Soccer Start

What is it?

Soccer Start is designed to introduce the sport of soccer to youngsters living in communities not yet served by existing clubs and leagues. Focused on making soccer available to lower-income children in underserved communities, Soccer Start provides soccer training and administrative guidance to players and organizations that might not be exposed to the sport. Soccer Start also helps new programs find the funding and equipment to begin and then expand their activities. Over the past several years, Indiana Youth Soccer’s Soccer Start program has donated thousands of dollars in financial support, equipment and administrative assistance to programs across the state of Indiana

How to Start a Program
Each program starts differently and is created locally to meet the unique needs and capabilities of the organization and players. Programs in the nation’s biggest cities may include thousands of children. Yet, there are hundreds of small programs that focus on one or two teams, one group of kids in a single household, or one corner of a rural farming community.

Programs may last as little as a few weeks in the fall, or extend to full spring and fall seasons. Many programs adopt traditional soccer rules with full-sized fields and full-length games, while others choose to introduce soccer through “small-sided games” on smaller fields. The choices about how to begin are as varied as the places in which they begin. Soccer Start can help your program decide on how to get started by providing the administrative assistance and start-up equipment to ensure a successful program for years to come.

Goals

• Reach out to children in underserved and socio-economically disadvantaged areas in order to offer them an ongoing program of positive sports activities through soccer.
• Provide a positive activity outside of school which will encourage exercise and increase awareness of one’s own health through sports.
• Increase an individual’s self-esteem through participation in an organized and supportive program of team activities.
• Build positive social and life skills.

Soccer Groups
YMCA’s and YWCA’s, Police Athletic Leagues, Churches, Housing Authorities, Boys and Girls Clubs, City Parks and Recreation, Neighborhood Centers, High School and College Service Organizations

Financial Support
Donations of new and like-new equipment
Soccer Start committee members
Soccer Start site coordinators
Financial contributions
Volunteer coaches/trainers
Indiana Youth Soccer
United States Youth Soccer
Private/Corporate donations
Grants
Rob Purdue Annual Golf Tournament

How can we help?
Each program starts differently and is created locally to meet the unique needs and capabilities of the organization and players. Programs in the nation’s biggest cities may include thousands of children. Yet, there are hundreds of small programs that focus on one or two teams, one group of kids in a single household, or one corner of a rural farming community.

Programs may last as little as a few weeks in the fall, or extend to full spring and fall seasons. Many programs adopt traditional soccer rules with full-sized fields and full-length games, while others choose to introduce soccer through “small-sided games” on smaller fields. The choices about how to begin are as varied as the places in which they begin. Soccer Start can help your program decide on how to get started by providing the administrative assistance and start-up equipment to ensure a successful program for years to come.

Goals for 2007

1. Identify at least one Soccer Start representative in each of the twenty Indiana Youth Soccer Districts
2. Promote corporate sponsorship of the program
3. Increase the professional/college teams involvement with Soccer Start
4. Encourage involvement at the 2007 Indiana Challenge Cup and Indiana State Cup tournaments
5. Implement a 4v4 Soccer Start tournament(s)
6. Identify and Register 1000 Soccer Start players with Indiana Youth Soccer in 2007.

“Soccer Start has one goal in mind: To make the game of soccer accessible to all children. To that end, we are in a unique position to positively impact the lives of those youth who might not otherwise enjoy this experience. Please join us at Soccer Start. Together we can make a difference.” - Rick Fiege, Indiana Youth Soccer Soccer Start Chairman