By: Matt Hermann
Earlier this summer, MadisonProSoccer.com put a spotlight on South Central Wisconsin’s vibrant youth soccer scene with a profile of the Madison Area Youth Soccer Association (MAYSA).
“The same thing that makes the east side a good place to live is what makes it a good place for a soccer club,” says Eric Bertun, perched up on the balcony of a coffee shop down the block from Breese Stevens field.
The Director of Operations for Capital East Soccer Club (CESC) knows a good club when he sees one – he’s a bona fide soccer lifer. Bertun fell in love with the game growing up in Delaware in the 1970s, played in high school and high-level adult leagues as long as his ACL allowed him, and has worked in youth soccer for decades as a coach, club administrator and referee. He thinks Cap East is special.
“My kids all went to Madison East [High School], I’ve got a lot of friends who teach and coach at East and LaFollette [High School]. There’s a belief in the community here – people are proud to be east siders.”
And if you’re an east sider, Cap East is your club. CESC takes in players from the U6 level all the way up to U18, offering more than 40 recreational and competitive teams made up of hundreds of soccer-playing kids living in the Madison East and Robert M. LaFollette High School attendance areas.
The east side isn’t what it used to be. Oscar Meyer, for so many years among the main employment centers, no longer operates. Development along the East Washington Avenue corridor has brought rapid change in the physical landscape – and in property values. But a working-class underdog spirit remains part of the community’s self-image.
“There’s a perception that the west side high schools in Madison might have a little more in terms of resources, and so we have to make up for that with grit and determination,” says Bertun.
This all-hands-on-deck attitude informs Cap East’s stance on registration: reach out to the broadest community possible, keep costs low, and make it as easy to sign up as possible.
CESC offers registration in Spanish for parents who feel more comfortable navigating forms in their native language and has a Latino Team Liaison on its staff. The club charges some of the smallest registration fees in the region to make sure low-income families aren’t priced out.
“Cap East relies heavily on volunteer coaches. We’re probably one of the only clubs in the area that offers a high level of competitive soccer that still does that,” says Bertun.
Often, those volunteer coaches are parents of players active in the club, which means the level of instruction depends on how much soccer savvy is present in the community. That hasn’t posed much of a problem – “a lot of our parents have tremendous soccer backgrounds,” says Bertun – and the arrival of Madison Pro Soccer and USL D3 on the east side next year could make the pool even deeper.
“I’m hopeful that our players, our coaches, our families are going to embrace it,” Bertun says. “Not just as fans, either – they’re going to learn a lot by watching good soccer played by skilled players. It’s really a win-win for us, because it’s right in our backyard.”
By: Matt Hermann
Earlier this summer, MadisonProSoccer.com put a spotlight on South Central Wisconsin’s vibrant youth soccer scene with a profile of the Madison Area Youth Soccer Association (MAYSA).
“The same thing that makes the east side a good place to live is what makes it a good place for a soccer club,” says Eric Bertun, perched up on the balcony of a coffee shop down the block from Breese Stevens field.
The Director of Operations for Capital East Soccer Club (CESC) knows a good club when he sees one – he’s a bona fide soccer lifer. Bertun fell in love with the game growing up in Delaware in the 1970s, played in high school and high-level adult leagues as long as his ACL allowed him, and has worked in youth soccer for decades as a coach, club administrator and referee. He thinks Cap East is special.
“My kids all went to Madison East [High School], I’ve got a lot of friends who teach and coach at East and LaFollette [High School]. There’s a belief in the community here – people are proud to be east siders.”
And if you’re an east sider, Cap East is your club. CESC takes in players from the U6 level all the way up to U18, offering more than 40 recreational and competitive teams made up of hundreds of soccer-playing kids living in the Madison East and Robert M. LaFollette High School attendance areas.
The east side isn’t what it used to be. Oscar Meyer, for so many years among the main employment centers, no longer operates. Development along the East Washington Avenue corridor has brought rapid change in the physical landscape – and in property values. But a working-class underdog spirit remains part of the community’s self-image.
“There’s a perception that the west side high schools in Madison might have a little more in terms of resources, and so we have to make up for that with grit and determination,” says Bertun.
This all-hands-on-deck attitude informs Cap East’s stance on registration: reach out to the broadest community possible, keep costs low, and make it as easy to sign up as possible.
CESC offers registration in Spanish for parents who feel more comfortable navigating forms in their native language and has a Latino Team Liaison on its staff. The club charges some of the smallest registration fees in the region to make sure low-income families aren’t priced out.
“Cap East relies heavily on volunteer coaches. We’re probably one of the only clubs in the area that offers a high level of competitive soccer that still does that,” says Bertun.
Often, those volunteer coaches are parents of players active in the club, which means the level of instruction depends on how much soccer savvy is present in the community. That hasn’t posed much of a problem – “a lot of our parents have tremendous soccer backgrounds,” says Bertun – and the arrival of Madison Pro Soccer and USL D3 on the east side next year could make the pool even deeper.
“I’m hopeful that our players, our coaches, our families are going to embrace it,” Bertun says. “Not just as fans, either – they’re going to learn a lot by watching good soccer played by skilled players. It’s really a win-win for us, because it’s right in our backyard.”
