Community Advancement Through Soccer

When was your club founded, by whom, and what is the mission?
Kensington Soccer Club, which began as an after-school soccer program for students at Kensington High School, was founded in 2010 by Executive Director Jim Hardy, who noticed a need to provide youth in the community with opportunities to engage with the sport outside of school. Though we’ve grown a lot since then, we still continue to provide these programs to a number of schools and recreational sites because their importance is crucial to the development of our youth. From providing safe and accessible spaces to positive and supportive mentorship, our programs eliminate barriers to participation that help our youth stay safe, active, and healthy. Kensington Soccer Club services the entire Kensington neighborhood and North Philadelphia, providing our community with a number of different programs in which they can participate. Through these programs, we can help others with their personal and professional development, knowing that the efforts will be reinvested back into the community. The programs include adult elite amateur soccer, competitive youth travel soccer, year-round recreational soccer leagues, after-school soccer programs, youth engagement, educational initiatives, and higher education/career readiness opportunities.

Our primary focus is on serving and building our community — which for years has been subject to rising violence and neglect —, but we also meet a crucial citywide need. We attract families and players of all ages from across the city who are looking for a welcoming soccer club that never turns anyone away. We understand that a strong and vibrant community can be crucial to individual development and success, which is why we believe in contributing to ours in any way we can to reshape negative perceptions of our neighborhood and its residents.

Tell us about your badge and colors – what inspired the choice or did it just fall into place?
Our logo takes inspiration from the Philadelphia Union, our local MLS side. Our colors are those of Kensington High School, where our organization began. While our current logo worked for many years when we were strictly a youth club, our recent ventures into elite amateur soccer have brought wider attention to our club across local and national media. As a result, we realize the need for our club to establish its own unique logo within the coming years, one that positively reflects the community and the wonderful people we represent.

What league do you play in? Why did you choose that league and how often does the club re-evaluate where it plies its trade?
Our top men's team is in its second season competing in the Eastern Premier Soccer League, whereas our top women's team is in its debut season in the Tri-County Women's Soccer League. Both teams chose to compete in non-profit leagues that fit our club culture, with all money in the leagues going to support the individual clubs and players, as well as providing opportunities to all who seek and work for it, not just those who can afford it. Both leagues are also some of the most competitive in the region for men and women. The TCWSL is the largest women's soccer league in Pennsylvania, a USASA affiliate, and an EPSA member. The EPSL is a USASA and NISA affiliate, with eligibility to compete in some of the nation's most competitive amateur tournaments and the U.S. Open Cup (Note: KSC Men made their Open Cup debut on 9/18 vs the United German Hungarians in the First Qualifying Round. KSC fell 3-0 to the two-time Open Cup runner-ups but it was a massive win for our community to now say that our club could provide local players with pathways to elite national competition).

Too often a club in the U.S. has to constantly evaluate where to play instead of just being able to focus on building their club and being a part of their community. In our current leagues, we feel valued and at home. In the case of the EPSL, its many premier partner and feeder partner leagues are creating a historic association of leagues to provide a stable, inexpensive, and highly competitive home for clubs to grow and be sustainable.

Do you sell merch or have plans to? If so, where can we find it and what are you most excited about?
Current merch offerings can be found here: https://www.kensingtonsoccer.org/store. We are working on providing more merch for supporters to purchase and represent our club proudly!

How did you finish last season? How do you plan on improving for next year?
Last season, our men's team finished fourth in the EPSL Delaware River Conference, barely missing out on the EPSL playoffs. As for our women's team, they finished second in CASA Soccer League's Women & Non-Binary Primera Division. In their respective divisions, both teams were crowned champions in CASA's Kicking Out Transphobia Tournament, and in the nationally-acclaimed Icarus Cup, KSC Men finished second and KSC Women finished fourth. Both teams look to challenge themselves and push to reach higher levels of the game, even if that means losing games. Through that continued exposure to greater competition, our players can improve and develop their game to help KSC become much stronger.

If there was one or two teams, within a 100 miles of you, to play a friendly against – who would you play and why?
If there was one club we'd love to compete against on both sides, it'd be the Philadelphia Union and NJ/NY Gotham FC! Alongside being a wonderful opportunity for our players and community, KSC always wants to challenge our players and we would learn so much from a game against any MLS or NWSL side.

Additional info and input from staff members of our organization:

Kensington Soccer Club has a rich tradition of making soccer accessible & helping the community, moving towards best practices and utilizing the Soccer For Success Curriculum (in which our staff is comprehensively trained), supported through our close ties with the JT Dorsey Foundation, US Soccer Foundation, and Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association.

We are currently serving over a dozen elementary schools & rec centers to deliver our After School Enrichment programs. We provide students with soccer balls, books, T-shirts & a positive practice environment, hoping to graduate players into our recreational and travel teams. Research shows that quality after-school programs are essential to keeping our children safe and improving their educational attainment. Many of our children are at risk for obesity and don't have access to safe places to play or access to positive, supportive, and encouraging sports programs. Our children have to navigate and overcome high rates of violence, teen parenthood, and incarceration. They need the support of coaches/mentors to guide them and they need a supportive, positive organization to belong to.

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