The Tom Browning Boys and Girls Club is gearing up for the 2023 soccer season.
Registration applications will be available in the front office from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday from now until the registration deadline, August 4.
The eight week season will begin the Saturday following Labor Day, September 9, and will run through the month of October. The league is open to children aged 5-15, with teams split up by grades.
“Our kindergarten and first graders play like a four on four league, our second and third graders play usually a seven on seven, and then we jump back to our fourth and fifth and depending on the number of kids signed up we’ll do nine on nine or a full spread, and four our sixth through tenth grade more of an instructional, kind of every Saturday is a little bit different where they’re not divided up into teams per say, they’re all kind of on the same team and playing different positions. So it’s kind of like a clinic for that age group.” said Tom Browning Boys and Girls Club executive director, Caitlin Waddell.
The soccer league is free to all applicants, to allow anyone who wishes to participate the opportunity, and to promote a healthy lifestyle through friendly competition.
All coaches for each team and division are volunteers. Those who wish to volunteer their time to coach a team are asked to fill out the registration form available at the Boys and Girls Club front office. The form has a section to choose between participant, head coach or assistant coach. Each coach will be required to submit a detailed background check, to ensure the safety of all participants.
Practices will be once a week, during the week, with games on Saturdays. The focus and content of each practice will be left up to the discretion of each coach, as a way to give back to the coaches for volunteering their time.
“That is the way that Caitlin and myself feel that is something that we need to give back to those coaches because they’re giving time and being outstanding volunteers for our children and our programs.” said Lamont Johnson.
The league provides a positive and educational environment for each participant, no matter the experience level. Waddell said that the league is set up to be educational first and foremost, with the competitive aspect being present, but secondary.
“We obviously we want to bring a competitive nature to it, but at the end of the day we really want our kids to gain the knowledge of the sport, as well as just being a part of a team.” said Waddell.
The participants enjoy coming to practice and learning with their coaches, whether they are just learning the sport or getting extra time in on the field before their varsity season begins, the Boys and Girls club league provides and excellent opportunity for any kid interested in soccer.
“They really enjoy it. Where our younger ones are five to six year olds, a lot of times it’s the beginning of a friendship, they start developing friendships. Our older ones, they’re getting themselves prepared fir different game situations, so they can continue all through the middle school age and to high school.” said Johnson.
The directors of the Tom Browning Boys and Girls club, and the volunteer coaches dedicate themselves to ensuring that the league remains a fun, educational and positive place for all participants, no matter the age range. For the younger divisions, when the kids split into teams and begin competing against one another, every participant will swap through the positions, to more quickly learn each position, and more importantly, what they like to play. In the older age groups, each participant will gain experience playing each position and working through different game scenarios, to further improve their skill on the field.
“We have a really great, positive environment, and people enjoy participating here because it’s more learning based and not as competitive it’s more of a we want every child to have the same opportunity as the next child. No prejudice, no ‘you’re better in this position so we’re gonna keep you in this position.’ everybody sits out, everybody plays so we just try to make sure that it’s the best experience for all kids.” said Waddell.
