Shoot? Score! Northbay Premier, a Santa Rosa soccer club

Ellie and Leila Landaverde, players on the Monarcas (Mia Landaverde / The Puma Prensa)

By Mia Landaverde, staff writer 

Soccer is everywhere around Sonoma County. The sport is available year-round in both indoor and outdoor seasons, proving just how much the community loves soccer. With countless youth leagues, training programs, and our very own Epicenter, which offers indoor soccer for all ages, soccer has only grown and created a bigger impact on Sonoma County. 

One league that has done an exceptional job at making a change is Northbay Premier. Northbay Premier is a youth soccer club that focuses on teaching their players proper technique while enhancing their skills and enforcing proper discipline. An example of this discipline is genuine sportsmanship; players are trained to treat their opposing teams with respect even when they don’t do the same. 

Club Administrator Erica Contreras’ role in Northbay consists of working closely with coaches, players, and families to ensure a welcoming community, unconditional support, and proper setup for success. “My role focuses on helping create a positive and encouraging environment for all our players,” Contreras said confidently. 

Northbay Premier was founded in 2020, and their goal was to create a soccer club where players could grow, learn, and enjoy the game in a supportive, family-oriented setting. Players are given the opportunity to learn and compete at a level that fits their development within club,  as there are teams across multiple age groups. “Northbay Premier hopes to teach players important values such as respect, confidence, teamwork, and responsibility,” Contreras said. “We want our players to learn lessons that go beyond soccer and help them succeed both on and off the field.” 

Despite the club being all things soccer, there is also a special quality about them. Northbay Premier is currently an all-Latinx soccer group, with multiple coaches all from different cultural backgrounds. Northbay Premier allows not only growth in soccer, but also allows their players to connect to their culture. They incorporate small, cultural practices into their routines and speak in Spanish to their players, some of whom have begun to pick up more of the language after a couple of years of being there. Northbay serves as a symbol of culture, community, connection, and sport all in one. Their strong sense of family and community is what makes them special. 

With 10 competing teams of boys and girls through different age groups, Northbay stays occupied and is able to have teams playing both indoor and outdoor seasons. Rincon Valley Middle School student Allysen Carlos Bernal is a player on Northbay’s 2012 girls team, the Monarcas (Monarch Butterflies in Spanish), coached by Rafael Perez. “I got interested in soccer when I learned my parents played when they were my age,” Bernal said. “I’ve played soccer since fifth grade, for three years. Almost four.” Bernal plays striker (forward) for the Monarcas, yet trains in all positions. Other than improving her skills on the field, Bernal has also been taught other qualities crucial to the sport. “Something I’ve learned while playing for Northbay Premier is sportsmanship and teamwork,” Bernal explained. “The way my coach coaches us has taught me better sportsmanship by respecting opponents even when we lose a game.” 

“We also learn how to respect referees even when they make unfair calls,” she mentioned humorously. Respect is a huge recurring theme within Northbay Premier’s training. If players fail to be respectful and show proper sportsmanship, the coaches practice proper discipline by acknowledging the consequences that come with actions and enforcing them with players. No player gets special treatment, and every player serves the same consequences if they fail to show proper sportsmanship. These lessons are taught across all teams with all coaches. 

Max Gomez, a player for Northbay’s 2013 boys team, had played across a few soccer clubs before he found Northbay Premier to be his perfect fit. “I got interested in playing for Northbay because I wanted to train more so I could be better. I wanted to see what a club was going to offer skill-wise,” Gomez explained. He’s been a part of Northbay for nearly four years. “What I learned in Northbay was more skills and how to pass the ball correctly, how to communicate with my teammates, and how to understand the game.” Even when the club is very focused on sportsmanship and discipline, they put the same amount of work and effort into building skill and technique. Gomez expressed how this is important to him as a player. 

“I have noticed in the style of coaching, especially for Northbay, they take the game to heart,” he illustrated thoughtfully. “They want to show us the correct way [to] play, [and] how to communicate. They want us to succeed. It’s not easy. They have us do physical activities, they’re showing us the game from beginning to end.” Northbay Premier pushes their players past their limit to prove that their players can do better than they think they can. 

“Aspiring players should join Northbay Premier because it is a place where families feel welcomed, players are encouraged, and everyone grows together,” Contreras said. “We provide a supportive space where players can develop their skills, make friends, and build a lifelong love for the game.” 

Despite being fairly new, Northbay Premier has been continuously making an impact on their players and the community. They encourage anyone with a passion to play soccer to join, as they accept anyone without hesitation. The next upcoming event for several of their teams is a tournament in Sacramento in February. Send good luck to all Northbay Premier teams!