It's easy to think of the Kitsap Pumas as having been around for a while.
The club arrived in the Premier Development League just two years ago, but they have worked hard to get themselves into not just a winning groove, but a title contending groove. It takes most clubs years and years to establish a winning club culture. The Pumas hit the ground running with that mindset.
Even though Kitsap did not repeat as Northwest Division champions in 2010, they did accomplish a few other firsts that have the club and its fans looking hopefully at the 2011 season.
I made a short list of three moments from 2010 and asked club owner Robin Waite and Executive Director Ben Pecora to jump on in and help frame the accomplishments now that a month has passed since the last Pumas match of 2010.
Beating the Ventura County Fusion in the playoffs
The Pumas hosted the Western Conference Finals in Bremerton and matched up first against the Ventura County Fusion, the club that had eliminated them in the 2009 playoffs and then went on to win the PDL title.
In a match filled with drama and suspense Kitsap advanced on penalty kicks over the Fusion as their faithful fans invaded the pitch in a wild celebration.
"It was the most exciting match in our brief history," Executive Director Ben Pecora says. "We avenged a quarterfinal loss from a year ago. Goalkeeper Dustyn Brim came up huge on the PK's and we had a chance to do all this in front of our home fans. That single match converted and exposed many people to just how good a Pumas match can be."
Victory in the US Open Cup
The Pumas also won their first US Open Cup match this year. It came in a 4:2 overtime thriller against the NPSL's Bay Area Ambassadors. In their 2009 US Open Cup appearance the Pumas had fallen late to the Portland Timbers of the USL. This win, on a sunny night at Bremerton Memorial Stadium, allowed the club to advance to the second round of the cup for the first time.
"It was another exciting match," adds Pecora, "and one that proved we are maturing as a team already. We were up in that match, relinquished the lead and then found a way to come back and win. The team showed a lot of character that night."
Flashy starts in pre-season and away opener
The Pumas started well in 2010, getting national attention when they knocked off the USL Portland Timbers 3:2 in a pre-season friendly at Memorial Stadium. Then the PDL regular season began with a three-goal outburst in the first eleven minutes at Yakima Reds.
"The friendly vs. the Timbers was a definite highlight and allowed Pete Fewing (head coach) the chance to make his own mark," recalls Pecora. "We had set a very high bar from 2009 and for Pete to lead us to that win with a 50% roster turnover, and honestly, the first match that group had played together, was outstanding and exciting for everyone. It got us off to a rousing start which carried over into the Yakima match and really the first five matches."
Club owner Robin Waite was in agreement with my top two picks for moments of the year, but took a different angle on number three. "On a different tact, we are pleased with our two year record of 28-7-4," says Waite, "and off the field progress as well. Sponsorships have tripled, attendance and gate revenues have increased, although not as much as I would like, and we expect to do even better next year."
Goals for 2011
"We are already full bore and well into 2011 as far as the nature of our business goes," says Pecora. "There truly is no down time in this industry. The minute the season ends you are on to the next season."
Kitsap will continue to build on the foundation seasons one and two have set. "Now, with two seasons under our belt (we just turned TWO on the 24th of August, for goodness' sake) we get to enter into an off-season with a good deal of bedrock laid," Pecora states.
"This will allow us to improve, to analyze, to recruit, to sell and to improve all aspects of the business. It's a shame the PDL season is so incredibly compressed and the off-season so long. We honestly operate more like a Division One team in almost all facets - so I can tell you that I personally wish we had a longer, more stretched-out season - especially into the fall when the youth clubs get rolling. This would be helpful to us in establishing strong relationships and partnerships and benefits for the clubs."
Owner Robin Waite has his eyes on numbers outside of the match stats report, too. He is looking at attendance numbers in his long-term plan to move the club up to the next playing level. Waite says things need to get about four times bigger than they are right now.
"At the moment I would say we have a base of about 5,000 fans in the county, we know that 10-15% are going to show for any given game," says the owner. "25-30% will show for a more important event (playoff, open cup) our objective is to get the base up to 20,000. If this happens gate receipts increase, concessions and merchandise sales go up, it is also good for the sponsors to see larger crowds."
It appears plans to move up to a completely new all-professional USL western conference are on hold for Kitsap, though they might play some kind of transitional "mixed" schedule in 2011.
Waite came to Bremerton with a list of goals and a timeline for accomplishing them. He admits local support is developing more slowly than he'd hoped. "We are about one year behind where I thought we would be, as you know it is a work in progress. One of the things we are discussing now are having 2-3 promotions. They seemed to work the first year. The camps, Pumas Cubs and academies have really helped create an awareness. However there is still plenty to do."
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