In early 1971, two fathers, Felix Rousch and Bill Sims, in the “New Town” of Columbia, MD, had a vision of soccer involvement for youth. Starting on a shoestring with only a few teams, they began the Soccer Association of Columbia (SAC) - a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation. 

The excitement of the “New Town” spirit and dedicated volunteerism took over, and their dream of fielding soccer teams ultimately grew into the Soccer Association of Columbia, Inc. (SAC) which in 2006 sponsored over five hundred teams and supported the efforts of over 6,000 youth soccer players.

SAC established a corporate charter in 1978 which stated that it is “organized and operated exclusively for educational and charitable purposes” and is dedicated to “fostering and encouraging youth participation in amateur soccer.”

SAC philosophy was exemplified in its slogan   “Dedicated to the proposition—everybody plays.”

Alumni of the Soccer Association of Columbia have brought local, state and national recognition. In the seventies, after an outstanding high school career at Oakland Mills High School, Darryl Gee, a High School All American player, put Howard County on the map when he was drafted in 1979 by the New York Cosmos, a professional soccer team. One of his many talented teammates on this highly successful North American Soccer League Team was the legendary Pele. Darryl Gee was also a member of the United States National Team and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team.

In the late 1980s, Howard County again made soccer headlines when four players, all SAC alumni, earned positions on the U-16 U.S. National Team. Desmond Armstrong, in addition to being a member of the United States National Team, also started for the 1988 U.S. Olympic Soccer Team during the summer games in Seoul, Korea. Other SAC alumni, Todd Haskins, Steve Sietsema and Brian Bailey were members of the highly successful 1989 Under-16 World Championships.

On June 12, 1989, Sports Illustrated published an unprecedented three-page article entitled “America’s Teen.” The article featured Todd Haskins, his family and their community—Columbia, Maryland, Howard County. As the article stated, “Here, arguably, is the heartland of U.S. soccer.”

SAC success stories continued with Dante Washington, a SAC graduate who represented the United Sates in Italy in 1992 as a member of the U.S. Olympic Team. In 1998 Dante became a member of the Dallas Burn of the United States professional soccer league, Major League Soccer (MLS) and would continue to play until he concluded his career in 2005 with the Salt Lake Real.

In 1996 and 1997, the Columbia City United boys, coached by SAC’s then-Director of Coaching and presently U17-men’s head coach and U23 men’s assistant coach, John Ellinger, brought home back-to-back National Championships in the Under-16 and Under-17 Divisions.

In 1996 SAC’s Under-18 boys team, the Columbia Darby, competed in the National Championships but lost in its final round to a team from Arizona. The next year, as an Under-20 team, the Darby returned to the National Championships and placed second to a team from Colorado.

SAC alumni continued to gain national prominence. From 1996 to 2002, Clint Peay played for the D.C. United of the MLS while Brian West played for the MLS Columbus Crew from 1998 to 2004. At the same time SAC graduate Hamisi Dove was playing professional soccer in the Netherlands. At the youth level, Adam Crew was a member of the Under-17 National Team and Ian Rodway was a member of the Under-16 National Team Pool. Ian went on to play for the University of Maryland. Both Ian Rodway and Michael Della-Russo played on Maryland University’s National Championship Team in 2004.

Recognition of SAC achievement continued as Michael Green played with the MLS Kansas City Wizards from 1999-2001. In 2006 Michael Della-Russo was selected to play for the FC Dallas franchise of the MSL. Even the coaching staff was recognized when SAC’s Director of Coaching, John Ellinger, was named the Assistant Coach of the United States Olympic Soccer Team for the 2000 games in Greece.

From its inception, SAC has consistently maintained a strong women’s program at both the recreation level and the travel level. In 2000 the women’s participation was so extensive that Michelle Rodriguez-Smith was named Women’s Program Coordinator. Katherine Vettori succeeded her in 2003.

The SAC women alumnae have also experienced success in major colleges and universities at the Division I, II, and III levels. For example, after being named a High School All-American for her play at Wilde Lake High School in 1985, Joan Kelso went on to play for the University of Maryland.

Another strong SAC player, Thori Staples, was on the Women’s National Team and played on the Women’s World Cup Team in 1995. Thori also represented the United States in the 1996 Olympics. Kristen Reiismandel played for the U.S. Naval Academy after graduating from Wilde Lake High School in 1995. SAC alumna Megan Boehm played on the Under-20 U.S. National Team in 1999.

Both men and women who played for SAC as youth have come back to coach now that they are adults. They continue the legacy by passing on to the next generation what soccer has meant to them.

As Columbia grew and Howard County grew, SAC realized that the club needed to expand in order to include youth from a larger area. Recognizing this, in 1997, the SAC general membership voted to change the organization’s name from the Soccer Association of Columbia to the Soccer Association of Columbia and Howard County (SAC HC).

Over the years, the club made concerted efforts to acquire property for a field complex. In 1999, Jim Carlan, president and Chief operating officer, and Dave Procida, vice-president, began negotiations with Dan Crow, Pastor of the Covenant Baptist Church. This culminated in an agreement in 2001 for SAC HC’s purchase of the church’s property on Centennial Lane, Ellicott City, Maryland..

Thus began a mutually beneficial partnership with Covenant Baptist Church. SAC HC acquired 54 build-able acres for its soccer fields, and it leased back eight acres to the church to build its new facility. Sufficient undeveloped property remains for SAC HC to build two additional fields as well as additional parking in the future.

In February of 2003, SAC HC proudly moved into its permanent home at Northrop Fields at Covenant Park. Also during this period, SAC HC worked with Howard Community College (HCC) and the State of Maryland to renovate fields at HCC. This resulted in SAC HC having a 15 year partnership to use the renovated fields.

Local and national sponsors have contributed to the success of SAC HC's programs and tournaments, and both the Howard County Board of Education and the Howard County Department of Recreations & Parks have been generous in their support.

Currently, SAC HC fields teams from ages 4 1/2 through 19. 2006-07 saw nearly 6,000 players, 509 teams and 1,000 adult volunteers playing soccer throughout Columbia and Howard County. Included in this total, are approximately 840 travel players who play soccer against other competitive players from New England to Florida at team games as well as travel tournaments. SAC HC also sponsors several regionally and nationally known tournaments that bring teams as well as college coaches into Maryland from Canada, Ohio, Colorado, Texas, Florida and other states.

Principal among them is the nationally recognized and acclaimed, Columbia Invitational Soccer Tournament (CIST) which takes place over the Memorial Day weekend. Inaugurated in 1975, this tournament has brought millions of dollars in revenue to local merchants through filled hotel rooms, packed area eateries and traffic at local shopping centers.

The recently concluded 2007 CIST tournament featured 370 teams and 100 plus college coaches. Fields throughout Howard County and into Montgomery County were used from Friday night through Monday afternoon.