Friends on the field

Bryce Alderton

Watching soccer enthusiasts trample the grass and boot the ball

around makes some people long to put on the shorts and shirt, tie-up

the laces and run around for awhile on Sunday mornings.

Such was the case about 15 years ago when a group of men, many who

had gotten their children into soccer and coached an AYSO soccer team

or a club team, wanted to learn more about soccer and try playing it.

Pretty soon these men formed a league based on the “club concept,”

where players invited other players to the club and they divided into

teams systematically for competitive balance -- thus the Gentlemen’s

Soccer League was formed.

Now it is called the Coastline Soccer League comprised of 120

players, including Kirk McIntosh, founder of the yearly Daily Pilot

Cup youth soccer tournament played at the Farm Complex in Costa Mesa,

who are divided into eight teams each September and play every Sunday

at Gisler Elementary School in Huntington Beach.

Alan Denny, 57, began playing soccer in 1972 and now enters his

10th year as the league’s commissioner. He plays on a team with

McIntosh.

Two men began the league 15 years ago, but fled unexpectedly,

leaving league players “holding the bag,” Denny said.

“We had no information for rosters so we had to jump in and pick

up the pieces,” Denny said. “Now it’s grown and expanded to eight

teams.”

The league’s year begins each September and is divided into three

seasons. Each team plays 42 games.

Each player pays “about $250” yearly, which covers costs for

uniforms, referees and field maintenance since AYSO allows Coastline

to use the fields, Denny said.

“AYSO Region 56 has been kind to let us use their fields, so if

there’s ever a conflict, we always give way,” Denny said.

Part of the $250 goes toward field maintenance. Players paint the

lines on the field each Friday before AYSO games on Saturday.

“We have a lot of professionals in our club who donate time to

maintenance work trying to be good citizens,” Denny said.

Denny stresses that the league operates in a recreational manner,

where fighting is not allowed.

“The referees call our games with an eye to not allow

out-of-control play to take place,” Denny said.

“We have very strict rules. If a punch is thrown, even if it

doesn’t hit, the player must leave the league forever.”

In the league’s 15 years, Denny said there have only been two

instances where players have thrown punches.

The league is made up of players ages 35 to 70 and features skill

levels from novice to semi-professional and ex-professional.

“There’s no exclusion based on talent,” Denny said.

“Players are put on teams on a first-come, first-serve basis. We

try to maintain balance and if there are players who seem better

suited for a more competitive league, then I recommend that to them.”

About 70% of the 120 players are either active youth coaches in

AYSO or for a club team, Denny said.

Newport Beach resident John Curtis has been playing in the league

off-and-on for seven years, and has watched the league grow.

“The people I play with are the most level-headed people I’ve been

with, everybody knows everybody else,” Curtis said. “Over the years

the level has risen tremendously from what it was 10 years ago.”

Curtis, 56, began playing soccer when he was 28 and has played on

teams when he lived in England and Scotland and has announced soccer

games for the California Surf who used to play games in the Los

Angeles Coliseum.

He took his wife of 20 years, Susan, to announce a game on their

first date.

“I am obsessed with the game itself from coaching, watching and

playing it,” Curtis said. “I got into (soccer) when I was single and

looking for something to do. This league provides an ongoing

opportunity to play soccer and meet with other guys that really love

the game. It’s close to my house and I enjoy sharing the time with

the guys. It’s a great release for me. I just need to go there and

run.”

Curtis is founder of the Orange County United Soccer Club

(originally the Newport Beach Soccer Club), a club soccer league that

his three children have all played in.

Interested players may call Denny at (714) 964-5472 or visit the

Coastline Soccer League Web site at www.coastlinesoccer.com.