Kim, Nik, and Whitney all began playing soccer with the
Pleasant Hill-Martinez Soccer Association (PHMSA).
Kim also played for the Girls' JV team at Ygnacio Valley High School.
Nik was the varsity goalkeeper for three years at Ygnacio Valley.
He also played for the
DVSC Arsenal,
a CYSA competitive traveling team.
Whitney culminated her youth soccer career with the Under-17 Premier Girls team,
the
Pleasanton Rage.
AYSO is really the
ideal program for kids to learn the game of soccer,
so I devoted much of my time to PHMSA serving as a coach, referee, and
board member.
I also designed and started the PHMSA web page --
way back in 1996, when very few clubs were using the internet.
One of the five basic principles of AYSO is "balanced teams",
so to that end PHMSA's policy is that no teams are carried over from
one year to the next; each Fall season teams are formed anew. The
coaches' children are placed on the team and the rest of the team is
filled via a "blind draw" based on players' ages and skill levels,
which should make for relatively balanced teams each Fall.
The Select season follows the Fall season and provides an opportunity
for the better players to advance their skills by playing an extended
season at a higher level of competition and coaching. Typically,
one-fourth of the players from Fall will play Select.
As Spring tournaments became popular, some players from the Select Teams
extend the season even further by playing on a special Tournament Team.
I am an AYSO Certified Advanced Coach, past PHMSA Coach of the Year,
and have been privileged to coach several Select and Tournament teams in
addition to the regular season teams. However, I measured success
by how many of my players returned to play soccer next season.
Dan's Soccer Teams

1999-2000,
Wild Things, Under-14 Girls Team
Spring 1998, Emeralds, Under-12 Girls Tournament Team
Winter 1998, Emeralds, Under-12 Girls Select Team
Fall 1997, Eruption, Under-12 Girls Team
Spring 1997, Spirit, Under-12 Girls Tournament Team
Winter 1997, Extreme, Under-12 Girls Select Team
Fall 1996, Speeding Banana Slugs, Under-12 Girls Team
Spring 1996, Hurricane, Under-10 Girls Tournament Team
Winter 1996, Green Eggs & Ham!, Under-10 Girls Select Team
Fall 1995, Blue & Black Attack, Under-10 Girls Team
Winter 1995, Black & White Dynamite, Under-10 Girls Select Team
Fall 1994, Bad Girls, Under-10 Girls Team
Fall 1994, Sting, Under-14 Boys Team
Spring 1994, Dragons, Under-12 Boys Tournament Team
Winter 1994, Dragons, Under-12 Boys Select Team
Fall 1993, Vipers, Under-12 Boys Team
Winter 1993, Hurricanes, Under-12 Boys Select Team
Fall 1992, Bad Boys, Under-12 Boys Team