Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco Producing Consistent Winners
SAN FRANCISCO (8-12-03)
- Since 1997, the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco (BGCSF) Futsal program
has helped area youth stay goal-oriented.
Originally known as Columbia Park, the BGCSF futsal program offers a place for youth from different neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area to interact and continue to play futsal, a form of soccer they love and enjoy.
(Photo: Demitrius Omphroy, left, and Kareem Lacayo.)
The program continues to produce consistent winners and individual stars. Demitrius Omphroy and Kareem Lacayo were selected for the 2003-4 Region IV Olympic Development pool team and participated in the national camp in Boston. Omphroy was chosen to join the '89 Boys Select Team for further competition in San Diego, where he will seek the opportunity to join the team in Mexico for an international tournament. Kareem was unable to make the team due to a hip injury but will still make the trip to San Diego with the team.
The BGCSF Futsal coaching staff is lead by Nelson Cabrera and assistant Mike Cisneros. The
program accommodates over 50 youth players per
year, and more than 350 players have taken part in the program since its inception.
(Photo at right: BGCSF's Boys U-14 Futsal team finished runner-up at the 2003 U.S. Futsal National Championship at Anaheim. Bottom row, from left, Jesse Cisneros, Alfredo Zambrano, Javier Canada, Kevin Conelly and Colin Mitchell. Top row, from left, Edwin Perez, Leo Renderos, Kevin Mira, Kareem Lacayo, Nick Murphy, Demitrius Omphroy and coach Nelson Cabrera.)
Over the years, players have achieved high honors in high school and
college, as well as the Olympic Development Program. There have been numerous awards in
the city, state, and national level. They include:
1997- U.S. National Futsal Champions (Boys U-16) - as Columbia Park
1998- U.S. National Futsal Championship Runner-Up (Boys U-16) - as
Columbia Park
1999- California North State Cup Champions (Boys U-16) - as Columbia Park
1999- California North State Cup Runner-Up (Boys U-19) - as Columbia Park
1999- U.S. National Futsal Championship Runner-Up (Girls U-16) - as
Columbia Park
2000- California North State Cup Champions (Boys U-19)
2000- California North State Cup Champions (Girls U-16)
2000- U.S. National Futsal Champions (Girls U-16)
2000- San Francisco Rec.and Park City Champions (Boys U-18)
2001- California North State Cup Runner-Up (Boys U-19)
2001- San Francisco Rec.and Park City Runner-Up (Boys U-18)
2001- U.S. National Futsal Champions (Boys U-19)
2003- San Francisco Rec. and Park Runner-Up (Boys U-14)
2003- California North State Cup Champions (Boys U-14)
2003- California North State Cup Runner-Up (Boys U-19)
2003- U.S. National Futsal Championship Runner-Up (Boys U-14)
The BGCSF is recognized by U.S. Futsal on its website,
where it states that, "The Boys and Girls Clubs of America took a strong interest
after the Columbia Park Club in San Francisco asked the Federation to give a
demonstration. The national organization adopted the sport, and it is now played at about
1,100 Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the U.S."
In 2003, the Boys U-19 team finished runner-up at the Cal-North State Cup
in Alameda, Calif.
The Boys U-14 team has also had an excellent year, winning 18 of twenty
games. The U-14 team went undefeated during the regular season in the San Francisco Futsal
league but lost in an upset in the playoff final. The U-14s then went undefeated to win
the Cal-North State Cup. And then, July 18-20 at the U.S. Futsal National Championships in
Anaheim, the team almost went undefeated before losing 2-1 in the final to the
Mexican-American Community Services Agency (MACSA).
It was only their second loss of the entire 20-game campaign. Overall, the BGCSF Boys U-14
team has had a great first year and hopes to continue in the years to come.
"Congrats to the Boys U-14 and U-19 for a great futsal year and we hope that next
year our program will expand and increase the number of teams participating in the San
Francisco Futsal league, Cal-North State Cup and The U.S. Futsal Nationals," said
Cabrera. "We are proud to represent BGCSF and our great city of San Francisco!"