Recent Victory: RSF Attack vs Carlsbad Lightning GU14 Playoff

Youth Soccer News: Rancho Sante Fe Attack on the Rise

In the mid-1970s, a group of men got together to teach local boys soccer at the Rancho Santa Fe Center on a weekly basis. At first the main goal was to share the passion these men had for the Beautiful Game, but as time progressed and the numbers of players grew, the group realized that they would need to become more organized and professional.

Fast forward thirty years and Rancho Santa Fe (RSF) Attack has grown into a hugely successful club, drawing players from around the North County to work with such successful leaders as Director of Coaching Malcolm Tovey and coach Warren Jacobs.

When Malcolm Tovey first arrived at RSF Attack, after several years at San Diego Surf, the system and direction were quite different than now. At the time, most of the coaches were parents, and the club had very few competitive teams.

Tovey’s first steps were to bring the competitive and recreation programs together in a system where each side helps the other.

The club now features 34 competitive teams and ranges from Coast League to the recreation level program called RSF Academy.  In the win-win system that Tovey developed, the recreation program feeds the competitive, and coaches from the competitive program help to train the recreation coaches and players.

In addition, Tovey has worked to create a feeling of “all for one and one for all” in the club. “I think we have a great sense of club spirit,” he told SoccerNation News.” The teams all support each other. For example, we had a playoff game against Carlsbad Lightning to see who went to Premier. We must have had 350-400 people there at the game. The sidelines were packed; all the kids from our teams came to support the team that was fighting for a spot in Premier League. It’s that type of support, I think, that sets us apart from the other clubs. We’re not 34 separate teams, we’re a club.” 

Another part of what Tovey feels makes RSF Attack special is the focus he puts on choosing coaches. “What I look for first is a quality person, then a teacher, than a coach,” he explained. 

"Those are the three things that I look for. I think we have one of the best coaching staffs in San Diego, a staff that’s dedicated to teaching the children and has a good balance between being competitive and being fair to the individual player,” said Tovey.

With his own background and experience teaching, Tovey has an excellent idea of what to look for.

Among those coaches that Tovey rates highly is Warren Jacobs, who worked with him previously at Surf Soccer Club.

“Warren does an amazing job with the younger boys program,” he said of his U10 and U11 coach. “I’ve known Warren for 30 years. He’s the Pied Piper of the younger boys program and does a phenomenal job. He is a teacher with the Vista School District, so he qualifies right down the line: great person, great teacher, great coach.”

Warren Jacobs echoes Tovey’s focus on the importance of the coaching staff at RSF Attack.

“We have a very steady and what I think is the strongest coaching staff of any club around. I think Malcolm has put together a great coaching staff. We have good continuity from year to year and team to team.”

Another highly respected coach with RSF Attack is Nate Hetherington, whom Malcolm Tovey coached as a U14 player at Surf. “He’s just developed into an outstanding coach and a fantastic representative for the club. All of his teams just absolutely adore him,” said Tovey.

Jacobs also speaks highly of Hetherington, who has played for the San Diego Sockers: “I think one of the greatest youth soccer coaches out there in our community is Nate Hetherington. The guy is awesome, and he has much more experience as a player than I do. I watch him at work every day and I’m always impressed by what he brings to a team in terms of his preparation.”

Looking forward, Tovey has two major goals for the club. His first goal is to ensure the financial stability of the program, and to that end RSF Attack inaugurated its own tournament, the Attack Summer Classic, in 2010.

The idea is to produce income for the club and to provide a quality experience for participating teams. In the first year 120 teams participated, during a very tough economy, and in 2011 that number grew to 180. Tovey’s second goal is to get more fields in the Rancho Santa Fe area, and that goal will be realized with the opening of three new pitches by the end of October, 2011.

A club goes through many changes over a 30-year history, and RSF Attack is no different. From its humble beginnings the club grew first to over 300 players and, since the arrival of Malcolm Tovey, to over 1000 boys and girls of all ages and abilities.  Tovey has done a remarkable job of assembling talented and dedicated coaches who want to inspire and lead today's young soccer players.

The club has also instituted a College Visibility Program to help older players who would like to continue their soccer experience into the college level. But what it all comes down to is a focus on helping children to develop their talents and continue to enjoy playing the beautiful game.

“We have the right balance, I believe,” said Tovey. “I always tell my coaches there are three things I look for in a practice session: I want activity, I want purpose, and I want enjoyment. I want the kids to enjoy themselves while they’re playing soccer."  

"I like to see our teams play with flair and enjoy themselves and express themselves, and not have to worry about the results all the time. What we try to do is play quality soccer and make sure that we’re fair to the kids so they enjoy themselves and want to come back and keep playing the sport,” said Tovey.

The RSF Attack soccer club and it's teams are on the rise in the Southern California youth soccer world.  

Many of the RSF Attack teams are winning games in prestigious soccer tournaments and local games against State Champs from other competitive soccer teams.  Go Attack!

Photo Credit Aaron Jaffe

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