Our 4-year-old attended several sessions at Albany Berkeley Soccer Club, including the winter indoor futsal program, which was great during the rainy season. Overall, the program can be good for kids to get introduced to soccer and teamwork. However, during the last few classes the coaching shifted toward more competitive play, which became overwhelming for my son at his age. He started crying during those portions of class, and after three sessions like that we decided it was best to take a break so he doesn't develop a negative association with the sport. The most frustrating part was trying to request a refund for the next session I had already registered him for. It was very difficult to reach anyone by phone (voicemail was full), and it took several emails and weeks to get a response. In the end, the only option offered was a refund minus a $50 administrative fee or a credit for a future session. While the program itself has some positives, the communication and refund process felt inflexible for families with very young children who may need more flexibility. read more

My daughter started playing soccer last year, and we enrolled her in the ABSC recreational league. She quickly learned the basics of the game and, just as importantly, made new friends. The parent coaches devoted a lot of time and energy--seeing their commitment firsthand gave us a real appreciation for how much goes into volunteer coaching. This year, my daughter joined an ABSC competitive team. She adjusted well, built strong connections with her new teammates, and together they even won their NorCal bracket! She genuinely looks forward to practices and games, not just for the soccer, but also for the chance to hang out with her friends. The coaches have all been fantastic. ABSC staff stepped in to train and support her team, making a big difference--not just for the players, but for the parents, too. It's a real relief to be able to just watch and enjoy the games, knowing our kids are in great hands. I've also been impressed by ABSC's leadership. Toney, the club director, is approachable and engaged--it's rare to find a club where parents can easily communicate directly with the director. Toney stresses that having fun comes first; improvement follows naturally, which I really appreciate. ABSC also offers scholarships to families in need, showing a commitment to making soccer accessible to everyone. I really value what's included with the competitive team: besides the fall and spring seasons, the club also provides summer camp, winter futsal, winter skills clinics, goalie clinics, and training sessions with ABSC coaches. One moment that really stood out: at an ABSC summer camp, Toney noticed two girls struggling to keep up during drills. He found out their cleats were too small and immediately brought over a box of properly sized soccer shoes so they could participate comfortably. That kind of kindness is above and beyond. From a parent's perspective, I also value the club's communication. Team managers use an app to keep everyone updated on practices, games, and any changes. The system runs smoothly thanks to dedicated parent volunteers. My daughter is excited for the upcoming season. She's also had the chance to play as a guest with older teams, which really motivated her to keep working on her skills. For me, a great club is one where kids want to play, even after tough losses, and where the staff care deeply about the players' well-being. ABSC definitely delivers on both counts. A Few Areas for Growth: Clearer roles and responsibilities: For example, during rec, we once scrambled to find player cards before a tournament in Jack London. This past season, team managers took on this responsibility by bringing hard copies to all games and tournaments, making things much smoother. Field conditions: Ensuring fields are in great shape is important, though I understand this depends on collaboration with the city and is sometimes outside of ABSC's immediate control. Overall, ABSC has given our family a wonderful soccer community--and my daughter can't wait for next season. read more

We found this to be a welcoming and child friendly club. We discovered it 3 years ago and we are happy right here at ABSC. The staff is supportive and really puts the players first. One of our favorite things? Silent Soccer--the kids love it, even if it challenges some parents who are used to shouting from the sidelines . It gives the players freedom to think and grow on the field. Ignore the noise from people saying "don't join"--most of that comes from pay-to-play clubs trying to poach families. ABSC has been doing this right for 50 years. That says a lot. read more

Was part of club for 5+ years and we did not have the best experience. The other families and select coaches are what kept us for so long. This could be a great club but management/board needs to change. The director is known to be combative and rude. The registrar (who is located in a different state) is terrible at responding to prospective families and team leaders. There have been folks that have done a great job at ABSC specifically the last two schedulers (Abdul & David). Unfortunately they only lasted a year (at the most) each. Through the years ABSC has made promises which fell short; most recently a tournament was promised to our team but they did not fulfill this promise. ABSC went as far as saying that they would see if there was a spot for our team in the tournament but when our manager contacted the tournament director they found that ABSC NEVER contacted them about getting the team registered - huge disappointment. This isn't just about not having our way; it's about a club failing to uphold their commitments and prioritizing the best interest of their players. While I acknowledge that every club faces its own challenges, I find it hard to believe that any could be worse than ABSC. read more

Very disorganized club. Management holds grudges rather than trying to solve problems. They are rude to parents, and staff turnover is high so there is often no one available to answer basic questions. Coaches are hit and miss. Some are great, but rec and low level comp teams often get low quality. A couple years ago my kid's competitive team was assigned a coach with no prior experience and mental disabilities. He routinely forgot to bring balls to practice, showed up at the wrong field, missed games without notice, and mostly just stood around when he was there. Once he kicked a kid in the face with a ball (by accident but still!) It was extremely difficult to get the club to remove him, and they refused to say what screening or training they provide to coaches to avoid similar situations. Other issues included staff forgetting to register the team for an end of year tournament we were promised, and accidentally registering players for the wrong league resulting in kids being removed by the ref in the middle of the game. I had 2 kids in the club for many years, but we moved on. read more

​Best to avoid this club, given the current leadership. Many families hear the warnings, but move forward anyway, chalking the complaints up to overly-sensitive helicopter parents. But eventually, folx see it for themselves. As an involved community member, I've seen this play out time and again. The director is toxic, treating both parents and employees with disdain. What makes it hard to walk away is that kids, families and coaches have grown tight and want to hold on to those bonds. Eventually, though, the adults reach a breaking point and kids suffer a break-up of their teams. Save yourself the heartache and check out other options. There are many local options. read more

Leadership of this club is horrible. They cheat you of the agreed upon components of a season constantly. Executive director and board are a joke. Incident reported to board by the coach about an incident was brushed under the rug. Stay away. read more

this is not my experience, we have been a part of the club for 3 years and it is great. It is a good place for many families. The negative you see here are from people who are told no, they can't have their way. The director are the staff are doing a great job. Absolutely nothing is perfect are schools with parents, kids and teachers, you always have the few parents wanting what they want, we will be here so come join us, it is a lot of fun and learning. read more

Unfortunately I completely agree with the last two reviews (Mike L and J R). I and our team have completely lost trust in this club. Promises are rarely kept - no assistant coach like promised, no additional tournament like promised if team joins together, no additional development opportunities as promised (maybe only for the select few - we were ignored when followed up). In fact, the first two years with this club NO coach would not show up to practices, meaning 8-9-year old children were left unsupervised unbeknowst to their parents on the field. Communication is extremely bad - generally no response. Alternativel, often a defensive response is received when following up and requesting more timely response. Parent meetings are organized to create the impression the club cares, but no action follows, only empty promises. High turnover of coaches - in fact, director keeps complaining to parents how hard it it is to find coaches. Serious concerns about leadership - Director had an incident with a minor generating a police report - the club and the board tried to brush it under the rug. Director has had other complaints in the past as reported by other parents. Great talented people seem to leave too quickly - a fantastic referee trainer / mentor and scheduling coordinator with superb communication skills, both gone, neither replaced. Unless you are one of the lucky few with an enthusiastic, tireless, passionate parent team manager (the only reason we stayed with the club for as long as we have), I would recommend avoiding this club. No one from our team is returning next year. read more

ABSC was a wonderful experience for our family! My two sons were involved since the age of 5. They played for many years at the club, including at a competitive level, before they played high school. They also joined the referee program and then moved into coaching. As the boys became young adults, one still plays regularly. During college, he did a semesters abroad at the University of Barcelona and is now doing one at the University of Liverpool in the UK. He played for a competitive 11-aside team in Barcelona and now for the University of Liverpool futsal team. He goes to watch live Liverpool Football club games whenever he can get a ticket. All of this was inspired by his early experiences with ABSC. As the father of these two, I also got to coach them for a number of years, serve on a board, and referee hundreds of youth soccer games. ABSC provided my boys with a holistic experience of being coached, becoming a referee, and then becoming a coach! As a family, we feel blessed to have had this long-standing relationship with the club. Thank you, ABSC! read more

They were super accommodating and welcoming to my 10-yr old daughter who had never played soccer or participated in any kind of organized sport. At the start of the first "Girls Skills Clinic" she was very hesitant and reluctant. She barely paid attention and dragged her feet. By the end of the clinic she was running enthusiastically and fully participating. Afterwards she told me excitedly that she wanted to play soccer and be a goalie - and even that she had already made a new friend! The young lady coaches who were leading the skills clinic obviously did a great job. Now she can't wait to play her first real game! read more

Nothing but great things to say about this organization. My daughter started here when she was 5 years old. She now plays on the competitive team led by a great coach and mentor. They care for the kids on their teams. They are not about the wins only but about the development of the players and teams. They are so inviting to the players and families that I have volunteered in multiple ways for multiple years. If you are looking for a club to develop your child and join a great community, look no further. read more

We signed my son up for a soccer team through ABSC and paid an extra $100 for a professional coach instead of a volunteer coach. Two weeks into practice we still have not been assigned a coach. There has been no communication from ABSC. Our volunteer team manager was great and did her best to keep things together but this should not be her responsibility. We also did not have a schedule for games so it was impossible to make weekend plans. I emailed to express our concerns. I was given a refund and told I would be happier somewhere else. I would not recommend ABSC. read more

I strongly advise you avoid this soccer club. Best case, you'll pay a lot of money to be in an extremely dysfunctional, disorganized club (late-released schedules, teams without coaches, overwhelming and yet inadequate communication). Worst case you'll experience what others have described here: abuse by the head of the league Toney, paying for a paid coach and never getting one, being pressured to leave the league when you voice any concern or frustration... read more

I find absc to be one of the best soccer clubs for young kids in the east bay. The kids are motivated to play and well behaved. The coaches are friendly. My kid had a lot of fun this season! read more

This club admin is very disorganized, they forcedly made some change that it's against our will. Nobody picks up the call, email reply is slow. And they charge service fees for this and that without any service provided. Mostly, they don't consider children's feeling. Keep away this club. read more

My child did ABSC for the first time this season and I am absolutely flabbergasted and how disorganized and mismanaged the league is. The cost of a season is not cheap - I paid $450 - and most of the season we had no game coach, unresponded to questions and emails, and misinformation constantly. When we did have a game coach, they were not good. What are they doing with the money?? The setup of practices was a nightmare - unlike every other activity I've ever signed my kids up for where you pick a time slot until there are no more, ABSC has you register and THEN match you to a time slot. It's a disaster. The beginning of the season had multiple switches and changes and team moves, accompanied by more unresponsiveness from the admin team. I would love for ABSC to list practice and game times, and parents to choose if those work for them. The site they use is horrible and once again, it's impossible to get the admin team to help or answer questions. We are currently trying to sign our team up for another season, and cannot get a response from the league on how to do it. We're seriously considering finding another league. read more

I don't write a lot of reviews, but I feel like it's time to acknowledge the Albany Berkeley Soccer Club (ABSC). Both of my kids (now adults) had a positive experience playing soccer with ABSC and now my granddaughter is following in their footsteps. She has played both recreational and competitive soccer, starting at a young age, and enjoys the practices, games, tournaments, and team camaraderie. I don't know how many kids play on ABSC teams, but I am sure it is a large number. It can't be easy organizing/dealing with that many kids (getting permits for field, finding refs and coaches, assembling teams, pleasing parents, etc.) but my family has only had good experiences. Thank you ABSC! read more

My son did the summer camp. He seemed to like it ok but he didn't want to go to the last day. The first day he came home with a story of an older kid pinning him down. We emailed the director and he said he addressed it, but I don't love that it happened in the first place. The second half of the day is very unstructured and unsupervised with kids of a wide age range mixing. Not great for the smaller kids. I would not recommend to a friend or sign him up again. read more

Haven't even started the season, but already seems very disorganized and a ripoff. After paying $300 for our son to join the league, we get an email that says they "forgot" to mention that there's an additional charge of $180+/- to get a coach for the team our son was assigned to. This is total BS and now we are getting the run around with regard to getting our $300 refunded back to us. DO NOT do business with Albany Berkeley Soccer Club. Very disappointed, but especially so for our son who really wanted to play here. Very dishonest business practices! read more

This is actually a second review for ABSC, which I'm changing from a negative to a positive one. Our experience with rec soccer has changed over two years. Though they still struggle with administrative tasks and communications with parents, the director, Tony, will make a concerted effort to reach out to you to resolve things if he's made aware. The coaching by parents has been great with our particular group, and I'm grateful for that. Also, the kids are starting to get more professional coaches to come in and work with them without the exorbitant cost compared to other groups. It was good timing for my boy because he needed just a bit more of a challenge I sensed. He really seems to take to this new coach from Uganda. Also, Toney is very passionate about the sport and development within the community, and I appreciate that effort. One more thing, the fields are quite nice that the kids work on. So, two thumbs up on the improvements! read more

I'm adding this update after seeing the ABSC's response to my original review. The response from ABSC's contains a somewhat crazy rant about some conflict the club director, Toney, had with a parent. This response is really pathetic because I am different parent than the one they think I am. However, the ABSC response is a great example of the drama you will see if you ever have to deal with the club's management. Again, the focus of ABSC is recreational soccer and they do an ok job at a fairly cheap price. Most games/practices are at the grass fields near University Village. Our primary reason for sticking with ABSC as long as we did was because we only live a few blocks away. However, if your child is ready to move into the competitive leagues, you really need to look elsewhere. You don't want a club which has a few tolkien competitive teams. There are plenty of other clubs in the area that have outstanding competitive programs. Check those out before you go with ABSC. read more

Like some other commenters, I have not had a pleasant experience in my communications with registration staff. The tone of the communications is not pleasant and impatient. We participated in U5 and loved coach Dani. Other than that experience not very impressed. And honestly not sure how to deal with intensely competitive parents. I feel like the league should set a tone for parents in the beginning. Playing should be fun! read more

If I had the opportunity to enter 1/2 star I would it have done it!. I paid to enter my son into a U6 or U7 BOYS ONLY soccer team and they decided to sign him up into a CoEd, I've wrote several emails stating what I wanted but they didn't listen to me. I've contacted their Executive Director and instead of listening and finding a solution to my situation, he decided to be rude, impolite, to be a lier and to hang up the phone on me. I requested a full refund but he said that it was not possible because I was already "given the name of a coach" which in reality is an assistant coach and has never attempted to get on hold of me to welcome my son into his team. Keep in mind that my son hasn't practice with them yet, but their 1st game starts tomorrow! Anyways, they lack of organization, lack of a true, polite Executive director who would take a business seriously, this organization is a scam because they don't want to refund me in full, I wish I could it have read the previous comment on this club. I demanded a full refund ASAP, I hope it happens soon, they are good for taking your money right away, therefore right away should be doing my refunds or other customers. If it does not happens I will contact the BBB, business like this shouldn't exist specially when it's for kids!.. read more

One of the best soccer clubs in the Berkeley area! It's incredible all the effort the coaches put into the kids. The coaches are great. They really instill strong life skills for the kids by way of sports. They have teams available for all - from younger to older, from beginning to highly skilled. read more

My husband and I signed our son up with ABSC in U12 and we had a really good experience with the club. The staff is very friendly and really take pride in what they do. I love the way the staff interacts with the kids, teaching them techniques and skills they can use in life. The Executive Director Toney takes great pride in making it fun for the kids. I will singing my little one up this fall. read more

Our son is in under-5s, and we've been really impressed. The teachers are attentive and enthusiastic. The kids do a mix of fun skills and scrimmages with lots of variety and creativity to keep them engaged. Our son has gained lots of skills in just a few weeks and has a great time! read more

Great organization! Awesome refs/coaching, positive vibe, beautiful fields, responsive, great tournament celebration. Thank you and see you next year! read more

My son (6 yrs old) played for one week at ABSC summer camp and absolutely loved it. The staff was friendly, super organized, they took great care of the kids and kept them engaged and motivated. Will definitely do it again next year. read more

This review is of the summer camp. My 8 year old son loved it! He reports that he learned a lot of soccer and had a great time. He did one week, but said he'd like to return next summer for two or three. read more

Had to wince when I read EM's review that said "I've seen numerous coaches and families leave club because they are tired of the drama." I too left because I was tired of the drama. Also, the fees have gone up quite a bit in recent years. Sadly, both these complaints can also be said of one of the neighboring soccer clubs as well. To be fair, the "drama" mostly impacts the adult volunteers. The kids seem to having fun, particularly in the younger age groups. read more

A great club if you want the child to be the focus. Kids learn best when they are having fun and are not burnt out early. ABSC encourages friends to play together and player development is monitored seasons and years to ensure that the training is pitched at the correct level....competitive teams have often known each other since age 4! You can be recreational and play within the league, or you can challenge your player by taking part in free extra skills clinics. You can always transition from recreational to developmental or back. Most teams form a strong bond over years. read more

All three of my children have played soccer with ABSC, and I am so grateful. I love the emphasis on teamwork and being a good sport. I also appreciate the league's commitment to keeping kids engaged with soccer even when they get older by offering both club and rec options. I especially appreciate the set-up for the young kids. We take our 6 year old to the same field that has 4 games going on at the same time. I know he is playing on one of those 4 fields. I don't have to wonder if his game is in Richmond or at another Berkeley field. This is a change since my older children played back in 2006 - 2008, and it is way easier on me - the driver! I also appreciate the uniforms. For the rec league, they wear a reversible shirt. So they are either blue or yellow at each game. If you get it wrong, you can just turn their shirt inside out. Growing up, I played ABSC, and we got entirely different uniforms in different colors each season. This meant I couldn't receive nor pass down my uniform to anyone else, even though it was still perfectly fine after one season - a waste of money and resources. My older son now refs little kids' games. It is so wonderful to see him giving back and learning lots of important skills. All three of my kids have attended ABSC soccer camps, and I think they are a great value. I have never had any problems with registering my kids. I like that the online program remembers everything I have already entered from season's passed. read more

I say as a parent, coach, referee and fan, ABSC is wonderful league. Toney (the Exec Dir) and the rest of the league admin are very involved in and focused on making ABSC a fun place to learn the game for your kids. Three of my kids have played ABSC and the fourth is looking at his older siblings every weekend just itching to join! ABSC has their eye on the ball and provides a lot of support with clinics and courses for kids, coaches, parents and new young referees. Issues regarding registering, volunteering, practices and coaches are the norm for kids recreational soccer, no matter the league. We've stayed with ABSC because the focus is on fun, being emotionally and physically healthy and producing a love for the game and cooperation among kids and neighbors. read more

I've worked with Toney and ABSC and have seen the work that goes into the program. It's a few people that work hard to provide lots of kids with a great opportunity to be part of something that will help them develop, and build on, fundamentals for both soccer and life. They also show appreciation for the referees and trainers that dedicate their time to help fulfill the organization's vision. I've had nothing but good encounters with these wonderful people that want only what's best for these kids. read more

I think all of you at ABSC are doing a really great job putting all of this together. This spring was my 3rd season volunteering to coach and I have personally noticed huge improvements with each fall and spring session that I have been involved with. I love the training staff and am looking forward to working more with them as my daughter moves up to an age group with mid week practices. I appreciate your work, I know it takes a lot. I just wanted to say thank you and I am excited to be a part of the growth at ABSC and I think it is moving forward in a very positive direction. Thank you for all you do to support the kids and volunteers. read more

My daughter just completed his third session with the under 5 program, but these last two sessions (spring and summer 2014) have been the best experience any of my kids have had with soccer (I have two older sons). The new director completely revamped the program and created the most enjoyable curriculum for the kids. Her and all her trainers bring tons of energy and imaginative play and games for the kids to enjoy the hour long classes. My daughter wakes up and is excited to go to soccer each saturday, looking forward to what she is going to learn each class. My daughter has learned all the basic ball handling skills of soccer and corrects her older brothers about "what part of the foot you use" for different skills. She is excited about continuing soccer and confident in her overall athletic abilities to run, jump, shuffle, and move around like all types of animals. I highly recommend this program to any family. read more