What is the Pacific FC Alliance?

Pacific FC is an alliance, chartered and governed by Vancouver West Soccer Club and Pacific Soccer Club. The Member Clubs have joined forces in order to facilitate the creation and operation of a high-quality, cost effective advanced competition soccer program.

Who runs Pacific FC?

The Member Clubs have empowered a committee of representatives from each Member Club and our coaching ranks, via a Charter, to oversee operations of the advanced competition program. The members of the committee are detailed on the Contacts page.

How is the Pacific FC Alliance funded?

Pacific FC operates in the most cost-effective way possible and is funded from player fees, camp fees and outside fundraising. Annually the PFC committee provides a full budget for income and expenditures to each of our Member Clubs for review and approval. Pacific FC is operated in a manner consistent with the non-profit mission of our Member Clubs.

What is Advanced Competition Soccer?

Advanced Competition Soccer is also known as 'Select' and 'Premier' level. In contrast to recreational soccer programs, where all kids have a spot on a team and playing time is split equally, Advanced Competition teams are formed via a tryout process and play in state or regional leagues.

Coaches for Advanced Competition teams are hand selected and depending on the club may be compensated. Training for these teams is generally more intense with a higher level of commitment asked of both player and parents.

Advanced Competition is for players who are more "serious" about their soccer and who want a higher level of development. This is the right level for any players who want the best chance to compete for their High School Teams and especially for any players who want to play in college or beyond.

Pacific FC is known as a 'Select' soccer club because we don’t field teams in the top Premiere brackets at each age group though we do have teams who complete at the Premier, State and even Regional level.

What Leagues do Pacific FC teams play in?

Our Teams play in either the Oregon State "Timbers-Thorns" League (PTTL), or in the Washington State Puget Sound Premier League (PSPL), based on their age and level of play. At Pacific FC seeding for teams is led by our coaches, in cooperation with their teams, in order to find the most appropriate level of play. Teams also self-select summer tournaments and winter leagues, such as Fustal or Indoor Soccer leagues.

What is the time commitment for a player on a Pacific FC team?

Advanced Competition Soccer requires a higher level of commitment than recreational soccer does. Pacific FC teams are typically considered "year-round" teams, though the final activities are decided on by each coach and team. You can normally plan for summer tournaments, fall and spring season, and some sort of winter activity, futsal or indoor soccer for example. Teams will usually train twice per week in the summer and in season.

Games in our leagues are played on both Saturdays AND Sundays and the coach has little input into the
ultimate scheduling of games. Most teams will also play 3 summer tournaments, which are full weekends from June – August. Your family's weekend commitments should be carefully considered when thinking about this level of play.

How does Pacific FC feel about kids participating in multiple sports?

Pacific FC is fully and strongly in support of multi-sport athletes! We work hard to keep our program affordable and allow flexibility for our teams and players in order to encourage and facilitate kids participation in other sports or activities. Multi-sporting, and outside activities are important and valuable parts of an athletes development, and help make for well-rounded people.

How many players are on a Pacific FC team?

Roster size is based on the age of the team.

For our 'small-sided' teams – Teams who play games with fewer than 11 players on the field – the roster size is as follows:
U10 – 7v7 game format – 12 player max roster
U11, U12 – 9v9 game format – 14 player max roster

Teams U13 and above play 'full-sided' and will have a max roster of 18 players.

There is no requirement for coaches to carry a full roster however and many teams will keep fewer than the max number in order to maximize playing time, or for other reasons.

What is the cost for a Pacific FC team?

The total cost for a Pacific FC player is typically between $700 and $900 per year. This includes all of the following: Club Fees, League Fees, Field and Turf Fees, Referee Fees, Uniforms, Tournaments, Winter Training/Futsal, Equipment and other incidental team costs. It does not include the costs related to travel to and from any games or tournaments.

Pacific FC has very little staff overhead so our club fees are just $250 per player and go primarily to cover registration, coach education and turf fields.

Each of our coaches set their own overall budget which is shared with the parents at the beginning of each season so that expenditures are clear and understood by all. Additionally, our teams are free to fundraise in order to off-set the costs of their season. Fundraising revenue is divided in such a way as each team decides.

Because we work very hard to keep our overhead low, and provide our coaches with affordable options, our club costs are typically 30-50% less than other clubs whose teams compete at the same level as ours.

What is the process for selecting coaches?

Prospective Coaches are put through a screening process that includes a formal application, face to face meetings with Executive Committee members, and a formal interview and final selection. Additionally each coach is required to have or to obtain, at minimum, a US Soccer E license in order to be qualified to coach with Pacific FC. All coaches are background checked through Washington and Oregon Youth Soccer and sign on to a strict code of conduct. PFC Coaches have a high degree of autonomy and our utmost concern is to do a proper job of hiring the right people into those roles.

Are Pacific FC coaches paid?

Currently no. Our coaches are volunteers with a passion for the game and for sharing it with our players.

Does Pacific FC help coaches continue their soccer education?

Yes, the club will pay the cost of initial licensing for any of our coaches and has an ongoing program for coach education. We do a regular review with each of our coaches and an annual parent survey to help understand areas of improvement. The club also provides a large library of coaching resources and We currently partner with both our Member Clubs as well as the Portland Timbers Youth Staff for ongoing coach education opportunities.

How does the tryout process work?

Tryouts are held annually, by age group and gender. Coaches for an age group will organize activities, usually over two days, to highlight players abilities related to skills, soccer intelligence, attitude and physical ability. Each player is scored according to the method by which the coaches at their age have agreed and may be invited to a team at the conclusion of the tryout process.

How do I get on a Pacific FC team?

Pacific FC teams are selected from a tryout process. Once a year there are posted tryout dates in which a player must attend one of the tryouts to be offered a spot on the team.

After the team has been picked, phone calls will be made by the team to inform players of their status. It is very important to have the best contact information provided at registration so that we may inform everyone in a timely manner.

Teams are expected to hold a first team meeting within a reasonable time of creating their team to cover all the basics that the team needs to function, such as team rules and expectations, collection of fees, distribution of uniforms, tournaments, volunteers for various tasks, etc.

How can I be a Pacific FC sponsor?

Pacific FC accepts donations both at the Club and the Team Level. Our club operates "at cost" so all sponsorships and donations go directly into our programs and help to develop better players and people. Feel free to connect with our executive committee by emailing chairman@pacificfc.org if you have an interest in sponsorship or donating.

Can I see the PFC Charter?

You can access it here.

Can I play up 1 year at Pacific FC?

At younger ages, it is preferable for players to play on age for a number of reasons. However, we recognize that players who develop at different rates may occasionally benefit from playing "up" at an older age group. One year play-ups are allowed without special approval at any age group in PFC. Play-ups of two ore more years are only allowed at the High School level, or by special permission of the committee after a careful review of the player's ability and fit within the desired age group.

You didn't answer my question, how do I get more answers?

If you have a question that wasn’t addressed here please feel free to email chairman@pacificfc.org.  You can also access coach emails on our Teams page and reach out to a specific coach or team representative directly.