GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY, WA— There are people all over the state of Washington who love and play soccer. It takes something more than that to start and run a true “Football Club,” but brothers Ben and Alex Barene are jumping in with all feet to make Grays Harbor Gulls FC a reality on the coast for 2018.
“We are getting involved because we believe Grays Harbor is an untapped hotbed of soccer talent,” says Ben Barene. Ben is a business major who coaches soccer at Aberdeen High School. “Growing up in Aberdeen, we played soccer year round with some really great players. We have seen many successful high school teams from Aberdeen and Hoquiam advance to the state tournaments. With no club soccer in the Harbor, the talent here usually goes unnoticed. Only a select few advance to play collegiately. We are offering high level soccer in the Harbor that some have never had a chance to play. We want to unify the amazing soccer talent we have here into one team.”
Grays Harbor Gulls FC Online: Facebook / Twitter
It’s all going well, but going pretty fast for the new team. They have gone from dream to idea to action to having a first local press notice in just a few weeks time. If the Gulls are a new proposition, they are joining a brand new league to boot. It’s the Western Washington Premier League, only recently announced.
“We applied to join the new WWPL for the 2018 season and hopefully for years to come,” Ben says. “This league is a good fit for our team because it is a new league and we are a new team. We believe that we can grow together and the growth of the league will help our team and vice-versa. Also, other leagues have so much travel, and for guys that have careers, it can be hard to make away games. This league offers quality opponents 1-2 hours away.”
Ben and Alex are already thinking about what might be the benchmarks of success for the Gulls. It revolves around community, Ben says.
“All we ask is for the soccer community here to support our club. Show up to the games, and cheer on our local players. We want the entire community to feel like they are part of the club. Success for our club is representing the County in a positive manner. We feel that the people here have pride in being from where they are from and we want to reflect that in our club. We love Grays Harbor. We hope to put our best foot forward with this club and try to give Grays Harbor County something they can be proud of.”
How will the Gulls be financed? “We are sourcing sponsors and donations, as well as some private funding,” Barene says.
Grays Harbor FC is taking the name “Gulls” from a previous local baseball team. They aren’t around anymore but Barene says the spirit of unity they brought can be revived. “We love the name Gulls, as it is a natural name for area teams. Grays Harbor Gulls FC implements the history of Grays Harbor sports from the Gulls baseball team, with the whole county. We didn’t want this just to be Aberdeen’s team but we wanted to include everybody, from the beaches all the way to East County. This will be reflected on our roster as players from all over the county have committed to our team.”
Can the early momentum for the Gulls continue? Only time will tell, but Barene likes what is happening so far. He says there is a need for this level of play in his home county. “Grays Harbor adult soccer players have advanced to play collegiately at South Puget Sound CC, Evergreen, Saint Martin’s, George Fox, Highline, and Washington State. Those who did not play collegiately, or have graduated, play in various adult leagues, mostly in Olympia.”
Are there enough Gulls to form a flock? “We do not believe that fielding a full team will be an issue. In less than a week’s work, we have a roster of 15 players,” says Barene. And about that crest…yes, it is a ripoff of the Brighton & Hove Albion crest (England.) Barene says it is just a placeholder until the club gets one from a designer they are working with.
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