This page is part of my personal "un-blog." If you were looking for league schedules or team rosters, then you are in the wrong place.
I have played soccer for many years. Before I moved to Santa Cruz County back in the 1990s, I played in a serious league, and also with friends. In league play, I would typically be the left wing, and did well on a full-sized pitch. Not being a chronic dribbler, I did not care much for the kind of jungle-ball game that developed on small pitches with many disorganized players. Lately, jungle-ball being the norm, I play just for exercise. Besides, I can no longer compete with much younger players on a full-sized pitch, at least not against good players; mediocre players are not as much fun.
In the late 1980s I would play with friends in Sunnyvale (California), or with a league in Cupertino. I was never good at close-in dribbling, and don't have the body size to plow my way through a mass of opponents (or uncooperative teammates). But I think fast, move the ball with my head up, and am very quick. So, I played wing, in most cases at the left side, since I am more accurate when kicking with the left foot (makes for better crosses). In my entire photo collection, only one shows me actually moving during a soccer game. I was playing wing, as usual, at Fair Oaks. The ball was being dribbled by a teammate on the opposite side of the field and, as usual, I was open and unmarked. As usual, nobody looked up to see if anyone was open. I believe that the photo was taken when someone accidentally pressed the shutter while the lens was pointed away from the action. It's lonely being a wing, especially on the left, in an amateur game. Indeed, I have occasionally played in competitive games above my natural level of skill, primarily because I can lurk unnoticed near the left sideline then spring into action with a quick play if the ball, by intent or by chance, comes my way.
Later in life, I played in the Santa Cruz area, but not in any of the local leagues. There was a time when some of us would get together on Sunday mornings, or sometimes during summer on a midweek late afternoon, and play on the athletic field at the local university. Our pretext was that some of the players were students or faculty. Maybe some were; who knows? The officials would usually look the other way. But over time, the field and all adjacent areas would be used more and more often for Ultimate Frisbee tournaments, and we couldn't get on. Slowly the field deteriorated due to over-usage. Besides, from time to time the women's lacrosse team would show up for practice, and kick us off. I know better than to argue with ten women carrying big sticks. Eventually, the university banned non-scheduled activities. A shame. Not only was it a large, good field, it had a most magnificent view from the hillside, looking over Santa Cruz, Aptos, and points beyond.
After we lost access to the main field, we tried elsewhere. A couple of the players, who actually were married students, talked the family housing unit into letting us use the small field that was otherwise used for childrens' activities. The gist of the arrangement was that we were gone before the kiddies went out to play. A more limited number of players went there, which made it a social activity as well as a sport. Unfortunately, the pitch was much too small for a real game.
In the nearby town of Scotts Valley, some of us would get together for a short noontime game. There was a small field and a larger one, but unfortunately both fields were infested with ground squirrels, so there were numerous holes and soft areas. The lower field also had irrigation problems. Nevertheless, it was nice to play there, primarily because of the scenery. The surrounding view was not obstructed by trees, and the park was in a very good residential area, with hillsides in the middle distance. Also, since the park was inland a few miles, it was less affected by fog. The park was next to an elementary school, and I often wondered if the grounds maintence crews were reluctant to dispense with the ground squirrels, lest the kiddies be traumatized.
As another alternative to the big field at UCSC, many of the players suggested a park in Aptos, so we went there. Coastal California has a wet season and a dry season. Unfortunately, during most of the dry season, most of the playable area in Aptos is reserved for league games during the time when the amateurs want to play. During the wet season, the fields are closed, lest they turn into mudholes. So we find a playable area outside the designated fields, and play. But the area is confined, and the game reverts to jungle-ball. That wouldn't need to happen if the players didn't mind coming at another time. But noooo. Everybody wants to come at the same time. The park in Aptos, known as Polo Grounds, is surrounded by low hillside with large trees, giving it a beautiful but closed-in appearance.
A few years ago, Santa Cruz built an artificial turf field in the downtown area at Depot Park, not for from the wharf. This park was actually designed for soccer. Alas, everybody tends to want to play at the same time, resulting in overcrowded jungle-ball. At other times, even with leagues taking some of the schedule, the field is nearly empty. When the weather is hot, the artificial turf smells like ground-up automobile tires, which were in fact used in the construction. When the weather is wet, the field drains quickly, and that is a plus factor. The other plus factor is that the ball rolls and bounces predictably. But with a wind, a rolling ball can actually pick up speed, and that makes it tough to play. If the game involved big-league tactics such as sliding tackles, then there would be a lot of skin scrapes; however, that's discouraged among casual players.