A new soccer league promising a more casual playing atmosphere is readying its launch in Victoria, and the local footie scene is ready to welcome it with open arms.
Vicsoccer, a division of KWsoccer out of Ontario, is starting a recreational league later this spring and, according to league organizers, flexibility is what gives it the advantage over Victoria’s largest and longest-running organized soccer league, the Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL).
“We’re trying to target an audience that couldn’t really go on to a scheduled team, pay out their $500 at the beginning of the season, and have to show up to all 18 games at that time and that date,” explains Vicsoccer managing partner Stephen Sheard-Teska. “Our concept was we’re going to book the games for you; if you feel like coming out and it works for you, then that’s when we want to see you.”
Launched in 2009, KWsoccer was designed as a drop-in league but has since taken off as a more structured league with over 2,000 players registered yearly and more than 250 games played. Organizers hope that it will take off in Victoria as well.
“It’s about convenience,” says Vicsoccer advisor Vince Cryne. “There are two types of players for this league. One is a player who wants to play consistently. And the other is a player who can’t commit. He’s got a wife and kids, he’s got a job and his family, but he’d like to go to a website and see, ‘Oh, there’s a game on Wednesday and I can register for it.’”
Local soccer players have identified the need for a more casual league in town and say the VISL’s strict attendance rules can often turn off the casual player.
“The VISL is a great option for the committed soccer player who has the time and energy to guarantee he or she will show up to every practice and game,” says Tony Drolet, a high-school teacher who has been playing in the VISL for 25 years. “The more casual soccer player is left out of this equation.”
Doug McDannold, a public servant who has played organized soccer for 20 years and has been in the VISL for the past 12, says Vicsoccer could be exactly what Victoria’s soccer scene needs, taking pressure off the existing league to satisfy everyone’s needs.
“Tons of people want to play soccer in Victoria, and an organized but casual league would fill a niche between purely pickup soccer and truly competitive play,” says McDannold.
Meanwhile, Vince Greco, president of the VISL, isn’t overly concerned about a new league popping up in town. Despite qualms about players playing in more than one league, Greco says, ultimately, the more people playing the game, the better.
“If you can get anyone into soccer,” says Greco, “no matter what the league format, that’s a good thing.”