Just like a soccer field he oversees Scott Stone has two goals.
The new director for Harbor Soccer Club’s Key Peninsula recreational program wants his coed players, ages 4 to 7 years old, to learn the fundamentals of soccer and have enough fun that they want to continue playing the sport.
“At this age, it’s not about drilling, it’s about enjoying yourself so (kids) can learn to love soccer,” Stone said.
He takes over a growing program that’s only in its third year on the KP. Last fall, the program had about 40 kids participate and he’s looking to add to that total. And with early bird registration at $125 through the end of May, he believes programs like this and the Key Peninsula Little League are relatively inexpensive ways to keep kids active while teaching them the value of teamwork.
Stone himself started playing the world’s most popular sport when he was about 5 years old, back when the Peninsula Athletic Association was a thing. He continued playing the sport year-round through high school and the now 34-year-old Stone continues to play competitive indoor soccer.
Now he wants to pass along that passion to the next generation of young athletes.
Stone, who is also a volunteer coach for three different teams his kids play on, got involved with the Key Peninsula program in 2023. Before the Harbor Soccer program expanded to the KP, Stone would have to leave his day job as a project manager at the Bremerton naval shipyard twice a week to rush back to his Lakebay home to take his then 5-year-old son, Landon, to soccer practice at Kopachuck Elementary School in Gig Harbor. Then there were the Saturday games that sometimes took the family to Tacoma.
“The travel just ate away at us,” he said. With the KP program, all practices and games are played at Volunteer Park, just south of Key Center. “We want to make this program accessible to parents and kids: less time for parents to stress, more time for kids to have fun.”
The Stone family is KP through and through. Scott grew up near Horseshoe Lake, went to Minter Creek Elementary where his mom was a teacher, and Harbor Ridge Middle School. He graduated from Peninsula High in 2008, where he met his future wife, Leisha, another product of the KP. Their two oldest kids, Landon and Emma, both go to Evergreen Elementary, while their two youngest, Sidney and Tatum, are headed that way soon.
“Living here and having my own kids involved, I have a vested interest in seeing this program succeed,” Stone said.
One of Stone’s first orders of business in his role is exploring raising the age group to include 8-year-olds. As of now, any player over 7 years has to play in Gig Harbor. “I’ve always wanted to keep the Key Peninsula on the Key Peninsula as much as I can,” Stone said. He’s also spreading awareness about Harbor Soccer and recruiting volunteer coaches. The coaches don’t need to be skilled soccer players with strong knowledge of the sport. Stone said he will supply coaches each week with a structured, yet easy-to-understand practice plan, and he will be available to offer guidance as needed. Once-a-week practices start in late August and go through mid-November. Games will be played on Saturday mornings.
“I never realized how much I would enjoy (being a coach), and the satisfaction I’d get out of seeing kids develop throughout the season,” said Stone, who also coached Landon’s and Emma’s KPLL baseball teams the past two years.
Learn more about Harbor Soccer’s Key Peninsula program and get registration information by going to www.HarborSoccerClub.com or contacting Stone at kppd@Harbor-SoccerClub.com.
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