History of sandpoint soccer association

Established 1981

Soccer in Sandpoint started the way the best things do — with people who just loved the game. By the mid-1970s, a small group of players were meeting for pickup matches at the high school track field, elementary schools, city parks, and City Beach. No leagues, no uniforms, no structure. Just the ball and the grass and whoever showed up.

In 1979, the Sandpoint City Rec Department put on a summer camp that drew over 40 kids, and a group of parents and community members saw something worth building. Dr. Peter Heraper, Leon Fotanatos, Chris Zaba, Jerry McCabe, Roger and Karen Schubert, Mike Read, Bill and Laurie Ratcliffe, Ann and Dick Brower, Larry Smith, and John Wesley came together to form the Sandpoint Soccer Association. By 1980, the league had over 230 players. In 1981, the association sent its first competitive teams to the Spokane Valley Junior Soccer League — one called the Strikers, coached by Peter Heraper, and one called the Rowdies, coached by Gayle Dolsby. The Rowdies name faded. Strikers stuck. The crest still reads EST. 1981 — the earliest official record in the club’s archived meeting minutes, and the moment organized competitive soccer in Sandpoint became real.

From there, the sport took off. Boys soccer became a varsity sport at Sandpoint High in 1987, girls in 1988. In 1991, the SHS boys went 18-0 under Ed Bock and put Sandpoint on the map. In 1996, Sandpoint Soccer Association hired its first Director of Coaching and Player Development — Tom Atencio, a former professional player who transformed a grassroots club into a development powerhouse. What followed was a dynasty — all from a one-high-school town: 17 combined boys and girls state championships, seven IYSA State Cup titles, and a pipeline of players who went on to compete at Oregon State, Gonzaga, and professionally for teams including the Portland Timbers.

None of that happens without the people who built it. The founders who organized the first camp. The presidents who kept the lights on — Peter Heraper, Dick Brower, Ed Bock, Cliff Chapin, John Rinck, Alan Brinkmeier, and Adam Tajan. The coaching directors who shaped the program — Tom Atencio, Ray Smith, Eric Swanbeck, Geovanni, Ben Twigg, Mike Pelicio, and Rick Mullins. And coaches like Randy Thoreson, who has been part of the Sandpoint soccer community for over 40 years — a completely self-taught coach who learned the game through library books, coaching courses, and studying on his own, who then became the winningest boys soccer coach in Sandpoint High School history with seven state championships. He's still on the field today coaching Strikers kids and serving on the board of directors.

Today, Sandpoint Soccer Association offers programs from Kickstart (age 2) through Strikers FC, High School, and Legends FC. The club is led by Director of Operations Angie Kerr — a former member of the United States women’s national soccer team, NCAA champion, and University of Portland Hall of Famer who also played professionally in Women’s Professional Soccer and the NWSL, winning an NWSL Championship with the Portland Thorns — and Technical Director Ryan Carruth, an NCAA champion, St. Lawrence University Hall of Famer, and former Division I coach. They’re supported by Randy Thoreson and his seven state championships, coaches like Adam Tajan and Conor Baranski who combined for nine more, and a roster of former college athletes who grew up here and came back to give to the community that raised them. The mission hasn’t changed since those first pickup games at City Beach: give every kid in this community the chance to play, compete, and grow through the game of soccer. What the founders started in the 1970s, we carry forward — for the next 45 years and beyond.

Championship history

**Sandpoint High School Boys State Championships**

2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 (Coach Randy Thoreson) · 2012 (Coach Adam Tajan)

**Sandpoint High School Girls State Championships**

2000 (Coach Charlie Bell) · 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009 (Coach Adam Tajan) · 2013, 2014, 2019, 2023 (Coach Conor Baranski)

**Sandpoint Strikers IYSA State Cup Champions**

1990 U12B · 1991 U12B · 1998 U13B · 2001 U15B · 2005 U19B · 2012 U17B · 2013 U13B