Club kick starts Sonora debut

Imagine a child dribbling a soccer ball down a picturesque grass field without a care in the world and effortlessly striking the ball into the goal and against the back of the net.

The child is so ecstatic that he high-fives his teammates, screams “Goal!” and buries his face in his jersey while rolling around and collecting grass stains.

Now imagine what it would be like to be a kid and not have the opportunity to embrace that experience.

The eighth annual Daily Pilot Cup starts today and the children of one elementary school in particular are happy just to be able to have a chance to compete.

The kids at Sonora Elementary didn’t always have soccer, and never had a team in the Cup. But because of the Newport Mesa Soccer Club, that has all changed.

Sonora Elementary had a field upon which soccer could conceivably be played, but did not have any of the necessary equipment to do so — goals and painted boundary lines, for example.

Then the NMSC purchased four sets of goals and nets to put up at the campus. Some of the club teams started to practice and a funny thing happened. The kids at Sonora Elementary became very interested.

“We put up goals and the kids were able to use those goals during their recess time and after school time,” NMSC Coach David Moo said. “A love of the game came from that and the kids, after school, got to watch the big kids and wanted to be a part of it.”

The school, which is kindergarten through third grade, has always had trouble finding enough kids to field a team.

Sonora Elementary Principal Christine Anderson asked the NMSC if it could leave the goals up at all times, so the boys and girls could have a chance to play as well.

“[The kids] are beyond ecstatic and so excited,” Anderson said. “The fact that we got lucky that [NMSC] is here and it has been so generous with time and resources has been a real blessing for us.”

The NMSC didn’t stop with just setting up the field. The club set up free after-school soccer clinics run by professional, certified coaches. Moo found parents to contribute soccer gear to the kids, some of whom are financially challenged.

“They didn’t have any of the equipment because most of them never played soccer before,” Moo said. “I knew my club girls were just buying new soccer shoes and getting rid of the old ones, some of which were brand new.

I e-mailed moms and we were able to equip every player at Sonora Elementary with shoes, socks and shin guards.”

NMSC turned what was once just a grass canvas into a lavish soccer field. The club team also set an example. Sometimes after watching the club teams practice, the attentive children would bring their dodge balls onto the field and kick them into the goals.

The NMSC views Sonora as its home field and a lot of the club teams practice there.

Because of the efforts of the NMSC, Sonora will not only have one team entered in the Pilot Cup this year, but two.

“If we didn’t have the help of the Newport Mesa Soccer Club and David Moo, we wouldn’t have teams in the Daily Pilot Cup tournament,” Anderson said.

Anderson thinks that transportation issues and awareness of soccer programs are among the reasons why Sonora kids haven’t been able to play soccer before.

The NMSC is intent on spreading awareness about soccer and is elated about Sonora’s progress.

“My goal is to have as many kids playing soccer as possible,” said Tamiko Davila, NMSC director of coaching. “If we could have 10 teams out there playing that would be fantastic, but it’s not about that. My goal has always been that if the kids want to play soccer, I want to create an environment for them to be able to play.”

Davila is passionate about providing an avenue for local kids to play soccer and hopes the program will continue to grow.

“After-school sports and programs like this are phenomenal on a lot of different levels,” Davila said. “It keeps them out of trouble and in my opinion it actually creates another tool or asset when they’re trying to get into college and ultimately better themselves.”

Moo said that the NMSC was originally expecting to just have one team represent Sonora Elementary in the Pilot Cup, but it was able to field two teams after the impressive turnout. The two teams are co-ed and will compete in the boys’ third- and fourth-grade bronze division.

As of now, there are more boys than girls playing, and the NMSC encourages more girls to play. If more girls sign up, then they would have their own team.

The kids are now able to play soccer, and the NMSC couldn’t be happier with the support Anderson has given them.

“It’s amazingly rewarding,” Moo said. “These kids are so excited. Some have never played soccer before. They thought they had to give the equipment back. The kids were just ecstatic. They could not believe they had a full set of soccer gear that they could keep and play with.”

The Pilot Cup starts today and the Senora A team will be making its debut Thursday against College Park A at 6:45 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Farm Complex.

The Sonora B team faces Newport Elementary B Friday at 5:45 p.m. at Costa Mesa High.

“Even if out of the 30 or 40 kids we have out there now, only five decide they want to play next year, my goal is to say ‘Let’s create an after-school program for those five so they can play and they can enjoy it,’ ” Davila said.

Whether the teams keep expanding or stay with two, it might actually be true that if you build it, they will come.

JASON KORNFELD may be reached at (714) 966-4616.