Many adults think of soccer as an international sport rather than an American one, but try telling that to the roughly 350 players enrolled in the Martha's Vineyard Youth Soccer program. "For a small island, having that many kids playing soccer every spring and fall feels like a real success," says Richard Hewitt, president of the all-volunteer, nonprofit organization.

Since 1986, the island program has raised a generation of soccer players who have developed into strong competitors at the state level. Martha's Vineyard Regional High School's varsity team regularly wins its way into the playoffs--and their games often draw more spectators than the school's baseball games--while the independent Vineyard Youth Soccer's 16-17-year-old boys team won the 2007 state championship.

"For a small community to field teams that can compete on that level is quite an accomplishment," says Phil Dwane, coach of the championship team. Dwane has coached Vineyard Youth Soccer teams of all ages through the last 12 years as his three sons have moved through the league, and he now coaches the high school's junior varsity team as well. "It's remarkable to see what can happen when a group of kids forms a team at an early age and plays together year after year. They not only develop their individual talents; they play together as a real team, which is what soccer is all about." The 10- and 11-year-old team, the program's youngest travel team, looks promising to Dwane. "I think they'll be incredible by the time they get to the high school."

Vineyard Youth Soccer offers two programs. In the recreational league, teams of island children as young as five play against each other, while teams in the travel league play against teams from towns across Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts. "The travel piece takes some juggling and organizing when you live on an island," says Hewitt. "But our kids are competing quite successfully, and they're having a really great time."

To learn more about Martha's Vineyard Youth Soccer, visit www.mvsoccer.org.