The women-led San Francisco Youth Soccer organization, SFYS, is helmed by executive director Scotty Kober, whose passion for community began in her younger days as a first-time captain of her Pepperdine soccer camp team. At this camp, she learned the meaning of leadership and has since been dedicated to paying those experiences forward through SF Youth Soccer.
The San Francisco Youth Soccer Organization is a “comprehensive community soccer organization, benefiting San Francisco youth” with a mission to “support youth soccer and leadership through sport.” In the 25 years since the program’s beginning, the group has provided and facilitated league play, low-cost clinics, and free soccer through a volunteer-run association of over 20 soccer clubs and 362 local teams.
Among all of the youth soccer groups in the United States, Kober says what makes SF Youth Soccer unique is their organization status and that leadership is a core quality of the soccer-based community.
“We are honored to provide stepping stones for San Francisco youth to become leaders in their soccer communities and beyond,” says Kober.
SFYS, through low-cost league play, delivers “donor-funded” programming to the community. The leaders within the organization are key to implementing the vision and mission for youth soccer in the city.
“Building out this support network for players, referees, volunteers, and coaches includes applying both training, service hours, and a pathway to paid employment, connecting the community through sport,” says Kofber.
Affordable play is possible for all players through financial aid and scholarships. To counteract the costs of travel, there is a small-sided competition for high-school-age players called the “Varsity league.” The league creates a non-expensive and non-committal alternative for older teen players.
Through soccer, SFYS brings together nearly 6,000 families from about “every elementary, middle school, and neighborhood in San Francisco.” Gear and technology are accessible to the public through the city-shared and community-based site where SFYS is centered. Community support and programming allow SFYS’s impact to reach 2,000 non-SFYS soccer players from 8 to 18 years of age.
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The volunteer coaching staff is backed by community efforts, and in the early days of the organization, parents led teams in coaching positions. Today, though, the organization is home to “1,100-1,400” volunteers assisting with facilitating the growth of soccer and leadership skills in youth players.
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Scotty Kober joined the SFYS in 2011 as the program director until 2014, and in the following year, she became the executive director. In those days of regional club soccer during her teens, she played abroad in Europe’s Dana Cup, and the time out of the country engaged her in being immersed in history and the world around her. She says soccer is owed responsibility for making those meaningful life experiences possible. Kober’s role as an executive director brings new life to those experiences. She and the organization integrate life skills with tactical soccer play through community building.
“I want everyone to have those opportunities. So we have an SFYS Abroad program. We’ve taken two groups of girls abroad in the last three years to the Women’s World Cup in 2019 and again in 2023,” says Kober.
Off the field, the community benefits from programming through mentorship opportunities, watch parties, trainings, workshops, and resources made available through the organization.
Scotty Kober and the organization’s staff believe soccer creates a foundation for attaining ambitions outside of soccer.
“[Soccer] is a language that connects people all over the world […] What I get up for every day, what I motivate for every day is, how do we inspire and connect people to opportunities, even if it’s tangentially connected to soccer,” says Kober.
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