West Valley Youth Soccer League

The West Valley Revolution 99G is a competitive soccer team for girls born after Aug. 1, 1999.

High-level soccer skills. Dedication to your team. A coach who asks for your best efforts. Friends and fun on and off the field. Conditioning. Tournament travel. Life lessons. If you are looking for these in a competitive soccer team, the West Valley Revolution 99G wants to meet you! Under the leadership of Coach Vinko Puljiz, Revolution is the newest WVYSL U12G team, and ranks in the Bronze A division.

“If you let me train your daughter for one year, she will become a much better soccer player,” Coach Vinko pledges. The girls on the team want to become the best players they can be, while taking their team to the next level.

Team Structure:  The Revolution is working towards a two team tiered structure.  This Spring, the strongest players are registered as WV Revolution 99G Red in Norcal League as a silver level team; the sister team is registered as WV Revolution 99G White in CYSA as a Copper A team. To help with the transition, some girls are playing on both teams this season.   Some practices will be held together with both teams and others will be separate to focus on the specific needs of the team.  We borrow players frequently between to two teams to provide opportunities for development and team interaction.

CYSA and NorCal: Our team has always had a connection to both CYSA and Norcal.  Last year, we played both CYSA league and Norcal State Cup in the Fall.  This year, we expect to continue that tradition.

 Practice/Training: The girls practice two hours a day, three days a week year-round. The team takes a month long winter break, a 6 week summer break, and we are off on major holidays. In the pre-season, the girls have between 8-10 local scrimmages, and they participate in optional futsal for off-season training. Optional clinics and training are available throughout the year, as well, and many girls attend summer camps together. Players are expected to attend 80 percent of the team practices and games.

Coach: Revolution is led by a paid, professional coach/trainer, Vinko Puljiz.  Coach Vinko holds a CYSA E/D level license.  He coaches all games, and he runs practices with help from two team parents who serve as assistant coaches. Coach Vinko makes all player decisions, and he has no family members on the team. His consistent and unbiased coaching focuses on helping each girl reach her potential. Coach Vinko also emphasizes good manners and skills for life off the field.

Coach Vinko is originally from Croatia. He has played, or been involved in, soccer for most of his life. To say that he is passionate about soccer is an understatement. He started playing when he was very young. He has coached boys’ and girls’ soccer for more than 20 years in the Bay Area. As an assistant coach for the De Anza Sharks, he helped lead the team to five NorCal state championships and regional finals.  With his guidance, the De Anza Strikers went to the State Cup finals in 2007. He trained the Central Valley Chili Peppers from 2007- 2008; the team went to the State Cup finals in 2008. From 2008 – 2010, Coach Vinko trained the Central Valley Revolution.

Coach Vinko is assisted by 5 parent assistant coaches (Sandra Dugan, Ken Taylor, Stacy Berg, Dan McLaughlin, Glenna Mayo).  Of these, two hold a CYSA F level license.  Two hold a NSCAA Level VI level license (equivalent to CYSA E/D) and the 5th is scheduled for training this season.   There is nearly always at least one assistant coach at practice.

Who the players are: Besides working hard in soccer, the girls study hard in school. Eleven different schools are represented on the team. The girls’ list of future occupations includes an actress, animal welfare worker, architect, engineer, lawyer, midwife, pediatrician, photographer, soccer player, teacher, and veterinarian. The girls also play instruments and participate in many sports, including volleyball, basketball and track/cross country. Given the girls’ different interests and plans, soccer is not expected to be the only focus, but certainly a main focus!

Socials: Away from the fields, the girls and their families gather together for at least one social activity a month. These socials have included BBQs, birthday celebrations, Sunday potlucks, community service sessions, summer camp outs, movie nights, and swim parties.

Fees/Fundraising: Each family pays a monthly fee that covers coach’s training. Uniforms, league fees and tournament travel require additional costs. Various fundraising activities, including recycling efforts and garage sales, help defray the extra costs.

Volunteering: Each team family contributes time to help the team in some way. Some volunteer positions include social coordinator, travel coordinator, fundraising coordinator, team manager, assistant coaches, and treasurer.

TRYOUT UPDATE:
We are still looking to add a couple more players to complete expansion from one to two teams.  If you like what you’ve read about us and would like to attend our practices in the February or March preseason to see for yourself what it is like– or get more information – please contact:

Rebecca Huang (rebeckchow@gmail.com) – Team co-manager
Glenna Mayo (glennamayo@gmail.com) – Team co-manager
Vinko Puljiz (vipsoccer54@yahoo.com) – Coach