SAC SOCCER HISTORY of 1986
The following are excerpts from an article in the Howard County segment of the Baltimore Sun May 25, 1986. Many activities were taking place in Howard County as the county was expanding rapidly. Route 100 was approved to be constructed by the Howard County Council, the Columbia Association was making plans to place a weather controlling bubble over Talbot Springs pool, and the Soccer Association of Columbia was recognized for the progress that the club has made since it was established in 1971.
The articles in the Sun talked about the Memorial Day Tournament, camps and businesses thriving off of the soccer craze, how SAC feeds into high school soccer, and is among the best in the nation.
1986 was the year when the Soccer Association of Columbia hosted its 11th annual Columbia Invitational Soccer Tournament, Having a total of 150 boys and girls teams travel from as far away as Colorado and Canada. Often players from teams that traveled great distances resided with the local Columbia players for the weekend. The tournament was among the elite tournaments in the country at the time, as it is today. SAC's entrance fee for the tournament was $115 per team and the finals were played on Monday at Centennial High School's athletic fields.
The club has certainly made some good progress since it was established in 1971, with 150 players competing in the neighborhoods of Thunder Hill, Faulkner Ridge, Longfellow, Bryant Woods, Swansfield, Stevens Forest, and Running Brook. Soccer thrived so much in Howard County people were establishing businesses to accommodate the needs of soccer enthusiasts. Soccer camps were run by the elite players/coaches in Howard County at the time- Al Goldstein, Bill Stara, Lincoln Phillips, Dave Nesbitt, Pete Mallard, Rudy Storch, and Darryl Gee. Camps were priced at $75 for day camps and $240 per week for live in camps. Another venture that was established from the growth of soccer was a store called Simply Soccer. Simply Soccer was located on main street Ellicott City. The store sold only soccer equipment and would have customers coming to purchase soccer equipment from as far away as Pennsylvania.
Having organized soccer for over a decade helped establish an elite soccer reputation on the club and high school level. Since the year 1979 Howard County high school teams have won a possible 10 out of 11 state championships and have produced six high school all Americans. Larry Valentin, Darryl Gee, Tom Farran, Rich Ryerson, Wade Whitney, and Darryl Simpkins. The girl’s high school teams have also been successful. High school girls soccer was established in 1978 and since then the Wilde Lake girls have won five of six possible post season titles. No state titles have been played due to the lack of high schools that had girls soccer.
The history of Soccer Association of Columbia is something that should always be remembered because these are the players/coaches that paved the way for today's players.
