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This is Lilah Gutierrez, the loveable baby daughter of Pete Gutierrez (captain of Voodoo Doc)… hard to believe something so sweet and innocent could come from a rogue hooligan like Pete, eh? Just jokes, homey. We’re lovin’ the fact he decked her out in all Soccadelic gear and staged this photo. I think we’re gonna go ahead and sign Lilah to a multi-year contract– she’s beautiful and we know she’s gonna play some serious sand footie when she gets older. Watch out, Pete. Your daughter’s gonna be a looker… just be sure to keep Barker at a safe distance, that’s our advice. Thanx for the pic… God bless you and your family.

Finally, we have a couple of guys taking the initiative to do what has long needed to be done… namely, STARTING SOME FREAKIN’ BEACH SOCCER LEAGUES!!! Yuri Morales (Santa Cruz Beach Soccer) and Sam Schwartz (Virgina Beach World Beach Soccer) have done just that and got regular teams showing up on weekends to play beach soccer. God bless you guys. We here at the ole Soccadelic have always said that the future of the game damn well depends on ‘em. What?! Did you really think a local tournament once a year was gonna bring about a higher level of play and the next generation of players? Of course not. Tournaments are great and we’d love to see more of them BUT if beach soccer is really gonna take root in this country then it’s gotta be leagues, leagues, leagues. And one more time: LEAGUES!!! Now make ‘em happen, people…

The good people over at MLS Magazine did a great story this month on beach soccer, and our man Jed was there to give them the lowdown on how the sport is exploding and how Soccadelic (”perhaps the sport’s most effective marketing agent”…ahem) is helping out.

Click here to download the whole article.

Pick up a copy - or better yet, subscribe - to MLS Magazine to support soccer in America!

Man, summer of 2008 was sweetness. Soccadelic had a break out year in many ways– new products, new website, new partners in retail– but the most significant were the tournaments. Without them our brand could not have grown as it did. We thank all of the fans of beach soccer (like David Oram, above) for buying our stuff, writing in, giving feedback, and above all– promoting the sport. Soccadelic is looking forward to the future of the game and to working with fans the world over in providing a better product and getting beach soccer leagues started. “Muito obrigado, meu amigos” as the Brasilianos like to say…

This is Sam and Mikey Schwarz, founders of the World Sand Soccer Association and organizers of the first official beach soccer league in the US. They’re starting out with 15 teams in Virginia Beach but we’re betting that the numbers only go up from there– quickly. No question that as the sport of beach soccer continues to grow– not only here in the US but around the world– that more and more avid players will form leagues as permanent fixtures to the game. The tournaments are great but they’re entirely too short and way too infrequent to sustain real growth in the sport. Most tourneys only take place once a year– that won’t be good enough for the next generation of players who want to take the game to the next level. Soccadelic applauds this type of action and calls on others to follow the innitiative of the Schwarz boys– let’s make this happen, kiddos…

Jeff Benbow will bust your ass. Don’t get me wrong– this guy loves physical play and encourages it– just don’t let the spirited play get out of hand on his watch. But every year at the Longboard classic Jeff throws someone out for getting unruly on the pitch. And why is this? Cuz everyone in his adults only beach soccer tourney knows that you gotta bring your A-game or you’re gonna get stuck sun tanning. But it’s all good for the game I say. Pete Gutierrez and the Voo-Doo Doc boys know how to throw down… every year for the past decade these dudes have gotten together a team of players who have known and played together for years. The result is a motley crew of dedicated guys who play their guts out then head out to Pete’s house for a little r & r… madness, I tell ya. Austin Roman, Ronnie Silva, Rafael… all the usual cats form Team Pugg are there too, of course… and arguably some of the best talent in SoCal is playing like respect is on the line. And it is. This is Benbow’s tournament– the oldest on the West Coast– and no one takes it lightly to leave early. Benbow wouldn’t have it any other way…

The Windy City, Gotham, Chi-Town– whichever– the point is that Chicago freakin’ Illinoize brought out some serious talent for the sixth annual Chicago Beach Soccer tournament off of Lake Shore Drive. There were about 100 teams from around the area and most players were associated with prominent local programs. What I loved was that the clubs up there really represent the diverse ethnic groups present… there were African, El Salvadoran, German, Polish, Croatian, Serbian, and Mexican clubs just from what I saw… and these guys and gals knew how to play some serious sand footie! Check this– the city parks and rec officials even showed up and documented the tourney so that permanent– I repeat PERMANENT– beach soccer goals could get put on Montrose beach. Apparently the demand is sufficient enough to justify giving the people what they want. Go figure. Now if only the California beach bureaucrats would do the same out here! Learn from our Chicago brethren, people…

Who woulda thought they could have a beach soccer tournament in St. Louis… St. Louis?! Yeah, man… the cat putting this thing together is Dan Ehrenreich and he’s bringing the beach to St. Louis. For years the St. Louis area has been renowned for its soccer so its only fitting that this crop of Midwest talent should get a shot at playing on the sand. Mark my words, people: what Ehrenreich is doing here is going to be copied all over the place. In essence, whole soccer parks and indoor facilities around the country will begin to add sand pitches for the legions of people looking to play beach soccer who don’t live near a proper beach. It’s coming and it needs to. Hats off to Dan and his vision… this helps to promote beach soccer in a big way.

Peter Mellor and the boys (namely, Val and Sandy– who are proper ladies) swung another beach soccer tourney Florida’s way this past weekend with astounding success… the largest to date given their illustrious 18 year history. EIGHTEEN YEARS, people– that makes Sir Pete the official proprietor of the nation’s longest and oldest beach soccer tourney which is pretty darn cool. Even folks from around the globe stopped in to give beach soccer a try (like these cats from Israel above)… the weather was great and the beach gorgeous as always… excellent work, mate… can’t wait to see how the Ft. Myers venue goes!

Former black hat-turned white hat and notorious hacker “DarkCyde” has recently been enlisted to implement Soccadelic’s worldwide web optimization plan for an undisclosed sum of money. Strategic seeding will roll out within the year to yield top five rankings in a variety of international search engines for terms such as “beach soccer”, “beach soccer tournaments”, “beach soccer ball”, and “Lindsay Lohan”. As the sport of beach soccer grows globally, Soccadelic seeks a greater presence in online sales to establish its brand in the world market. In his role as former KGB head of cyber warfare, DarkCyde was rumored to have hacked the Pentagon’s firewall in just under 17 minutes… now let’s see if he can help us sell some Soccasocks.