It’s funny how one email can change everything. For Christine and Paul such was the case. In 2010, in an email organizing her co-ed soccer team, Christine invited her teammates to a World Cup viewing party. One of her then-teammates, Paul was in. The viewing parties became a regular event as the World Cup progressed. They took in each match, bonding over their passion for soccer. Their bond developed beyond soccer, into dating, and eventually marriage.
Fast forward to 2013, both Christine and Paul were playing several nights a week in various soccer leagues across San Francisco. The two were sending emails and organizing, they coached, recruited top talent and brought home quite a few trophies. However, something was missing; a void to be filled. There was little connection between players, little respect to the game itself, and no community. By June of that year, they had a plan in place to start their own adult soccer specific league in the city. Enter KICKIT365.
Christine and Paul
Jump five years to 2018, the organization has bloomed and now brings together over 600 hungry San Francisco soccer players each week. KICKIT365 offers Men’s, Women’s and Co-ed leagues of various ability every Sunday through Thursday. They also play at some great locations around the city, like the newly renovated Beach Chalet Fields (2016) right on the Pacific Ocean, Minnie Lovie field near Balboa Park Bart Station, and Kimbell Field, which is all too central at Geary and Steiner.
“You just have to organize it, and people will come!” The emphatic Paul confidently states.
The Bumblebeez FC, once a group of complete strangers with a shared love of soccer, were put together by Christine and Paul at the inception of the league and are still playing together today, but now as friends. They attend one another’s life cycle events, happy hours, weddings, anniversaries, births. Christine and Paul set out to bring people closer together to their love of the sport. There’s no denying that they’ve created a community in KICKIT365, and the San Francisco soccer community at large is stronger for it.
Bells and Whistles
KICKIT365 is not just a league, it’s more than that. They offer a popular and very rare adult soccer clinic. If you’ve never played the game before, now is your chance! It’s a wonderful offering, you can purchase just 1 training session or in a pack for a discount. You’ll get individualized training from Paul, your personal soccer coach. “We give them the tools to develop a good touch on the ball and build up their confidence to play in one of our leagues.” Tell me another major American city where you can receive structured skill building and learn how to play soccer, as an adult!
There’s also a weekly Thursday 6v6 pickup match at Beach Chalet at a very affordable rate. It’s an hour long with no breaks, no intermission, so get that heart rate up! Pro tip: I went this past week, and there were first time players and people who’ve played their whole life. Young, old, tall, small, all shapes and sizes. We even took a photo after the kick-a-bout for the first timer’s social media account.
It’s the special personalization and the social aspect that ties up and puts the bow on top of KICKIT365. “All you have to do is register, we take care of everything.” – Paul.
“I want to thank you and Paul for a great and positive adult league in the SF Community. It’s rare, and you have fostered a better soccer community here in SF. I noticed this unique quality in KICKIT365 this season. All the women are friendly but tough in games. Thank you, for creating a better SF and safe place for people to play soccer and enjoy the game” writes Krysta Jenkins in a recent review to Christine.
As World Cup fever is starting in 2018, Paul and Christine are planning several viewing parties at local bars. “Players that socialize together play better with each [other] on the pitch – we’ve seen it first hand,” Christine remarks. The events range from happy hours to viewing parties for important international matches (Champions League, World Cup) to supporting other local soccer causes in San Francisco.
The next event is a Spring social in 2 weeks at Bar San Pancho on April 14th. You can actually sign up here because you are all invited! Later this year they’ll put on a bus trip to see the San Jose Earthquakes. “We are proud that we’ve created a community where people can come to play soccer with a healthy level of competition and create friendships/relationships/networking that extends beyond the pitch.” -Christine
Homegrown Roots
Their passion and love for the game and their persistence to create a community in their own backyard through KICKIT365 stems from Paul and Christine’s own soccer upbringings.
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Christine started playing in the 5th grade. She played club soccer at the University of Missouri-Columbia and then soon after became a certified athletic trainer. She attended graduate school at Old Dominion, then continued as an athletic trainer at Hampton Roads Mariners Soccer Club and Hampton Roads Piranhas, the A league and W league at the time in Virginia. She moved to San Francisco “Just to try it for a while, the rest is history.” She currently holds a USSF D License and is the athletic trainer for El Farolito SC and SF City FC.
Paul’s playing career started at one of the oldest clubs in Peru, the prestigious Alianza Lima at age 7. He was coached by 1982 Peru star Teofilo Cubillas, who holds the Peruvian national team record for goals. Growing up, Paul lived equidistant from Estadio Nacional where he’d watch the national team and Estadio Alejandro Villanueva Lima, where he’d watch Alianza Lima. He moved to San Francisco 10 years ago where he continued playing for the Olympic Club of the SFSFL and coached at local youth soccer clubs. Paul is also taking the USSF C level coaching course this summer. Peru, of course, qualified for their first World Cup since 1982 at this summer’s upcoming World Cup and he couldn’t be more amped to watch. They both agree, there will be a viewing party.
Creating a Soccer Community in Their Own Backyard
When Christine and Paul married in 2012, it only fits that they had a soccer-themed wedding. It was a who’s who of “everyone we know from soccer,” Paul quipped. All the decorations were soccer-themed, glasses, even the wedding cake… To be a fly on the wall…
With plans to expand shortly, KICKIT365 is hitting the mark on all cylinders. “The business is growing, People know who we are and what we’re doing,” says Paul.
On helping be a resource for the growth of the game in San Francisco, Christine and Paul understand what that means and their own responsibility. They want to unite while providing a platform so that people that love the game ultimately have a great experience.
Paul and Christine’s everlasting view on soccer in San Francisco, “It’s necessary to take that break from the grind. Relationships need a human side (not a text, a tweet, a swipe right). These days you don’t even know your neighbors living next door. We need more human interaction.”
We do indeed.
You can follow Charles Wollin on Twitter @cwollin