Thursday, September 17, 2009

Pomona Soccer Hooligans in Claremont


Watch Soccer Hooligans
Originally uploaded by sandrino
So with the Pomona AYSO now defunct (or at least in serious remission), Mr. Big had the choice of Claremont AYSO or Philips Ranch AYSO. This didn't seem like too much of a choice to me. Long story short Mr. Big is playing with Claremont AYSO this year. Already, the diffferences between Pomona AYSO and Claremont AYSO are readily apparent.

For one, they plan ahead in Claremont. We started practicing in mid August in Claremont, whereas in Pomona we started practices the week before our first game. Unfortunately with the fires, all that planning ahead in Claremont still resulted in only having two practices under our belt before the first game. Maybe Pomona was onto something with their "fly by the seat of your pants" philosophy?

In Claremont, I have already heard talk of a team banner. In Pomona, we went 3/4s of the searson before we even got the money together to buy one. And of course once we got it, there were some typos.

In Pomona, there were not enough teams for us to play within our own league. Therefore Phillips Ranch had to take mercy on us and agree to play our teams. The P.R. teams were usually about 12 deep, while our Pomona team was lucky if 6 kids showed up. This whole bit about worrying that each kid played enough was a moot point. Most games, we didn't have enough players for anyone to take a break. In Claremont, there are about 20 teams in each division, with about ten kids on each team. No need to outsource there.

Last weekend was our first game in Claremont. Almost reflexively I stood up and yelled at the team like we used to do in Pomona last year. I looked around and realized that I was the only parent doing this. I mean there were teams playing all around us, but it was really, really quiet. I asked the mother next to me if I was not supposed to yell, and she politely told me that they "discourage it."

Did I mention that I am really missing the Pomona AYSO? That, and wondering how many of our Claremont teammates are actually fellow Pomona hooligans.

6 comments:

Steve said...

Don't know much about Soccer but how can the AYSO allow two leagues in the same city? Is that kosher? Maybe you were unaware that Philips Ranch is a housing development in the city of Pomona.

Anonymous said...

It sounds more like tennis than soccer.
Shhhhh!

Mark

Anonymous said...

uh yeah, table tennis.

as for steve's question: well pomona and phillip's ranch is a tale of two separate but the same cities. even wikipedia considers phillip's ranch it's own city.

Anonymous said...

Well, google is dumb enough to place "Paramount" in the Westmont neighborhood of Pomona.

Robin said...

Where did Pomona AYSO play? Did you use the new field over by Mission Blvd. and the 71 highway? I didn't know soccer was defunct this year. What a huge shame since the city just built a new soccer facility with artificial turf and lights.

Unknown said...

This is probably more than you want to know.

To answer Steve's question, AYSO is divided into Regions and Regions are not city-based. For instance, Claremont AYSO (Region 3) lists Pomona as one of its cities. And Ontario AYSO (Region 66) and South Ontario AYSO (Region 583) probably also include Pomona residents.

To answer Robin's question, soccer is very strong in Pomona, but with the demise of Pomona (Region 30) the only AYSO program is Phillips Ranch (Region 661). Pomona residents interested in playing AYSO can register in Claremont, Ontario, South Ontario, Upland, Walnut, or La Verne/San Dimas AYSO if those programs are more convenient.

Now to cheering, Claremont AYSO doesn't 'discourage' cheering for your child. While you're cheering, toss a few out for the other team. Hey, don't forget to direct one at the volunteer referee if you're at a loss for something to cheer about.

Pomona residents playing in Claremont AYSO? Probably about 15-20% of the 1350 players are Pomona residents. Most of them are also students in Claremont Unified.