teams  The competition in those groups will be strengthened with teams from lower Orange County also participating in the SD division.

For a postseason, SoCal will run its own State Cup competition in which all teams will be guaranteed 4-5 group play games and then be seeded into a knockout round.  The winners of the competition will advance to play the winners of a similar competition in Northern California. The winners will also advance into the US Club Soccer National Championship platform.  There will be multiple levels of State Cup in order to provide appropriate competition.  All state cup games will be played at either Silverlakes in Norco, Oceanside, or Del Mar.  This means no more games in Lancaster or Bakersfield which might make this worth it on its own! 

A SoCal fall season will look something like this:

  • START: week after Labor Day

  • FALL: 8-10 league games + 3 State Cup games

  • DECEMBER: off

  • JANUARY: 2-4 league games + 1-2 State Cup games

  • FEBRUARY: State Cup Knockout Rounds

  • SPRING: Optional 8-10 game spring season (non High School ages)

Additional Programs and Services of Benefit to our Coaches and Players:

  • College ID Showcases for the high school kids

  • Coaching tools to enhance coaches knowledge

  • Recreational events for our rec programs

  • A player identification program that will allow stronger players to potentially be identified for the US National team program.

With all of these changes that are going to take place, we do not anticipate that this will have any major financial impact to our teams and families.  The fees to be involved in the SoCal league are very similar to what we now pay to Calsouth and Presidio.  

As we finally see the real opportunity to return to gaming following a year off from competition, there is much to look forward to for our club, our families and our players.  Covid has provided opportunities to consider ways to improve and enhance the programs we offer to our players.  

We feel strongly that the SoCal league will be something that is going to greatly benefit our players.  Should you have any questions, please reach out to your coach or one of the Directors.