It seems like Hawai'i's youth soccer community has waited years for a breakthrough on the national scene — and what better place to do so than its own backyard.

Hawai'i soccer gets its chance with this week's U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regional Championships at the Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Park.

"We have several teams that have the potential to compete at the highest level, and that may mean reaching the finals, or winning," Hawai'i Youth Soccer Association President Scott Keopuhiwa said. "Hopefully, the fact that we're at home will be the X factor that will push them over the top."

While several obstacles — such as distance and the size of its player pool — cannot be changed, Hawai'i has taken steps to change what it can to improve.

For example, the player pool in Northern California includes 217,000 members. Southern California draws on 112,000.

Hawai'i has 5,000.

"We're the size of a club in one of these states," Keopuhiwa said.

Real Hawai'i Rush director of coaching Arian Hoxha said Southern California has up to 180 teams competing for one spot in the tournament. In comparison, in Hawai'i's strongest age groups, the number is closer to 12.

"The main difference is the size and resources rather than the soccer itself, because the game is the same everywhere," Hoxha said.

Defying the numbers, in recent years the perception of playing Hawai'i has changed. In the past other states would be happy to play Hawai'i, assuming it would be an easy win. That is no longer the case.

In 2007, nine out of 17 Hawai'i teams advanced out of pool play into the quarterfinals.

Three teams — Honolulu Soccer Club Bulls 88 (under 19 boys), Ka'oi Rampage (under 12 girls) and Leahi 91 Premier (under 16 girls) — advanced to the semifinals.

"There are more players on (Olympic Development Program) and region teams, and going to college, and many are excelling," said George Kuntz, the Hawai'i state director of coaching and UC Irvine men's soccer coach. "The state has come so far, we have bypassed other states (with more registered club players)."

On the national scene, individuals from Hawai'i have made large strides. Hale'iwa's Brian Ching was called up last week to play in the U.S. national team's World Cup qualifier against Barbados. Kahuku's Natasha Kai, a starter with the women's national team, was called up earlier this month for the Peace Queen Cup in South Korea.

And yet, Hawai'i still claims only one regional and national champion: Honolulu Soccer Club Bulls '85 boys (under 19) in 2004. (The HSC Bulls' '94 squad won the under-12 Girls 8-vs-8 Region IV championship in 2006).

But with Hawai'i hosting, players and coaches are hoping that will change.

Hawai'i Rush 94 Nike midfielder Shayne Fuller is playing in his second Far West Regional, and expects the experience from last year will help this year.

"It was very challenging, because it was my first time going to regionals," Fuller said. "The competition was good; there were some midfielders who are faster and more skilled than me."

The Rush also learned from watching how seriously their opponents took the game.

"You see them practice, there's no laughter, it's very serious," he said.

Playing in Hawai'i "helps us a lot. Last year, there were only a handful of parents, and now since it's down here, our whole entire family can watch us play and get us pumped up more. I'm expecting for us to go to the finals and win this because we have a chance."

Hawai'i also hosted the tournament in 2003, when one team, an under-12 girls squad called Ho'okalakupua, advanced to the championship game. This year, many of those players are on Leahi 91 Premier — one of several teams with a chance to win it all.

"I hope that this time, some of our teams get a chance to take care of home-field advantage and get ourselves a regional championship on home soil," HSC Bull director of coaching Phil Neddo said. "I think there are some teams both on the girls and boys side that have the potential to go somewhere. We've come close in the past.

"I think last time we came close and it helped us, but I don't know if most of the teams were mature and ready in 2003 to do so."

The lack of regional championships by Hawai'i teams can also be attributed to the level of the teams in the Far West region.

"The quality of the teams is really high-caliber," Keopuhiwa said. "We (the Far West) oftentimes will win the majority of the national championships."

Improvements in coaching in Hawai'i — Kuntz said there are about 1,200 to 1,300 coaches for 5,000 registered players, one of the best ratios in the U.S. — should translate to better results on the field.

"There's a noticeable difference in the way players play nowadays," Keopuhiwa said. "Players are put into structured environments a lot sooner and they become competitive a lot sooner. They are playing at a whole new level. Coaching has gotten better and players have gotten better in the youth programs."

Neddo concurred: "I think many of the clubs here have done a good job and prepared their teams a little better every time, and the level is there."