Surf Nation is comprised of like-minded coaches and administrators dedicated to our Surf mission to provide the best experiences and opportunities for their athletes. Since 2020, SDSC Surf has been a proud partner of Surf Nation, and we have thoroughly enjoyed the partnership. We have watched their amazing club grow and seen them take full advantage of being under the Surf brand.
We sat down with SDSC Surf’s Executive Director, Peter Stogsdil, to learn more about how Surf has helped their club, players, coaches, and administrators and their upcoming season goals:
What is the biggest value to SDSC being part of the Surf Nation community?
I feel like everyone in the Surf Nation always strives and pushes to give “best of the best” experiences to our players and their families. There is no resting on your laurels, as the soccer world is ever-changing. Being a part of Surf Nation has pushed us to strive to make every part of our organization and, in many instances, has given us examples of how we can improve in some areas. The tools and support that Surf Nation provides to its members have been valuable in helping us make some of those changes. By allowing players and coaches to travel abroad and see the game from different perspectives, I would also say that the Surf Select program has been a great tool in both the player development process and the coaching education piece.
As we approach the start of the 24/25 League campaign what are some of the KPI’s you have set for the Club?
Moving into 24/25, SDSC Surf will look to continue to enhance our player development initiatives. We are always looking for ways to push the envelope on teaching the technical side of the game, but now we are partnering with outside organizations to help us with the other areas of the game that are equally important. We have a group we are working with that will help kids with the mental aspects of the game to reach peak performance. We are also working with a leading sports performance group in San Diego to help our oldest kids prepare for the physical side of the game. We feel that through some of these new initiatives in our club, we are looking for improved results in tournament and league play, a higher player retention rate, and more kids signing on to play at the college or professional level.
Given you have the Rec program through to the Elite pathway at the ECNL and GA level, can you share the Club’s player development pathway?
A player in our program who both begins and ends their career as a lifetime SDSC Surf player will do so by starting off in one of our two community-based recreational programs. Combined, those two recreational programs have about 1500 kids per year, and the coaches in that program are all volunteers. From there, many kids will make the jump into our competitive program. Some will jump as early as U7, but many will come in somewhere around U9-U11. Zone 1, for the U7-10 kids, is all about fostering the love of the game and finding the balance between skill development and success on the field. We would love to say that it is all about skill development, but players leave if teams aren’t successful in our geographical location. Our program has two different tiers once players move from zone 1 to zone 2. Tier one would see the top players go onto teams that train 3x per week and play in the top leagues against the other top clubs in SoCal. Tier 2 would play in move localized leagues and events. When kids hit zone 3 that continues as our tier 1 teams move on to play in the ECNL, GA, ECNL-RL, and the DPL while our tier 2 teams play in more local leagus that allow for appropriate competition and less travel and expense. Many kids may get their start on tier 2 teams and then move up to tier 1 teams later.
What have been some of the Club highlights to date throughout 2024?
In this calendar year, we saw four of our six Boys ECNL teams qualify for the playoffs, four of the six boys ECNL-RL teams qualify for the playoffs, and two of the four boys Pre ECNL teams qualify for the playoffs. While none of the teams advanced to the championships, we have never had that many teams qualify for the postseason. It was a great way to end the 23/24 season. Many of our alumni have moved on to play at the collegiate level, including one player who was just named to the “Top Drawer Top 50 College Players” entering his sophomore season. Over the summer, our teams have had some great successes at tournaments, including Surf Cup.
We love hearing about a Club’s leadership team. Given that you have a host of experienced staff members, can you give us a quick snap of the Directors and Leaders within the organization?
Our leadership team brings a ton of experience to the table. Brian Quinn, who doubles as the men’s head coach at the University of San Diego, leads our boy’s side. Brian is a soccer legend in San Diego, having been the team captain and coach of the San Diego Sockers team that won many championships in the 80’s and 90’s. Raffi Ruotolo, also a member of those Sockers teams who have achieved so much success, leads our girls’ program. Raffi has been a coach in San Diego for years and brings a wealth of experience to the position. Seamus McFadden is our Director of Coaching. Seamus started the University of San Diego men’s team in the early 80s. He built that program into a top D1 program that reached the NCAA playoffs on many occasions and competed for the National Championship on one occasion. Seamus’ experience in developing players and teams is unparalleled. This year, we brought Jose Ocampo on as our director of player development. Jose has been coaching teams at a high level for years and has put together some of the best female soccer teams in the country. As a coach, he has won national championships both on USYSA days and in the ECNL. Jose has helped us revamp some of our player development issues and has been a huge addition to our team this year.
Being part of Surf Nation has opened up many opportunities for us, and we are thrilled about the possibilities ahead.
Learn more about SDSC Surf at https://www.sdscsurf.com/
