From the Oregonian, Sept. 18, 2013
Barrett Goddard coached his two sons to soccer championships, led Clark College to a Pacific Northwest title, and coached at Evergreen and Ridgefield high schools.
Now he’s putting his athletic energy and his personal funds behind a lifelong dream: owning and coaching a semi-pro soccer club for southwest Washington. Goddard’s emerging Vancouver Victory team will play its first game when the new eight-memberEvergreen Premier League Washington season kicks off in May.
Named after the victory ships built at Vancouver during World War II, the Vancouver Victory will face Bellingham United, South Sound Shock at Tacoma, Wenatchee United, Seattle Stars at Tukwila, WestSound at Silverdale, Yakima United FC and the Spokane Shadow.
“This is something I’ve thought about for years and years,” said Goddard, 50, who runs a home inspection business from his home on two acres northeast of Ridgefield. He’s got his own soccer field out by the barn where the pasture used to be.
“The boys and I kick the ball around a lot,” he said about sons Nathan, now 25, and Cameron, 21.
Goddard ran through his paces alone on a rainy afternoon recently, dribbling and drilling a few strikes through the full-size uprights while discussing the venture.
“One reason I’m doing this is to thank the Clark County community for the great things they’ve done for me” as a soccer coach and soccer dad, Goddard said.
He and his wife, Sylvia, a registered nurse, have been in Clark County for 20 years. They also have a daughter, Brenna, 22, whom he called the family’s “best athlete.”
Negotiations are under way for the Victory to play on Evergreen High School’s McKenzie Field. Admission is anticipated to be $5 for adults and free to kids younger than 8. Operating on a shoestring, Goddard said he wants the team to build community.
He landed the contract to play in the new league from among applicants throughout Washington, said David Falk, league communications director. Along with Peter Ostrovsky, who has been associated with the Bellingham team, he organized the league under the Washington Adult Soccer Association. The Bellingham, Seattle and Spokane teams have been playing informally for a few years.
“After talking for a long time about how Washington really needs a league like the English Premier League, it is awesome to finally be joining other soccer lovers and doing something about it,” Falk said.
The Victory originally was to be called the Vancouver Venom, Goddard said. But he changed the name after meeting with the Northern Alliance, a rambunctious group of Clark County soccer fans who form an offshoot of the Timbers Armyin Portland.
“I liked the name Venom, but no one else did,” Goddard said with a grin. “This is not about ego. This is about building a team and a community.”
“I’m very excited about this,” said Matt Braddock, 32, a force in the Northern Alliance. He’s a former U.S. Army sergeant who lost a leg when an anti-tank mine exploded during his second tour in Iraq.
“I’m just the game-day operations guy,” Braddock said. “The coach, Goddard, seems very supportive. We hope to put together a lot of tifo,” using a form of the Italian “tifosi,” which stands for fans and their gear.
“We want to let the enthusiasm grow organically to support the players,” he added.
Goddard has been a soccer fanatic since he was a 7-year-old playing striker in Federal Way, Wash., and saw Pelé win the World Cup with Brazil in 1970. Goddard kept playing in Texas while he served in the Air Force for six years in the 1980s. He later played on club teams at Washington State University in Pullman.
In 1997, he coached Clark College’s soccer team to the championship in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges, a 34-team league in Oregon and Washington. He coached his sons in league play and through high school, and they made all-state from Ridgefield. He also coached at Evergreen High School for three years and one season at Ridgefield High School.
“My degree is in sports management,” he said.
He worked briefly in the early 1990s in group sales for the Seattle Mariners in the Ken Griffey, Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez era; in public relations for the Seattle Seahawks; and in sales for the ill-fated Tacoma Stars indoor soccer team.
Some Victory players will receive modest paychecks, and others will receive stipends for meals and lodging to maintain their amateur status so they can play in college, Goddard said.
Plenty of players are available from Clark County and beyond, he said. He doesn’t plan open tryouts but plans to recruit the 24 best to his roster.
Both the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers have academy — or farm — teams for players younger than 23. “If they don’t look like they’ll make it into (Major League Soccer) by age 23, they usually cut ’em loose by then,” Goddard said. “I’ve already been contacted by a couple of ex-academy players who want to play here. There is a niche out there for these players, and there are some very good ones.
“Having coached in the Vancouver and Clark County area for almost 20 years, I have gained a full appreciation for the soccer community here,” Goddard said. “Vancouver is a deep, soccer-rich town with a passion and developed knowledge for the game. For the size of Vancouver, there are some incredibly talented players and coaches.”
Evergreen’s McKenzie Stadium recently got a new turf surface and has two covered stands that hold nearly 6,000 fans. As for the club’s look, the plan is to wear powder blue with a crest to be designed later.
“Getting the word out and making the team financially viable in the first few years are my two main concerns,” he said. “It is going to take a local, grass-roots effort to develop the proper fan base for this team.”
And there will be travel. The mileage from Vancouver to the other league towns: Bellingham, 254; Tacoma, 133; Tukwila, 156; Silverdale, 168; Wenatchee, 292; Pasco, 221, and Spokane, 356.
There’ll be hard practice and short sleeps in playing for the Victory, Goddard said. But love of the game is the whole idea.
— Dean Baker
