Bill Lynch: The birth of soccer in Sonoma

The now popular sport kicked its way into the Valley nearly 50 years ago.|

Boys and girls of all ages are running, kicking and chasing soccer balls on almost every local athletic field on weekends right now as they have every fall season in recent memory.

But 50 years ago, there were virtually no soccer players, teams or games on any field in Sonoma Valley.

That all changed in 1969.

I was reminded of that just recently when I ran into an old friend and teammate, Ed Belcher. I met Ed in September of 1969 when he showed up at a tryout for a local soccer team I was trying to put together. I was just out of the Navy and had taken over as sports editor of the Index-Tribune.

Ed and about 15 other guys had responded to an article I placed in the I-T seeking players for a brand new soccer team for adults over 18. Don Eraldi, president of the Sonoma Valley Athletic Club, allowed me to use Arnold Field for the tryout. SVAC ended up being our sponsor for that first season.

Except for intramurals in college, I’d never played soccer. The idea actually came from Sonoma Valley High School P.E. teacher and varsity basketball coach, Bob Bergman. He had been a star soccer player at San Jose State University, and wanted to introduce the sport to Sonoma.

Just weeks before our adult team formed, Bob was already coaching a couple of junior teams formed by Ron Waldron under the sponsorship of the Sonoma Valley Boy’s Club. Ron had high hopes that soccer would become a popular new sport for local kids. It took a few years, but his hopes were fulfilled.

The boys, ranging from 9 to 13, were the founding players of Sonoma Valley soccer, inspired and led by Ron Waldron and Bob Bergman.

They were followed a few weeks later by our adult team, for which Bob was the founding player-coach. I, with little experience and even less knowledge of the game, played fullback and served as his assistant coach.

Ron and Bob’s junior teams competed in the newly formed Sonoma County Soccer League. Our SVAC-sponsored adult team played in the brand new North Bay Soccer League.

I was surprised and delighted with the response to my call for adult players. Many actually had played competitive soccer before and several were really good players. From the start, our team also had an international flavor, with players from El Salvador, Finland, Germany, France and Mexico. In fact, by its second year, the team decided to call itself the Sonoma Internationals.

By November of that first season of soccer in Sonoma Valley, the juniors had performed quite well, winning the inaugural J.C. Penny Cup Championship at the league playoffs. Members of that pioneer junior soccer championship team included: Tim Adams, Jon Mathieu, Steve Moll, Cy Camp, Bob Cole, Rick Dawley, Pat French, Steve Jones, John Serres, Frances Eickhoff, Al Martinson, Mark Libby and Pat Daly.

Our adult team season started in early November and ran through January. We placed second in a five-team league that included Petaluma, Napa, St. Helena, Santa Rosa and Healdsburg.

Players on the Internationals that first year included me and Bob Bergman, Ed Belcher, three Beltran brothers from El Salvador, Edgar, Robert and Orlando, Mike Minelli, Mike Kiser, Steve Moll (who moved up from the junior team), local dentist Dick Rhodes, Joe Cossins, Chuck Stalley, Otto Pulkinen, Paul Owen, Rich Granucci, Jim Mullen and Bert Blumberg.

The Internationals played on for many more seasons, and junior soccer really took over several years later. Hundreds of local boys and girls are now playing in local leagues, and Sonoma Valley High School fields competitive boys and girls teams.

All of that success has roots that date back to 49 years ago.

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