All one has to do is drive around the Mission Bay and Pacific Beach areas to see the love locals have for soccer.
Whether it is adults on the weekends mixing it up in a friendly game of soccer or kids running up and down a pitch in a youth program, the sport has developed a rather strong foothold locally over the last number of decades.
And now, Pacific Beach has its own pro club to root for on Saturday evenings at Mission Bay High School. Albion SC Pros has tapped into the local passion for futbol by playing home games on the Buccaneers’ pitch with a fun, festive family-friendly atmosphere.
Beach & Bay Press caught up with the club’s director of marketing and operations, Nick Surface, for a recent Q&A: – BBP: How long has Albion Soccer been around and are there members of the club from Pacific Beach and Mission Bay involved? – Nick Surface: Albion Pros is in its first year and is the professional team that sits atop the Albion SC Youth Club. The youth club has been based in Ocean Beach for the last 35 years and has players and families that live all over San Diego including PB and Mission Bay. The Albion Pros team has players who live in PB such as standout forward Matt Clare. Other players come from as far away as the Netherlands, Haiti and Brazil, but most players are from the San Diego area. The team plays their games on Saturday nights at Mission Bay High School Stadium at 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $3 for 17-and-under and free for children under-5. The atmosphere at the games is amazing. Visit albionscpros.com for the team’s schedule and more information.
The whole game is an experience that starts at the Tap Room on Garnet Avenue at 3 p.m. Our supporters group called The Deep End meets there beforehand along with our fans to have beers and get excited for the match. At the game there is Mexican food, chair massages, plenty to do for kids and an electric atmosphere as our fans sing and chant the entire game (much like you see in Europe). Afterwards, the whole team including players, coaches and front office staff head back to the Tap Room to hang out with fans and (hopefully) celebrate another win. Our last home game of the season is June 18 and the playoffs will start the second week of July. If things go well, we could be playing until the national championship game in New York in August. Tickets to home games can be bought at prosoccersandiego.com or at the game at our ticket window. – BBP: How is the team doing this year? – NS: We are currently a perfect 3-0 and sit atop the division in first place. So far, so good. We are very happy with the direction the team is going.  We are always trying to increase our performance as would be expected, but we are doing well. – BBP: Are tryouts held for locals during the year? – NS: Tryouts are held generally before the pre-season in December and January, but we welcome players to tryout throughout the year if they feel they have what it takes. Players interested should contact: [email protected]. – BBP: For soccer fans in the area, what makes coming out to see the team play so enjoyable? – NS: We really put on a production at every game. We understand that San Diego is an amazing place to live and has so much to do, so we put on more than just a soccer game. The game is of course the main event, but there are a lot of things to do at games. We have a great choice of food as well as face painters, balloon men and giveaways every single week. There is halftime entertainment and festivities before and after the game at Tap Room. The atmosphere at the games really is something special and not something you’ll get at any other professional sport in San Diego. That is a big statement to make but we would stand by it. While we don’t have 60,000 fans, the 2,000-plus we do have are passionate and loud in their support and it is constant. There are drums banging and flags waving to go along with songs and chants. It truly is something special to see and experience.