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Harbor Soccer growing up with Harbor Trident program for adults

Since 1982, the Harbor Soccer Club in Gig Harbor has built one of the largest youth soccer programs in the region.

Now this spring, Harbor Soccer launched the Harbor Trident, a new men’s and women’s semi-professional program competing in the Cascadia Premier League.

Harbor Trident is designed to create a full pathway for players in Gig Harbor, from youth soccer all the way into adult competition. It will also bring former players back into the community.

“We just want a place to want to play, come back, play with our friends, play at a high level still,” Harbor Soccer director of coaching Mitchell James said. “No person should be done playing soccer at 18.”

Harbor Trident plays in the Cascadia Premier League against other elite amatuer and semiprofessional soccer clubs. Photo by Nathan Hyun

New professional team

Although Harbor Trident is technically new, the foundation for the program goes back several years.

James helped create the Cascadia Premier League in 2018 while serving in his first stint with Harbor Soccer. At the time, Harbor Soccer fielded a men’s team called Harbor Force before the program dissolved in 2022.

Harbor Soccer is relaunching the concept under a new name and new vision.

“We wanted to call it the Trident,” James said. “Give it its own space as well so youth players can look at it, and it stands out for them.”

The Trident will begin competition in the Cascadia Premier League. This includes six regular season games followed by playoffs.

Many players are former Harbor Soccer youth players returning home from college for the summer. Others are local players still looking for a competitive environment after playing in high school or college soccer.

Harbor Trident offers an opportunity to continue playing high-level soccer past high school. Photo by Nathan Hyun

“There’s just not enough teams and not enough options,” James said. “So, I expect this is just a start. This is going to keep growing.”

Men’s team head coach Ozer Kocdemir said the vision was always about creating continuity within the Harbor Soccer system.

“We thought there is a need to create a men’s team where players that graduate the youth soccer team can continue playing,” Kocdemir said. “Now our players at Harbor have a home to play throughout their entire career.”

The roster already includes players from across the region, including college athletes returning from schools around the country.

A chance to return

For many players, Harbor Trident represents something they never expected to have: The opportunity to continue playing competitive soccer close to home.

Defender Adler Medina, 18, grew up playing for Harbor Soccer before eventually becoming a four-year varsity player and captain at South Kitsap High School.

Now, before heading to Edgewood University in Wisconsin to continue his college soccer career, Medina finds himself playing semi-professional soccer in Gig Harbor.

Adler Medina played youth soccer with Harbor and was a four-year starter at South Kitsap High School. Photo by Nathan Hyun

“It’s super cool to grow up through Harbor for most of my career and now play here on the men’s team as an adult,” Medina said.

Medina admitted the jump in competition has already been noticeable.

“The speed of play is going to be a lot faster,” he said. “You’re not the best anymore, you’re just another guy showcasing himself every chance he gets.”

The opportunity feels even more personal for Zackary Parris.

The 20-year-old played for Harbor Soccer from elementary school through high school before injuries derailed his college soccer ambitions. After tearing both knees and undergoing two surgeries, he thought his playing career may have ended.

Zackary Parris though knee injuries prematurely ended his soccer career, but Harbor Trident offers the opportunity to continue playing. Photo by Nathan Hyun

“I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever play again,’” Parris said. Then Harbor Trident called. “I honestly feel really blessed to have the opportunity to come back and play after two knee surgeries.”

Harbor Soccer’s legacy

Harbor Soccer’s reach already stretches throughout the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula communities.

According to James, the club currently serves roughly 1,700 players across its recreational and premier programs, making it one of the largest soccer clubs in the region.

Now, Harbor Trident becomes the newest layer in that structure. The pathway begins with Harbor Rising, continues through Harbor Premier, and now extends into senior-level soccer.

Club leaders hope the Trident provide something tangible for younger players to aspire toward.

“It’s going to represent what Harbor stands for,” Kocdemir said. “Our younger kids at Harbor Soccer Club now have adult games to attend and watch and learn from.”

James believes opportunities like Harbor Trident also help strengthen the quality of the club itself.

“We don’t always have the highest levels or platforms,” James said. “But getting these opportunities here helps provide some of that.”

Kocdemir said the long-term goal is for today’s youth players to eventually wear Harbor Trident jerseys themselves.

“Hopefully 10 years from now, those kids will be able to play for their senior men’s team as well,” Kocdemir said.

Community on and off the pitch

While Harbor Trident hopes to compete on the field, club leaders say the broader mission centers on community. James repeatedly emphasized the importance of keeping adults connected through soccer long after youth careers end.

“These guys need it,” James said. “They need somewhere where they can come back, hang out that’s not in a bar, and it’s out here doing something healthy.”

The club also hopes the Trident can eventually become a true community event in Gig Harbor.

“If we could get it to a point where we can sell hundreds of tickets and things like that, that’d be awesome,” James said.

Alongside training sessions and matches, Kocdemir hopes to teach players responsibility and personal growth away from the field. One example includes assigning players small weekly responsibilities designed to reinforce discipline and leadership.

“I want every player to move away with an experience that we managed to create good positive energy,” Kocdemir said.

The men’s team opens its home schedule at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at Sehmel Homestead Park against Mt. Rainier FC. The women’s team opens its home schedule at 5 p.m. June 6 at Sehmel Homestead Park against Washington Premier Legends.