Well, we got NEXT! MLS NEXT has arrived at Diablo Valley Wolves. The most prestigious, most competitive boys youth soccer pathway was recently awarded to our club, as announced by Major League Soccer. It was a recognition by Major League Soccer, which administers the program, of four factors: (1) Our player talent pool; (2) Our unique geography and regional drawing power; (3) Our exceptionally credentialed coaching staff, and (4) Our proven track record of developing players to the highest levels of youth soccer.

As many know, we've held initial tryouts for the four MLS NEXT club teams, but we continue to hold tryouts for the fall season for non. Available teams include the '03/'04/'05, '06/'07, '08, and '09/'10 age groups. Click here to register for an invitation to try out.

The Diablo Valley Wolves began its inaugural Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) campaign this summer. The team features the compilation of talented female soccer players that have been developed within our club over the past several years, along with many of their college teammates who are also some of the top female players in our community. 

The Wolves opened the season in early June hosting the WPSL's perennial PacNorth Conference Champion, Cal Storm. Despite a tough first match shutout loss, the team actually gained a little confidence, as they are an extremely experienced group that had been through growing pains before. It was not so long ago that several of the players now in our WPSL Program helped build the girls side of Diablo FC NPL program, making it the destination Girls NPL club in our region. Some may recall that this team has many of the same players that routinely successfully competed in State Cup, Surf Cup Championships, and earned the #1 team ranking in the country according to Got Soccer.

So it was no surprise that on Thursday night, June 16th, just 11 minutes into their second game, these Wolves found the back of the net. After a hard fought 90 minutes and two more goals, the Wolves WPSL side earned their first ever win, 3-2 over San Ramon FC, a team stocked with many top division 1 players.

Come out and support your WPSL Diablo Valley Wolves team! The team's next home game is a matchup against Marin FC Alliance at 6:30 on June 22nd at Ygnacio Valley High School. Tickets and Game Gear can be purchased online.

Buy Tickets and Fan Gear

Boys Director Richard Weiszmann has a unique background for a soccer coach. By afternoon and night many of us know him as longtime DFC coach and now DVW Director running the pitch for the boys' side and the Director of our MLS NEXT and Elite Academy programs. But during the day, did you know Richard was a published Senior Research Associate at the world famous Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, where much of his research involves “Drosophila Melanogaster”, otherwise known as fruit flies?    

For Richard, it was a pretty straight path into research at a world re-known research lab, where an incredible number of the world’s greatest scientific discoveries have occurred. (If you want to be impressed by the lab’s contribution to advancing humanity, click here and learn just how much the world has been changed by this lab.)

As far as he can remember, science (biology, chemistry and physics) were natural for him. The son of a chemist, Richard grew up in communist Czechoslovakia and after 10 years of trying to get out, the family finally was able to emigrate to the United States in 1989. Soon, he found himself at UC Berkeley, where he not only was a 4-year letterman on the soccer team, won all conference honors, but also graduated from Berkeley with a degree in Molecular and Cell Biology with Emphasis on Genetics. It was only natural that Richard would find his way back to genetics, and at Berkeley after his playing days had ended. We caught up with Richard to learn a bit more about him:

Q: Why do you love coaching?

A: “I got a call a couple of months ago, from a young man who I had coached years ago. He called to share the news that he got into college, and was going to play college soccer. That is why I coach, to provide a positive impact on young players’ lives.”  

Q: What is interesting about fruit flies? 

A: “Fruit flies are model organisms. Their generation time is about 10 days so the genome can be readily and cheaply manipulated at scale. 60% of human disease genes have a counterpart in fruit flies, so it turns out they are incredibly efficient organisms to understand disease states, including cancer, and use to begin to discover cures. “

Q: What innovations have spawned from experiments on fruit flies?

A: The chromosome theory of heredity.

What are the backgrounds of people you work with?

A: The really interesting fact is that the Principal Investigator of my small lab worked directly with Nobel Laureate Ed Lewis at Caltech.

Q: Who is your favorite soccer player?

A: Fernando Redondo

Q: If you could change one thing about youth soccer, what would it be?

A: Find a way to minimize cost for players and families so that we can identify and develop the best players and not the best players that can afford it. 

Yes, the revolution will be televised. And recorded. And edited. With specific feedback given by coaches in clips, shareable with players and families. By Veo. Have you seen Executive Director Jon Scoles with his new alien friends, the Veo cameras? Well, beginning soon, you should. Diablo Valley Wolves has procured two Veo cameras and software packages to provide club families with some of the same high quality development tools as professional soccer clubs. With AI driven software to follow the ball, stitch together views from multiple cameras, edit and annotate highlights and include feedback for specific players/teams, this promises to be a valuable tool to push deeper understanding of the game throughout the club.

Click Here to see Veo in Action during one of our recent WPSL Games.

Diablo Valley Wolves Summer Camp and Small Group Summer Clinics by ThreeSixty PD

DVW in conjunction with ThreeSixty PD has created its inaugural youth summer soccer camps and small group private training at our indoor arena. Open to all players (DVW players get a substantial discount for both), the weekly camps are ideal for either competitive or grassroots/recreational level players. Camps will be run by UEFA-licensed professional coaches from Barcelona, providing players with a unique experience. Register Today for our summer camps.

For those players seeking smaller personalized group trainings, DVW has again partnered with ThreeSixty PD to offer small groups of 6 or less, private training at our Concord arena. Register Today or contact Gabe Cienfuegos for more information.

As a parent of a new player in the '04 age group, Dr. Semon Bader is a welcome addition to the core of parent volunteers that will continue to transform the Diablo Valley Wolves into the premier destination soccer club in the East Bay. While new to the club, Dr. Bader is no stranger to sports, and certainly is no stranger to sports medicine where the club will lean heavily on his expertise and the expertise of many of his colleagues at Muir Orthopedics, the preeminent sports medicine practice in the Bay Area.

Bader grew up in the Bay Area and attended the University of California, Davis. His passion for sports drove him to medical school at UC Davis, then an Orthopedic Residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Bader then completed a one-year fellowship in Sports Medicine, Knee, Shoulder and Hip Arthroscopy at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic Foundation. While at the Cleveland Clinic, he gained extensive experience as a team physician for local high schools, club teams and Cleveland State University. He was also a member of the medical team for the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns and the NFL Combine, gaining experience in the management and care of athletes at all levels.

For more information visit, muirortho.com 

In the interim, we asked him a few questions on issues most important to preparing for the upcoming season:

Q: For kids preparing for the fall season, what are the 2-3 things that they can do to prepare their bodies to avoid injuries?

A: Some of the most important things that can be done to prevent injury is to be in good physical fitness. Injuries often occur when an athlete is fatigued and tries to do more than their body can handle. It's important to also work on the overall strength of your body and core strengthening is one of those critical components that people forget about. Third general flexibility is important to minimize risk of muscle strains.

Q: What injuries are most prevalent with youth soccer players? What are the signs that parents and coaches should look for to know when they should call you?

A: Common injuries in soccer are muscle pulls and knee injuries that can be prevented by maintaining good flexibility and conditioning. Traumatic injuries such as knee ligament injuries are common in soccer.  If you do have an injury , hear a pop or snap in your knee or notice swelling and inability to move the joint you should seek medical attention.  

Q: Concussions and concussion management have become a big part of youth sports. What are the signs parents and coaches should look for before calling you after head trauma occurs?

A: To help minimize the risk of concussions small children should not try to head large balls. Follow guidelines for the appropriate ball size relative to the kids age.  Heading mechanics should be taught so that they are done properly when age appropriate. Sometimes a player will have some pain from the direct impact of a ball onto the scalp. However if the player does have a headache any visual or balance disturbance they should be taken out of play and evaluated by a qualified medical personnel such as an athletic trainer or physician. 

Last year, DVW was the only club in the country to provide its high school players at all levels with free college advisory counseling. The award winning program, PrepWell Academy, provided rising 9th and 10th graders with the most comprehensive, digestible and actionable steps to get into the college of their choice.

DVW is thrilled to again be able to partner with PrepWell Academy to provide our rising 9th and 10th grade players and families with an exclusive discount on all plans for its multi-year program Use the code "DVW" at checkout to receive an additional 15% off.

As a non-profit organization, Diablo Valley Wolves could not exist without the support of its members and its member volunteers. 

There are several key volunteer roles that the Board of Directors is looking to fill that would satisfy all volunteer hours and provide opportunities to help drive the club into the future. If you have prior experience in marketing (SOCIAL AND PAID) and promotions/sponsorships (think school auctions or direct sales experience), or have run a PTA fundraiser like a 5K Fun Run, please reach out to volunteers@diablovalleywolves.com and a board member will contact you.