COPA Soccer Training Center — Local services in Walnut Creek

We happily left after our 6 month commitment ended for the reasons below. I only have 2 positives, which are the amazing teachers, and the flexible booking. The teachers give a lot of energy and positivity, and we never had a problem with any of them. The booking is easy to understand, for the most part -- easy to book and to cancel. There are a lot of scheduling options as well. They try hard to make the times work for people.

My negatives:

The traffic is bad. If you're not within a 3 mile radius, it takes way too long to travel up Ignacio in the afternoons. They don't offer enough classes to schedule 2 in a row for 2 kids at different levels. That would have made it more worth it.

Coed is tough. Boys are more advanced in their other private leagues, and play at a different level than girls of the same age. We found we needed to "downgrade" our 2 girls from their normal age groups. Playing with more advanced players is fine, except not with kids who just take the ball, use their elbows, don't pass, and score easily. My girls were often the only girl, or 1 of 2, in their class. Part of the issue is that Copa doesn't kick excellent players out of beginner classes. Perhaps the schedule works better for the parents, but I've seen many non-beginner players in foundational classes. I favor skills based class assignments, not age based. The players should test out of each level, much like swimming and gymnastics, so they can no longer book lower level classes. The prices should all be the same, so it wouldn't matter.

There are major issues with their overall business setup. Commitment lengths all at different prices are annoying and ill received. Also, if your player ages up during the commitment contract, you need to upgrade, and sign an entirely new contract at the higher price (older kid) in order to have access to the older classes. However, if you want to remain in the lower age class (the original cost and level of the original commitment), because you feel your kid is at a good level there, and you want to finish your original contract, you have to call and book each class, as the online system "can't handle it" and kicks you out of the lower age classes as well. Essentially, you are suddenly kicked out of the lower age, and also kicked out of the higher age, until you pay a new contract. I understand the price differences because of the time differences of different aged classes, but couldn't we just pay extra to make up the difference, instead of signing a whole new contract?

On another topic, the need for a doctor's note to get reimbursed the no show fee of $20 is an insult to parents (we're just trying our best!), and a waste of doctors' time. If the kid is sick, let them miss class for free. If someone is abusing the system by scheduling 30 classes and missing over half of them, then kick that member out of Copa.

The bottom line is it all just costs too much. The basic membership doesn't give free access to anything except the basic classes. The more expensive membership is just too expensive. All the cool technology they have is limited to the higher paying players. If you go only once a week, it'll never be worth it. Twice a week is even questionable. Man, would they boost membership if it included the fancy technology, and kept a reasonable price. Forget the different membership levels, forget the different commitment lengths. Make parents feel wanted instead of squeezed. Let them pay month to month (not even a current option!) to see if they like it, then offer a discount for a 6mo payment upfront.

Sorry Copa, we won't be back for the classes. We’re maybe still willing to try the league because it's not co-ed and they seem desperate for female players, and sometimes offer discounts.

Seems like everyone I’ve talked to is or was annoyed with them at some point...

I've been playing soccer for almost 20 years, and BOY do I have a few things to say. I'd like to preface by saying the start of my experience playing at COPA was not bad! Originally I was very impressed with the facility, staff, refs, and the systematic approach to running this center. Their communication and policies were not always the best, but I was patient given the fact any new business will always have some minor bugs to work out. HOWEVER, the way this Winter Co-Ed 2022-23 season ended has made it very difficult for me to ever want to play for this center again. If I could demand a refund of my player registration and team fees, I would in a heartbeat. I am extremely disappointed in how my team and I were treated when handing any kind of issue. I will say, towards the end of the season, they had the refs pause the games to try and diffuse some of the heated altercations that would take place, but the refs need help. More than half of the issues could be solved if there were two refs working for each adult game, more support staff present during games to diffuse problems, or refs making more efficient calls to prevent rougher fouls from taking place later on. There would be games I would dread coming to knowing there was a potential for myself or my teammates to be a target of some kind of altercation with the opposing teams. Not really doing the best job of creating a "fun and safe space", now is it? What's worse is how the new management staff walks around like dogs with tails in between their legs. The only times they would get involved were if they felt there was a chance for them to be sued. During the semi-final championship game on 3/3/2023, the game we played finished in a tie which led to going into OT and possible penalty kicks. By this point, our team pointed out how the team we played should have been disqualified for using players who were not registered to COPA. It took management about 45 minutes of standing around to finally decide to check the rosters of the teams. Turns out, our claim was correct. Instead of disqualifying the team and moving on, they decide the best and most fair course of action is to have us take PKs to determine a winner... are you serious??? Never in any adult league that I've played for would management tolerate a team cheating IN PLAYOFFS! All of the other games were now severely delayed, which made me feel terrible for the refs who have to deal with so much for such terrible pay. After a full hour of no progress, our team purposely lost the round of PKs for lack of interest in playing for the league anymore. The team who made it to the finals refused to play the team that cheated, and ANOTHER 30 MINUTES went by where nothing happened until the cheating team forfeited on their own. This particular situation is entirely the fault of the management staff by their poor decision-making skills. They should train their staff more thoroughly, or create a better system for verifying registered players. I sincerely hope COPA and its staff are able to learn something from this particular situation... otherwise that was a huge waste of money...

I had my son's birthday party here over the weekend.

He decided he wanted a Nerf party. Initially, I worked with Lyndsy to schedule the party. I work in catering and events and was surprised to learn they expect you to pay for the party 100% upfront with no option for cancelation. I went ahead and booked the party to secure the date.

During the initial process, Lyndsy would email me or call every other day after I paid, and I heard nothing. I had sent an email over to her to confirm my count, and she replied back, saying I needed an additional coach. This was fine since I had asked a ton of questions prior to booking and knew this would be the case. However, she didn't confirm which card to charge and instead just charged my card, which is a bit shocking.

Then, the day of the party we get there and to say it was a bit chaotic would be an understatement. They seemed a bit understaffed. There was 1 person at the counter who also helped to get parties checked in and ensure rooms were ready. Our party was supposed to start at 230 for 75 minutes of playtime, then 45 minutes in the party room. The coach came about 5 minutes late.

The kids went upstairs to play while I finished setting things up. I opted not to pay an additional 100$ for their decorations that you can buy online for cheaper. However, the room was supposed to have table clothes, plates, napkins, and utensils. I realized that we didn't have plates, so I went to the front to ask for some.

Then I realized that I I for a second coach who was not there. So I went again to the front, and they claimed someone else was up there. I went upstairs to check, and there wasn't. I went back to the front and let them know of which they replied someone called out. At that point, I feel they should have been proactive in telling me that and letting me know I'd get a refund.

Then the kids came back down, and I realized we had no spoons and only 4 forks. I had to go again to the front and ask for them. The person brought them in and let me know she would come check in halfway through the room time (4-415) she came back at 425 when the party was ending.

After the party, I emailed Lyndsy to let her know about the coach situation. She said she would refund it on Monday when she closed out the event.

Yesterday, Monday, she closed out the event and refunded the deposit/coach $200 in 2 separate transactions. Then she proceeded to charge my card again without authorization for the additional kids (no problem as I knew I would pay that). They should ask for authorization to charge a card in case the client would like to pay with a different card.

My son did enjoy the Nerf party but wouldn't do it again. It's a lot of money for the service provided. I believe the facility could make significant improvements if they are looking to be a better place to...