Collegiate soccer in Washington has come a long, long way in the last 50 years. Just ask a pair of the founding fathers.

When the state’s first varsity programs were established back in the Sixties, all of what we see today was a pipe dream. And if you thought a player’s love for the game could only be illustrated by what they do between the white lines, then you’ve never heard the story of Ron Jepson and Joe Zavaglia.

If ever there was a Dawgfather of Husky soccer, it’s Jepson. While still an engineering grad student, he was tapped to be the first UW coach in 1962.

“We were very limited in the schools we could play: UVic (Victoria) and UBC were stalwarts and had been playing soccer for quite a while,” recalls Jepson, who grew up near Manchester before coming to Seattle with his family as a teen. It might seem remarkable today, but  also played for the Huskies, along with a smorgasbord of other international students. The only American was the goalkeeper, a former army brat.

“I remember getting kicked off every patch of grass on upper campus,” says Jepson, who still commutes from his home in Bellingham to attend games on Montlake. “I never ever surmised there would one day be a dedicated field for soccer.”

Before Washington made men’s soccer a varsity sport, John Zavaglia served as coach of their club entry in the state league. John often brought along his son, Joe, to training. It became Joe’s dream to play college soccer.

After graduating from O’Dea, Joe Zavaglia enrolled at Seattle University and immediately got involved with student government in 1966. By spring he helped pass an initiative to add men’s soccer. When the athletics officials dragged their feet, Zavaglia was undeterred; he phoned the SU president. Hours later he was summoned by the AD to begin building a budget and schedule and recommend a coach. Tryouts were less than a month away.

Within a few weeks the then-Chieftains were training and issued their first kit, albeit softball uniforms. There was no soap, no towels for showers. Their journey began in steerage.

Besides UW and Western Washington’s club side, there were still few teams to schedule. The first counting match came against Tacoma’s Charles Wright Academy. Humble beginnings, however over time Seattle U has found a way, first at the NAIA and Division II levels and now in Division I.

Last November, Zavaglia flipped burgers in the Montlake lot prior to the Redhawks-Huskies second-round NCAA tournament match.

“It’s an Italian tradition; serving people is the best compliment you can give them,” he explains. “Here we had gone further than ever in the history of the program, I had started the program and I wanted to be there. It was like my first child.”

And your kids, even 50 years on, can still make you proud.