ESCONDIDO -- Brian and Carol Dunlea get their kicks out of lending a hand to the Escondido Soccer Club.

For about a dozen years, Brian as a coach and Carol as an administrator have played an important role in keeping things running smoothly at the 30-year-old soccer organization, which provides competitive and recreational leagues for more than 1,500 youngsters a year.

Both serve on the club board. Brian has been commissioner of many divisions over the years, while Carol is referred to as the "do-all mom" by long-time director of coaching John Napier.

She has attained another title among people who have watched her dive in to tackle any chore that needs to be done.

"Have you heard the expression soccer mom?" asked Brian. "She is referred to as the soccer queen."

As is the case with many sports league volunteers, the Dunleas got involved when the first of their three children began playing in what was then known as the North County Youth Soccer Association. When Brian filled out the league forms, he checked the box saying he was willing to be an assistant coach.

Shortly afterward, he got a call saying he'd been promoted to head coach, a job he's done ever since with various teams on which his sons have played. When need arose, Carol helped out with paperwork and soon found herself drafted for even more involvement.

She has been "team mom" for every team Brian has coached, works on registration, problem-solving and does the club newsletter. And she starts every season by preparing "dirt cups" as the team snack. That's a concoction of chocolate pudding, crushed cookies and Gummi Worms.

"I seem to be the go-to person," she said. "I know who to go to to get a problem solved. Whenever we lose (a volunteer), I'm the one who picks up the slack."

Brian's work as commissioner involves recruiting coaches, working out disputes, running tryouts, designing postseason tournament formats, helping to pick all-star teams and dealing with any problems that surface in a division of 360 youngsters.

"This kind of sucks up my life," said the software engineer at Computer Associates. Brian has often given up some vacation time or gone to work early in order to get out in order to have enough time for his coaching responsibilities.

But he loves it. Brian's goal is to make soccer fun for the players on his teams. Hence, he disdains intense drills in favor of little games that help improve the young kickers' skills.

A favorite involves a wooden statue he calls "Mr. Bill." Any time one of his teams is shut out, Brian will stand Mr. Bill in the center of a goal and have the kids kick balls into the net. If they hit the statue, they have to run a lap.

"Of course, the kids aim at it. They don't mind running the lap," he said.

Their years of involvement have made them familiar faces in the community.

"We can go anywhere in Escondido and someone will say hi," said Brian. "I can't remember all their faces, but they remember us."

The couple's willingness to help no matter what is involved makes them very important to the soccer club, said Napier.

"They are always available to take on any task. A lot of the time it needs to be done at a moment's notice," he said. "I can lift a phone and get Carol any time for any task; putting goals together, marking fields, picking up trash. They seem to love being involved. … People like that are few and far between."

To volunteer with the Escondido Soccer Club, call (760) 489-0169.

Contact staff writer Jeff Frank at (760) 740-541 or jfrank@nctimes.com.