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SYC Travel Soccer History

Origin of SYC Travel Soccer back to 1970

House Soccer to 1967-1968

 

The 1968 Springfield Boys’ Club Football and Soccer Combined Yearbook has a letter from Soccer Commissioner John Park: "The 1968 season was the first year of organized soccer for the Springfield Boys’ Club. In 1967 the pilot program started with about 45 boys. This year the program attracted 86 boys who were divided into five teams."

In the 1969 Springfield Boys’ Club Football and Soccer Combined Yearbook, Soccer Commissioner John Park indicated: "This was the second full season of soccer and it was a good season. With the addition of the team from Braddock Road Boys Club to our 100 boys we were able to have a six-team league and a ten game season." (Note: While this league had both SBC and BRBC teams, it was a recreation level team - not travel.)

In the 1970 Springfield Boys’ Club Football and Soccer Combined Yearbook, Soccer Commissioner John Park stated: "The Springfield Boys Club soccer program had an encouraging growth this past year from 101 to 135 players. This permitted us to form leagues divided according to ages. We had two teams of 8-9 year olds in a league of four with Braddock Road Boys Club and five teams of 10-13 year olds plus one team from Braddock Road to form the intermediate league age. We also had a team of older boys (Senior Darts) who were unaffiliated in a league though they were able to find plenty of competition."

Fall of 1970 newspaper clippings regarding games that the Senior Darts played against teams from Braddock Road, Lee-Mt. Vernon, and Hayfield. Spring of 1970 newspaper articles reference another team called the Springfield Boys Club Rangers. The best article is a Springfield Independent (the local newspaper dated April 23, 1970 - entitled: "Boys Club Soccer": "The Springfield Boys Club soccer team, the Springfield Rangers, defeated the Braddock Road Boys Club 3-0 on Sunday in their first game of the spring season. The Rangers are entered in the Juvenile Division (ages 12-14) of the National Soccer League of Washington, along with teams from Braddock Road, Annandale , Hyattsville, and D.C."

So that puts the origin of Springfield Travel Soccer back to 1970 and House Soccer to 1967-1968.