Good things often happen because of “what if” moments.  About two years ago, I began to wonder – what if ESCC could start an athletic program for men and women?  What if we could tap into the talent and interests of our Shore youth and provide experiences that would attract students, engage the community and reflect our YES! culture of hospitality, accountability, transparency, and inclusion?

Why athletics?  Academically we know that student athletes feel more integrated into the school environment which can lead to better academic performance and outcomes.  For the athlete, we can provide local students the opportunity to continue their soccer careers while they earn associates degrees without having to leave the Eastern Shore.  

It is also a great opportunity for the student athlete to be exposed to a higher level of competition as well as honing their skills, all while building pride in the school and the Eastern Shore. And having a soccer team is a great way to build even more connections with our community, offering events and opportunities to bring us together on the pitch.

The interest and enthusiasm for a college team builds on the success of our local high school efforts and recreation leagues.  We’ve heard interest from those involved for years. The challenge was how to fund the soccer team.  

We put together a budget based on the experiences of other Virginia Community colleges that have athletic programs.  I made a presentation, first to the Accomack Board of Supervisors and then to the Northampton Board of Supervisors.  At the same time, I approached the Eastern Shore Community College Foundation to ask for their support.

The wonderful news came last spring and summer, that each board supported our request as did the ESCC Foundation. We have the funding we need to get started.

I shortly realized that having the funding for a project is a long way from actually launching a program.  We needed community partners to make this happen.  We reached out to Shore Soccer League and the Randy Custis Memorial Park Foundation in hopes that they would partner with us to create a regulation college field at Custis Park in Nassawadox.  Both organizations are very supportive.  Thanks to Shore Soccer League and the Randy Custis Foundation for identifying the space for the ESCC field.  With their help, we will begin seeding the field in November so it will be ready for use in Spring 2025.

Additionally, we met with leadership from Accomack County, and we are working with their Parks & Rec leaders to develop a regulation college field at Sawmill Park in Accomac.

What’s next?  We are currently in the midst of hiring a part-time coach. Once the coach is hired, we move directly into student recruitment for the men’s and women’s teams.  This will include recruiting existing ESCC students and high school seniors from every high school on the Shore.  The feedback I’ve received is that there is a great deal of interest in playing ESCC Soccer.

We are also in the process of creating a team name.  We are gathering ideas from across the Shore with the ultimate decision coming from our ESCC students.  The current survey is available here.  We invite you to participate in generating name ideas!

While we will not field our first ESCC Soccer team until Fall 2025, our new coach will lead an effort for intramural soccer play in Spring 2025.  This will be a great opportunity for our students to work on their skills and simply to just have fun.

We invite the Shore community to share our excitement as our “what if” moment of launching ESCC Soccer takes shape and another chapter of our YES! culture will deliver even more opportunities to Shore student athletes. Stay tuned!