| The first
date AYSO is mentioned locally is July 1975 when we became a pilot
region. Under the effort of many people, Dan De Jong was our
first recognized Commissioner. The 5 Cities (Youth Soccer league)
as it was first known comprised 2 teams of 5th and 6th graders from
Shell Beach, and two teams from Oceano, 59 boys and girls. Region
83 became chartered as a full region in July 1978.
Growth
In 1980 5-Cities (and Nipomo) had 600 children playing. Through 1985
the numbers remained around 600-650 and had registration fee of $20 per
child. Going into the 1988 season there were over 1,000 kids in our
program.
In 1989-90 Nipomo created
its own region, separating from the 5-Cities region which had grown to
nearly 1200 kids. 5-Cities AYSO now has 1640 kids and nearly 170
teams! The 2006 season proudly marks our 31st year in the
community!
Although a lot of folks
volunteer a tremendous amount of time to make each season happen the
Regional Commissioner holds the major burden of planning and operating
the league. A great deal of responsibility is on their
shoulders.
Key
people
Dieter Heinz a West German 100, 400m relay runner in the 1960 Rome
Olympic Trials was a major influence on soccer locally and within AYSO
specifically. Dieter's daughter was a 2005 season team coach, and
Dieter's grandchildren now play in our region!
Tim Banducci a local
businessman was influential through the middle years of our region, and
continues to support the program.
More recently Don Ramsay
has been a major and positive influence on the soccer community
locally, presently serving the kids as our Area Director.
All three men served as
Area Director influencing all Central Coast AYSO Regions.
Of great importance is the
positive role that Milena Denike had on the community and oversight of
the greatest period of growth for our region.
Past
Regional Commissioners
| 1976, 1977 |
Dan Dejong |
| 1978, 1979 |
H. Dieter Heinz |
| 1980 |
Tim Banducci |
| 1981 |
George Stewart |
| 1982 |
Tim Banducci |
| 1983, 1984 |
Don Ramsay |
| 1985 |
Will Power |
| 1986 |
Chuck Hurst |
| 1987, 1988 |
Tim Banducci |
| 1989, 1990 |
Milena Denike |
| 1991, 1992 |
Chris Deviny |
| 1993, 1994, 1995 |
Lin Buhlman |
| 1996, 1997 |
Mat Van Steenwyk |
| 1998 |
Tom Buhlman |
| 1999, 2000, 2001 |
Joe Steed |
| 2002, 2003 |
Ken Claassen |
| 2004*, 2005*, 2006*, 2007** |
Tom Lebens |
*Region 83 recognized as a
Platinum Region (the highest level of recognition) by the AYSO National
Support and Training Center
**Application deadline is October 1, 2007
|
Arroyo Grande
