Victor Monreal, owner of Deportes Monreal, poses for a portrait in his shop Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Yakima, Wash.
Victor Monreal, owner of Deportes Monreal, poses for a portrait in his shop in front of photos of soccer teams who have played in the recreational leagues he runs Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Yakima, Wash.
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Victor Monreal, owner of Deportes Monreal, poses for a portrait in his shop Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Yakima, Wash.
Victor Monreal, owner of Deportes Monreal, poses for a portrait in his shop in front of photos of soccer teams who have played in the recreational leagues he runs Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, in Yakima, Wash.
Soccer is never far from Victor Monreal’s mind.
He owns and operate Deportes Monreal, a soccer shop and dream land for any player, on Summitview Avenue.
When he’s not behind the counter or stocking his store, he’s managing adult soccer leagues and growing the beautiful game in Yakima.
“It’s just kind of what I do. Everybody knows me as the soccer guy here in town, which I don’t mind,” he said.
He said he likes doing anything with the sport, from adult leagues to camps for kids, and has a good group of people helping him. The effort draws in people from outside the Yakima area — right now he has teams from the Tri-Cities, Mattawa, Othello and Granger, two teams from Sunnyside, two teams from Ellensburg.
For Monreal, it’s all about community. After running his shop and year-around soccer for more than a decade, it’s that community that keeps him coming back.
“I made a good decision when I moved here in 2010, to Yakima, without knowing anyone,” he said. “No family, and just going on my instinct, trusting my gut feeling and giving myself and the community an opportunity to evolve. Look where it’s at now.”
The following questions and answers with Monreal are edited for clarity and length.
Where are you from?
I’m originally from L.A., born and raised in Compton, Calif. I moved to Vegas, that’s where I went to school, I grew up. Home for me, right now, is Vegas, because that’s where family is at.
What brought you up here to Yakima?
I’m ex-military, so I did my service in a few different bases and I finalized my time in Fort Lewis. I lived in Tacoma for quite a few years. Then I met my wife, and I had my family and I decided to stay here in Washington.
When did you get into soccer?
I’ve always had a passion for the sport, in general, as a coach, as a player, as a manager. I kind of wanted to do something with the sport, to give people an excitement the way it gave me. I wanted to pay it back, in a way. That’s the reason why I got involved. I obviously saw the huge talent here in the Valley. Good place, good talent, good location.
What came first, your business or the leagues?
It was kind of both, but I started with the shop, just because I wanted to get my name out there. I wanted to let people know, ‘Hey, there’s a soccer store in town.’ Soccer theme, soccer related, I wanted to reference the shop with the league, that way people knew. I opened in May 2010, then that same year I started my indoor season in winter. I was already established (after) about five, six months.
What’s it like running a soccer store?
Overall, through the day, there’s light traffic. I do a lot of inventory, I enjoy it. Physically, it’s not a lot of work, but you kind of have to be updated with the product. Obviously, know your soccer players, soccer teams, what’s going on out there. People do ask questions. Things changed after the pandemic, so we’re very limited now with product. It’s not like before, when I used to have a lot of different options. I’m not as busy as I was before, but overall it’s enjoyable.
What’s it like running the soccer leagues?
Oh, that’s a lot of work. Honestly, I put in about 70 hours a week. As of now I manage 69 teams in total and each team is composed of 10-12 players, which is roughly 720-750 players. It’s a lot of work. I have to direct, to manage. I have to do the schedule, do sanctions, punishments, referee meetings, coaching meetings, talk to the players, engage with them, make sure our facility is in good, decent condition to play. There’s a lot of things that come into play. It’s not just, ‘Hey, you guys play at 6 p.m.’ It’s a lot more than that. I have to analyze a lot of different factors, make sure that it’s well-kept and well organized. I have total control over it or, at least, most of it. It’s challenging because I put a lot of time and energy into this — more than people can imagine. It’s a lot of work, but it’s pretty rewarding. It’s satisfying after the fact. You’re able to know that you’re doing something good for the community, something productive. That’s kind of what I take with me the most.
What’s one moment or a game or something that you remember?
Honestly, I would probably say the finals, just because you never know who’s going to win, especially in second division. I have 22 teams in that division, from first, second, third place all the way to the last teams in the standings, you never know who’s going to win. It’s always the closest, close matches. The finals get really exciting because, once we start playoffs, the least-seeded team ends up beating the best team in the season. That’s exciting because, deep down, I kind of think it’s going to happen. A lot of people don’t, and it’s just the beauty of the game of soccer in general. It happens, I don’t know if everywhere, but a lot. That’s what I like. You never know if any underdog, if any team can come out with the victory.
Why is soccer important to the community here?
It’s a family sport. I have teams where there’s brothers, there’s a father and son. I don’t have it right now, but a couple of years ago there was a team that had the grandpa, the father and the son.
For me, personally, I would love to play with my son when I get older. I don’t know if it happens elsewhere with any other sport, but I know every time I go into our building and there’s teams playing, the family is there, the kids are cheering for their parents. That’s probably the most enjoyable thing. I like it, just because it brings that community together.
Things are pretty bad right now with violence, so many negative things going on, not only in our community, but all over. So, seeing people’s happiness is enjoyable, I do like it. That’s probably one of the biggest things. The way the sport is evolving now, with the World Cup, you can see it.
There’s so much talent here, it’s grown since I’ve been here. I started with 16 teams indoor. There’s 69 indoor right now. It’s a huge increase. Same with outdoor. I started with seven teams and last year we did 22 teams. That just tells you how much the sport is evolving.
Can you tell me about the structure of the league?
Our league is composed of three different seasons.
We start with our outdoor season which is in mid-April all the way until September. It’s outdoor 11 v. 11. We currently play at Chesterley Park. It’s pretty much about 22 teams, like I mentioned earlier, and it’s broken down into two divisions.
Right around July I start a seven-on-seven tournament, which is seven players at Lewis and Clark. That’s a two-month season, but it’s two games per week. It goes by quick.
Our indoor season, which were currently playing right now, starts in late October or early November and that’s through the whole winter, all the way through late March. Finals are the first week in April.
Soccer is year-round. It’s just, with the snow and the winter, we can’t play outdoors. It’s nonstop. I finish the season and I’m already working toward the coming season.
Jasper Kenzo Sundeen’s reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and community members through the Yakima Valley Community Fund. For information on republishing, email news@yakimaherald.com.
Name: Victor Monreal
Age: 40
Residence: Yakima
Business: Deportes Monreal, 901 Summitview Ave.
Favorite football clubs: Club América, FC Barcelona
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