Dear East Bay United Community,
Six years ago Bay Oaks merged with the Rockridge Soccer Club to form what is known today as the East Bay United Soccer Club. The Club now serves more than 2,500 recreational and competitive players, and has grown to be one of the most admired clubs in Northern California. Despite this past success, we want to continue improving as a Club and serving our community.
To this end, the Club Board of Directors and coaching leadership team spent time this summer assessing our current vision, seeking feedback from our Club members and understanding the broader youth soccer landscape.
We concluded our evaluation with three major takeaways:
- Our vision and mission are still relevant, important and worthy of continued execution (see below)
- Our core pillars – diversity, leadership, instilling a growth mindset and creating soccer development pathways for all kids – are differentiated and a reflection of our community.
- Expectations continue to rise for youth soccer clubs and we must continue to improve at serving our members’ needs.
EBUSC’s Vision
To be the premier soccer club for player and coach development.
EBUSC’s Mission
East Bay United Soccer Club exists to develop youth players and coaches to reach their full potential as leaders on and off the field. Our club is dedicated to offering world-class soccer experiences for all players, regardless of their soccer level, or social or financial background.
To better execute against our vision and mission, this fall we will be implementing the following changes:
An Increased Focus on Player and Coach Development: Glenn Van Straatum is now the Club Technical Director and Boys US Development Academy Director. In this role, Glenn will be overseeing our style of play, and will be driving a robust curriculum, methodology and evaluation process. To be a great at development, we have to be great at teaching and evaluating our players and coaches at all levels. Expect player evaluations twice a year on the competitive side and more coaching support on the competitive and recreation side.
Boys and Girls Directors of Coaching: We’ve promoted Marco Plascencia to be the new Boys Director of Coaching and Jack Rozier as the new Girls Director of Coaching. With this new structure, we will have coaching leadership with the capacity and gender-specific knowledge to ensure that all of our players get the best coaches and programs to meet their specific needs.
Just as we ask our kids to adopt a growth mindset with a goal of getting better every time they step on the field, we must do the same as a Club. We believe that with Glenn’s vision and focus on development, coupled with Marco and Jack overseeing the daily soccer operations for the boys and the girls’ sides, we will be able to fully execute against this vision, and provide an unmatched experience for our families.
The Board and coaching leadership are all honored to be a part of this incredible organization, and are grateful for the opportunity to help our kids become better soccer players and leaders.
Best,
Keely Wachs
East Bay United Soccer Club President