Oceanside FC is excited for our VISL team the Parksvillians to begin their second season with us later next month!
This team and idea was brought to us by two players who had aged out of OFC’s programming, and were not ready for our 35+ Men’s League. We encourage you to read their story below and help celebrate their drive and commitment by coming to watch and cheer them on this year!
Our Story
The OFC Parksvillians were founded with one simple goal: to give local players a reason to keep playing the game they love without having to leave home.
Like many of our teammates, founders Wylee Franks and Jaiden Hammill grew up in the Oceanside Soccer Association. We started as young kids, playing U5 and U6, worked our way through the youth ranks, and proudly represented Oceanside in competitive soccer throughout our childhood. But once we reached our mid-to-late teens, that pathway came to an end.
There was no local competitive men’s team to continue with.
If we wanted to keep playing at a competitive level, we had one choice: leave Oceanside. That meant joining clubs in Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Comox, or even farther away. For years, many of us spent countless evenings driving an hour or more each way just to attend training, only to turn around and do it again for games on the weekends. A typical training session often became a three-hour commitment once travel time was included.
Eventually, it became exhausting.
Some players continued making the drive because they loved the game. Others simply stopped playing altogether—not because they had lost their passion, but because the commitment had become too much.
We knew there had to be a better way.
That’s why we created the OFC Parksvillians.
Our vision wasn’t just to enter another team into the league. It was to rebuild the competitive pathway in Oceanside and give local players the opportunity to represent their own community long after youth soccer.
Today, players no longer have to age out of competitive soccer in Oceanside. Young athletes can now see a clear pathway—from their first kick in youth soccer all the way into adult competitive soccer—without leaving the community they grew up in.
One of the most rewarding parts of this journey has been seeing former players return to the game. We’ve watched talented local players rediscover the excitement they once had for soccer after stepping away for years. The passion was always there; they simply needed a team close to home to reignite it.
The response from the community has exceeded our expectations. Not only are Oceanside players choosing to stay and represent their hometown, but we’re also attracting players from communities that traditionally drew Oceanside talent away. Instead of watching our best players leave for clubs in Nanaimo and elsewhere, we’re now welcoming players from those same areas who want to be part of what we’re building.
That tells us we’re moving in the right direction.
This club is about more than wins, losses, or promotions. It’s about creating opportunities, building community, and inspiring the next generation.
We hope every young player in Oceanside can grow up knowing there is a competitive team waiting for them if they continue working hard. We want kids to dream of one day pulling on an OFC Parksvillians jersey, representing their hometown, and continuing their soccer journey without leaving the place they call home.
When we were young, we wished this club existed.
Now we’re building it for the generations that follow.