WEST SIDE ALLIANCE S.C.

“Letter of Orientation”

Club Background & Vision

On behalf of the WSA coaching staff and WSA soccer community I would like to thank you for your interest in our competitive soccer program. I would like to take this opportunity to present to you what WSA soccer is about, and the agenda in regards to the coming year for one of the fastest improving soccer clubs in the state.

WSA maintains a basic geographic identity, serving the west of Tulsa communities, including West Tulsa   However, WSA’s player enrollment comes from a diverse group of players. Several WSA teams include many players from Midtown Tulsa, East Tulsa, South Tulsa, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Muskogee, and Bartlesville. WSA's host club is the Sand Springs Soccer Club, which has proven to be a good relationship for both clubs. WSA is proud to have the Sand Springs Soccer Club as its host. The Sand Springs Soccer Club provides WSA with access to some of the premiere training facilities in Oklahoma, one of the premiere venues for home matches, as well as the basic support needed by a competitive program from its host club. Players and parents of WSA will find certain privileges will come with being a member of the Sand Springs Soccer Club, and will in turn be expected to invest a certain amount of energy into the host club.

WSA was founded with the vision of providing every young player who possessed the talents, desire, and love for the game with an opportunity to improve and succeed in the sport of soccer. To maintain this commitment WSA makes every effort to keep costs at a minimum, and traveling reasonable. WSA trainers are paid minimum rates, and teams are given certain freedoms to select a tournament agenda that fits their team's specific needs and their budget. WSA coaches are instructed to observe a "level of tolerance" for young athletes participating in other sports. Furthermore, WSA maintains a need-based scholarship program to ensure that no player will be denied the opportunity to play due to financial need. WSA balances each of the preceding concerns with a strict agenda and commitment to excellence that provides the premium opportunities for growth, improvement, and success in competitive youth soccer.

WSA's older teams traditionally enjoy much success competing in regional and national college showcase events.  Many WSA teams are regionally and nationally ranked.  WSA's younger teams focus on "player development" ahead of results, a unique trademark of WSA. The WSA program is founded on the basis of a commitment to player development, and a faith in hard work and dedication paying dividends in the long run. WSA has proven that development will take place by the successes of its older teams. Several of WSA's graduating seniors recently have been actively recruited by college coaches, and several have been offered and signed letters of intent accepting "full-ride" and partial soccer scholarships. In addition WSA is honored to have several of it’s graduating seniors traditionally recognized as Oklahoma high school All-Staters. These honors and pay-offs are a direct result of hard-work and perseverance by these players, their WSA teams, and WSA's commitment to player development. These very players that are now accepting soccer scholarships and other honors developed through the WSA program during their younger years with the WSA club, and are now reaping the benefits.

Administration and Fees

WSA is organized administratively with a committee, headed by the coaching director and club president. Roger Bush serves the role of coaching director, while Gordon McAllister is the WSA club president.  The “honorable’ Judge McAllister is a district judge and aTulsa soccer and youth advocate.  Roger is a former T.U. player and is an experienced coach and clinician at all levels. Oklahoma Soccer Association honored Roger as its Coach of the Year for 2001 recognizing his hard work, dedication and perseverance on behalf of his players, club, and the soccer community. Several of his former players play at the collegiate level, several of his teams have been state finalist and nationally ranked, and his teams traditionally have won many league and tournament championships. Roger obtained a B.S. degree in Biology/Pre-Med from the University of Tulsa in 1996, currently teaches Biology at Charles Page High School, and has been the head cross-country coach and high school soccer coach. As coaching director Roger is charged with laying out WSA's agenda, objectives, and goals for each year, as well as overseeing the appointment of coaches, the progress of player development, and other administrative responsibilities.   

In order to maintain its operations WSA requires a certain level of funding which is provided through fund-raisers, T-shirt sales, donations, sponsors, and an annual fee of $50 collected from each player. An outline of the uses of this money can be found on the WSA website. Our largest fund raisers are the annual WSA Friendship Cup Tournament, held in April, and the more informal Round Robin, a one-day tournament-like event held in August. This year the club anticipates adding another tournament to it’s tournament schedule. Proceeds from these events help us keep our costs low, but organizing, preparing for, and running these events is a major effort; each team is assigned certain duties, and all WSA parents are expected to help.

Players selected to WSA will be asked to contribute $50 annually to the "collective" fund. Aside from that the other costs of participation with WSA include:

Individual team expenses, including tournament and travel. (NOTE: Referee fees, which used to be collected separately, are now included in the basic monthly fees).

Training fees are $40 per month for 10 months annually.

Uniform, which consists of our NIKE basic kit provided by Soccer USA costs $135, and includes one home jersey, one away jersey, one pair of shorts,  two pairs of socks, and one training top.  The uniform and training top include WSA Logo Patches adhered to uniform, and player numbers. Additional accessories such as warm-ups and athletic bags are optional.  WSA teams tend to keep the same uniform for several years, so returning players are usually spared the cost of a uniform most years.  Sometimes used uniforms are available for new players on a budget.

GCSA competitive registration of $70 per year (same as SSSC recreational and set by GCSA and SSSC).

WSA Trademarks, Standards, & Expectations

The organizational approach behind the WSA program is a family oriented approach to competitive soccer. WSA boasts as being one of the most cohesive clubs with a huge amount of camaraderie and cohesiveness between the separate teams. When you become a part of WSA you not only join a team, but you become a part of a much larger soccer family. It is unusual for a player not to know several players from other WSA teams.  Another aspect of the WSA soccer program, and our trademark, is loyalty. WSA is sincere in their efforts to be in the business of developing soccer players, not "building", "replacing", or "borrowing" teams. Player retention rate from season to season is well over 90%. If a player is seen to possess the correct attitude, approach, effort to improve, and level of play, he or she will be given a chance. At WSA it is very unlikely you will see massive player overhauls in the off season. At WSA you will find our strongest tradition is "player development".

Finally, you must be wondering what our soccer is like. Well, in the past several years WSA has placed teams into the final rounds of several top tournaments including the Dallas Inter, Tulsa Cup, BASC Memorial Day, Ozark Classic, GCSA Labor Day, Norman Classic, Springfield Invitational, Valley Park Elite Cup, Hurricane Express Invt'l, BASC College Showcase, USA Cup (Blaine, MN - the largest youth soccer tournament in the western hemisphere), Turkey Cup, SuperClubs, and Oklahoma State Tournament. Some of our teams compete at the GCSA "A" division level and in the Oklahoma Premier League. Each team is formed and then trained with the goal of being competitive in the "A" division and Premiere League and with the ultimate goal of being state champions.

Our older squads (U-16 and up) enter college showcase tournaments designed for college recruiting. From freshman year on players are guided in their efforts to reach college, academically and athletically. Juniors and Seniors are entered in the WSA College Prospects Brochure that is sent to college coaches across the region. 

The most important aspect of the WSA soccer program is the experience that it provides for the player. Not only do WSA teams provide a competitive environment for soccer, WSA provides a positive environment for learning, growing, developing, and improving. WSA's ultimate goal is the development of our youth into model student-athletes, which is why such high expectations and standards will be held for our players. Players and parents will be asked to sign a contract/commitment that outlines the standards of expectations WSA players will be held to.