Growing up in Hawaii, Brian Ching had dreams of becoming a professional surfer but as he began playing soccer his love for the sport quickly blossomed. He made a name for himself in our city, leading the Houston Dynamo FC to back-to-back MLS Cup Championships in 2006 and 2007. Now, Ching’s successful downtown soccer bar Pitch 25 is set to open a second location in Katy next spring.
Growing up, what drew you to soccer?
“The way I really got into soccer, my mom came home one day and was like, ‘Hey, I want you guys to play organized sports’ I have two brothers and I was kind of a shy kid. I was like, ‘If you coach, I’ll play.” She agreed to coach. I just started playing at the age of seven and fell in love with the sport over the years. I was always kind of an athletic kid, so I picked it up pretty quickly and was pretty good at it.”
You are originally from Hawaii. What was your impression of Houston when you moved here?
“I didn’t really know a ton about Houston, but one of the things that really struck me the most right off the bat was how friendly everybody was. The diversity as well. Growing up in Hawaii, there’s a lot of similarities between the diversity in Hawaii and the diversity here in Houston. The people made me feel at home. I always say there’s a similarity between the Southern hospitality and the Aloha spirit. That’s one of the things that I continuously love about the city is its people and how everybody’s willing to work and help each other out.”
Why did you want to create Pitch 25?
“The idea sprung about because everybody would go to Lucky’s for the big soccer games. I realized if I created something and tried to use my branding, I was hopeful that people would come. I partnered with the Kirby Group and they helped me bring my Pitch 25 to life. One of things I love about Pitch is the way it brings people together for sports. As we look to grow the concept, I want to bring that community and passion to different areas of the city and the country eventually.”
