|
The Capital Soccer Story
George Cook and Peter Kim met in 1995 playing against each other in various Vermont leagues throughout the state. The two competed both with and against each other for a few years and immediately became close friends.
They both shared a similar background growing up in soccer hotbeds, both in Region I. George grew up in Manchester, CT (a city 10 miles outside of Hartford) and played for one of Connecticut's most successful clubs, Oakwood SC. Peter grew up in Amherst, NY (10 miles outside of Buffalo) and played for one of New York State's largest clubs, Amherst SC.
George & Pete quickly realized that Central Vermont needed it's own club team and grass-roots organization. Pete & George both had their ideas as far as what the organization would look like, but that model has changed and developed over time. As the game changes, the organization has changed and developed with it.
In 1997, Pete was coaching JV Boys Soccer at Spaulding High School in Barre and George was the Head Coach of Girls Soccer at Montpelier High School. A local physician, Dr. Dick Butsch, contacted George and informed him that a group of individuals was in the process of trying to build a multi-plex arena in Montpelier. He invited George onto the board of directors. In 1998-1999, the Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center was built and in March of 1999, Capital Soccer held it's first indoor soccer clinic. That year, approximately 60 players attended the clinics and just under 30 teams participated in Capital Soccer Indoor Leagues.
The Capital Soccer Indoor programs have ballooned into a full curriculum of soccer activities that include leagues, player specific clinics, coaching courses, and many other soccer education activities. In 2004, over 300 players of all ages participated in the Capital Soccer Indoor Programs and over 70 teams participated in the Capital Indoor Soccer League.
In 2001, the first Capital Soccer outdoor camp ran in Barre at the Barre Town Elementary School. Originally, in 2000, Capital Soccer had planned it's first outdoor camp, but due to low enrollment, the program could not run. Now, every summer, Capital Soccer runs youth soccer camps in Barre, Montpelier, and Morrisville. The Capital Soccer specialty camps during the summer include the Striker School, Goalkeeping Academy, and High School Preparation Camp. In the summer of 2004, approximately 600 players attended the Capital Soccer Outdoor summer camps.
In 2001, Capital Soccer Club competed for the first year at the Premier Level. The club teams started off small, and struggled in its first year. After 4 years, the club has emerged as the club program from Vermont who have taken the largest steps towards success. Even directors from rival clubs have expressed how strong the club has become in such a short amount of time. After 4 years of Premier Club Soccer, the club has had several players move on to play competitively in college, has won several indoor and outdoor league titles, have placed well in major tournaments throughout the region and in the Vermont State Cup, and have competed strongly at the Region I tournament.
The organization quickly received national attention on March 18th, 2002, when Dan Woog, a writer from Soccer America contacted George & Peter. To date, Soccer America is the largest (highest circulation/subscriber rate) soccer magazine in the country. The article was a full color 2-page spread and pictured many of the club members who played in 2002.
Now, it seems that everywhere you go in Vermont, you see people of all ages wearing the famed Capital Soccer T-Shirt. Probably one of the most frequently asked question to the directors is “how did you come up with the logo design?” In 1998, George & Peter had decided on the name “Capital Soccer”, because the program was based out of Vermont’s Capital City. However, the logo was developed on a weekday night in 1998. The two directors sat at Peter Kim’s kitchen table at his old apartment on Nelson Street in Montpelier. Working with a basic art program on a laptop computer, Peter recommended that the dragon from the country of Wales be used because of his mother’s background and heritage. George loved the dragon and agreed to it. Many clubs in Europe have their club’s logo surrounded by a shield of some sort. At first, one oval was placed around the dragon to add a little bit of European flair. The directors liked it. Peter, then added another oval around the perimeter, and that’s when they both knew that the club logo had been developed.
|
