Founder and coach Rodney Wallace conducted soccer clinics for children on the White House lawn last month
Views Football Club will be welcoming Major League Soccer to Malibu this fall, announcing its partnership with MLS GO, a recreational soccer program designed to increase participation and access to the game for boys and girls outside of the existing soccer ecosystem.
The landmark partnership will expand on two programs that began within the last year, and share a synergy for growing the global game, cultivating the love of soccer, and developing new generations of future soccer stars.
Views F.C. founder and coach Rodney Wallace said this partnership will foster a soccer experience unlike any other. He said the program is developed to welcome all children, at any skill level, and help build their skills while building their love and appreciation for soccer.
“We’re using soccer as the vehicle to help kids reach success and help them improve on and off the field,” Wallace said. “We’re committed to an education of the game that reaches parents, coaches and the players and making soccer inclusive and available to everyone.”
MLS Senior Director of Properties Kyle Albrecht said MLS GO will provide an opportunity for children across the country to play soccer and create a direct connection between MLS clubs and future soccer fans.
“We are excited to work with RCX Sports and local community organizations [Views F.C.] to provide a structured introductory soccer program, with connections to a developmental pathway that will enable greater access to the sport, regardless of age, gender, location, or talent level,” Albrecht said.
MLS GO is a program for boys and girls ages 4-14 that provides a fun, affordable, and local soccer experience. Kids will wear MLS club-branded uniforms while playing alongside friends in their local community league. The program will feature elite coaching as the program is designed to take children from any skill level and help them realize their fullest potential.
Registration has began for MLS GO Powered by Views F.C. ahead of its September launch.
This partnership is the latest push of momentum in an already busy summer for Views F.C.
Since last summer, the club has expanded to over 100 families and is offering a consistent summer camp program at Malibu Bluffs Park.
Wallace said by offering the ability to play consistently and develop a greater understanding for soccer, the kids have shown a true love for the game. He said he hopes to be a guide through the sport.
“Whenever I’m on camp mode, I want to create a moment they’ll always remember, a week that they’ll never forget,” he said. “We have campers who now have been with us for weeks but also campers on their first day, regardless I want to give them the feeling that’ll stay with them. I want it to be the best camp they’ve ever been to.”
Throughout the summer, Wallace and Views F.C. have hosted a series of guests who have visited the children, shared their experiences and advice, and encourage the children to embrace the game and continue to improve and explore their passions.
Among those guests have been LA Galaxy midfielder Gino Vivi, Angel City F.C. defender Sarah Gorden, Jamaican recording artist Bam Marley, Brain Coach Rebecca Bassham of Edge Neurofitness and Academic Director of Graduate Programs at NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport Dr. Daniel Kelly.
Wallace said that although the guests all share an athletics background, each one gives the children a unique perspective into the world of sports, and allows kids to understand that the sport could be a self-discovery and self-growth.
He said it is inspiring to see the kids excited to meet their guests and begin to form new understanding of the future they could create for themselves.
“For them to meet these people in person and get to talk, joke and take pictures with someone at the highest level and can go on and see them on tv or google them, they feel connected to that world,” Wallace said. “The kids think, man, these people are coming here to meet me, to support me, an 8-year-old kid, how special could I be? And of course, when the guests come to practice, the kids have the best practice of their lives.”
Off the field, Views F.C. continues to grow in influence as Wallace has represented the program on the national and international level by being an ambassador and coach for MLS GO at the White House during MLS All-Star Weekend and as an ambassador for CONCACAF during “The Bigger Game” panel discussion at SoFi Stadium during the weekend of the Gold Cup final.
Wallace conducted soccer clinics for children on the White House lawn and promoted the September launch for MLS GO in Malibu.
Having grown up in the Washington, D.C., playing college soccer at the University of Maryland before being drafted by D.C. United, Wallace said the opportunity to coach at the White House was surreal.
“Being in D.C. for the MLS All-Star Game was very special,” he said. “Playing soccer at the White House, meeting the President and the First Lady, it feels like life came full circle. And the opportunity was made possible because of the kids. The kids trust me to do these things and represent them.”
Last week, Wallace joined a panel of CONCACAF representatives to speak to high school students who were exploring career options through CONCACAF and the world of soccer. Similarly, Wallace hopes to encourage kids in Views F.C. to explore the world that soccer could be for them, possibly not just as a player, but a professional position in that global ecosystem.
Wallace said the future is bright for Views F.C. and for soccer in Malibu and the United States.
“We’re looking to raise the level of the game,” he said. “This is the perfect time to present the game to the kids. The game in the US is being presented as the biggest sport in the world and we want to be a driving force. I want to show the kids this is what soccer did for me, this is what soccer can do for you.”
Families interested in Views F.C. and MLS GO can visit Viewsfc.org to register for Views F.C. and leagues.bluesombrero.com/viewsfcmlsgo to sign up for MLS GO powered by Views F.C. Visit @viewsfootballclub on Instagram for more information.
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Rodney Wallace (third from left), founder and coach of Malibu’s Views F.C. soccer club, was part of an MLS Pro contingent conducting soccer clinics at the White House during MLS All-Star Weekend. Photo Courtesy of Views F.C.
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Views F.C. founder and coach Rodney Wallace (second from right) participated as an ambassador for CONCACAF during “The Bigger Game” panel discussion at SoFi Stadium during the weekend of the Gold Cup final. Photo Courtesy of Views F.C.
Views FC Coach Rodney Wallace at the White House in Washington D.C. for the Major League Soccer All-Star event.jpg
Views F.C. founder and coach Rodney Wallace represented the program on the national and international level by being an ambassador and coach for MLS GO at the White House during MLS All-Star Weekend. Photo Courtesy of Views F.C.
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LA Galaxy player Gino Vivi talks to members of the Views F.C. soccer club during a practice at Malibu Bluffs Park. Vivi was one of several people the club’s founder and coach, Rodney Wallace, has invited to talk to the kids this summer. Photo Courtesy of Views F.C.
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Players and coaches of the Views F.C. soccer club are shown during a recent practice at Malibu Bluffs Park. The club recently announced a partnership with MLS GO, a recreational soccer program designed to increase participation and access to the game for boys and girls outside of the existing soccer ecosystem. Photo Courtesy of Views F.C.
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Views F.C. founder and coach Rodney Wallace (right) is shown with MLS player Kei Kamara at a soccer clinic at the White House during MLS All-Star Weekend. Photo Courtesy of Views F.C.