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California Storm, Women’s Premier Soccer team, hosts successful community program

By USASA Communications, 06/13/16, 6:30AM CDT

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Pippin Dew-Costa Leads Successful Free Soccer Clinic in Vallejo

California Storm

By Alice Broadbent
06/08/2016

Vallejo City Councilmember Pippin Dew-Costa was the proud leader of a free soccer clinic for girls that commenced last Saturday, June 4th  2016 at Dan Foley Sports Park, Vallejo. 

“Kicking Up A Storm” was hosted by Sacramento’s Women’s Premier Soccer team, California Storm. 6 Storm players including, Alice Broadbent, Tais Cotta, Zoe Zyta, Arianna Calderon, Jennifer Cudjoe and Sherifatu Sumaila volunteered to give back to the community and give young girls the confidence to grow through soccer. From ages 6-12, the event saw over 100 girls sign up for the day. Each girl was rewarded with a free soccer ball, t-shirt, lunch, courtesy of Lennar Mare Island, as well as the experience of being coached by the Storm players. 

All attendees, parents, friends and children had a wonderful time during the event. Seeing their children enjoying the experience with the Storm players was relaxing and rewarding. The scene consisted of 5 small fields for each age group and one Storm player.  Over the 3 hours, the Storm players coached the girls by using their skills and knowledge of the game, while incorporating fun games and activities for the young, excited players. The coaching finished with scrimmages and penalty shoot outs. After lunch was provided, the girls had the opportunity to take pictures, have their balls signed and talk with the Storm players before leaving for the day. 

“The event was extremely successful, all of the girls were very engaged and focused while having a ton of fun!” Said, Pippin. 

The event provided an opportunity for young girls who do not have much access to play soccer, those who have just began to play and for those who want to continue improving. More so, Pippin, the Storm faculty and sponsors, organized informative booths and a workshop that was beneficial for all who attended. The companies that attended included Shea Homes, Mare Island, Dry Docks, LLC, Kaiser, Vallejo Youth Soccer League and Vallejo PAL Rec League. In addition to the workshop, A demonstration was performed by a local doctor on how to prevent sport injuries. 

Jerry Zanelli, California Storm Head Coach and Women’s Premier Soccer League co-founder, provided the event with his voluntary players and staff to assist the organization of the event. Zanelli  has an intense passion for women’s soccer and was delighted with the response of the event. 

“Being a part of women’s soccer for over 30 years, it is important to me to make sure there are opportunities for young girls to participate in soccer and help give them the confidence to keep playing. It was great to see the girls and parents enjoying themselves, the event was a great success!”  Said, Jerry.

Pippin and the Storm would like to thank the sponsors for their time, but more importantly, for their contribution to showing the importance of women leadership throughout both sport and business. They also thank all the volunteers who ensured the event ran smoothly and safely. 

California Storm

California Storm