While Sporting Cascades FC head coach Darren Sawatzky and assistant coach Conner Cappelletti are busy building the inaugural SCFC roster behind the scenes, their first acts on the sideline will come in mid-August when they lead the Kidsports’ August Soccer Camp from August 17-20.

The camp, for fourth- through eighth-graders, will see budding young soccer players receive expert tutelage from the SCFC coaching staff as well as members of the Kidsports staff, and will be held at Civic Park, which will be Sporting Cascades’ home stadium when the professional team begins play in 2027. It will feature sessions of fundamentals, games, and skill competitions, and all camp participants will receive a free FIFA soccer ball, courtesy of Sporting Cascades FC.

“We can’t wait to meet the kids and work with them,” said SCFC head coach Darren Sawatzky. “Having the opportunity to get involved in the community while also spreading the word about Sporting Cascades FC and what we are building is amazing.”

Sawatzky, who played professionally for the Portland Timbers, is the winningest coach in USL League One history, and earned league Coach of the Year honors in 2022. As the head coach of the Seattle Sounders’ U23 team from 2012-18, he developed the likes of future U.S. Men’s National Team stars Jordan Morris and DeAndre Yedlin. At Richmond, he uncovered three-time Golden Boot and league MVP winner Emiliano Terzaghi, and teen phenom Griffin Garnett, who earlier this year transferred to Hungarian powerhouse Ferencvárosi TC for a USL League One record fee. 

Cappelletti played for Lane United FC in the first match in the club’s history, and in 2019, as LUFC head coach, he led the team to its joint best-ever record.

Registration for the Kidsports August Soccer Camp is open through August 7, and parents can sign up online.