WENATCHEE, WA— Wenatchee Football Club is providing opportunities for local players to take their game to the next level. Now the club is helping do the same thing for soccer referees in the Wenatchee Valley.

WFC will field a reserves squad for their Evergreen Premier League side. The Reserves will play matches that will give local referees experience in calling matches. EPLWA matches and Reserves matches will all be played at the Apple Bowl.

“Our Reserves will play friendlies at every EPLWA home game before our first team,” says WFC General Manager Javier Reyna. “We plan for local referees to officiate those games. Then have them stay and watch the first team match referees (who come from around the state) to learn from them.”

Ed Navarro of the Wenatchee Valley Soccer Referee Association is excited about the opportunity.

“Our main goal is to expose our local referee members to a more competitive soccer. Working with Wenatchee FC gives us that opportunity,” says Navarro, who is the Director of Instruction and Assignor for the WVSRA.

“What we hope to accomplish is have more referees upgrade so they can do semi-pro games locally, or wherever they need good referees.”

WENATCHEE, WA—Wenatchee FC of the Evergreen Premier League (EPLWA) is excited to announce that Jamie Richards has been secured as the new head coach of the club for the 2016 season. Further, the Capitals have tabbed Dr. Luke Astell as an assistant coach and Director of Fitness.

“Jamie’s overall soccer experience, passion and previous knowledge about Wenatchee FC made him the best choice for our new head coach,” says WFC General Manager Javier Reyna. “Since he was an assistant with us last year he will be able to continue the program built by Cesar Ceppi.” Ceppi, a native of Brazil, coached the Capitals in 2015.

Richards coached Chelan High School to the 2013 boys soccer state title. He’s also been an assistant in the Wenatchee Valley CC soccer program. “It is an honor to be a part of this program and I am looking forward to an exciting season!” Richards says of his new post.

He also believes being on the WFC sidelines last year is a big advantage for the season to come. “Many things were observed being the assistant coach for Wenatchee FC last year. I know the players very well, as I have been a part of coaching some of them as youth and in high school, even playing with them as young adults. Putting  them in appropriate rolls will be key.”

Capitals supporters are likely curious about the look and style of this year’s team. “That will depend on the players we are given,” says Richards. “I like diversity and being able to adjust by the seat of your pants. Defensive structure is key to a great foundation. Midfield and forward is where the individual creativity will decipher the attack we will use.” Richards does express an overall mantra about how he leads a soccer club.  “Passion, persistence, discipline, work ethic, and perfecting the simplest!  We all, meaning the coaching staff, administration, and players need to expect the most out of each other!”

Wenatchee FC is also happy to announce Luke Astell will be on the sidelines again this year as an assistant to Coach Richards and as Director of Fitness. Astell is co-owner of Mount Stuart Physical Therapy and Balance Point Health Fitness in Leavenworth, Washington. “I was introduced to soccer as a PT with an interest in sports performance. I was asked to look at  movement and address injuries for the local high school team and for my daughter’s team,” says Astell. “Last year was my first year with Wenatchee FC and I look forward to returning this year and working with the team and coach Jamie Richards.”

WENATCHEE, WA— Javier Reyna helped found Wenatchee FC of the Evergreen Premier League back in 2013. In their first season of play the club saw a supporters group rise up to follow them. The Bridge Mafia has grown each season since then. Now the supporters group is fielding an indoor soccer team, and WFC co-owner Reyna has joined them on the pitch.

The Bridge Mafia are playing in a Co-Ed league at the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex. They recently got t-shirts / uniforms sponsored by Arroyo Accounting. While helping Wenatchee FC build a tradition in the Valley the Mafia are starting indoor traditions of their own.

The Evergreen Premier League was founded with the motto “Our State, Our Clubs, Our Culture.” In the short time since 2013 Wenatchee now has its own club, and is seeing soccer culture take root right alongside all of those beautiful apple trees.

Wenatchee FC couldn’t ask for a better local hero than Eleazar Galvan.  He’s from Chelan where he led the CHS Goats to a state title. For a second summer he suited up for the Capitals in the Evergreen Premier League. In 2014 he served notice that he was a player to watch when he led the club with 7 goals. That was good enough for a 4th place tie in the overall scoring records for that season. In 2015 Galvan moved to the head of the class by scoring 11 goals, including two hat tricks and two Offensive Player of the Week honors.
“Eleazar truly earned this honor,” saysgoalWA.net website founder David Falk. “Of course he scored the most goals, but it is important to note that Eleazar also was a unifying force for the club and his soccer community. He put the crest of Wenatchee FC above his personal stats and led by example to show what soccer can be in the Valley. Hopefully the younger generation in Wenatchee paid attention, because Galvan is the prototype player for making Wenatchee FC a success. Not only that, but he’s exactly the reason why websites likegoalWA.net exist: to highlight and celebrate the best in Washington.”

Along with scoring 11 goals for the Capitals Eleazar also bolstered the South Sound U-23’s at USASA nationals where his 2 goals and 3 assists were part of that club’s winning the national championship. What a summer for this year’s goalWA.net goalKING! (See complete goal stats for 2015 here.)

Here is the top ten list of scorers for 2015: 1. Eleazar Galvan (11), 2. Adam Talley, Hector Valdovinos (8), 4. Tyler Bjork, Jesse Esquivel, Timur Zhividze (7), 7. Tyler John, Borce Atanasov, Chance Bukoski, Vince McCluskey (5.)