Hello HPFC Families and Welcome to the 2023-2024 season!
If I could summarize the upcoming season in one word I would choose:
GROWTH. We are growing as a club and as a community in so many ways, and myself, the Board, and all of our coaching leadership are excited for the year to come.
Our tryouts this past May was one for the record books, and it resulted in us registering nearly 350 players and forming 27 teams this year. In reviewing our records it appears that this is the highest number of players our Club has seen in the last 15 years. It is a testament to the hard work of our Club leadership over the last few years, including James Conroy, our Director of Operations, and Ozzy Erkut, our Coaching Director, along with our many coaches and volunteers who have dedicated countless hours to creating a special soccer environment here at HPFC.
Along with this increase in players and teams has necessarily been a growth in our coaches. In the last few months, Ozzy has successfully hired _ new coaches, all of whom are already having a positive impact on the Club. As part of the effort to bring in new coaches, Ozzy has also successfully recruited coaches with high levels of experience and certifications as part of an overall effort to deliver the highest level of coaching to all of our players. One of our new coaches, Aaron Howe, will specifically be working with players and families to help develop college portfolios and help support that next step in their soccer journey. In addition to the many wonderful and vital coaches already in our Club, we believe HPFC is now in a really good position to provide a truly exceptional soccer experience to all of our players and families.
Our growth also extends to our ongoing efforts to promote our girls program and individual teams and players. Again this year we have brought back Indira O'Byrne as our Eagles Program Coordinator for the summer. Indira will focus on special marketing endeavors, training programs, and events for all of our girls teams to help nurture and build that part of our program. Here work will culminate with the “Just For Girls Weekend"in August where we have a number of events planned.
In addition to Club leadership, our broader HPFC community continues to strengthen and grow. This year I am happy to announce that we have awarded more than $40,000 in financial aid to numerous families to ensure that all players who want to be a part of our Club have the opportunity to participate. This is a particular point of emphasis for Club leadership as we seek to live out our commitment to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive club that welcomes and supports everyone in the community we serve. To support those efforts, please be sure to join us for our annual Auction & Gala on October 28th at the Brockney Center at South Seattle College and a future Bowling Night, with dates and times to be announced later, where money raised at those events will support our financial aid fund.
Finally, our Board and team volunteers continue to grow, as that part of our community continues to strengthen. I want to thank all of the folks who have volunteered for those various roles and committed their “free” time to the work of HPFC. Without those volunteers HPFC simply would not exist, and so I want to thank all of you for whatever way you are able to contribute and help deliver a memorable soccer experience for the kids throughout our community.
Thanks to all of you, and I look forward to seeing everyone on the pitch cheering on HPFC!
-Chris Casillas, President HPFC
