When Andy Thomas and Mike Thomas formed the Laguna Beach Football Club in January 2020, they had no idea what the future would predict, pandemic aside.
Fast forward to 2023. The U13 football team is competing for the state cup and will eventually come out on top as overall champs for the first time ever in the history of the club. It was a meteoric rise that came unexpectedly for Thomas.
“The progress made by the club in such a short period of time was quite remarkable,” said Thomas, who also coaches the Laguna Beach High School boy’s varsity soccer team.
The journey to the State Cup final began in early February when 54 teams from all over southern California began to vie for the title.
At the stage finals on March 19, having won all three games in their bracket, the boys from Laguna Beach FC went on an eight-game winning streak, defeating Capo Football Club 1-0. Last year, the club beat Laguna 3-1. Henry Hitzel scored with only five minutes remaining, propelling the team to a state cup championship, the first in the club’s short three-year history.
“To win a state championship may only happen once in these boys’ lifetimes. It’s a very special achievement,” Thomas said. “The progress that these boys have made in one year has been exceptional. They all put extra practice in on Fridays throughout the competition, and all of the boys on the squad contributed to the victory. I’m hoping this is the start of a legacy for LBFC, and I could not be more proud of the boys and their achievement.”
