The San Diego County Soccer League is preparing for the start of its 2004-05 season, and among the teams competing in the predominately straight league is one gay team that is proving they have what it takes to play with the boys. The San Diego Sparks Soccer Club is back for their 18th season in the league, and they have come a long way from where they were when they were founded in 1986.

This past summer, the Sparks took first place in the International Gay and Lesbian Football tournament held in San Francisco and they have high expectations for the international contest next August.

“We have come back with a sort of renewed momentum,” said Leslie Randolph, the Sparks Soccer Club’s coach and one of its founding members. “Having won that competition, we are obligated to go and defend it, and the next tournament is being held in Copenhagen, Denmark, during the first week in August in 2005.”

According to Randolph, San Diego is one of the few teams from the United States that has consistently finished in the top three or four places whenever they have faced international competition in tournaments. The upcoming season in the San Diego County Soccer League will help prepare the team for the competition.

“We have to build our momentum right now, which is why we are so eager to recruit out into our various constituencies in our San Diego community so that we can build the team over the next year and take a really good team to Europe to showcase and defend our trophy,” Randolph added. “We have a very good reputation among the Europeans and we don’t want to go with a substandard team.”

While the Sparks Soccer Club welcomes players of all skill levels to join them for their weekly practices on Friday nights at Robb Field in Ocean Beach, they are particularly looking for individuals who have experience playing in adult soccer leagues or at the collegiate level. They are also interested in recruiting players from other teams in the local leagues who are gay.

“We know that there are several gay players out in the current leagues… who may have not been able to come out,” Randolph said. “Because of the caliber of play that we offer, we are looking for the Sparks to be the conduit for them to finally come out and feel proud about an affiliation with a gay sports group.”

The time commitment for players is minimal, with one practice a week and games on Sundays during their regular season. Practices include warm-ups and stretching, drills to help improve skill sets, as well as ball-handling and shooting practice. Practices typically end with a short scrimmage to put the practiced techniques into action in a match setting.

“We want people who feel the passion about the game,” Randolph said, “to be able to come out and have great enjoyment not only in the game, but in the camaraderie that exists after the game, because one of the other things that we have explored as a team is that in building camaraderie and morale, we create a kind of bond with each other. It has been proven with our team that when we are clicking with each other off the field, when we are having fun, we go on the field and we translate that into some really great moves and great teamwork and we are able to finish on the field.”

To prepare for the upcoming season, the Sparks have undertaken a massive recruiting effort and are preparing fliers in both English and Spanish. In addition to drawing from San Diego’s large athletic community and other teams in the league, the Sparks are hoping to recruit bilingual players and players from Mexico and Latin America who may have had more exposure to the sport due to its popularity in those countries.

“We are anticipating that we should have a very eligible, skillful pool from which to choose,” Randolph said. “We are hoping that many of the newcomers to San Diego, in terms of the international crowd that is attracted to San Diego combined with out Latin American and Mexican folks who have been long-term components of the community, we are hoping that we have a pool of skilled players from which to choose. But we are not sure that they know that we are here as a resource that they can enjoy.”

The Sparks practice weekly on Friday nights at Robb Field in Ocean Beach. Their games are held on Sundays, and the new season will start up this Sunday, Oct. 3. For more information on the team, visit this article online at www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to their website.