Editor,

At North Whidbey Soccer Club, we have come to stress the traditions, pride and passion of representing our community when wearing our crest. Although we are only one sport, we’re also one Oak Harbor and one Whidbey Island, working together to help our families, small businesses and kids pursue their definitions of success.

In recent years, Oak Harbor Public Schools has become a vital partner for our operations. From sponsoring classes with grant funding to providing critical access to various properties so that our players can practice or compete, they have been a vital component of our resurgence.

The ability to host evening practices during the winter months and the potential of night games for our Deception FC program gives us even more flexibility to provide our youth with ways to build relationships, learn life lessons and feel connected to their hometown.

We credit this access, in part, to the success we have seen on the pitch. For example, four of our competitive teams have reached the semifinals or finals of a state cup tournament this season alone. It was not that long ago our program could only support that many teams in a competitive year.

Next season, our players have set lofty goals to achieve for themselves because of venues like Veteran’s Memorial Stadium, Wildcat Memorial Stadium and Fort Nugent Park.

Thank you for covering the work done to restore Veterans Memorial Stadium. We look forward to utilizing this space throughout the year and are grateful for the continued investments that Oak Harbor Public Schools has made in our program and throughout Oak Harbor.

Graeme Sandlin

Vice president / PIO

North Whidbey Soccer Club