Albany Berkeley Soccer Club (ABSC)
Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club (ABSC) is a non-profit soccer community dedicated to providing opportunities for kids ages 4 to 23 of all ability levels to learn/play soccer. Our Technical Directors have designed age-appropriate training curriculum for all our programs. We encourage our players to live life-long healthy, active lifestyle though soccer. Serving our families for 40+ years, our Club is extremely proud of what we have to offer our players: our community & our well-rounded youth development program/philosophy. We emphasize respect, sportsmanship, teamwork & FUN! ABSC is currently 2000+ players, 4 technical directors, 30+ professional coaches/trainers, 200+ teams, 18 fields, 5 staff - all working together to play soccer.
Hello!
Both ABSC and Eastshore Alliance (EAFC) offer competitive as well as recreational soccer. There are other clubs but they are further away from your location. Recreational teams have lower expectations for player participation. Competitive soccer is geared toward players who are looking for a more challenging soccer environment. Recreational teams usually have fewer and shorter practices, and participation in all practices is not required. Additionally, recreational teams play all of their games locally, while competitive teams are usually required to travel.
My daughter participated in both ABSC and EAFC, and had a positive experience in both. I would guess that you are seeking a recreational experience for your son, in which case either ABSC or EAFC would be a good fit. At the age of seven, teams typically have one practice during the weekday and one game on the weekend. The fall season is ending in mid-November, so you are likely looking at the spring season, which begins in March. You can sign up for either ABSC or EAFC through their websites beginning in January.
I understand that you cannot attend many practices, which is acceptable. However, I would still recommend attending practices, as they are beneficial in developing a love and understanding of the game.
Avoid ABSC. The club is very disorganized and you will have no idea what your schedule or team will be until literally the last minute. Also, you may get hit with surprise additional fees if your team has no coach (which is possible because the club is so disorganized).
ABSC is extremely disorganized and the people that run the organization are often unprofessional. My kids were in rec teams for a few years and it was fine but once they progressed to competitive it wasn't a good experience. I'd suggest checking out other comp programs in the area. I believe that the Spurs or Mersey offer specialized goalie training weekly which ABSC doesn't.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
March 2008
re: Soccer team for 12-year old daughter
Your daughter would likely be eligible to play on an Under 14 team (U14) in the fall, depending on her birthday. Not sure what age group she would be in if she were playing this spring.
In Berkeley, many kids play on a team on the Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club (ABSC). http://www.abscsoccer.com/ The ABSC is part of the Alameda-Contra Costa League and plays games with teams from El Cerrito, Richmond and San Pablo. Another Berkley team called Mersey also is in the league and plays with these teams. I think Mersey costs a bit more to join, as they have no parent coaches - the hire all the coaches. They are online, too. Some kids also play for a team in the Rockridge club to the south. That club is in a different league (to the south)
There are currently 3 levels of play in the ABSC for the Under 12 and up girls (I think). Division 4 is the recreational level. Division 3 is the first competitive level, and Division 1 is the most competitive level. The league division 1 teams here are called the Mavericks (in case you hear folks mentioning that name, you'll know what they are talking about).
Div 4 sign ups are passed and those teams are beginning practice this week. Call or email the ABSC or another club if you'd like to see if she can still get on a spring team. Div 3 tryouts for the fall season for girls just happened this past weekend (3/15 & 16). Not sure how it works to get on teams after the tryouts. Call and ask the clubs' registrars. Sometimes kids change their minds between now and the fall and space may open up.
Tryouts for the fall for Div 1 Mavericks happend two weekends ago.
Some middle schools have teams. Cal has soccer summer camp offered by the women's team, and has some short clinics from time to time, too. Soccer Mom
August 2004
Hello all, I have reviewed some rather dated messages (1999-2001) about the Albany Berkeley Soccer Club. Is this still in existence? I am looking for a place for my daughter, almost 5, who is entering Kindergarten, to learn and play soccer. Thanks! Margaret
Yes. The Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club is well and thriving. Visit http://www.abscsoccer.com/ for more information. You can also check out the various clubs in the Jack London Youth Soccer League at http://www.jlysl.org/.
Re: Soccer camp for 7-year-old girl (April 2003)
Your best bet for a team is probably the Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club. Their website is http://www.abscsoccer.com/ Spring registration is closed. Registration for the fall is scheduled for May. Have fun! Norm
June 2001
The Albany Berkeley league starts not much older than 4 1/2 and doesn't take things too seriously at the younger levels (5 on a side, no goalie, no score kept...no one cares if you score on the wrong end of the field, etc.). They are certainly listed in the phone book but maybe under Albany Berkeley Soccer Club. Registration for fall seems to be starting next week (EGAD!). Heather
Jan 2000
I'm the President of the the Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club. We are a volunteer community-based non-profit with programs for girls and boys from age 6 to 19. We serve about 1500 kids each year in two seasons, fall and spring. We have been developing a strong, active girls' program for more than 10 years, and I'm sure your daughter would enjoy it. (Some of our girls have gone on to play for the local public and private high schools, as well as college teams.) There are also opportunities to try out later this Spring (March, April) for girls' competitive teams that travel to play over a larger geographic area (e.g. Concord, Union City, etc.) through our Mavericks Class-III and Class-I program sponsored by the Alameda-Contra Costa Youth Soccer League, of which the ABSC is about 1/2 the membership. (Your daughter may not be quite old enough for those teams, which usually start with the Under-12 (10 and 11 year old) age group.)
There are two other programs I'll mention briefly: Mersey Soccer Club is a private club that is significantly more expensive than ABSC. They use paid coaches rather than volunteers and are listed in the phone book. There is also a local club in the Rockridge area whose name escapes me. That may be more geographically convenient for you (or not): ABSC tends to go from Berkeley north, the Rockridge club is more Oakland-oriented. If nobody else here gives you their name, you can call the Jack London Soccer Club, also in Oakland, and get the particulars. There is also a competitive program in Oakland called the Bay Oaks club. They have very strong teams if you are looking for a competitive program in that area.
ABSC Spring season registration will take place next month at several sites around Berkeley -- dates/locations info will be posted on our website at www.abscsoccer.com later this month.(BTW the site is definitely *under construction* at the moment -- there's nothing but a home page now but it will be up later in the month. You can also register by mail. Tim
Nov 1999
The Albany Berkeley Soccer Club (ABSC) is listed in the business section of the Telephone white pages. ABSC is not directly associated with schools. I have three daughters who have participated in ABSC soccer, and it has been a good experience for all of them, from the one who is most serious about the game to the one who has a very casual attitude toward soccer. There is also a more serious league called the Mavericks, divided into classes by skill, which requires try-outs. Some of the Mavericks classes travel out-of-town. King Middle School also has a soccer team, but I don't know anything about it.
The Albany Berkeley Soccer Club (ABSC) offers teams for a variety of age groups, starting as young as 5 or 6 (I'm not sure which). The main season is the fall season, which just finished, but some coaches and kids also sign up for the spring season. Teams are all-girls, all-boys, or coed. Kids are assigned to teams based on age and on preferences for unisex vs. coed, practice days and times, game days (Saturday vs. Sunday), preferred coaches, and the desire to be on the same team as named friends. The coaches, assistant coaches and team managers are all volunteers - I think they must be parents of a kid on the team they handle. The ABSC provides some training for the coaches.The spirit is generally very supportive, discouraging aggressive or hostile cheering. Teams practice twice a week, or once a week for some, and have a game with another team every week-end but one during the season. For the youngest kids, the parents are expected to stay throughout the practice and throughout each game. If you have a parent of another kid on the same team to trade off with, that helps a lot. Each family is expected to provide a snack (oranges, water, and optionally more) for the entire team for one game per season. Parent volunteers also help out with ordering trophies, getting a gift for the coach, and arranging a pot luck or pizza get-together at the end of the season. Beverly
July 1999
The Albany/Berkeley Soccer league is forming its teams as we speak. You should call the Registrar, Connie Present - ASAP to see if you can get your kids on a team. He number is: 524-5172. Veronica
Albany-Berkeley Soccer Club can be reached at 848-1339. The Fall season starts around Labor Day and goes until Thanksgiving. -- Griffin
March 1998
one of the best places for youth soccer, girls and boys, is the Albany Berkeley Soccer Club, 848-1339. It's almost exclusively parent/volunteer run, and we've had a great experience with it for the past five years -- starting in kindergarten. Registration has already happened for the spring, but you might still be able to sign up. Call the league phone number for information. Andrea
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